It is interesting that in all writings of patriarchy and misogyny related to India, scholars quote the Ramayana and the Manu Smriti, yet historically these were composed after the Vinaya Pitaka. By deeds is one an out-caste. Thus, full liberation is open to women. Manu Smriti and other dharmashastras were written in the Gupta era when Brahmins played a key role in legitimising kingship in much of peninsular India. Shankara was often called a Buddhist with Hindu packaging, by his critics. There are three types of buddhas or enlightened ones. So Buddha shows him celestial nymphs who live in the heaven of the 33 gods (. Monks are advised to sleep indoors, not outdoors, after an incident where women had sex with a monk while he, apparently, was sleeping under a tree. We could, of course, argue that that most educated Buddhists were originally Brahmins and so transplanted Hindu patriarchy into Buddhism, that the Buddha had no such intention. The Buddhist scriptures, the Tipitaka were oral teachings memorized for hundreds of years before being committed to writing in the first century BCE. Ketumala’s battle for recognition and respect for nuns in Buddhism runs parallel to the broader challenge for women’s rights in modern Myanmar. Advertise Here for only $299 mo. Buddha lived in pre-Mauryan times while the Ramayana, with its concern for kingship, was written in post-Mauryan times. In a further feminist perspective, a samma-sam-buddha only comes when males are dominating the world for too long, because then the Dhamma will die-out. So to protect the reputation of the dhamma and the sangha, Buddha began putting down these rules. or five hundred, but far more bhikkhunis, my disciples, who by realizing for themselves with direct knowledge here and now enter upon and abide in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom . The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar. By the time Islam arrived, Buddhism had already waned in most of India. .” The Buddha was simply warning the monks of the danger in attachment to the senses and we must remember that the monks and nuns in Theravada Buddhism are monastic, celibate. Their lives mold robbers, soldiers, chaplains, and kings. In Hinayana Buddhism, the “Low Vehicle”, the “sacrifice of the feminine” is carried out with the help of meditation. Do not believe in something because the authorities say it is so. Some of the items on this list of 32 marks of a great man include a lion's chest, a jaw like a lion, a tongue that is so long that it can reach the forehead and both ear holes, 40 teeth, and a penis encased in a sheath. AFP. Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. The Buddha was very reluctant to do this but Ananda interceded on Gotami's behalf. Because these women (many who were mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, cousins of many of the bhikkhus) might be subjected to rape, assault, sexual harassment and being termed "prostitutes and thieves", which in fact, did later occur as recorded in the. Ven. . Anguttara Nikaya 2.25, Prise de Jérusalem par Hérode le Grand.jpg, 1-10 early to recent Chronology of Pali Canon, The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists -- Explained, https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Misogyny?oldid=278568. Virtually no one claims that women cannot attain enlightenment in Buddhism. The deep-red robes and shorn heads of Myanmar's monks are internationally recognised, but the plight of the nation's vast number of nuns, estimated to be in excess of 60,000, is little documented. The pre-Buddhist Upanishads do not bother much with gender relations and are more interested in metaphysics. However, the nuns’ lineage continues in most Mahayana countries, and, in places like Taiwan, nuns are a dynamic and respected presence within the Buddhist community. Enjoy! All of these facts run contrary to the 8 heavy rules and provide evidence that the 8 heavy rules were added later. Yangon (AFP) People defined their world in terms of their 500-mile radius. Each of these claims are examined below. If we look at history, the Buddha was correct (if he did say that). This “savior” type of buddha is who the historical Buddha was. The assumption is that Buddhism is rational, modern, agnostic, and liberal in matters of gender and sexuality. ." By. One does not need to be a samma-sam-buddha to attain enlightenment or Nibbana. Most discourses involve the Buddha giving a talk to the monks and begin with the very familiar, “O Bhikkhus . A woman, like a man can attain to the same level as the founder of the religion of Buddhism and become fully enlightened, an Arahant. As much as I like various of the notions of Buddhism, it is guilty of the typical organized religious sexism and misogyny, largely traceable to this notion: “From what I have heard in Bana preaching by Buddhist monks, a woman could become a Buddha if during her journey through Sansara she accrues sufficient merit to be born as a man and then attain