Views of Women in Buddhism

The ways that women are viewed in Buddhism tends to be a product of the context from which they arose. Culture and religion have an impact on one another; they intertwine to influence the views that people have on the world. This is evident in the variety of views that one is able to find within Buddhist texts, even of just one particular sect, and in the effects that these views have on the general population. Looking at a couple different Buddhist schools we can see these varying views to a wider degree and we can see just how women are represented within each of the schools.

To begin, looking at the earliest form of Buddhism we can see the views that the community had on women take shape within the texts that would be passed on for thousands of years afterwards. Alan Sponberg (1992) explains how there has been a variety of negative as well as some positive attitudes towards women at this time, and many of them were contrasting one another within the same text. For example, Sponberg (1992) demonstrates that in the Pali Canon, which interprets the order of nuns, the Buddha says that it is possible for women to achieve enlightenment, but the Buddha also says that this order would not help to increase his teachings. Here we see the two different views contrasting within the same text. This helps to show that there are several different voices within Buddhist texts, not just one (Sponberg, 1992). Each of these voices expresses a different view that was relevant at the time the text was written. Before we are able to understand the views that the texts have on women, we must understand the tension and attitudes of the communities they came from; context and the society is important (Sponberg, 1992). Sponberg explains that the society in which the early texts came from was going through rapid changes. He explains how this was the time of the Iron Age in Northern India, which allowed for innovation in agriculture and warfare causing increased urbanization. This time allowed for the rising of new thought and new ‘religious speculation’ (Sponberg, 1992). There was a social transformation happening at the time which was opening new roles for women. Women had a new found freedom to explore new religions and commit more time towards religious practices due to the changing of social orders at the time (Sponberg, 1992). Women took advantage of this time, and were even encouraged by the Buddha to do so. There were also many followers of the Buddha that were women, many of which gave up their lives to become full-time practitioners, and at this time there were thoughts that women could become fully enlightened arhats (Sponberg, 1992). The earliest form of Buddhism in India, in the time when the Buddha was alive, saw women in a positive light. It is the time after the Buddha when views from the society began to intertwine with the views of the Buddha, and this is when negative views came in. Due to the fact that the direct personal views of the Buddha are limited, because we cannot say with certainty what can be ascribed to him, it is important to remember that many texts that are attributed to the Buddha unavoidably have material from after his time as well. This is what we can attribute any inconsistencies in the views of women to; they reflect the variety of attitudes within subgroups of the Buddhist community (Sponberg, 1992). Specifically, Sponberg explains that there are four particular groups that the views and attitudes towards women in the early community can be sorted into. The first view is similar to the views from the time the Buddha was alive, and is said to have been held by the Buddha from the very beginning. This is the view that no matter what gender or caste, everyone is able to attain liberation, follow the path to liberation, and become arhats. There is no separate path for women and men; it is the same path for both sexes, meaning sex is unimportant. As mentioned earlier, there were many early followers of the Buddha that were indeed women and were passionate practitioners. This thought is consistent with the philosophy of anatman, or no self, meaning that a person does not have a fixed nature (Sponberg, 1992). The second view according to Sponberg (1992) developed some time after the time of the Buddha, especially in the Vinaya, which explains the rules surrounding the monastic order. This view formed as women were eager to practice full-time. This view held that women are able to do this, although it must be carefully regulated institutionally (Sponberg, 1992). This structure would have the ability to reinforce the traditional views of society that men are authority and women are subordinate. Regulating the nuns becomes a priority for those at this time. The focus shifts from the women having the ability to achieve liberation to the threat that women pose on monasticism and society (Sponberg, 1992). This view holds that women are unable to regulate and protect themselves, and therefore are incapable of having their own organized orders. Sponberg (1992) describes how those nuns that were able to organize themselves faced consequences such as lower prestige, little financial support, and little educational opportunity. This was foremost a result of the attitudes of the society at the time. The third view is an even more negative view towards women. According to Sponberg (1992), this view is aggressively misogynistic. This is evident in the text Sponberg refers to, the Anguttara Nikaya where the Buddha gives women characteristics such as uncontrolled, envious, greedy, and lacking wisdom. This view evidently goes against any idea of inclusiveness of women and the idea that they have the same access to liberation, like the views that the Buddha may have had. This view also go beyond the second view of institutional regulation and control. This view can even go as far as saying women act as distraction and are the main cause of ruin for monks, and this view is therefore hostile in nature towards women (Sponberg, 1992). Additionally, this contains ideas of women as having the ability ‘undermine male celibacy’, therefore confirming their role as distracting (Sponberg, 1992). The fourth and final view, according to Sponberg (1992), is a later view that arrived in the sixth or seventh century. This view is more positive in nature, and states that both men and women are necessary and being either a man or a woman does not limit you (Sponberg, 1992). The view shows that men and women do have certain traits that are either masculine or feminine, but these differences do not act as a limitation. We see examples of this view in Vajrayana texts, and the Perfection of Wisdom texts. In texts like these we see feminine nouns such as prajna, and prajnaparamita has been referred to as “the mother of all Buddha’s”. We see wisdom (prajna) and femininity intertwined here. We see overall that Sponberg (1992) describes that there is not just one single view on women in Buddhism and it is a combination of the various attitudes and views that lead to the messages we receive today. There is “one stream of many interacting currents in the cumulative history of human religious experience, one that, like all other human institutions, encompasses both noble aspirations and all too human failings” (Sponberg, 1992). The early Buddhist societies had competing concerns and goals that were expressed in different ways at the time.

Looking towards specific Buddhist sects we can see examples of these views. To start, looking at the Tantric sect, some historians have been critical of the feminine imagery that is consistently used, remarking that women were oppressed and exploited at the time the images were created (Shaw, 1994). One of the central features of the tantric sect in Buddhism is that of the Sky-dancers, or dakinis. The images of these women can be seen in temples or in texts as enlightened, passionate, and full of freedom. These dakinis have a mastery over spiritual power and this is shown in the images. Miranda Shaw (1994) disagrees with the historians that have negative attitudes. Shaw (1994) believes that the imagery of women in Tantric texts can encourage women to have a higher sense of esteem and encourage respect for women due to the fact that women can be seen as spiritual power. This view of women is positive and similar to the first attitude characterized by Sponberg, especially since the practices done by those in tantric Buddhism are practices that can be done by both men and women, and at times are done together. Tantra was even able to inspire the introduction of female Buddhas, confirming the notion that women are able to achieve Buddhahood through this form of Buddhism (Shaw, 1994). This was very different from the early schools of Buddhism such as Mahayana Buddhism, which believed that it was not possible for a woman to be a Buddha, even though they believed women had the ability to be enlightened (Shaw, 1994). Here we see a contradiction because some Mahayana texts describe women as too unintelligent to attain Buddhahood, and some have more positive views describing the ability for women to achieve enlightenment.

Continuing with Mahayana Buddhism, in this tradition it can be simple to see some positive images of women such as the role of nuns and laywomen, but looking at the texts shows us views that tend to show us a more negative view of women. These views in the text, as previously stated, tend to be the product of the society which they came from (Paul 1985 and Stonberg 1992). Just as many other religions, Buddhism has been seen as being created by males, with a patriarchal structure that gives the power to men. This therefore leads to women being seen as inferior. Just as many other societies, the Buddhist society created feminine standards and the norms under which women should behave. This will be evident in the example of Thailand that will be discussed later in this essay. Paul (1985) describes two central themes that can be found within the Mahayana texts, such as sutras, vinaya, and some folktales. The first is that of women as ‘deadly’, something that must be controlled because it is destructive for the spiritual growth of men. This view of women has been a reason for the marginalization of women at the time. This first view is more common amongst traditional Buddhism. For example, Paul (1985) describes how The Sutra of the Buddha Teaching the Seven Daughters portrays women as temptresses and diabolical. The second theme is just the opposite; it is the view of women as compassionate, sacred, and necessary for men to be enlightened. In societies that hold this view, women have the ability to have a higher religious status, almost as equal as the status of men (Paul, 1985). Again, we see the thought of Sponberg in the idea that there are contrasting views within the same Buddhist sect.

In order to see the effects of the views that Buddhists hold on the general population, we must look towards a real life example. In Thailand, the national religion is Theravada Buddhism. Buddhism is strongly imbedded in Thai culture and plays a large role in the views of Thai people. Klunklin and Greenwood (2005) explain that Buddhism is partially to blame for the subordination of women, therefore having an implication on the path the HIV pandemic follows. Theravada Buddhism, folklore, and kreng jai reinforce gender roles and their effect on the path that HIV follows. In Thailand, it is the monks that have authority over the temple and rituals and only men are able to become monastics (Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005). Even the places that they are allowed to sit within the temple show male superiority, with males sitting on a raised platform, while women sit at the very edge of the temple, and the ability for young girls to enter the temple to receive education is not permitted (Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005). They even go as far as not allowing women to touch monks due to the view that women may contaminate them (Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005). This also relates back to the folklore of Thailand, in which women are seen to be pollutants in terms of their genitalia, and menstrual blood (Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005). This imagery suggests that women are inferior and men must physically keep themselves away to remain superior.

Klunklin and Greenwood (2005) explain the route that HIV followed in Thailand. At first, HIV mainly effected IDU’s, and then moved mainly to female commercial sex workers and those working with them such as attendants and bar girls. CSW in Thailand is one of the main ways that young girls are able to make a high amount of money, and this is necessary for Thai culture because young women must repay their families for bringing them up (Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005). Klunklin and Greenwood (2005) explain that HIV then became prevalent among the clients of the CSW’s and then among the wives and girlfriends of these men. Illness follows lines of inequality and disproportionately affects those who are inferior.

In conclusion, there has been a wide variety of views over the years that Buddhism was developing and this is evident in the variety of views in Buddhist texts. Different sects in Buddhism have different views on women as is seen from their texts and imagery, and we can see the varying attitudes even within a sect as shown with Mahayana Buddhism. Finally, these attitudes can have an effect on the wider population in terms of power struggles and the paths that illnesses follow through the population. The social context of a past society has an effect on the attitudes of the population and therefore the Buddhist texts from these times.

References

Klunklin, Areewan and Greenwood, Jennifer. “Buddhism, The Status Of Women And The Spread Of HIV/AIDS In Thailand.” Health Care For Women International 26.1: 46–61.

Sponberg, Alan. “Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early Buddhism.” Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 1992.

Shaw, Miranda Eberle. Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1994.

Paul, Diana Y. Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in Mahayana Tradition. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: U of California, 1985.