Master Yongming's work, "Buddhist Views on Women"

Author Bio: Venerable Master Yongming (Shi Yongming), from Tainan, Taiwan, graduated from the Department of Statistics at National Cheng Kung University. He was ordained under Master Hsing Yun in 1983 and earned his master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Indian Culture at Chinese Culture University in 1987. He previously served in academic affairs at Fo Guang Shan's Chinese Buddhist Research Institute and currently works as an editor at Fo Guang Shan's Buddhist Text Compilation Office and a lecturer at the Buddhist college.

Summary: Women's role in Buddhism has been understood differently in each age. Drawing on various Buddhist scriptures, this book offers an objective, comparative look at how women's status developed from early Buddhism through the Mahāyāna tradition. It shows the equality at the heart of these teachings and highlights the wisdom and compassion of Buddhist women, offering an ideal model of speech and conduct for women today.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Indian Society and Women in the Era of Buddhism's Rise

Section 1 The Socioeconomic and Political Conditions of India in the Buddha's Time

Section 2 The Status of Women in Indian Society

    I. Women's Economic Dependence

    II. The Practice of Polygamy

Section 3 The Four-Varna Distinctions and the Buddha's View of Equality

Chapter 3 The View of Women in Early Buddhism

Section 1 Images of Laywomen Appearing in Early Buddhist Scriptures

    I. Wife

    II. Daughter-in-law

    III. Mother

    IV. Woman

Section 2 Women's Ordination and the Establishment of the Bhikṣuṇī Sangha

    I. The Teaching of the Dharma's Decline by Five Hundred Years

    II. A Review of the Eight Garudhammas for Bhikṣuṇīs

Chapter 4 The View of Women in Hīnayāna Buddhism

Section 1 A Review of the Theory of the Five Obstacles for Women

Section 2 A Review of the Buddha's Thirty-Two Marks and the Theory that Women Cannot Attain Buddhahood

Chapter 5 The View of Women in Mahāyāna Buddhism

Section 1 The View of Women Attaining Buddhahood in Mahāyāna Scriptures

    I. The Teaching of Identical Buddha-nature

    II. The Theory of Transformation of Sex to Attain Buddhahood

    III. The Theory of Women Attaining Buddhahood in Their Present Body

    IV. The Theory of Foretelling Buddhahood

    V. Pure Land Thought, Original Vows, and Women

Section 2 Skillful Means and the Female Body

    I. The Appearance of the Female Body as a Means

    II. The Method of Leaving the Female Body

Section 3 Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas and Women

    I. Mañjuśrī and Women

    II. Good Spiritual Friends and Women in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra

    III. Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva's Compassionate Manifestations and Women

Section 4 Lion's Roar

    I. Women as Dharma Teachers

    II. Women's Rights as Seen Through Their Teaching of the Dharma

Section 5 Conclusion

Chapter 6 Conclusion

Section 1 An Egalitarian Buddhist View of Women

Section 2 The Current State of Buddhist Women in Taiwan, and the Recognition and Practice That Are Needed

References

List of Maps and Figures

    I. Map of Ancient India

    II. Map of India in the Buddha's Time

Chapter 1 Introduction

Today, women in advanced Western countries and in our own have long secured equal social standing; the principle of gender equality is rarely disputed, and open contempt for women’s human rights has all but vanished from public discourse. Within the Buddhist community, women’s participation has grown steadily, and women play a pivotal role in advancing the Dharma. Yet women in the Buddhist community still find themselves limited by outdated, discriminatory narratives—claims like “male supremacy, female inferiority” or “Buddhism looks down on women”—that hold them back from bringing their unique strengths to bear for the good of all. This is a profound loss for the entire Buddhist community.

The Buddha advocated dismantling the Brahmanical caste system, which enshrined and perpetuated inequality. The foundation of his teaching rests on the truth of the inherent equality of all sentient beings. If all sentient beings are equal, how could men and women be exempt from this truth? It is from this standpoint that the Buddha laid the theoretical foundation for his teaching of gender equality.

