Buddhist Women Across Cultures (S U N Y Series in Feminist Philosophy)

348 Pages·1999·1.24 MB·English

by  Karma Lekshe Tsomo

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Buddhist Women Across Cultures

title: Buddhist Women Across Cultures : Realizations SUNY
Series, Feminist Philosophy
author: Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Bhiksuni
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0791441385
print isbn13: 9780791441381
ebook isbn13: 9780585066882
language: English
subject Women in Buddhism, Woman (Buddhism) , Buddhist
women, Feminism--Religious aspects--Buddhism.
publication date: 1999
lcc: BQ4570.W6K34 1999eb
ddc: 294.3/082
subject: Women in Buddhism, Woman (Buddhism) , Buddhist
women, Feminism--Religious aspects--Buddhism.
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SUNY series, Feminist Philosophy
Jeffner Allen, editor

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Buddhist Women Across Cultures
Realizations
edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo
State University of New York Press

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Published by
State University of New York Press
© 1999 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part
of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including
electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Production by Marilyn P. Semerad
Marketing by Dana E. Yanulavich
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Bhiksuni *, 1944-
Buddhist women across cultures : realizations / Karma Lekshe
Tsomo.
p. cm.(SUNY series, feminist philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-4137-7 (hardcover : alk. paper).ISBN 0-7914-4138-5
1. Women in Buddhism. 2. Woman (Buddhism) 3. Buddhist women.
4. FeminismReligious aspectsBuddhism. I. Title. II. Series.
BQ4570.W6K34 1999
294.3'082dc21 98-34325
CIP

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CONTENTS
Preface vii
Mahaprajapati's * Legacy: The Buddhist Women's Movement: An Introduction
Karma Lekshe Tsomo 1
Part I: Buddhist Women in Asian Traditions
South Asian Traditions
49
1. The Female in Buddhism
Elizabeth J. Harris
67
2. Buddhist Women in India and Precolonial Sri Lanka
Lorna Dewaraja
79
3. Restoring the Order of Nuns to the Theravadin* Tradition
Senarat Wijayasundara
East Asian Traditions
91
4. The Red Cord Untied: Buddhist Nuns in Eighteenth-Century China
Beata Grant
105
5. Japanese Buddhist Nuns: Innovators for the Sake of Tradition
Paula K. R. Arai
123
6. Can Women Achieve Enlightenment? A Critique of Sexual Transformation for
Enlightenment
Hae-ju Sunim (Ho-Ryeon Jeon)
The Tibetan Tradition
145
7. Tibetan Buddhist Women Practitioners, Past and Present: A Garland to Delight
Those Wishing Inspiration
Janice D. Willis

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159
8. Pregnancy and Childbirth in Tibetan Culture
Sarah Pinto
169
9. Change in Consciousness: Women's Religious Identity in Himalayan Buddhist
Cultures
Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Part II: Contemporary Buddhist Women
Forging Identity
195
10. Conception and the Entry of Consciousness: When Does a Life Begin?
Cait Collins
205
11. East, West, Women, and Self
Anne C. Klein
221
12. Appropriate Treasure? Reflections on Women, Buddhism, and Cross-Cultural
Exchange
Sara Shneiderman
Shaping New Traditions: Unity and Diversity
241
13. Comparing Buddhist and Christian Women's Experiences
Karma Lekshe Tsomo
259
14. Aung San Suu Kyi: A Woman of Conscience in Burma
Theja Gunawardhana
267
15. A Model for Laywomen in Buddhism: The Western Buddhist Order
Dharmacharini Sanghadevi
277
16. Feminism, Lay Buddhism, and the Future of Buddhism
Rita M. Gross
Epilogue
Karma Lekshe Tsomo 291
Bibliography 299
List of Contributors 307
Index 311
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Page vii
PREFACE
The creation of this book has spanned many years and represents the dedication of hundreds of women, and
men, from many cultures. The initial impetus grew from a dream spun by Ayya Khema, Chatsumarn
Kabilsingh, and myself, in 1986. Over the years the dream has become tangible through the efforts of the
women who worked to inspire and organize the Sakyadhita conferences throughout Asia, particularly Bhiksuni
* Ayya Khema; Chatsumarn Kabilsingh of Sakyadhita Thailand; Ranjani de Silva and Bhiksuni Kusuma
Devendra of Sakyadhita Sri Lanka; Wendy Barzetovic of Sakyadhita U.K.; Rani Sarla Chhewang, Eshey
Angmo, and Tashi Yangskit of Sakyadhita Ladakh; and Ok-sun An, Margaret Coberly, Karla Kral, and
Bhiksuni Tian Chang (Meihuang Lee) of Sakyadhita Hawai'i.
For their valuable editorial suggestions while compiling this diverse collection of ideas, I am deeply grateful to
Donna Marie Anderson, Nancy Branch, Margaret Coberly, Donnë Florence, Ephrosine Danggelis, Rebecca
French (for literally cutting and pasting my introduction onto twenty-six sheets of paper on the floor), Ramdas
Lamb (my computer guru, for tirelessly illuminating the mysteries of technology), my daughter, Emily Mariko,
Patricia Masters, Sramanerika* Nyuyet Thanh Minh (Lorena Cassady), Nikko Odiseos, Sharon Rowe,
Sramanerika Damcho Thinley (Jackie Minari, for also cheerfully retyping the Sakyadhita mailing list in
Bodhgaya), and Alison Williams. For administrative assistance far beyond the call of duty, I sincerely thank
Betty Chinn, Sandy Ozaki, June Sakaba, Hanna Santos, and Anna Tanaka of the East-West Center in Honolulu.
For their research on Vinaya and the vital issue of full ordination for Buddhist women, I appreciate the
pioneering scholarship of Kusuma Devendra, Friedgard Lotermoser, Geshe Thubten Ngawang, and Bhiksuni
Jampa Tsedroen. For being crucial catalysts for ideas and inspiration, I am indebted to many spiritual sisters,
including Bhiksuni Thubten Chodron, Sierra Crawford, Bhiksuni Sungak, Emila Heller, Gabriele Küstermann,
Bhiksuni Tenzin Palmo, and Yvonne Vaucher, without whose kindhearted support and encouragement, I would
have been tempted to go meditate in a cave.

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An earlier edition of Elizabeth Harris' article appeared in Aloysius Pieris, S.J., "Special Issue on Woman and
Man in Buddhism and Christianity," Dialogue new series, 19-20 (Colombo: The Ecumenical Institute for Study
and Dialogue, 1992-93). I gratefully acknowledge the Institute's kind cooperation.
KARMA LEKSHE TSOMO

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Page 1
MAHAPRAJAPATA'S * LEGACY: THE BUDDHIST WOMEN'S MOVEMENT AN INTRODUCTION
Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Buddhist women first began networking globally in 1987, providing a forum for the special meeting of
Buddhist and feminist ideas. In that year, along with Ven. Ayya Khema, Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, and
others, I organized the first International Conference on Buddhist Nuns in Bodhgaya, India, the first Buddhist
conference ever to address the problems faced by Buddhist women1 The inaugural address by H. H. Dalai
Lama, which emphasized the equal spiritual potential of women and men, was attended by over fifteen hundred
people. Women from twenty-seven countriesand also a few monks and laymengathered to discuss the
potentialities and actual conditions of women in Buddhist countries. For one week, issues such as education for
Buddhist women, the role of Buddhist women in social welfare, living by the Vinaya (monastic codes) in the
present day, creating opportunities for full ordination for women, livelihood for Sangha* (the monastic
community), and living as a nun in the West were discussed. Participants sought to understand not only how
Buddhist societies have traditionally viewed women and how Buddhist women view themselves, but also what
role women have traditionally played in the secular and religious life of Buddhist societies, and how that role
might be expanded or changed. The articles presented here, first enthusiastically shared in oral form at these
conferences, grew out of the research and experiences of women who are both scholars and practitioners of
Buddhism. The book's methodology is to document Buddhist women's actual involvement, including their self-
reflection, interactions, and interpretations of the tradition. The book is therefore itself part of the ongoing
process of women transforming, and being transformed by, the tradition.
At the conclusion of this gathering, an International Association of Buddhist Women called Sakyadhita,
"Daughters of the Buddha," was

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