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Buddhist feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Buddhism. It is an aspect of feminist theology which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Buddhist perspective. The Buddhist feminist Rita Gross describes Buddhist feminism as "the radical practice of the co-humanity of women and men." [1]
Parallels between Buddhism and feminist understanding of equality between race, gender, class, sexuality and nationality have only recently begun to be explored. Buddhism's belief in understanding the truth of reality through practicing spiritual development has been deemed beneficial to feminist theory, particularly when compared to other religions. [2] These parallels are undergoing evaluation as religious understandings of feminism become increasingly scrutinized in society and popular discourse. [3]
Certain actions look to explore and connect Buddhist nuns. Their creation of a marginalized community in response to opposing the androcentric order of Buddhism isolated nuns to their respective region and separates them from other places. [4] As nuns were isolated and not interconnected around the world, the Skyadhita, or “Daughters of the Buddha'', was created with one of the goals to connect ordained nuns around the world. [4]
Buddhist nun movements in the last few decades have an organizing emphasis on crossing racial and ethnic boundaries across language differences, tying opposing cultural viewpoints. One of the conflicting views is the cultural stance between Asian and Western values, with the West focusing on individual goals, fostering unique identity, versus Asian identity in connection to community. [4]
Some Buddhist feminists advocate for the ordination of women in Buddhism. [5] The ordination of women in Buddhism has been and continues to be practiced in some Buddhist regions, such as East Asia. It is being revived in some countries such as Malaysia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as newly beginning in Western countries to which Buddhism has recently spread, such as the United States. [5] Other countries have been reluctant to admit women into the Buddhist order, like Burma and Laos. [6]
Monastery nuns shave their heads, take on monastery robes, and pledge vows of celibacy. [4] Buddhist Feminists view this as a threat to the social construction of womanhood. Recent developments in Sri Lanka have given nuns the right to official ordination; however, it is revealed that Sri Lankan nuns have created a marginal culture that separates themselves from the official Buddhist order. [4] Lay nuns are practitioners of Buddhism, yet still hold onto their identity and roles as wives, mothers, and sexual beings.
In 1988, the lineage of Theravada bhikkhunis (fully ordained nuns), was officially established in Nepal. [5] Three Nepali anagarikas were given ordination with the assistance of Fo Guang Shan nuns in Los Angeles. [5] The female Theravada Buddhist communities in Nepal follow Burmese traditions of female renunciation. Some nuns detach from modern society and concentrate their time to meditate and study the Buddha dharma. Some are motivated to pursue the path to avoid traditional marriage and motherhood. [5]
Through research, Darcie Price-Wallace highlights how Tibetan nuns reflect sentiments of feminism through the full ordination of female Buddhists. [7] The findings reveal that the nuns’ attitudes reflect Buddhist soteriological inclusivity, which include ideas of gender equality and how men and women are both similar, and equal. [7] These nuns emphasize gender equality based on the results of their actions rather than equal opportunity to them. They stress the importance of actions over words, directing their focus towards achieving equality through spiritual practices instead of preaching it. [7]
Jean Byrne argues that within Buddhist Feminism, there is a lack of understanding surrounding the realities of societal gender roles. [3] In her paper "Why I Am Not a Buddhist Feminist" she outlines the recent efforts for equality between men and women within the Buddhist Feminist community. However, she also addresses the overemphasis and over-reliance on Buddhism being a strictly egalitarian religion despite conflicting teachings, like how bhikkhunis are expected to bow to male junior monastics regardless of age or experience. [8] Byrne warns that Buddhists should be cautious about how identifying as a Buddhist may affect their commitment to Feminism. [3] Postcolonial critics have advocated the presence of more than one version of Buddhist Feminism, critiquing the work of white liberal feminists like Rita Gross for presenting a myopic, universalist Buddhist feminism rooted in the assumptions of Western white authority. In the process, the voices of non-white Buddhist feminists who do not fit the typical Western ideology are often excluded from discourse. [9]
Ecofeminism is the idea of merging the relationship between women and nature, which some followers of the Buddhist faith have critiqued, specifically with Ecofeminism's involvement in the essentialist roles of women. [9] Ecofeminism rejects the idea of essentialism; however, followers of some Buddhism perceive the essentialist perspective as a hindrance to their faith. Ecofeminism has been perceived by some followers of Buddhism as an idea which perceives women to be more ethical than men, which contradicts the Buddhist tradition of rejecting differentiating gender traits. [9] Ecofeminism has been argued by Buddhist feminists like Rita Gross to be an analysis on the intersectionality of oppression regarding gender, class, and environmentalism. [9]
Traditionally, Buddhist teachings on sexuality emphasize desire as one of the sources of suffering. While there are no outright sexual restrictions on the average practitioner (aside from approaching sex with moderation), Monks and Nuns are strictly celibate. Any sexual activity or misconduct can result in expulsion from the monastery. Contemporary perspectives have offered alternative insights into Buddhist teachings and stories through a feminist lens.
Miranda Shaw’s work, “Wild Wise, Passionate: Dakinis in America,” explores the history of Dakinis and yoginis, which Shaw describes as female tantric practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism, who live together in remote locations. [10] These women, often operating on the fringes of conventional Buddhist practice, were characterized by their outspokenness, passion, and open embrace of eroticism. Historical accounts, primarily from Western missionaries, condemned Dakinis for their “exuberant sensuality and absence of clothing,” branding them prostitutes. [10] Shaw’s interpretation challenges these judgments, emphasizing that Dakinis intentionally reject conventional societal norms to practice their “untamability.” [10] Shaw suggests that Dakinis and yoginis portray a powerful image of a “woman’s capacity to integrate our sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality.” [10]
The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Buddhism from the birth of Gautama Buddha to the present.
The Vinaya texts are texts of the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka) that also contain the rules and precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas. The precepts were initially developed thirteen years after the Buddha's enlightenment. Three parallel Vinaya school traditions remain in use by modern ordained sanghas: the Theravada, Mulasarvastivada and Dharmaguptaka. In addition to these three Vinaya traditions, five other Vinaya schools of Indian Buddhism are preserved in Asian canonical manuscripts, including those of the Kāśyapīya, the Mahāsāṃghika, the Mahīśāsaka, the Sammatīya, and the Sarvāstivāda.
Difference feminism is a term developed during the equality-versus-difference debate in American feminism to describe the view that men and women are different, but that no value judgment can be placed upon them and both sexes have equal moral status as persons.
The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination was traditionally reserved for men.
The term American Buddhism can be used to describe all Buddhist groups within the United States, including Asian-American Buddhists born into the faith, who comprise the largest percentage of Buddhists in the country.
Maechi or Mae chee, "respected mother", are female monastics in Thailand; Theravada Buddhist nuns. Ordained under The Eight or Ten Precepts, they formally occupy a position similar to sāmaṇerī and wear white robes, but are in practice resemblant of male Theravāda monastics - renunciants who have dedicated their life to Buddhist practice, meditation, vowing celibacy and ascetisicm.
The International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages was an historic event that took place July 18–20, 2007. It was a meeting of internationally recognized Buddhist scholars specializing in monastic discipline and history, as well as practitioners. It was expected to be the final discussion of a decades-long dialogue about re-establishing full bhikshuni ordination in Buddhist traditions. Papers and research based on Buddhist texts and contemporary practice traditions in China, Korea, Taiwan, Tibet, and South Asia were presented, between them the Abstract: The Eight Garudhammas. The fourteenth Dalai Lama attended the final day of the conference and conclusions. His letter of support is available to the public.
The Sīladharā Order is a Theravada Buddhist female monastic order established by Ajahn Sumedho at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, England. Its members are known as Sīladharās.
Women in Buddhism is a topic that can be approached from varied perspectives including those of theology, history, anthropology, and feminism. Topical interests include the theological status of women, the treatment of women in Buddhist societies at home and in public, the history of women in Buddhism, and a comparison of the experiences of women across different forms of Buddhism. As in other religions, the experiences of Buddhist women have varied considerably.
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, born Chatsumarn Kabilsingh or Chatsumarn Kabilsingh Shatsena, is a Thai bhikkhuni. On 28 February 2003, Kabilsingh received full monastic ordination as a bhikkhuni of the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka. She is Abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, the only temple in Thailand where there are bhikkhunis.
The Eight Garudhammas are additional precepts required of bhikkhunis above and beyond the monastic rule (vinaya) that applied to monks. Garu literally means "heavy" and when applied to vinaya, it means "heavy offense that entails penance (mānatta) consisting of 2 weeks" as described in garudhamma rule No. 5. The authenticity of these rules is contested; they were supposedly added to the (bhikkhunis) Vinaya "to allow more acceptance" of a monastic Order for women, during the Buddha's time. They are controversial because they attempt to push women into an inferior role and because many Buddhists, especially Bhikkhunis, have found evidence that the eight Garudhammas are not really the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
A bhikkhunī or bhikṣuṇī is a Buddhist nun, fully ordained female in Buddhist monasticism. Bhikkhunis live by the Vinaya, a set of either 311 Theravada, 348 Dharmaguptaka, or 364 Mulasarvastivada school rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahayana Buddhism and thus were prevalent in countries such as China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam, while a few women have taken the full monastic vows in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools. The official lineage of Tibetan Buddhist bhikkhunis recommenced on 23 June 2022 in Bhutan when 144 nuns were fully ordained.
Sakyadhītā International Association of Buddhist Women is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1987 at the conclusion of its first conference and registered in California in the United States in 1988. Sakyadhītā holds an international conference every two years, bringing together laypeople, nuns, and monks from different countries and traditions around the world.
Songdhammakalyani Monastery is a temple and monastery of Bhikkhuni in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. It was founded in 1960 by Ven. Ta Tao Fa Tzu, the first modern Thai woman to ordain as a bhikkhuni. The monastery was originally known as Wat Songdhammakalyani ."
Voramai Kabilsingh, also known by her monastic name Ta Tao Fa Tzu (Chinese: 大道法師; pinyin: Dàdào Fǎshī, was born Lamai Kabilsingh, was the first modern Thai bhikkhuni. She founded Songdhammakalyani Monastery, the first modern monastery in Thailand for bhikkhuni and was the mother of Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, the current abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery.
Urgyen Tsomo (1897–1961) was a prominent Tibetan Buddhist female master who was known as the Great Dakini of Tsurphu. She was the consort of the Khakyab Dorje, 15th Karmapa Lama. She was considered by other masters to be the reincarnation (emanation) of Yeshe Tsogyal, the consort of Padmasambhava of the 8th century, who spread Buddhism in Tibet.
Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a Buddhist nun, scholar and social activist. She is a professor at the University of San Diego, where she teaches Buddhism, World Religions, and Dying, Death, and Social Justice. She is co-founder of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and the founding director of the Jamyang Foundation, which supports the education of women and girls in the Himalayan region, the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, and elsewhere. She took novice precepts as a Buddhist nun in France in 1977 and full ordination in Korea in 1982.
A donchee is a pious Eight- or Ten Precepts-holding anagārikā laywoman residing in a pagoda in Buddhism in Cambodia, where bhikkhuni (nun's) lineage is not officially recognized.
Shundo Aoyama Rōshi is a Japanese Buddhist nun and abbess. She is the first nun to be appointed to the rank of Daikyoshi in the Soto Zen school.
Paula Kane Robinson Arai is an American professor and Buddhist studies scholar, specializing in the academic study of women and Buddhism, specifically Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism and Japanese Sōtō Zen women. She has also been an active public speaker and led workshops on healing rituals.