In theory, gender equality posed no challenge; in practice, however, the India of the Buddha’s day was rife with obstacles that made the immediate, full realization of his compassionate vision impossible. It’s undeniable that women in that society faced severe restrictions on their thoughts and actions, bound by the constraints and discrimination of prevailing social norms. To free women from these countless hardships, elevate their standing, and avoid fierce public backlash and attacks from heterodox groups, the Buddha adopted a gentle, gradual approach to advancing gender equality. On one hand, he taught women to awaken their self-awareness and self-reliance, to raise the overall quality and standing of women; on the other, he worked steadily to shift social mindsets, hoping that people would naturally come to a full, authentic view of gender equality through direct experience of the equal nature of all sentient beings. This is why we find many harsh criticisms of women in the Buddhist scriptures, particularly in the early (Theravada) canonical texts. This also explains why, across the vast expanse of the Buddhist canon, some passages advocate for gender equality, while others appear to disparage women.

The Buddha’s criticisms of women appear not only across many scriptures, but his sharp condemnation of what he identifies as women’s faults is also deeply profound. In addition, the Buddha initially did not allow women to ordain as nuns, and even established the Eight Respects for bhikkhunis, which many take as proof that Buddhism does not uphold gender equality and looks down on women. At the same time, both early (Theravada) scriptures and the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra state that women’s bodies carry five obstacles: first, they cannot become a wheel-turning sage king (chakravartin); second, they cannot become Śakra, lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three; third, they cannot become Māra; fourth, they cannot become Brahmā, lord of the Brahma Heaven; fifth, they cannot attain Buddhahood. Some have used this to claim that women cannot attain Buddhahood, and concluded that “Buddhism is not in fact an advocate of women’s rights” ①. In reality, these judgments all stem from a failure to grasp the true essence of Buddhism and the authentic spirit of the Dharma.

While there is indeed a tendency to favor men over women in the Theravada tradition, this flaw only underscores the vital importance of the later rise of Mahayana Buddhism’s advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality. The passage in the Lotus Sutra stating that women’s bodies have five obstacles was not the ultimate, profound intent of the Lotus Sutra, which expounds the single vehicle (ekayana) doctrine; rather, it was a point raised by the Venerable Śāriputra from a Theravada standpoint. That said, full ordination is the undertaking of a great person. Since the Buddha affirmed that women, just like men, could ordain, practice, accumulate merit, develop wisdom, and be liberated from the cycle of birth and death, this makes plain that men and women are utterly equal on the path of practice, and even in the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood.

Furthermore, after the Buddha’s aunt, the bhikkhuni Mahāprajāpatī, passed away, the Buddha held up her relics and proclaimed clearly to the assembly:

These relics once belonged to a body mired in defilement, foolishness, cruelty, and fickleness, prone to jealousy, scheming, and acts that corrupt the path and destroy virtue, leading others astray into chaos. Now this mother has cast off the filth of feminine delusion, walked the path of a true man, attained the arhat path, returned to her original pure nature vaster than empty space, her conduct lofty beyond all measure—how truly admirable she is!…… ② With these words, the Buddha praised Mahāprajāpatī’s deeds as those of a true great person, and warned all bhikkhus: even ordinary men, ordained or not, are unworthy of the title “great person” if they have not done what a great person ought to do. Thus, the Dharma’s commitment to gender equality is expressed with perfect clarity in the Buddha’s teaching here.

Second, observing from the perspective of the equal, empty, and tranquil nature that the Buddha realized and attested to, we can see even more clearly the ultimate equality of men and women. Men abide in the true nature of reality as it is; women abide in it just the same. In the single, undifferentiated truth of ultimate equality, what distinction remains between men and women? What’s more, the teachings that women may transform into male bodies, receive predictions of Buddhahood, or be reborn in the Pure Land are all skillful means the Buddha revealed on the gradual path to realizing gender equality. In essence, they do not deviate from the principle of gender equality in the slightest.