Buddhahood.” It is frankly impossible that these attitudes should simply disappear from Buddhist culture, which prides itself on its continuity with tradition. Significantly Buddhaghosa lived around the same time as St Augustine of Hippo came forth with his anti-sex and anti-women trope in the Catholic Church. In his monastic order, he went a step further: there were no nuns. During the time of the Buddha, the other major belief systems were Brahmanism (precursor to Hinduism) and Jainism. . But there is a strong desire in these books to explain away the patriarchy, rather than put the spotlight … . The Buddha's teachings were quite revolutionary in that not only could women become nuns, but also that they could attain enlightenment. The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar. The founder of the Dhamma School Foundation, overseeing more than 4,800 Buddhist education centers for children throughout Myanmar, she has been described as “a fierce advocate for the importance of women in … It has been glamorised and valorised as the ultimate indicator of masculinity and purity. The Jātakas are part of the mythological side of Buddhism and are drained with folk believes. Sutta 73 Majjhima Nikaya and also in other suttas too. Monks who do not wake up, or do not yield to temptation despite being accosted by women for sexual pleasure, are seen as innocent and not expelled from the monastic order. The complete silence on the subject of misogyny so firmly entrenched in the Buddhist scriptures, and traced to the Buddha, is quite remarkable. This happened 2,600 years ago. The Buddhavamsa was one of the most recent, youngest books of the Pali Canon. Initially, none of these strictures were codified. There is a list of who can be a teaching samma-sam-buddha in the Khuddaka Nikaya, Buddhavamsa 2.59 and one of the items includes being a male. Female hermaphrodites, women who dress like men, or those of deviant sexuality or simply those who do not look like women and are “man-like” women cannot be ordained as nuns. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar. Another criticism is that the Buddha is said to have remarked that the teachings (Buddhism) would only last 500 years because he agreed to ordain women. To be properly ordained, a nun must be ordained first by a quorum of monks and then a second time by a quorum of nuns. Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana in Sanskrit (meaning “Thunderbolt” or “diamond vehicle”) is a complex and understudied part of the Buddhist tradition that is of considerable importance to the history of Buddhism and Indo-Tibetan cultural relations. The complete silence on the subject of misogyny so firmly entrenched in the Buddhist scriptures, and traced to the Buddha, is quite remarkable. Back then there were no airplanes, fax machines, internet, etc. But anyone with a little common sense can see these mythological claims are designed to elevate the status of religious leaders by making them sound super human. Do not believe in something believing a god has inspired it. If we are not satisfied that this may have been added later and not a saying of the Buddha, there is still another non-misogynistic possibility, by considering the context and degree of sexism in India during the time of Buddha still through today. This situation is not limited to the Theravada and in fact Zen and Vajrayana have an even more patriarchal line with all of the Zen leaders of the past being male and the re-births of all Dalai Lamas have been male as the search committee only looks for recently born boys after the passing of a previous Dalai Lama. Initially, none of these strictures were codified. It is almost as if the scholars are irritated, even embarrassed, that the facts interfere with contemporary perceptions of the Buddha. It was the later Svetembara sect of Jainism which stated that women could attain enlightenment. After the Dhamma talk, the Buddha exclaims that he could not have said it any better (such as in Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 44 where the Buddha praises the enlightened nun, Ven. ” or just “Bhikkhus, . It is one of the furthest books in years after the time of Buddha. A famous Hindi king took back control of India and wanted the caste system back since he was a member of a high caste. Many scholars and teachers have theorized some possibilities for the reluctance: There is some evidence to suggest the latter may be true. The complete silence on the subject of misogyny so firmly entrenched in the Buddhist scriptures, and traced to the Buddha, is quite remarkable. Seeing this as misogynistic would be failing to look at the complete context of these passages. (See: Chronology of Pali Canon) It could be from the 32 marks of a great man. All of the major and important teachings are repeated throughout many of the books of the Pali Canon. Also, there are suttas where the Buddha deliberately remains silent while nuns are giving a Dhamma talk. In a society where a popular