Background
Buddhism
is a well-known religion of the world. It was founded by Sidharth Gautam who
was a prince but he renowned everything to achieve the inner peace and taught
numerous of his followers who later named him Buddha: The Enlightened One.
Introduction
His
movement was ascetic in the beginning but slowly it developed as a rebellious
movement of its time. At the age of 29 Buddha left his palace to seek the right
path and got enlightenment and righteous path slowly a community was developed
first of them were sages ten ascetics and yogis and then all types of men and
women gathered around him and this community was called Sangha. This monastic
tradition of Buddhism is probably known as the oldest in the world. According
to western historians it dates back to c556-486B.C. Although the Buddhist
orders faced the brutality of rulers of its time and were almost scattered in
medieval period yet it established its roots in and out the India Mohan
Wijayratna.
Teachings for Women Rights
As
per his teachings Salvation can be attained by anyone's effort without any
difference between men and women on an equality level and this was a big
challenge to the Sant/ Hindu society of that time where women are always
considered lower in a state to achieve a higher spiritual goal. He saw the
potential of women in it and thus he agreed to found the order of nuns called Bhikkhunis of Buddha. He gave the women
position equal to man and once when he visited a king where princes were born
and he said that, she might prove nobler than any son. Buddha's favorite
disciple Ananda is frequently represented as advocating the cause of women and
it is recorded in history that he was the one who advocated women for entrance
in Sangha as Bhikkhunis and he was
the one who used to ask questions like whether women are competent enough to
achieve nirvana or not.
The
Buddha was reluctant to include women in his community that's why after his
death when Buddhism was divided into different sects they all have different
opinions in this matter and thus Theravada added women as Bhikkhuni long after Mahayana. The first nun included in Sangha was
Buddha's aunt known as Prajapati.
Though
women were entered in the community they were made to follow more strict rules
than the Bhikkhus and these eight rules were called Eight Garudhammas or eight vows. The rules included:
Ø Every
nun regardless of her seniority is junior to the youngest monk
Ø A
nun cannot spend a rainy season on a place where there is no monk
Ø Nuns
ought to ask the monks for setting the day of confession ceremony and providing
exhortations to them
Ø After
the rainy season, the nun has to inquire before the monks and the nuns' Sangha
whether any fault can be laid to her charges
Ø A
nun found guilty of serious offense has to undergo discipline before both
Sanghas
Ø A
woman who has completed the two years novitiate must ask the monks Sangha for
full initiation
Ø A
nun must never revile or abuse the monk
Ø A
nun cannot reprimand monks for violation of monastic rules and proper conduct,
but monks can reprimand nuns.
As
Buddha uses to teach and spread his wisdom verbally and not compiled a proper
book. The followers compiled them and slowly after his death based on the
literature they had they were divided in many different schools which also
evolved with time The Buddhist schools which are present now are Mahayana
Theravada Vajrayana and Zen Singh
Struggle for place by Theravada
Buddhist Women
Theravada
is considered the oldest remaining or surviving Buddhist school among them. It
is followed in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia Buddhist. It is also getting its
roots stronger in West and different parts of Asia nowadays.
Asoka
a great Emperor of India promoted Theravada Buddhism in India and his period
and after his reign it went through much evolution process. Theravada being the
most conservative sect of Buddhism already had a very little number of Bhikkhuni's and continuous wars and
changing times it almost finished in many places. After the decline of Buddhism
after Buddha the ordination of nuns in Theravada Buddhism was almost finished. In Sri Lanka about 500CE, there was
deterioration in the Sangha in Sri Lanka and the Order of Bhikkhunis ended. Sanghamita, who is believed to be the daughter of
Emperor Asoka, came to Sri Lanka. She started the first nun order in Sri Lanka
but the nun order died out around the middle of the first millennium CE. Strict
rules and a larger number of rules are also the cause of their lesser number in
Sangha as in Theravada there are 227 rules for monks and 317 for nuns. The
numbers vary from place to place and the argument which is presented for these
rules is that it is for the protection of women
Theravadist Bhikkhuni’s in
Contemporary Period
However,
the women in Theravada do face lots of rejection but with passing time more and
more entered in Sangha as Bhikkhuni’s ad has taken ten percepts
living as nuns. Many Sinhalese have been found in Sri Lanka and other Theravada
countries, such as Parappuduwa Nuns
Island in Dodanduwa. The main cause of this change was Buddhism contact
with the west and Europe in the medieval period when they colonized the large
part of Asia and impacted on every religion found here and also with the
increasing number of interaction with Mahayana Buddhism the Theravada Buddhist nun also took
initiative to become a properly ordained nun.
Theravada Buddhist women
are also striving to attain their position. There have been efforts to attempt
to introduce a Bhikkhuni lineage in
Theravada as a step towards improving the position of women.
From the 19th century on wards many new people embraced Buddhism as their religion particularly in Europe thus it elevated the awareness of the Buddhist nun situation in Society. Buddhists nowadays are concerned with the fact of women ordinations, as shows at different conferences held up in different parts of the world, for example as in International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha held at the University of Hamburg, Germany, in 2007.
There
are several movements which are emerged in modern Theravada Buddhism for women
monasteries among them are Sakhayadita International Institution of Buddhist
Women founded in 1987 after its first conference and registered in California,
the United States of America in 1988, the ordination of women in Buddhism is
and has been practiced in some Buddhist regions, such as East Asia, in Sri Lanka, and is newly beginning in some Western countries to which Buddhism has
recently spread, such as the United States. International Bhikkhuni Monastery built by a Theravadist
nun.
Several
nuns are renowned for their work in the modern era as Bhiksuni Nguyet, Bhiksuni
Nhu Thanh working in Vietnam. Chokyi Dronma in Tibet. In recent years the work
of remarkable figures such as Voramai Kabilsingh Shatsena, Karma Lekshe Tsomo, and
Ayya Khema, three pioneers of female ordination, has begun to bring about
historic change to the status of Buddhist women.
The
interaction of the West feminist approach has influenced on Buddhist
perspective of Religion concerning women especially. Now we can observe active Religious Buddhist women in politics,
playing vital roles in society there are special legislation s for them in
Theravada Buddhist Countries.
This is just a glimpse of what Theravada Buddhist women are striving
for from the beginning. I will be coming up with detailed articles on this
topic and also on rights of women in
different religions in both aspects of life i.e. religious and monastic.
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