The verses of the elder nuns in the early canonical texts, Queen Vasumitra’s Three Great Vows and Ten Great Commitments ③, Sudhana’s visits to female spiritual guides, Buddhism’s use of the feminine to symbolize compassion, and more—all of these abundantly demonstrate the unique strengths of women’s compassion and wisdom. Therefore, this paper will draw on these Buddhist scriptural accounts of gender equality to inspire women, enabling capable women to delve deeply into the study of Buddhist doctrine, and to spread the Dharma in their families and communities through women’s natural love, compassion, and virtue, for the benefit of all. As for men, grounded in Buddhism’s view of gender equality, they should encourage women’s Buddhist practice and ordination, complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses to collaborate in spreading the Dharma, rather than looking down on, rejecting, or suppressing women out of a patriarchal, chauvinistic mindset. Only in this way can the Buddha’s true meaning of equality be realized, and can we walk the path of a harmonious, progressive society.

This paper’s scope covers Mahayana Buddhism from the founding of Buddhism to the rise of esoteric Buddhism (roughly the 6th to 5th century BCE through 700 CE). The reason for this is that Buddhism has developed for over two thousand years since the time of the Buddha. Over this long span, as eras changed and living conditions varied, people have put forward a wide range of different interpretations of Buddhism’s view of women; it’s beyond the author’s current time, ability, and available space to cover every one in full. From the Buddha’s enlightenment and teaching of the Dharma until his parinirvāṇa, through the schism of the early Buddhist sects, the rise of Mahayana Buddhism with its vibrant, creative flourishing, the emergence of later Mahayana esoteric Buddhism, and up to the demise of Buddhism in India, …… amid these many rises and falls, the author believes the period from the founding of Buddhism in India to the rise of esoteric Buddhism best represents the Buddha’s original view of gender equality. Some may ask: does the early Buddhist period not offer a more direct window into the original face of the teaching? Unfortunately, surviving materials from this era are extremely limited, making a complete exposition impossible. Thus, it’s necessary to rely on the teachings of the Mahayana period, which developed and carried forward the Buddha’s thought and the spirit of the Dharma, to explain and support this thesis. For this reason, the author has chosen the period from the founding of Buddhism to the rise of esoteric Buddhism in India as the scope of this research, to explore Buddhism’s view of women.

This paper draws primarily on primary sources, with the research of previous scholars serving as key reference material. Primary sources are drawn mainly from the Newly Revised Taisho Tripitaka and the Pali Canon (Southern Tripitaka); other resources such as the Taisho Tripitaka Index and the Japanese National Translation of the Entire Tripitaka are also used as reference. Most of the modern scholarly works referenced are by Chinese and Japanese academics, including Masters Yinshun, Hsing Yun, and Yanpei, as well as scholars Gu Zhengmei, Kimura Taiken, Kumoi Shōzen, Hirakawa Akira, Nakamura Hajime, Iwamoto Hiroshi, Kagawa Takao, Tatsumura Ryuhei, Shimizu Mizuki, and others. Gu Zhengmei published The Mahayana Buddhist View of Women in English, earning a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin for this work; other Japanese scholars such as Iwamoto Hiroshi, Kagawa Takao, Tatsumura Ryuhei, and Kasuga Reichi have also published works or related research on the Buddhist view of women. Most of these works offer general overviews of the five obstacles doctrine, the teaching of sex transformation, and related topics, occasionally touching on the issue of the eight respects for bhikkhunis, but do not explore these issues in depth. Masters Yinshun and Hsing Yun have both given lectures on the Buddhist view of gender equality and the Buddhist view of women, teaching the Dharma at home and abroad respectively, and directly illuminate the World Honored One’s original intent, offering great inspiration to younger generations. The author intends to follow this path, drawing on her own experience as a bhikkhuni in the Sangha, to synthesize and explore the portrayals of women in the scriptures and the research of previous scholars, with the hope of providing a clear, incisive exposition of Buddhism’s view of women.

