The Life of a Nun: Doctrinal Teaching vs. Reality
It is safe to say that just about every religion has doctrines that can help one follow their beliefs and further their devotion and understanding of a religion. Buddhism in particular has multiple doctrines that can help Buddhist learn and discover paths to enlightenment. Buddhism in general can be perceived as a religion that teaches one to live peacefully, to follow correct paths, to think about others, and to always act with kindness and compassion. The concept of living free of ignorance and reaching enlightenment is nearly outlined in Buddhist doctrinal teachings, although the path to enlightenment may differ depending on the school or type of Buddhism. These doctrines entail rituals, teachings, and philosophies to assist in the awakening of a Buddhist follower. Buddhist doctrines also give an idea of the social norms and views within the Buddhist monastic community. There are rules set for each member within the community. The dominating societal structure in a Buddhist monastic community can be viewed as gender because women seem to have more restriction than any other demographic; essentially it is easier to define the roles of a man versus a woman in society. On the other hand, when I think of my own religion, or even of things in today’s society the dominating social structure is age. You cannot drink if you are underage; you cannot drive if you are underage; you cannot vote if you are underage; and the list goes on and on. Even in my religious community age is what sets many apart due to years of experience within the religion. Nonetheless, it is clear that there is a divide in the Buddhist monastic community amongst gender.
However, there are many Buddhist doctrinal teachings that can provide one with the idea that there is gender equality and that everyone is able to reach enlightenment within the same capacity and same methods. With deep analysis of these doctrines one may see the contradictive nature within them, as I did within my duration of this course. So far in this course, I have analyzed multiple doctrines that gave the perception or false idea of gender equality in the Buddhist monastic community, as well as the ability to equally reach enlightenment. Ultimately, within this paper I will be expanding on my thesis that important doctrinal teachings lead to the false presumption of gender equality, while analyzing the life of Maechi Wabi, a Thai nun, who confirms that the life of a nun and reaching enlightenment is far from equal within the Buddhist community.
As stated in my last essay, Buddha states that women are able to become fully enlightened just as men, very similar to the Tathagata doctrine, which states everyone is capable of Buddhahood. Yet, women seem to face a larger number of challenges than men in the monastery. It is clear that women are inferior to men in Sangha, the community of usually ordained people within the Buddhist era. Mainstream Buddhism shows a clear divide amongst women and men in the Vinaya, a system of rules in the Theravada. The Vinaya is used to mimic awakening and is also for someone who follows the middle way. For men, there are two stages to becoming ordained. You can become a novice as early as the age of 5, or when you are able to scare away a crow, and then you become a monk, or Bhiksu, once you have completed all necessary rituals. Novices have to follow 10 of the standard 227 rules in the Vinaya. Buddhist Professor Rupert Gethin has stated in The Foundations of Buddhism that these 10 rules are the most important rules of the Vinaya. Bhiksus follow the pratimoksa of the Vinaya, a list of all 227 rules. However, there are four rules, the parajikas, that get you kicked out of the monastery such as having sex, killing people, stealing, and acclaiming enlightenment. Bhiksus are able to teach in the monastery and are able to reasonably reach enlightenment if capable of doing so. It does not seem the same for women in the monastery due to higher restrictions and more discipline placed upon them.
As I also alluded to in my previous essay, by the 11th century all of the nuns, at least in East Asia where the Theravada was dominant, were almost gone according to Gethin. Nuns, or Bhikkhunis, followed 311 rules, essentially the same rules and of the same importance as the rules that the novices follow. There is a clear difference in the amount of rules given to Bhikkhunis versus the Bhiksus and novices. Not only did women have to follow a substantially larger amount of rules in the Vinaya, but women also had eight additional rules called garudhammas. These eight rules were made to ensure that women remained subordinate to men. Bhikkhunis had to check in with Bhiksus, while Bhiksus were seen as superior and the watch of a nun was not necessary. Bhikkhunis also were to undergo two years of training, something that is not specifically said to be necessary for Bhiksus. Last, Bhikkhunis are not able to teach in the monastery, which can further delay their goal of enlightenment. The common oppressive roles of cook, cleaner, and caretaker as women were also placed upon Bhikkhunis in the community of ordained. With all of this evidence from text, there is a coherent view of the inferiority of women to men within the Buddhist community. This inferiority is not so much conveyed in other pivotal Buddhist doctrines.
