The Role and Status of Women in Buddhism and Confucianism

1181 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of women in religious Buddhism

The role and status of women in any religion in the word is known to be controversial.

In Buddhism and Confucianism, women are seen as unequal and some of their belief promotes

gender inequality. As outsiders of both main Chinese religions, we wonder how women put up

with the gender inequalities. Women go through with the inequalities because they respect their

faith and believe deeply in the teachings of Buddha for Buddhism, and Confucius for

Confucianism. Much research and also thought has been put together to obtain true status of

women in these Chinese religions. Women in these religions are seen as vulnerable of the

society, making the treatment of women seem much harsher. Women will always be treated

differently than men, especially in both of these religions, but as women they learn to accept it

and continue to live their life as suitable as possible.

In Buddhism, the teaching that being born as a woman is a result of previous bad karma

and misfortune because women will experience many difficulties in life is taught by some

influential temples, monks, and scholars(Khuankaew). Women who are abused by their husbands

and partners are experiencing the results of previous life’s karma and they can’t do anything

about it except make more merit in this lifetime (Khuankaew). Buddha’s first followers were all

monks and the Buddha’s aunt, Maha Pajapati Gotami, was the first woman, who requested to

join the sangha, Buddha’s community of monks, but the Buddha refused her (Chodron). Women

were not highly respected and had few rights at that time. Buddha refused the woman who loved

and raised him after his own mother’s death and only accepted her after Ananda, Buddha’s

cousin, convinc...

... middle of paper ...

...ose faith allows mistreatment and inequality of women.

Works Cited

1. Chodron, Tenzin. Skipping Stones, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p24-25. Student Research Centre. EBSCO. Web

2. Khuankaew, Ouyporn. "Tackling gender and sexual discrimination in Buddhism. " Arrows For Change. 14.1-2 (May-Sept 2008): 12(2). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Knowledge Ontario

3. Lee, Gloria; Japanese Women in History, 2007. Student Research Centre. EBSCO. Web

4. Lee-Park Sun Ai "Woman and man in community: an Asian reflection. " The Ecumenical Review. 46.n2 (April 1994): 147(10). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Knowledge Ontario - Portal. 3 May 2011

5. Park Sang Jung. "Woman and man in community: an Asian reflection. " The Ecumenical Review. 46.n2 (April 1994): 147(10). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Knowledge Ontario - Portal. 3 May 2011

Show More
Related

  • The Emergence Of Korean Women In The 1920's

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    The deeply rooted history of a Confucian paradigm in Korea has for long limited women’s roles and rights. In the male-dominated and patriarchal society, women’s roles remained in the domestic sphere, where they were required to be submissive. However, with the introduction of westernization and modernity in the 1920s, modern generation was rapidly incorporated into colonial modernity. Korean women began to “redefine the Korean female identity” by displaying the “new woman” characteristics, in which some literate women initiated to “enhance their education, determine their own physical appearance, and contribute to the debate about changing gender roles and expectations”(Yoo, p.59) Fearing the threat of the emergence of the “new women” with

    Read More

  • Women's Roles in the Postclassical Period by Religion

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first religion and its views on women that will be discussed in this essay is Islam. Islam is a religions founded in Saudi Arabia almost two thousand years ago, by the prophet Muhammad. In fact, Muhammad dedicated much attention towards women in the Koran, the holy book of Islam. However, even though much was dedicated to women in the Koran, it was not dedicated to them in the sense of equality. Women in Islamic culture were apparently much lower on the totem pole than men, "The men are made responsible for the women, since God endowed them with certain qualities, and made them the bread earners...If you experience opposition from the women, you shall first talk to them, then [you may use such negative incentives as] deserting them in bed, then you may beat them (129)." Excerpt...

    Read More

  • The Story Of Do In Kwon And Hee Kyung Lee

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... mother wanted to be in school (Pai 45). She instilled a hard work ethic and a desire for education in her children. In addition to parenting, she provided her husband with assistance and labor in his upholstery business. A small Korean business, such as Kwon’s upholstery company, could not have survived without the unpaid, long hour labor provided by the wife (Parrenas 363). This gendered hierarchy that demands Asian women to undertake the unrecognized, monotonous tasks is not only a survival tactic for small businesses but also the leading cause for women to have a “double day,” contributing to long hours in the family business and providing most, if not all, of the parenting and housework (Parrenas 364). Parallel to this gendered hierarchy concept, Lee worked full time as a seamstress, secretary, and overseer of the employees while Kwon went out on calls (78).

    Read More

  • Empress Wu and Buddhism: A Symbiotic Relationship

    2294 Words  | 5 Pages

    Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.

    Read More

  • Patriarchy in India, China, Greece and Rome

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics.

    Read More

  • The Role of Teachers in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    "You know, my friend, that even as a young man, when we lived with the ascetics in the forest, I came to distrust doctrines and teachers and to turn my back to them. I am still of the same turn of mind, although I have, since that time, had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha’s wandering monks was my teacher. He halted in his pilgrimage to sit beside me when I fell asleep in the forest. I also learned something from him and I am grateful to him, very grateful. But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva. He was a simple man; he was not a thinker, but he realized the essential as well as Gotama, he was a holy man, a saint" (141).

