Gender Perception in Buddhism, Essay Example

It is difficult to imagine Buddhism without the female aspect. For years, Buddhist women have been chanting the names of Buddhist patriarchs but secretly thinking about their Buddhist matriarchs. In the article, “Women Acquiring the Essence,” Sensei Wendy Egyoku Nakao, zpo, discusses this powerful dilemma (Nakao). On Friday, July 10, 1988, she invited a group of Sangha “to gather and explore the practice and lineage of women.” This essay addresses the role of women in Buddhism as it discusses selected readings on the topic.

There is a very compelling message in Nakao’s article where she says, “In awakening to the wisdom of non-duality, do we not awaken to our fullness as human beings?” Buddhism, after all, is about non-duality. Then why did the Buddha leave his infant son and young wife to seek Nirvana? (What would Buddha do to be a good husband or boyfriend?) How can this action coexist with the Buddhist concept of non-duality? Buddha, it is recorded, did come back to convert both of them to Buddhism and to give them the awakening.

Buddha’s position on women is as follows; “In five ways should a wife, ministered to by her husband…love him: by performing her duties well, by giving hospitality to their relatives, by being faithful to him, by supervising their money, and by skillfully doing all her work.” Digha Nikaya 31.

In contrast to Christianity, where the woman is subordinate to the man, Buddhism considers the man and woman as worldly partners. The woman, in Buddhism, is in charge of the finances. The man is in charge of emotional duties, but the woman is responsible for organizational duties. In Buddhism, the only requirement made for both the husband and the wife is mutual loyalty.

Rev. Patti Nakai speaks about the possible ways that Buddhist sutras could be interpreted to be sexist, as is the case with many of the world’s religions. This is not true. If it were, says Rev. Nakai, she would not be part of such a religion (Nakai). The Bible and the Quran have been interpreted by some as sexist. This is not news to the reader. Religious texts are oftentimes used to promote bigotry and sexism in pursuit of power. The writings of Buddha have no inkling of sexism, only in the minds of those who want to subject women to subordination.

“As the track of a bird in the sky does not exist, as the shape of a dream, an illusion, a mirage, an echo, a remembered shape, and the image of the moon in water, are unreal and ungraspable, so a fixed dharma, a set order of dharma, is unreal and ungraspable” (Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 18,000 Lines). A set dharma, or nature of things, according to the Buddha, does not exist. Therefore, the differences between a male and a female only exist in the material world. This is the reason that the statement that Buddhism is sexist, is completely absurd. The thought would occur to only the unenlightened ones.

Sexual intercourse is discussed in Buddhism in terms of male promiscuity with the female. The male is the individual who needs to curb his desires. The woman is only mentioned as the object of that lust (A. L. DeSilva). It is interesting that the woman is never admonished for her sexual promiscuity. That could be due to the fact that most monastics were men. However, this has recently changed, and many women are entering Buddhist monasteries (Nakao).

A person’s gender is assigned at birth, and it is carried with that person throughout their physical life here in the earthly realm. Gender does not define a person’s spiritual essence or soul. Buddhism teaches that there is no difference between the sexes because the sexes are only seen with the physical eye. The mystic mind does not differentiate between the two. The feminine is praised within Buddhism because that is from where all living creatures appear.

A female in this life may have been a male in a past life that has reincarnated to help those souls on earth who are trying to reach Nirvana. According to Buddhist teachings, when a soul reincarnates, it chooses which gender it will return in. Therefore, subconsciously, human beings are of an androgynous nature, with the sex being assigned only upon entry to the earthly plane.

The acceptance of Buddhist nuns, unfortunately, has not been as well received as the Buddha may have envisioned centuries ago. He had devoted women followers along with his male disciples. It was perhaps, a product of the times in which the writings of Buddha were published that left women out of his band of inner disciples. This is quite similar to the history of Jesus and his disciples. The writers of the New Testament left out prominent women that supported Jesus in missionary journeys.

Sexuality was not particularly embraced nor was it shunned by the Buddha. Everything, according to the Buddha, should be done in moderation. Homosexuality was another issue that the Buddha did not address in particular. However, as in every other religious text, sutras have been taken out of context to prove that the Buddha condemned the act. This, as stated earlier in this essay, is not the case (A. L. DeSilva).

Someone asked, “What do you mean by the true Buddha, the true dharma, and the true path? Will you please explain them to us?” The Teacher answered, “Buddha is the simple purity of mind. Dharma is the radiant illumination of mind. The path is the clean light that can never be hindered. These three are actually one yet remain mere names without essence” (Zen Teacher Linji).

The true path to becoming a true Buddha is clarity of mind. One cannot have clarity of mind if she is constantly subjected to temporal prejudice or “Mara.” One’s gender, according to Buddha, is chosen prior to incarnation by the one incarnating. Therefore, people who discriminate against other people based upon gender are not fulfilling their own sworn duty to help the mortals reach Nirvana. They are causing themselves bad karma and will have to reincarnate one more time here on earth.

It is extremely disturbing to think that some adherents to the Buddhist principles are sexist. However, this paper has examined the evidence that this type of bias does exist within the Buddhist community. The earth is revered by the Buddhists as “Mother,” yet some of these same people discriminate against women on the basis of gender. Even with a principle of non-duality, sexism still exists within Buddhist circles to this day. The Buddha could have never anticipated this in his lifetime.

Bibliography

Corless, Roger. “Roger Corless on Queer Buddhism.” Gay Buddhist Fellowship. 2002.

Cullavagga. Rules for Monastics: Part of the Vinaya. Trans. ThanissaroBhikkhu. n.d.

DeSilva. “The Place of Women in Buddhism.” Midlands Buddhist Society. Midlands, 1988.

DeSilva, A. L. “Homosexuality in Theravada Buddhism.” Ed. Franz Metcalf. 31 March 2003.

Dewaraja, Dr, L.S. “The Position of Women in Buddhism.” The Wheel Publication 280 (1981).

Nakai, Patti. “Women in Buddhism: Part One: Prajapati, the First Buddhist Nun.”

Nakao, Wendy, Egyoku. “Women Acquiring the Essence.”

“What is Buddhism?”

“What would Buddha do to be a good husband or boyfriend?”

“Who was the Buddha?”