The “Tathagatagarbha” or Tathagata doctrine, also mentioned earlier in this essay, is a very influential text in Buddhism and a teaching of the Mahayana, which theorizes there is a “Buddha Nature” or “Buddha Within” everyone; this portrays the idea that everyone has the ability to become enlightened and to become a Buddha. This doctrine is contradictory within Buddhism because this doctrine paints a picture that everyone is capable of reaching enlightenment because of “true self” or thinking within your own conscious. This goes directly against the ideas from Buddha because there is no self. This doctrine can also give one the idea that because everyone processes Buddha Nature that the male and female are equal; if everyone processes the same seed or womb this would give the illusion that everyone has the same ability to become enlightened in the same capacity. This doctrine is not alone when it comes to making men and women seem equal in the Buddhist monastic community. In fact, there are a plethora of doctrinal teachings that highlight women as protagonist, and as easily enlightened as anyone else in a Buddhist monastic community.
The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, translated by Robert Thurman, is the doctrine that originally peaked my interest in the contrast between gender equality in reality versus in doctrinal teachings. Vimalakirti has a passage titled “The Goddess”, that can lead a reader to believe that women and men are equal in Buddhist monastic societies. This is because the goddess switches bodies with Sariputra, and upon switching bodies Sariputra realizes that there is no difference between man and woman. This realization is quite evident, and if read wrong leads to the wrong interpretation of equality amongst genders. There are other doctrines such as the Manorathapurani, Theragatha, Apadanas, and more that depict women as protagonist who possess the same power as their male counterparts in society. Some of these doctrines even suggest that some women are direct disciples of the Buddha himself. Yet, these doctrines do not underline the difficulties of women in the Buddhist monastic community, which sets one up to continue to go back to the idea of equality amongst gender in regards to becoming enlightened and living in the community; these doctrines simply emphasize the similarities between the Buddhist nun and monk, not the differences. To further support the idea that important doctrinal teachings of Buddhism implement the wrong idea of gender equality I analyzed the real life of a Buddhist nun.
It is clear that the life of a nun differs in some doctrinal teachings than in reality based off of recounts from actual Buddhist nuns. In The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind, by Sid Brown, the life of Buddhist nun Maechi Wabi, maechi meaning nun in Thai, is recounted for and analyzed. In this book her trials and tribulations are discussed, and noticeable contrast amongst the life of a nun and monk can be accounted for. The book in general explores her journey into becoming a nun, or a female renouncer, and explains how she gets through each milestone. This book also goes deeper into the exploration of women and young girls in the Buddhist community; the societal roles and growth of the importance of women in this Buddhist community are highlighted. When discussing combining societal roles of a caregiver and a nun Brown states that this, “cultivates emotional openness and responsiveness in a way denied to other women who are more enmeshed in human relationships.” The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind was excellent in describing the life of Maechi Wabi, and how the practice of Buddhism, such as meditation and retreats, went into her becoming a nun. Nonetheless, what stood out the most were the cultural biases of women in Thailand, or generally in Buddhist monastic communities.
In the second chapter of The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind, Brown begins to bring the cultural biases of women to attention. Brown accesses the societal status of women in comparison to men. He is able to do this by accessing how the Thai population regards women who decide to “go forth.” Going forth can be interpreted as devoting ones life to the religion and deciding to become a nun, or simply ordained. In Maechi Wabi’s journey, the Thai society did not uphold women who decided to “go forth,” nor did they take women serious. When women decide to carry on a different position in society other than a wife or caregiver it is almost looked down upon. Brown states, “Such a woman may be unable to identify the call clearly, and those around her may decide that she has “been dealt a poor hand of cards,” but in fact she is “forming… a life in the service of a talent felt, but unrecognized and unnamed.” Maechi Wabi experienced just this, and once her role in the family declined she did as Gautama Buddha did, and left to go off and become enlightened. This book goes on to tell all of the similarities of Maechi Wabi’s journey into enlightenment compared to Gautama Buddha. The similarities between the twos journey into enlightenment consist of being unsatisfied with the life and rules of a householder, as well as a desire to become enlightened and free from samsara. These similarities practically come from the foundation of Buddhism. However, the differences are highlighted in The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind, and of course gender is the biggest contrast.
The experience of a maechi is much different than a monk simply because of the support they receive, the resources available, and the overall treatment given to them from society. Brown states that, “Significantly fewer girls and women go forth than boys and men, and of those who do, most have little if any family support for and recognition of the event.” Girls and women also face many more challenges and difficulties than men in the monastic community. They do not receive the same education as men do. Maechi Wabi received a basic education, and was forced to discontinue her education to help out with her siblings. As stated before when describing the Vinaya text, one of the few text that could be excused from falsely depicting gender equality in Buddhism, ordained or “going forth” females have a substantially larger amount of rules than men. It is also clear that Maechi Wabi was to be subordinate to men because the hierarchy of monks is something that can be viewed in The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind very clearly. This is all to say that the journey of a female becoming a nun compared to a male becoming monk is not the same, and far from being equal as it can be interpreted in doctrinal teachings.
One may counter argue the argument that doctrinal teachings lead to a false presumption of gender equality due to the fact that Buddhism is supposed to offer an escape and release for everyone, not just one gender. Buddhism is not supposed to discriminate against a person based off of their socioeconomic placement, their age, their background, or their gender. This is not to say that Buddhism does not have sexism, because with proper research it is clear that sexism is around. Nonetheless, society can be to blame for the blatant sexism that goes into Buddhism and women who decide to dedicate their lives to the religion and freeing themselves from samsara. Yet, I remain that The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind is a critical text that depicts and shows the doctrinal belief versus lived reality for nuns. Regardless if these doctrinal teachings are intentional or not, one who is learning can be led down the wrong path or journey based off of the teachings.
Overall, I think there is a clear view of how gender and the role of women in doctrinal teachings differ from the reality that is lived of women fulfilling their journey. So far in this course there has only been one doctrine or text that to me has shown the truth in how the roles and inequality of gender is in a Buddhist monastic society, and this is the Vinaya, of course a doctrine full of rules and restrictions. Every other doctrine that I have explored such as Vimalakirti, and even Lotus Sutra has in some way incorporated the women in society and led me down the wrong interpretation of how these roles really were. To support that this is a recurring situation (gender equality being falsely interpreted) I was able to research more doctrines that as well painted women in a different light than the light they are actually in in reality. In general, The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind not only confirmed that the life of a nun is much different than what is sometimes depicted in doctrinal teachings, but that the life of a nun also reveals the complexity of Buddhism and how a specific gender can go through such a different experience than her male counterpart. Maechi Wabi’s journey began for the same reasons as Gautama Buddha, which was because she was unhappy and felt the desire to become free from samsara. Yet, because of gender alone her experience was much more difficult, and this in many ways can account for the amount of time taken for her to become ordained. The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind makes sure to include different women even from different socioeconomic backgrounds to prove to readers that this inequality and inferiority of women in Buddhist monastic communities is real. I hope that one day everyone in Buddhist monastic cultures are treated the same, and with the same amount of dignity when going forth. It is the 21st century, and it is time to get over gender roles, and common ignorant societal views and norms of a person based off of their gender. Altogether, this essay shows that there is a vast difference between doctrinal teachings and reality of genders in Buddhist monastic communities.