women

Question 1

reason why women should be able to attain enlightenment

Answer 1

• Batchelor argues that theoretically gender is irrelevant and it is your awareness that matters
• the buddha has taught to both men and women so it should be possible

Question 2

why women shouldn’t be able to achieve enlightenment

Answer 2

• female bodies are seen as inferior due to bad karma, however, there is no authority behind this claim
• the social implications limit the woman being able to reach enlightenment

Question 3

ideas of theravadin schools on enlightenment

Answer 3

they see being born as a woman is bad karma lacking spiritual advancement, therefore, men are only seen as having moral perfection.
some accounts even say the buddha was never reborn as a woman

Question 4

Mahayana schools on enlightenment

Answer 4

misogyny is attached to the historical buddha which Mahayana Buddhism tries to avoid, further there are many female role models such as the daughter of ugra

Question 5

summary of Dragon Kings daughter

Answer 5

• at 8 she has not swerved from enlightenment and had kept all the buddhas teachings. she was seen as deemed fit to arrive in nirvana
• bodhisattva said that it took the Buddha eons so it seems unlikely.
  she went on to turn into a man manifesting herself as a bodhisattva and sad at a foot of a tree and got enlightened

Question 6

implications of the story of the dragon kings daughter

Answer 6

• proves woman can get enlightened
• the fact she turned into a man may show you must be a man to be enlightened
• may be a form of upaya so the bodhisattva could understand and she was already enlightened.

Question 7

reason for women to be seen as inferior

Answer 7

lust is a sensual pleasure and rejected by Buddhists, women are someone demonised for being seen as objects of sensual pleasure.
however, Anatta shows that there is no self so its useless to hold power of woman

Question 8

what does Gross argue

Answer 8

that men have a lack of awareness due to their privilege. he argued that for letting of one must be aware of their gender. this is difficult for men as there has never been injustice or attention brought to their gender.

Question 9

what is the quality in Sri Lanka

Answer 9

went from 40% to 80%

Question 10

equality in Korea

Answer 10

98% equality, due to oppression monks were limited and so share the same experience as nuns

Question 11

context of female ordination

Answer 11

Barnes argues that women must follow rules set up such as greeting monks with respect as a way for monks to control nuns, this could reflect the fact that the buddha believed that sangha would be damaged by woman so set uo rules to maintain order

Question 12

origins of ordination

Answer 12

initially the Buddha was reluctant to ordain woman, women reqire a man to argue on their behalf

Question 13

controversies of female ordination

Answer 13

• Nhat thought the rules were intended to be temporary
• in some sutras the buddha vowed to carry on living to the sangha was mixed
  this raises questions of interpretation

Question 14

ordination in Theravadin schools

Answer 14

• both bhikhunis and Bhikhus must be present as the ordination of a new Bhikhuni. they feel they cannot change this rule as they do not have the authority over the Buddha
• this has caused issues as during the oppression only few Bhikhunis were left so difficult to ordain women

Question 15

what orginasation is for buddhist women

Answer 15

sakyadhita

Question 16

what do sakyadhita do?

Answer 16

has over 2000 members and holds conferences pressing issues faced by women. they encourage female role models and helps buddhism stay relevant in the modern world