Although the Buddha declared
that women could become enlightened and a number of his female,
ordained disciples (bhikkhuni) did attain nibbana
in this life, the popular tradition contains a number of
teachings which speak of the inferior status of women. As with
the teaching of karma, this highlights the tension between
Buddhism as a civlizational force transcending parochial norms
through a universal ethical message and Buddhism as a cultural
force supporting the creation of regional, national and local
identities through adapting itself to local conditions. One discourse
of the Buddha which mentions five peculiar sufferings which women
experience and men do not (S.iv.239) has been interpreted as a
sign of women's inferior birth. Indeed, it is popularly understood
throughout the Buddhist tradition that women must be reborn as
men before gaining enlightenment. In the early Buddhist tradition,
this is supported by Jataka tales of the Buddha's previous
incarnations in which he is almost never shown as a female (Gross,
1993, 43). The Jataka legends, which stand apart from the
Buddha's actual discourses, are quite popular as methods for teaching
morality, especially in the Theravada tradition. Also conspicuous
in the Theravada tradition is the teaching that mothers gain the
highest form of merit by having their sons ordain as monks. Some
critics, however, feel this teaching devalues the worth of daughters
and encourages gender discrimination and violence from the beginning
of a woman's life. This teaching also highlights the fact that
women have not been able to gain full ordination in the Theravada
tradition. In the Mahayana tradition as well, gender bias exists,
such as the numerous sutras which indicate that women must be
reborn as men first (Yifa, 2001). The idea that a woman cannot
fulfill any of the previous five incarnations of a Buddha which
are male in form and must suffer the three kinds of subordinations
to son, husband and father in daily life is an especially popular
justification for women's inferiority in East Asia (Gross, 1993,
42). Almost all of these justifications are based on the idea
of rebirth, a belief in Buddhism which is always uncertain due
to the fundamental principle of not-self (anatta).
The fundamental consequence of these teachings and images is that many Buddhist women maintain poor self images and inferiority complexes toward not only their spiritual capabilities but also their worth in daily society. The International Women's Partnership (IWP) has been confronting this issue through running training workshops across Southeast and South Asia in women's leadership, empowerment and non-violence. Its director, Ouyporn Khuankaew, has noted that, "In every Buddhist group we work with, be they monks, nuns, village women leaders, non governmental or governmental workers, upper class women or refugee women, domestic violence is viewed as a private affair" (Khuankaew, 2003, 2). She notes that if a woman seeks out a monk for advice concerning her husbands beatings, she will usually be told that this violence is caused by karma and that "she cannot do much except be patient and kind to her husband so that one day the karmic force will cease and everything will be fine" (Khuankaew, 2003, 3). In this way, women are dissuaded from ever leaving abusive husbands. Khuankaew speaks of this situation as a kind of "structural karma" in that prevailing attitudes about women, their power and their worth build a structure (or more appropriately a culture) into which both women and men are inculcated. This means that not only must individuals struggle with their own personal problems and behavior (individual karma) but they are deeply affected by larger social ones, which in this case further exacerbate personal karma (Khuankaew, 2003, 3).
Khuankaew sees a number of steps that can be followed in solving the problems of patriarchy and gender violence in Buddhist communities. The first is to break the silence concerning gender violence by creating meetings and workshops where women are given the opportunity to share their stories. In this process, it is important to find male allies willing to take part in such meetings so that the issue does not remain confined to a "woman's problem" but is seen in larger terms as also a man's problem and more fundamentally a human problem. In IWP's workshops, misconceptions about the teaching of karma are addressed through leading participants into an examination of structural violence and the multifarious causes which lead to patriarchal oppression and gender violence. Khuankaew notes:
Particularly for women, a structural analysis helps to explain that the suffering women face is not a product of individual karma (action) or misfortune. Recognizing suffering as a result of societal structures empowers women to see the possibility to end it because it is not their fault. They are able to move beyond blaming themselves to identifying violence, understanding root causes, looking for solutions, then working for change (IWP, 2003).
Khuankaew's comments clearly show an understanding of karma which encourages investigation of causes and effects, rather than assigning blame, as well as intentional action to overcome suffering. IWP's work is also significant because it seeks to engage in these issues "nonviolently with assertiveness". The work is not seen as antagonistic in which women must take the power of men. Rather it seeks to define a unique style of feminine leadership which involves "power sharing, seeing community power as collective. This involves trust building, and collective leadership and decision making" (IWP, 2003). Finally, it is significant that these workshops are also being conducted for ethnic minority communities in Burma, such as in Shan State, where, as we can see in the article in this issue, debilitating understandings of karma also exist.
Another major strategy
proposed by Khuankaew to address these problems is to confront
the existing values which continue to be propagated through Buddhist
society. Reform and re-education of the monastic institution is
obviously a key concern and an issue that Phra Phaisan Visalo
(see his article in this issue) actively works on in Thailand.
At the same time, a new generation of educated lay leaders committed
to practice need to be developed. Such lay leaders can serve as
an important resource to lay followers who have personal problems
that fall outside the experience of celibate monastics. In this
way, an ongoing process of rediscovering and recreating Buddhist
values which support gender equality and speak against domestic
violence has begun with numerous new books by Buddhist women,
such as Rita Gross' groundbreaking Buddhism After Patriarchy
(Gross, 1993). There is not enough space here to list all the
textual and traditional resources which do support gender equality.
However, one striking set of words by the bhikkhuni Soma reminds
us of the prison of identity, especially gender identity: "One
to whom it might occur 'I'm a woman' or 'I'm a man' or 'I'm anything
at all' -- Is fit for Mara to address" (S.i.129).