In terms of research methodology, this paper will primarily analyze the various views and discourses on women recorded in the scriptures, and compare them with the Buddha’s teachings on equality and his pedagogical methods, hoping to use this analytical and comparative approach to objectively investigate and elucidate Buddhism’s view of women. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, this paper is divided into four chapters, which follow the development of Buddhism to expound on the core arguments of each stage, from the early Buddhist period, through Theravada, to Mahayana. The arguments presented across the chapters are interconnected and woven together, rather than scattered, disconnected points. The main focus of each chapter is as follows:

Chapter 2: Indian Society and Women at the Time of Buddhism’s Founding – Using the low status of women in India and the unequal four-varna caste system as context, this chapter explains the Buddha’s view of the equality of all sentient beings, to lay the foundational thought of gender equality in Buddhism.

Chapter 3: The View of Women in Early Buddhism – This chapter examines four images of women that appear in the early canonical texts: mothers, wives, daughters-in-law, and women in general, to explain the Buddha’s gentle, nuanced guidance and wise warnings for women, as well as the establishment of ideal role models for laywomen in Buddhism, and to demonstrate the equality of men and women in daily ethical life. Second, it discusses the ordination of women and the founding of the bhikkhuni Sangha, to illustrate the equality of men and women as vessels of the Dharma path.

Chapter 4: The View of Women in Theravada Buddhism – The core focus of this chapter is to examine ideas such as the five obstacles doctrine for women, the doctrine of the Buddha’s thirty-two major marks, and the claim that women cannot attain Buddhahood, to clarify the Buddha’s true meaning of equality.

Chapter 5: The View of Women in Mahayana Buddhism – Drawing on the view of women attaining Buddhahood that appears in Mahayana scriptures, the teaching of women giving the lion’s roar, and the relationship between Mahayana bodhisattvas and women, this chapter demonstrates the advocacy and development of women’s rights, and the unique wisdom and compassion qualities of women.

Finally, in addition to synthesizing and explaining that Buddhism’s view of women is one of gender equality, and that Buddhism is an advocate of women’s rights, the conclusion of this paper will briefly outline the current situation of women’s participation in Buddhism in our country and the roles they play, to establish a view of Buddhist women for modern society, as a reference for the thoughts and actions of modern bhikkhunis and laywomen alike.

Notes: ① Arguing that women cannot attain Buddhahood based on the five obstacles doctrine in Buddhist scriptures is a common position among general Theravada practitioners. Dr. Hiroshi Iwamoto of Japan also used this to conclude that Buddhism is not a proponent of women’s rights. (Kagawa Takao, Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyū: Bukkyō no Juseikan [Studies in Indology and Buddhist Studies: The Buddhist View of Women], Japan Indology and Buddhist Studies Association, March 1975, Vol. 23, No. 2, p. 45) ② The Sutra of the Buddha’s Mother’s Parinirvāṇa (Taisho Tripitaka, Vol. 2, p. 870, middle column). ③ Three Great Vows: (1) With this genuine vow, I comfort all sentient beings; with these roots of good, I attain the wisdom of the true Dharma. (2) Having attained the wisdom of the true Dharma, I teach the Dharma to all sentient beings with a tireless mind. (3) For the sake of upholding the true Dharma, I sacrifice my body, life, and wealth to protect and uphold the Dharma. Ten Great Commitments: (1) I will not harbor a mind of violating the precepts I have received. (2) I will not harbor a mind of arrogance toward all revered elders. (3) I will not harbor a mind of hatred toward all sentient beings. (4) I will not harbor a mind of jealousy toward others’ physical appearance or external possessions. (5) I will not harbor a mind of confusion or doubt toward internal or external Dharma teachings. (6) [Note: original source skips this numbering entry] (7) I will not accept and store goods for my own sake; anything I receive is solely for the purpose of maturing and aiding poor and suffering sentient beings. (8) I will not practice the four means of attraction for my own sake; with a mind free of attachment, insatiability, and hindrance, I will receive and embrace all sentient beings. (9) I will never temporarily abandon lonely, destitute, sick, and suffering sentient beings; I will certainly seek to comfort them, benefit them with right principles, and free them from all suffering. (10) I will never abandon sentient beings who commit evil and violate the precepts; I will subdue those who should be subdued, and receive and embrace those who should be received, so that the Dharma may long endure, and turn the Dharma wheel in accordance with the Buddha’s teaching. (11) [Note: original source uses repeated ⑩ numbering] I will never forget or lose the reception and upholding of the true Dharma.

