Buddhism and Gender: The basics

 

Buddhism, Gender and Sexuality

·        People travel to Thailand on holiday for several reasons: cultural tourism; sex tourism (prostitution has been illegal in Thailand since 1960 but this is not widely enforced); and animal tourism. Despite an economic recession in the 1990s, the 1980s’ Economic Boom paved the way for more tourism. 32.5 million Tourists visited Thailand in 2016. In 2015, Thailand was the second most popular Asian tourist destination after China.

·        Tourism has affected Thai Buddhists as it has led to increased secularisation and globalisation; and Buddhists have been led to encounter ‘Western’ lifestyles as well as other religious and ethical values.

·        A traditional Thai view of women suggests a woman is a follower, who should take care of children and household chores only – in farming households, they are responsible for agriculture. The “senility system” suggests that women must respect men as greater. Concerning marriage, men pay a dowry to marry women, and they can have a major wife and a minor wife. Women couldn’t study in the temple; girls were educated at home regarding domesticity.

·        The law has influenced Thailand to make men and women equal: women gained the right to vote in 1932 (after a revolution that overthrew the monarchy at the time); in 1977, it became a requirement that women in the workplace have equal rights and protection to men. Sexual harassment became illegal in 1998 – however it is difficult to prosecute abuse of women, particularly domestic violence as there is a very high threshold for evidence. King Rama VI introduced equality laws for children, both male and female. The first female prime minister in Thailand (2011-2014) was Shinawat, who created campaigns and initiatives to support the role of women in societies.

·        However, gender issues that still exist today include: in the South of Thailand, women have restricted domestic roles; polygamous marriages are permissible for men only; women cannot remarry of divorce; and women still experience discrimination/sexism in the workplace.

·        The Bhikkhuni (nun) reinstatement has been a controversial topic because to be properly ordained, a nun must be ordained first by a collection of nuns and then a second time by a group of monks. This should trace back to the ordination of the first nuns by the Buddha himself. In the Theravada sect, the nun’s lineage died out around the turn of the 1st millennium and traditionalists do not believe that it can or should be revived, whereas the nun’s lineage continues in most Mahayana countries and, in places like Taiwan, nuns are a dynamic and respected presence within the Buddhist community.

·        Traditionalists view women as naturally more sinful and in a lower reborn form. The Buddha was initially resistant to the ordination of women, saying that they could not (easily) gain nirvana; this is evident in that he had to be persuaded repeatedly by Ananda (an Arhat – one of the Buddha’s most loyal monks) because he initially believed that the women’s ordination would shorten the existence of pure Buddhism to less than a thousand years.

·        Arguments that support the Theravada nun-reinstatement. Sakyadita Organisation (meaning “the daughters of the Buddha”) was founded in 1987, India (place of the Buddha’s Bodhi). It currently has over 2000 members (both male and female) in 45 countries. They hold an international conference every 2 years for laypeople and nuns to share their experiences, and to encourage projects to improve the conditions for Buddhist women. They aim to advance the spiritual and secular warfare of the world’s women. Meanwhile, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni may be considered a Buddhist modernist writer; she is an academic who joined the Monastic Sangha and was ordained in 1971 in Taiwan by Mahayana nuns. In 2003, she received full Theravada ordination in Sri Lanka and is the Abbess (female leader) of the only Thai temple that accepts Bhikkhunis. She says, “I want to carry on the heritage of the Lord Buddha.”

·        The re-ordination of nuns took place in 1996. This was done by the Mahayana nuns for a double ordination ceremony. The logic was that Mahayana nuns can also trace their ordination back to the Buddha and their line has not died out, so it is legitimate for them to ordain Theravada Buddhism. The Mahayana nuns from Taiwan can trace their lineage to the Dharmaguptaka–Vibhajjavada, which is the precursor to Theravada. Hence, many scholars and teachers have applauded the reinstatement. Today, there are more than 1,000 fully ordained Bhikkhunis internationally.

 

Is Buddhism a feminist religion?
Yes	No
·        Personal religion; does not care about gender. ·        Equal opportunities for women in the (Mahayana) Sangha. ·        Sakyadita organisation campaigns for women's equality as the right way of following the Buddha's path. ·        The dharma in ancient India empowered many women to learn religious teachings for the first time.	·        The Buddha was reluctant to ordain women, originally stating that they were incapable of attaining nirvana. ·        Women are seen to be in a lower karmic form to men as they are more overtly sexual, and being born a woman is a result of bad past karma.
Celibacy
For	Against
·        In the monastic Sangha, Peter Harvey points out that parajika actions such as intentional sexual intercourse entails immediate dismissal. ·        Sexual activity shows attachment to the world and senses. ·        There are extra parajika rules for nuns, including touching/meeting with men.	·        Laypeople can engage in sexual activity. ·        It is better to leave the Sangha if one cannot control their desires.
Marriage
For	Against
·        For the laity, marriage is a contract of partnership. ·        The Sigalovada Sutta (in the Sutta Pitaka) discusses the ethics of social relationships: husbands must show "respect, courtesy, faithfulness, handing over authority to her [in the home]," and provide her with "adornments". ·        Monks may perform a blessing for a married couple. ·        Due to social pressures, divorce is uncommon in Buddhism, but it isn't outlawed.	·        The Buddha recognised marriage as an attachment to the world, preventing nirvana. ·        Monks and nuns are not permitted to be married.
Homosexuality
For	Against
·        The traditions in Buddhism vary between different cultures and Buddhist teachers; there is no set teaching on homosexuality specifically, just generally on sexuality. ·        The Vinaya outlaws sexual acts generally.	·        Some Buddhists argue that homosexual behaviour breaks the precept of abstaining from wrongful sexual behaviour. ·        Buddhists view people to be born as homosexual but believe that they cannot attain higher meditative states. ·        Being born as a homosexual would be the result of past bad karma.
Transgenderism
For	Against
·        Textual evidence from Dhammapada, which includes a story about a man – Soreya – who changed into a woman after being entranced by a monk's beautiful complexion. ·        Transgenderism is a psychological/hormonal error caused by paticcasamuppada. ·        Transgendered people are common in Thailand; "kathoey" is used loosely for homosexuals but more for trans people.	·        One is denying the concept of karma and rebirth actually exists. ·        A desire to change one's gender may be explained through tanha (craving).