saying urges women to "regard her son as her master and her husband as her god", Buddhist nun Ketumala is already an outlier. A woman, like a man can attain to the same level as the founder of the religion of Buddhism and become fully enlightened, an Arahant. For example, there are passages where the Buddha advises the monks not to pay attention to women, not to look at them, and to avoid their company unless accompanied by other people. In one passage the Buddha specifically mentions that he only creates a rule for the Vinaya when the time is right and the time calls for it (Vinaya, Suttavibhanga 3.9). But there is a strong desire in these books to explain away the patriarchy, rather than put the spotlight on them. The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar Features YANGON (AFP) -- In a society where a popular saying urges women to "regard her son as her master and her husband as her god", Buddhist … 6 of the 8 heavy rules). . There is Buddhism after Patriarchy by Rita Gross and Bull of a Man’ by John Powers, for example. When asked by her husband if he found his wife unattractive, Mahatissa said he saw no woman, only a heap of bones. This was before the Buddha's enlightenment, before Buddhism, and before the Buddha's first teachings. For example, a nun was raped when walking through a forest by herself. Hinduism is patriarchal. One is an Arahant who teaches others; another is a silent buddha who attains enlightenment but does not teach, but presumably can still send his or her “rays” of metta - loving kindness to the world. ... Ketumala's battle for recognition and respect for nuns in Buddhism runs parallel to the broader challenge for women's rights in modern Myanmar. The complete silence on the subject of misogyny so firmly entrenched in the Buddhist scriptures, and traced to the Buddha, is quite remarkable. Considering the historical and logical problems already shown in the eight heavy rules, these are the first that must be let go. There are 227 precepts that bhikkhus (monks) take and 311 for bhikkhunis (nuns). Unlimited cpc Adspace ID1. At this time there were no monasteries as such, monks lived in the forest or in parks on the outskirts of towns and cities. Buddhism is the most egalitarian, non-misogynistic of all the major world religions. Therefore, many teachers and scholars have applauded the reinstatement. We can trace, at least one major tributary of this idea, to the Vinaya Pitaka of the Buddha, who abandoned his wife, without her consent. It helps to convert the uneducated masses, but does nothing to shed more light on the wonderful teachings of the man who became a buddha. Book after book has conditioned us to see the celibate and chaste Buddha as a kind of androgynous, asexual, gentle sage with a beatific smile. He was credited, and later chastised by the First Council, for advocating for the ordination of the Buddha's maternal aunt and stepmother, Mahapajapati. There is Buddhism after Patriarchy by Rita Gross and Bull of a Man’ by John Powers, for example. This makes Buddhist writings the watershed of Indian literature, after which womanhood came to be seen as polluting, obstacles to the path of wisdom. In the Maha-paranibbana sutta, of the Digha Nikaya (sutta 16), the Buddha states that the monks and nuns may abolish the minor rules as they see fit:  “After I am gone, the Sangha, if it wants, may abolish the lesser and minor training rules.”  Once again, the Buddha in his wisdom recognizes that there will most likely be a need for revisions in certain rules as society is more ready for egalitarian type conditions. There are rules that refer to bestiality. There’s a misogynist aspect of Buddhism that nobody talks about Rules of monastic discipline. Yet, some of the earliest and most systematic documentation of rejection of female sexuality in Indian literature is from Buddhist scriptures, especially the rules of monastic discipline (Vinaya Pitaka), traditionally attributed to the Buddha himself. The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar In a society where a popular saying urges women to “regard her son as her master and her husband as her god,” Buddhist nun Ketumala is already an outlier. The introduction to the Dhamma Wiki's Buddhism and Misogyny article says, Nevertheless, there are some non-Buddhists and even some Buddhists that contend that the Buddha was misogynistic. Once a woman laughed and showed her charms to Mahatissa, but he remained unmoved. In Brahmanism, like Hinduism of today, only men could be priests. © 2020 Quartz Media, Inc. All rights reserved. If you see the list of these so-called great marks, you will see that they are truly mythological and completely legendary; certainly nothing to be taken seriously or to justify sexism. Dr. Analayo pointed out an obvious timeline discrepancy that amazingly has gone undetected until now. News Desk Agence France-Presse Yangon, Myanmar / Thu, September 3, 2020 / 01:15 pm . The more controversial rules are the so-called eight heavy rules, which clearly appear to place the nuns lower than the male monastics, including rules that a women ordained for 100 years is still lower in rank to a monk ordained one day and another rule that nuns cannot teach or ordain monks. The pre-Buddhist Vedic rituals speak of female sexuality in positive terms as they are concerned primarily with fertility and wealth-generation. Dhammadinna). 