Position of women in Buddhism

At the time of the Buddha 

In ancient India the position of women does not appear to have been a very happy one. Generally women seem to have been looked upon as being inferior to men. And, at times they were considered as being on the same level as the Sudras, the lowest of the four castes. Their freedom was extremely limited. The general view appears to be that they had to be under the care of parents in their childhood, under the protection of husbands in their youth; and in their old age they had to be under the control of their sons. Therefore, it was thought that they do not deserve any freedom. Their main role was considered to be that of housewives, managing the affairs in the house according to the wishes of their husbands.

Even as a wife the life of a woman was often miserable. This was specially so when she had the misfortune of being a co-wife. Jealousies and conflicts between co-wives were a common feature in ancient Indian society. The widow's plight was still worse. Normally, a widow was not allowed to remarry. It is said that a widow had to kill herself by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband.

Women did not have educational freedom. Education was not considered as being of any importance to women. Their religious freedom, too, was restricted. As they had only little freedom, their chances of performing meritorious religious rites, too, were very limited.

Generally a woman was considered a burden on the family because the males had to bear the responsibility of looking after her. Besides, she was incapable of performing religious rites for the well-being of the departed parents, and therefore, she was considered as being of little use. This is why the birth of a female child was considered as a sign of misfortune in a family. Parents prayed for the birth of sons, both to carry on the family name and traditions and also to perform the necessary religious rites for their benefit when they are dead and gone. How miserable the father felt at the birth of a daughter is seen from the event connected with King Pasenadi of Kosala. When this King was informed that his queen gave birth to a daughter he came to the Buddha and lamented. The Buddha had to pacify him saying that good daughters are as good as good sons.

 

Buddhism does not consider women as being inferior to men. Buddhism, while accepting the biological and physical differences between the two sexes, does consider men and women to be equally useful to the society. The Buddha emphasises the fruitful role the women can play and should play as a wife, a good mother in making the family life a success. In the family both husbands and wives are expected to share equal responsibility and discharge their duties with equal dedication. The husband is admonished to consider the wife a friend, a companion, a partner. In family affairs the wife was expected to be a substitute for the husband when the husband happened to be indisposed. In fact, a wife was expected even to acquaint herself with the trade, business or industries in which the husband engaged, so that she would be in a position to manage his affairs in his absence. This shows that in the Buddhist society the wife occupied an equal position with the husband.

The Buddha's advice to the King Pasenadi of Kosala, who was a close devotee of his, clearly shows that Buddhism does not consider the birth of a daughter as a cause for worry and despair.

Buddhism does not restrict either the educational opportunities of women or their religious freedom. The Buddha unhesitatingly accepted that women are capable of realizing the Truth, just as men are. This is why he permitted the admission of women into the Order, though he was not in favour of it at the beginning because he thought their admission would create problems in the Sasana. Once women proved their capability of managing their affairs in the Order, the Buddha recognised their abilities and talents, and gave them responsible positions in the Bhikkhuni Sangha. The Buddhist texts record of eminent saintly Bhikkhunis, who were very learned and who were experts in preaching the Dhamma. Dhammadinna was one such Bhikkhuni, Khema and Uppalavanna are two others.

The Theri-gatha contains numerous stanzas that clearly express the feelings of joy experienced by saintly bhikkhunis at their ability to enter the Order and realize the Truth.

World Buddhist affirm the equality of woman

An Unprecedented Ordination Ceremony

February 15th, 1998 marks the first time in history that Buddhists representing diverse traditions and schools from around the world will join together for a truly international and ecumenical ordination. This ceremony, which will take place in Bodh Gaya, India, is especially significant because it is a joint effort by Buddhist leaders to re-establish the order of nuns in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and India, where no women have been ordained as nuns for over eight centuries.

For nine days, 140 novice monastics representing 23 countries and five continents will congregate near a descendent of the Bodhi Tree under which Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, attained enlightenment some 2500 years ago. In order to provide instruction to this polyglot assembly, the text of the Vinaya (Buddhist monastic precepts) will be provided in five languages: Chinese, English, French, Nepalese, and Sinhalese. The renunciation ceremony, organized by Master Hsing Yun and his Taiwan-based Fokuangshan Buddhist Order, has marshalled the cooperative efforts of Buddhist leaders worldwide, including the Dalai Lama, Maha Ghosananda Maha Thera (Sangha Raja of Cambodia), Thich Nhat Hanh (Abbot of Plum Village, France), Venerable Dr. M. Wipulasara Maha Thera (President of the Maha Bodhi Society of India), and Ven. P. Somalankara Nayake Thera (Chief Secretary of the Sarvodaya Bhikkhu Congress, Sri Lanka).

 

The legitimacy of ordaining women as bhikkhuni (nuns) has become a major topic of discussion within the Buddhist community. All Buddhists agree that the Buddha created an order of bhikkhuni after his foster mother, Prajapati Gotami, demonstrated a deep commitment to becoming his disciple. Buddhists disagree, however, about whether there can be such an order today. Sila, the laws of Buddhist discipline, stipulate that the ordination of women to become bhikkhuni requires the presence of both ordained monks (bhikkhu) and nuns. Since the 11th century, however, when the bhikkhuni order died out in India and Sri Lanka, conservatives have stymied any attempts to revive it in those countries by citing the lack of qualified nuns to legitimise the proceedings. Similarly, in Thailand and Tibet, where there have never been an order of nuns, efforts to institute such an order have faced difficulty for the same reason. Fortunately, in East Asian countries bhikkhuni orders have continued down to today.

To solve the ordination problem, the upcoming ceremony in Bodh Gaya will be officiated by both Buddhist monks from around the world and by 15 Buddhist nuns who received their ordination in Taiwan. This idea of bringing together bhikkhu and bhikkhuni from a diverse range of Buddhist traditions and schools gradually took shape during a series of annual international monastic seminars. At the conclusion of the fourth such conference, held in May, 1997, the participants requested Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the Fokuangshan Buddhist order, to organise a renunciation ceremony to reintroduce a bhikkhuni lineage in those countries currently lacking one. Fokuangshan was asked to spearhead this effort because it has branch temples worldwide, a large contingent of nuns, and extensive experience teaching Buddhist women from South and Southeast Asia.

The women from India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand who will be receiving ordination in February should not expect a warm welcome from all of their Buddhist brethren when they return to their respective countries. More conservative members of the Southeast Asian monastic communities may not even recognise the authenticity of their ordination. The sponsoring organisations are therefore doing all that they can to aid the nuns make a smooth transition into monastic life. Fokuangshan, for instance, is offering free education in any of its 16 monastic colleges to any of the nuns who wish to strengthen their knowledge of Buddhist practice. Efforts are also being made to provide long-term housing for those bhikkhuni who may require it. The Ladakh, India chapter of the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) has already built a nunnery and the Ananda Buddha Vihara Trust of Andra Pradesh, India is currently constructing a temple which will include a dormitory for nuns.

The re-establishment of the bhikkhuni order in Southeast Asia is a significant advancement for women’s rights in that region. The hope is that the upcoming ordination will serve as a catalyst to spur not only all Buddhists, but all people, to awaken to the truth that the Buddha himself realised under the Bodhi Tree so long ago: that all beings are inherently equal and interdependent, and may attain enlightenment through cultivating a mind of compassion, equanimity, humility, and wisdom. 

Source: buddhanet.net