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Chapter 2: Indian Society and Women at the Time of Buddhism’s Founding

Section 1: The Socioeconomic and Political Context of India at the Time of the Buddha

Long before the Aryan invasion around 2000 BCE, several ethnic groups had already settled across ancient India, each cultivating its own culture①. They formed matrilineal tribes scattered among small villages. After the Aryans arrived and conquered the indigenous peoples, a predominantly patrilineal social order took hold. Social organization moved from family to clan to tribe. The tribal leader, or king (rajan), was originally elected by the people before the role became hereditary. Tribal assemblies let residents voice their opinions, reflecting a broadly republican character. People lived mainly by herding, with farming gradually gaining importance.

Around 1000 BCE, having largely subdued the indigenous population, the Aryans pressed on with developments in agriculture, industry, and trade. By then they had migrated from the upper Indus to the fertile plains between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers (see Figure 1). The hereditary class system of ancient India gradually crystallized during this period into four categories: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), Vaishyas (farmers, merchants, and artisans), and Shudras (untouchables)②. The first three were hereditary occupational classes of the Aryans; the last consisted of non-Aryans — the conquered, untouchable class. The duties of each, as laid out in the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu), were:

Brahmins — to study the Vedas, teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices for themselves and others, give alms, and receive alms.

Kshatriyas — to protect the people, give alms, perform sacrifices, study the Vedas, and remain unattached to sensory pleasures.

Vaishyas — to raise livestock, give alms, perform sacrifices, study the Vedas, and engage in commerce, finance, and farming.

Shudras — to serve contentedly and without complaint, devoted exclusively to serving the three classes above.③

This class system grew even more entrenched through the Upanishad period (800–600 BCE). By then, Brahmins championed the supremacy of ritual sacrifice, collected sacrificial fees without restraint, and grew increasingly corrupt. Meanwhile, in emerging states like Kosala and Magadha, royal power steadily rose — kings not only managed military and political affairs but sometimes shaped intellectual and cultural life as well. The agricultural and commercial classes, too, gained prominence through their growing economic strength, and Brahmin authority began to weaken. Yet the ideological grip of the caste system remained deeply lodged in the popular mind. Some new religious and philosophical movements had already begun voicing dissatisfaction with it, but it wasn't until the Buddha appeared to propagate the Dharma — advocating the equality of all four varnas and openly critiquing this unequal social hierarchy — that the challenge became decisive.

Around 566 BCE, the Buddha was born into an era when older aristocratic and republican polities were crumbling and royal autocracy was on the rise④. Four major kingdoms — Kosala, Magadha, Avanti, and Vatsa — coexisted alongside a dozen or so smaller kingdoms and several republics (see Figure 2). Of these, Magadha and Kosala stood as the cultural centers of the emerging powers and had the closest ties to Buddhism.

By this time, Indian society had moved well beyond agriculture into a flourishing commercial and industrial age. The adoption of iron tools had dramatically expanded farming capacity and boosted productivity. Farmers could now own their own land, a sharp break from the communal holdings of the old tribal system. Crops were abundant — rice above all, but also many kinds of grain, fruit, and medicinal herbs. Produce was plentiful and life prosperous. Commerce and industry spawned numerous small cities, home to artisans such as fletchers, potters, leatherworkers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. Transportation networks reached in every direction: overland routes ran north–south, while water and land routes connected east and west. Currency circulation replaced the old barter system, signaling a genuine commercial economy. Yet in these bustling urban centers driven by economic activity, people competed fiercely for fame and profit, interpersonal conflicts multiplied, and social problems grew ever more tangled.