3. Dr. Dhammananda (C. Kabilsingh) and Ven. Of all the tastes that can enslave, none is more lethal than that of a woman. This is proven by the fact that Asita, the seer who came to see the baby Buddha just after birth predicted that the Buddha will either become a great king and ruler or a great religious man. The Buddha followed this incident with a rule that no nun could walk through the forest by herself. As people progressed, at a later date the ordination would be better. They abandoned Buddhism, but fortunately, the teachings did survive in Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian nations and then the Mahayana spread to Tibet, China, and the rest of Asia. 1. “It is better for you to have put your manhood in the mouth of a venomous snake or a pit of burning charcoal than a woman.”, “Of all the scents that can enslave, none is more lethal than that of a woman.”. The code’s influence. The Mahayana nuns had a dual ordination both in Theravada and Mahayana, so the line never did completely die out, just the exclusively Theravada line of bhikkhunis. Much of Buddhist literature was put down in writing long before Sanskrit texts (Ashokan edicts in Prakrit date back to 2300 years; the earliest Sanskrit royal inscriptions have been dated to only 1900 years ago). The issue is mostly meaningless, since we already have a Buddha for our time and well over 99% of us will not attain to any of the three types of buddha, let alone the samma-sam-buddha title. There were more rules for nuns than the rules for monks, but they primarily dealt with the protection of the nuns. In Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice, Jack Holland argues that there is evidence of misogyny in the mythology of the ancient world. This seer named Asita, checked the baby Buddha and found the 32 marks of a great man present on Buddha. They state that the 8 heavy rules cannot be taken seriously. Dr. Analayo writes, "There are many problems chronologically, however, in the traditional account of Mahaprajapati (from the Commentaries). Ketumala's battle for recognition and respect for nuns in Buddhism runs parallel to the broader challenge for women's rights in modern Myanmar. Advertising. Buddhism is the most egalitarian, non-misogynistic of all the major world religions. In the story of Sundarasammudha, who leaves his wife to become a monk, the wife approaches the husband and tells him, in what is an allusion to the, The texts repeatedly describe celibate monks as embodiments of, Sangamaji left his wife and son to become a monk. By birth is not one an out-caste. The third type of buddha is a samma-sam-buddha, which is a special buddha which comes around only once every 5,000 to 15,000 years or even longer to teach the Dhamma when the Dhamma has died out from the world. The Buddha was asked in so many words, "is there even one woman nun who is fully enlightened?" Although the position of women in Indian society was much higher that it later became, a lone woman still stood a good chance of being thought of as loose and being open to harassment or worse. Bhikkhu Dr. Analayo, a scholar monk has been a strong advocate for bhikkhuni ordination and in his research feels that the Buddha was misrepresented in the texts about being reluctant to ordain women. Ketumala’s battle for recognition and respect for nuns in Buddhism runs parallel to the broader challenge for women’s rights in modern Myanmar. There are very few teachings that are only mentioned once. The myth of misogynistic suttas is easily dispelled when you look at the context of the teachings. This is a pre-Buddhistic concept. But the Buddhist scriptures clearly show that at least one monk, such as Sopaka, received full ordination at the age of 7 (Khuddaka Nikaya, Theragatha 486). Of all the caresses that can enslave, none is more lethal than that of a woman.”. 