    Read More

  • Confucianism In Lessons For Women

    2159 Words  | 5 Pages

    When one thinks about female traits or characteristics within the Asian culture you are likely to think of obedience and even docility. This can especially be true of Chinese women. Why is this? Where did this behavior and belief system originate? Many scholars and cultural behaviorists would argue that Ban Zhao and Confucius played a pivotal role in this behavioral construct. Confucian teachings are the foundation upon which much of Asian society and culture have been erected. Confucius’ teachings focused on the importance of family dynamics and the need for children to obey and serve their parental figures. Confucius also stressed the need to exercise restraint and to treat others as you would have them treat you. Ban Zhao was the

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast the Lives of Buddha and Jesus

    3762 Words  | 8 Pages

    It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men.  Great men are leaders.  They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society.  Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men.  Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres.  But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man.  When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common.  This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas:  conception and birth.  In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.

    Read More

  • How philosophical, religious or cultural ideas legitimate the class and gender inequalities of classical civilization?

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Similarly, the Islamic religion disempowers women by creating specific roles for them. Islam considers women as mere tools for propagation of life with the ability to bring forth a child being attributed to the man. Women were to swathe their heads as a means of subordination to the males. This brought about inferiority and superiority complex among women and men, with marginalization of women. Islamic regions, especially during the antiquity, restricted the roles of women to cooking and procreation. Men would assume leadership positions. The cultural beliefs became a mirror of the Islamic doctrines. Therefore, any person deviating from the be...

    Read More

  • South Asian Women

    2220 Words  | 5 Pages

    South Asian women engage in patriarchal values and normative structure established more than two thousands years ago, continue to be oppressed by a dominant group of men. These women suffer further oppression through the strict adherence to cultural garb. Still today, media and educational system portray South Asian women as self-sacrificing, faithful to the family, and submissive to men.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles Essay

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is clearly an opportunity for those expectations to affect our behavior toward men and women so that they produce the stereotypes we hold” (2012, p. 67). She came to this conclusion based on her critical review of a study of college men and women from 1977 by Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid. In the study, men were told to talk to a woman on the phone and half were shown a picture of an attractive woman and the other half were shown a picture of an unattractive woman before talking on the phone. However, all of the men were talking to the same woman. The woman also provided self-fulfilling prophecy for she began to behave differently based on whether the men were shown a picture of an attractive or an unattractive woman. If she was attractive, the men were nicer and the woman, herself, acted “more likeable.” This study demonstrates “that our expectations influence our own behavior, but they also influence the behavior of others so that they confirm our expectancy” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 67). Within cultural differences of gender role attitudes, Asian cultures perpetuate a traditional gender role ideology based on Confucian doctrine (Newton, 2016). The doctrine emphasizes the lesser status of women and how they must lie their obedience in line with men, such as their fathers or husbands. Men are also not expected to show emotions, men are the

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Tibetan Buddhism

    4429 Words  | 9 Pages

    “In Tantric Buddhism, we are dealing with a misogynist, destructive, masculine philosophy and religion which is hostile to life – i.e. the precise opposite of that for which it is trustingly and magnanimously welcomed in the figure of the Dalai Lama.”[1] Within Tibetan Buddhism, there is an inherent contradiction regarding the status of women. Although in many aspects women are seen and treated as inferior to men, several of the ancient and fundamental values of Tibetan Buddhism, and more specifically Tantric Buddhism, emphasize equality of the sexes, universal compassion, and most importantly the significant and essential role of the woman. Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been trying to correct this contradiction for years to remove the inferior and degrading stereotype that defines them and to be seen as equal to men. Beginning with the emergence of Tibetan Buddhism from India until today, the status of women, both physically and symbolically has declined due to the patriarchal system adopted by Tibet. “The mystery of Tantric Buddhism consists in the sacrifice of the feminine principle and the manipulation of erotic love in order to attain universal androcentric power.”[2] In their patriarchal society, the symbol of the woman is used by men now as an instrument; manipulated by men in order to acquire control and power.

    Read More

  • Definition and Study of Cultural Construction

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Examples of cultural constructions can be seen throughout history in several forms such as gender, relationships, and marriage. “Cultural construction of gender emphasizes that different cultures have distinctive ideas about males and females and use these ideas to define manhood/masculinity and womanhood/femininity.” (Humanity, 239) In many cultures gender roles are a great way to gain an understanding of just how different the construction of gender can be amongst individual cultures. The video The Women’s Kingdom provides an example of an uncommon gender role, which is seen in the Wujiao Village where the Mosuo women are the last matriarchy in the country and have been around for over one thousand years. Unlike other rural Chinese villages where many girls are degraded and abandoned at birth, Mosuo woman are proud and run the households where the men simply assist in what they need. The view of gender as a cultural construct ...

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Buddhism

    2968 Words  | 6 Pages

    was, and still is. sexual stereotypes present in the culture of Buddhist communities. By contrast to such bigoted practices that hinder spiritual development, Buddhism can be claimed. to be the least discriminatory in attitudes towards women. There is no doubt at all that the Buddha was the first religious teacher who gave women equal and unfettered opportunities in the field of spiritual development and development.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Confucianism on Chinese Culture

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    Confucian culture, also known as Confucianism, was founded by Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period, which was developed gradually after the Han Dynasty with benevolence as the core. Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was the official ideology and the basis of mainstream ideology in the vast majority of historical periods of China, and it also influenced many southeast Asian countries in history. After a variety of shocks, Confucianism was still the core values of China's social public, and represented the Chinese culture and national tradition in the world (Littlejohn, 2010). In the contemporary society, the Confucian culture in China increasingly spread, at the same time, its modern value is excavated by many countries in the world, and its international influence is also growing with the rise of China.

    Read More

More about The Role and Status of Women in Buddhism and Confucianism

Open Document