Most Indian states at the time had originally coalesced around emerging small cities under aristocratic or republican rule. As trade flourished, urban dwellers amassed great wealth; merchants and industrialists organized guilds and seized real economic control. Urban prosperity fueled city-building, and the great powers that used these cities as bases extended their royal authority into autocracy, gradually swallowing up neighboring smaller states.

Amid these social transformations, one notable shift was the changing shape of the caste system itself, driven by the rise of royalty and the wealthy. The older class structure blurred or broke down, and new classes emerged. Early Buddhist scriptures record six categories of class or status from this period: royalty, Brahmins, commoners, slaves, butchers (Sandala), and waste sweepers (pukkcSa). Yet even someone born a slave, if they possessed wealth — grain, gold, silver, or other treasures — could earn the respect of royalty, Brahmins, and commoners alike. Conversely, even a top-ranking Brahmin might end up as a physician, servant, tax collector, woodcutter, merchant, herdsman, butcher, hunter, or caravan guide. This offers a glimpse into how far the Brahmin class had fallen⑤.

This fluid social environment fostered free and innovative thinking — including the Buddha's call for equality across the caste system — and gave rise to new ruling classes and intellectual leadership⑥. In such an era of change, what was the social status of women? We can explore this through two key indicators: "women's lack of economic independence" and "the existence of polygamy."

# Section Two: The Status of Women in Indian Society

## I. Women's Economic Non-Independence

From ancient times, women in India were legally barred from inheriting property. The *Brisu Sutra* in the *Long Āgama* (vol. 7) records:

> In former times, in this village of Sīpayī, there lived a Brahmin, an old and revered elder of one hundred and twenty years. He had two wives: one already had a son, the other had just become pregnant. Not long after, the Brahmin died. The elder wife's son said to the younger wife, "All the treasures and wealth belong to me; you have no share." The younger wife replied, "Please wait a while. I must first give birth. If the child is a boy, he shall have a share of the wealth; if a girl, you may arrange her marriage and take the property." ⑦

From this we learn that in India at the time only men could inherit property, on the belief that women could not live independently and had to rely on male protection. Because women were economically dependent, many social problems arose. From the *Ekottara Āgama* (vol. 6):

> In former times, a man in Śrāvastī had just married a wife of matchless beauty. Before long, he fell into poverty. Seeing his straitened circumstances, the wife's parents resolved to take their daughter back and remarry her to another. The man overheard that his in-laws wished to take his wife back and remarry her to another family. He wrapped a sharp knife in his clothes and set out for his in-laws' house. At that moment his wife was spinning outside a wall. He arrived... and asked her, "Is it true your parents mean to take you back and remarry you?" She answered, "I have indeed heard this, though I wish I had not." He drew his sword, cut her down, and then drove the blade into his own belly, saying, "We shall die together." ⑧

The passage shows that an Indian woman's livelihood came from men, and that independent survival was nearly impossible. Out of this situation arose family tragedies such as the one above, as well as the prostitution problem to be discussed below.

In the sixth century BCE, twelve Brahmins together compiled the *Kāma Sūtra*, which contains a chapter devoted to courtesans, dividing them into nine types to suit men of every rank and class. ⑨ From this we can see how widespread the institution was. In the Buddha's day, courtesans were not only numerous but lived lavishly—fine robes, ornate carriages—and most came from poor families. The upper volume of the *Sutra of the Buddha's Nirvāṇa* recounts:

> The Buddha was staying in the Muni grove, where a courtesan named the Lady of Muni had five hundred courtesan disciples. Hearing in the city that the Buddha had come to the grove, she ordered her five hundred disciples to dress in fine robes, mount ornate carriages, and leave the city to visit the Buddha and pay their respects. The Buddha asked her, "If you dislike being a woman, who made you keep five hundred courtesan disciples?" She answered, "They are all poor people; I support them." ⑩

So the prosperity of Indian society and economy in the Buddha's time did not bring about an even distribution of wealth. Women's economic dependence was one reason they sank into the world of sensual pleasure, lowering their social standing.