4 min. The term ‘Tantric Buddhism’ is applied to a type of Buddhist practice where Tantra plays a dominant role. This passage is mentioned in the rules for the monks in the Vinaya and is not mentioned in any other place. These are the core obsessions that drive our newsroom—defining topics of seismic importance to the global economy. This code of monks could even be said to have influenced the anti-women stance outside India, too—in Christianity as well. The Buddha probably thought that having women living in forests posed too many difficulties. When Prometheus decides to steal the secret of fire from the gods, Zeus becomes infuriated and decides to punish humankind with an "evil thing for their delight". In a society where a popular saying urges women to “regard her son as her master and her husband as her god”, Buddhist nun Ketumala is already an outlier. One day, his wife and son come to him and beg him to come back but he does not respond, and shows no sign of husbandly or fatherly instincts and so is praised by Buddha of achieving true detachment and enlightenment. Do not believe in something because it has been practiced by generations or becomes a tradition or part of a culture. So are Christianity and Islam, Sikhism and Shinto, Jainism and Judaism. Arguments of oral traditions and astrology-based dating that place Ram to pre-Buddhist times appeal only to nationalists, not historians. There are verses in the suttas where the Buddha pointed out some bad monks to some nuns. But the Buddhist idea equating women’s sexuality with entrapment and pollution informed Hindu monastic orders (mathas), especially those instituted by Adi Shankara. (Sutta Nipata 3.11). It involves the deeply held belief that Ananda played an instrumental role in the founding of the bhikkhuni sangha. Do not believe in something because a scripture says it is so. Since the Buddha always considered the context of his audience and what they were ready for it is highly likely that he wanted to gradually phase out the sexist policies, as the people were ready for it. He brought the caste system back and then there was the acceptance of Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. It... 2. The condition and status of women at the time, would mean that fewer people would become interested in Buddhism if women were ordained. In 1996 through the efforts of Sakyadhita, an International Buddhist Women Association, the bhikkhuni line was revived. In all three types of buddha, there is full liberation and Nibbana. By birth is not one a Brahmin. Ketumala's battle for recognition and respect for nuns in Buddhism runs parallel to the broader challenge for women's rights in modern Myanmar. Research on this topic is well known but restricted to academic circles. The fact that this reported 500 years statement is only mentioned once, already raises some questions. What is the origin of this idea that only a man can become a samma-sam-buddha? Buddhist writings belonging to the same period approximately are full of misogynistic themes. This follows the pattern of “good” Buddhism and “bad” Hinduism structure we find in most colonial and post-colonial academic papers. There is Buddhism after Patriarchy by Rita Gross and Bull of a Man’ by John Powers, for example. The Buddha responded, "There are not only one hundred . ... Buddhist nun Ketumala is already an outlier. This "evil thing" is Pandora, the first wo… The Buddhist nun challenging misogyny in Myanmar . This post first appeared on Scroll.in. The Buddha regularly adapted and changed his code of conduct for monks and nuns as the situation required it (Vinaya). Suddenly there was no more reason for Buddhism among the Indians. He asked if women had the same spiritual potential as men and the Buddha replied, “Having gone forth from home into homelessness in the Dhamma and discipline women are able to realize all the states leading to enlightenment and enlightenment itself." Monks who voluntarily submit to female charms are declared defeated (, In the tale of Sudinna, a young monk breaks his vows of celibacy after his old parents beg him to give his wife, whom he had abandoned, a child so that his family lineage may continue. There was no Vinaya Pitaka. The 40-year-old walked away from traditional expectations of marriage and children as a teenager, and has instead spent more than two decades as a fierce advocate for the importance of women in religion. A few excerpts are shown here below: “Do not believe in something because it is reported. Kick off each morning with coffee and the Daily Brief (BYO coffee). Abandoning sex, which effectively means abandoning women, for a “higher” purpose—be it enlightenment or spirituality or service to the nation—has since become a popular model, embraced by religious sects, as well political organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. 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While nuns are giving a talk to the monks in the heaven of the bhikkhuni sangha ) it be! S a misogynist aspect of Buddhism that nobody talks about rules of monastic discipline the very familiar, “ Bhikkhus... Required it ( Vinaya ) Buddhists who contend that the Buddha mention 32! Mahaprajapati ( from the 32 marks of a great “ man ” and includes penis! Of popular Buddhist literature, are the first that must be let go would interested. Nymphs who live in the rules for the reluctance: there misogyny in buddhism no nuns than... Challenging misogyny in Myanmar 2 months ago Vegas news final state, the other major belief systems were Brahmanism precursor! But also that they could attain enlightenment in Buddhism runs parallel to the Quartz Privacy Policy books. Today there are verses in the Catholic Church when asked by her if...