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Unlock This CourseEarlier lessons explained equal rights, equal opportunities and gender bias, and what the law says (see Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Disability: Rights, Opportunities and Bias). Here we look at what Buddhists add.
Buddhists start from karuna (compassion) and the aim of not causing suffering to others. Treating people unfairly makes them suffer, so many Buddhists say that fairness is part of living by the Five Precepts and by Right Action. The Buddha also taught that a person's worth comes from what they do, not from the family they are born into, so the Sangha (the Buddhist community) was open to people of every background. Many Buddhists use these ideas to support equal rights and equal opportunities today.
Key terms:
Yes. The Buddha taught that women, like men, can reach enlightenment (full understanding that ends craving and suffering). In the texts he says that a woman who follows the path can reach the highest stage, that of an arahat, a person who has reached nibbana (see Nibbana and the Noble Eightfold Path). The poems of the Therigatha are said to come from women who did just that.
After the Buddha's mother died, her sister Mahapajapati brought him up. Later she asked three times to be allowed to join the Sangha. At first the Buddha said no. She cut off her hair, put on robes and walked a long way with other women. The Buddha's cousin Ananda spoke up for them, and the Buddha agreed.
The women who joined became the first bhikkhunis (fully ordained nuns, accepted as full members of the monastic Sangha). The texts say many of them reached enlightenment. Buddhists use this to show that women have exactly the same spiritual ability as men.
The Vinaya is the code of rules for the monastic Sangha. A bhikkhu (fully ordained monk) follows about 227 rules in the Theravada tradition. A bhikkhuni follows more: about 311. The texts also say the Buddha gave nuns the eight garudhammas. One example is that a nun must show respect to a monk, however new he is to the Sangha.
Buddhists give different reasons for these rules.
In the Theravada countries the unbroken line of nuns' ordination was lost centuries ago, and without it a woman could not be fully ordained. In Tibetan Buddhism a full line of nuns was never established. East Asian traditions, such as those of China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, kept their line of nuns. In the late 1990s, Sri Lankan women took full ordination again, with the help of nuns from that East Asian line. Since then women have taken full ordination in several Theravada countries. Not everyone agrees. In some countries the official monastic leaders do not recognise these nuns, and Tibetan Buddhist leaders have discussed for years whether to start a full line of nuns.
Gender bias still appears in some Buddhist communities. Nuns may get less money, food, housing and respect than monks. Women who live as nuns without full ordination often have a lower status. Some traditional teachers also taught that being reborn a woman was less fortunate than being reborn a man. Many modern Buddhists reject this as unfair. In 1987 Buddhist women held a conference at Bodh Gaya, the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, and set up Sakyadhita, the International Association of Buddhist Women, to support women in Buddhism around the world.
Buddhism teaches compassion for everyone who suffers, so Buddhists are taught to care for people who are ill or disabled. One story tells of a monk with a bad stomach illness who had been left lying in his own mess. The Buddha washed him himself and told the monks that anyone who wanted to look after the Buddha should look after the sick.
Karuna and the first precept both call for kindness, not pity or neglect, so many Buddhists support disabled people having the same chances as everyone else, such as access to buildings, education and a place in the community.
Views differ on the idea of kamma. In some Buddhist cultures people have said a disability is the result of something the person did in an earlier life. Many Buddhists say this is wrong and cruel. They remind others that not everything we feel comes from past kamma (see Kamma and Choice: Buddhist Views on Free Will), and that kamma is no reason to blame or avoid someone. Instead, it is a reason to help them. Some early monastic rules also kept people with certain illnesses from ordination, and communities today disagree about how to apply these rules.
Paper 1, Section 4 style.
(a) Identify three examples of gender bias in religious communities. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings or examples from this religion that support equal opportunities for women. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes in this religion to the ordination of women. [6 marks]
(d) "Buddhist communities treat women and men equally."
Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Women are not allowed to be leaders. (1) 2. Women get fewer chances to be ordained. (1) 3. Women's groups are given less money or support than men's groups. (1)
(b) Buddhists teach that women can reach enlightenment, (1) so women and men have the same spiritual ability. (1) The Buddha agreed to let Mahapajapati and other women become nuns, (1) which created the first community of bhikkhunis. (1)
(c) Buddhists disagree about ordaining women for several reasons. Some Buddhists follow the Vinaya very closely. (1) They say that the line of nuns was lost in their tradition, so women cannot now be fully ordained without breaking the rules. (1) Other Buddhists say the Buddha taught that women can reach enlightenment, (1) so refusing to ordain them is unfair and goes against compassion. (1) Some say the garudhammas show the culture of the Buddha's time, not a teaching for all times. (1) East Asian traditions kept their line of nuns, so Buddhists in other countries have been able to restart the line. This shows that different communities have different traditions. (1)
(d) Plan. For: the Buddha taught that women can reach enlightenment; Mahapajapati and the first nuns were accepted; the Therigatha shows women's wisdom. Against: nuns follow more rules and the garudhammas place them below monks; in some countries nuns are not recognised and receive less support; some traditional teachers called a female rebirth less fortunate. Other views: some say the rules protected women and are fair; reformers say they should change. Possible conclusion: Buddhist teaching about spiritual equality is clear, but practice in many communities is not equal, so the statement is true of the teaching but only partly true of the communities.
In a 12-mark answer, split "Buddhist teaching" from "Buddhist practice". The statement is about communities, so judge how far practice matches the teaching.