The *Ekottara Āgama* (vol. 10) records a courtesan named Ambapālī going to the Buddha's residence and inviting him home for alms, which he silently accepted. On her way back, she met five hundred youths from Vaiśālī who asked her:

> "You are a woman; you should feel ashamed. Why are you racing your ox-cart into the city?" She replied, "Honorable sirs, please understand: I am hosting the Buddha and the sangha tomorrow, and that is why I am hurrying." The youths said, "We also wish to feed the Buddha and the sangha. Take these thousand pieces of pure gold; reserve tomorrow for us and let us provide the meal." She answered, "No, good sirs! I cannot agree." ⑾

A similar account appears in the *Zhōng Běn Qǐ Jīng* (lower volume), chap. 13, "The Chapter on the Lady of Nai," where the Lady of Nai and Avantī, with five hundred women, invited the Buddha for alms, which he accepted in silence. Certain young men of the city elders, also wishing to invite the Buddha, learned that he had already accepted Avantī's invitation. They went to her dwelling and told her:

> "The Buddha is most venerable; he has come to our land to save all. Feeding the Buddha and the sangha is properly our duty first; men are honored, women are humble; you must come after. Do not make preparations; we have come to tell you this." The woman replied, "Do not use your great power and strength to bully the weak." ⑿

Indisputably, these two scriptures make plain the low standing of women in Indian society during the Buddha's day. Yet the Buddha himself drew no distinction between male and female, noble and humble. As the text goes on:

> Avantī withdrew to her seat and said to the Buddha, "It is not because I am a lowly woman that I have received the Dharma's words." The young men said to the Buddha, "She is only a citizen of the realm; how can she be honored first?" The Buddha told them, "The Tathāgata's compassion is universal; it does not distinguish between honored and humble." ⒀

## II. The Existence of Polygamy

Among the aristocracy and wealthy households in the Buddha's time, polygamy was common. For example:

**(1)** *Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Causes and Conditions of the Daughter of Anāthapiṇḍika Attaining Liberation*:

> There were King Śuddhodana, King Dhautarāshtra, King Bimbisāra, King Amṛtodana, together with Yaśodharā, Vāṣṭrapāla, and others, accompanied by sixty thousand palace women and attendants... ⒁

**(2)** *Ekottara Āgama*, vol. 35:

> The Brahmin replied: ... Within the past three days, both my wives have died as well. ⒂

**(3)** *Long Āgama*, vol. 7, *Brisu Sutra*:

> An old Brahmin of one hundred and twenty years had two wives. ⒃

**(4)** *Sutra of the Origin of the Great Steadfast Brahmin*:

> At that time, the Brahmin minister said to the six kings, "Great King, my household already has forty wives and concubines." ⒄

What gave rise to polygamy? What did it imply for women? We may try to answer these questions from several angles.

### (1) The Collapse of the Matrilineal System and the Rise of Male Power

In ancient times, India was a matrilineal society where labor was divided as "men hunt, women farm." Gradually, with changes in living conditions, men, drawing on their physical strength, displaced women, and the society shifted to the patrilineal. ⒅ As male authority grew, women in the Vedic period still stood on roughly equal footing with ordinary men. Many of the composers of the *Ṛgveda* were women—most notably the Lady Aditi, the leading poet of her time. In the Ṛgvedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE), monogamy was the general practice. By the *Yajurveda* period (c. 1000–500 BCE), women's standing had slipped, and exclusionary sayings began to appear: "women are not to be trusted," "women are impure," and "three things may be offered together to impure deities: dice, women, and sleep." ⒉ Yet husband and wife still lived together, and women either shared the central rites with their husbands or performed them alone at the altar.

By the age of the Brāhmaṇas and Sūtras (c. 500–250 BCE), women's standing had fallen still further. The *Dharma Sūtras* divide women into four varