-
3. Is the Bhiksuni Vinaya Sexist?
- State University of New York Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Chapter 3 Is The Bhiks ˙ un ˙ ı̄ Vinaya Sexist? KARMA LEKSHE TSOMO Feminists generally assume that Buddhism is detrimental to women. Despite the Buddha’s spiritual egalitarianism, they cite certain Buddhists’ claims that female rebirth is inferior to male rebirth and references to women as being inclined to lust, aversion, and craving like Mara’s daughters.1 They also refer to Buddhist texts that assert women’s guilt by association with procreation and refer to women as fickle, sexually voracious, contentious, and evil. Sandra Wawrytko finds Buddhism “seething” with an old and deep-seated sexism.2 Rita Gross asserts that “feminist analysis of any major world religion reveals massive undercurrents of sexism and prejudice against women, especially in realms of religious praxis.”3 Diana Paul seems to concur, stating , “Like Judaism and Christianity, Buddhism is an overwhelmingly male-created institution dominated by a patriarchal power structure. As a consequence of this male dominance, the feminine is frequently associated with the secular, powerless, profane, and imperfect.”4 To understand the roots of these contradictions, I maintain that it is necessary to examine the monastic texts upon which Buddhist institutions rest. In Mahāyāna Buddhist texts, Paul notes, “One perceives a destructive , complex set of images preventing women from fulfillment within the Buddhist religion.”5 Liz Wilson questions “the received wisdom of the gradual disappearance of androcentrism and misogyny from Indian Buddhist texts and institutions,” noting that even in the Nikāyas (early 45 collections of the Buddha’s teachings), “women are repeatedly blamed for the downfall of men and explicitly linked to the premature decline of the Buddha’s teachings.”6 Kornvipa Boonsue, a Thai scholar, believes that Buddhism has been wielded as an instrument of manipulation to anesthetize women and to conceal gender oppression.7 Statements such as these raise an important question: Are these undercurrents fundamental to Buddhism itself or are they simply reflections of the cultural and social contexts within which Buddhism has evolved? Before concluding that Buddhism is fundamentally sexist and detrimental to women, we must consider the sources of gender inequality . Are most of these sources located in the words of the Buddha that were recorded after his death, therefore making them an integral part of Buddhist philosophical tenets, religious practices, and beliefs? Are they located in the monastic institutions charged with maintaining the purity of the Buddha’s teachings? Or are they part of the cultural/social context within which Buddhism developed? The Buddha purportedly recommended celibacy as the most efficient mode of practice, since it frees up time and energy for spiritual development. The monastic institutions that evolved to accommodate this practice have set the standard for the ideal way of life in Buddhist societies. These institutions have developed along patriarchal lines in all Buddhist cultures. Although the Buddha affirmed that all beings are capable of liberation and enlightenment, sexism and gender discrimination coexisted with this fundamental assertion long after Buddhism gained ascendancy and official dominance. The patriarchal archetype for Buddhist monastic institutions has continued over many centuries and has set a standard for other social institutions, albeit in stark contrast to Buddhism’s egalitarian philosophical cornerstones.8 In all societies, strands of philosophy, religion, culture, literature, and the arts function simultaneously and become interwoven. These domains exist in symbiotic relationships and strongly influence one another. In Buddhist societies, numerous factors besides Buddhism affect people’s values and perceptions. For centuries, non-Buddhist beliefs and social practices have operated simultaneously with Buddhist values and perceptions. When questioned by his cousin Ānanda, the Buddha asserted unequivocally that women are capable of liberation, yet gender inequalities have endured in Buddhist societies, hindering women’s access to enlightenment and the practical benefits of Buddhist practice. This is still the case today. 46 KARMA LEKSHE TSOMO [54.224.52.210] Project MUSE (2024-03-30 09:54 GMT) The purpose of this study is to investigate specific aspects of the Bhiks ˙ un ˙ ı̄ Vinaya, the monastic code for Buddhist nuns, to discover whether the foundations of monastic practice are discriminatory toward women and in what ways they may be responsible for the subordinate position nuns hold in Buddhist institutions. Using textual, comparative, and feminist methodologies, I consider the ordination procedures for fully ordained Buddhist nuns (bhiks ˙ un ˙ ı̄s), the eight special rules for nuns (gurudharmas), the precepts that the bhiks ˙ un ˙ ı̄s live by, and the methods prescribed for expiating transgressions of the precepts . In this way, I explore whether, and in what ways, patriarchal elements in Buddhist...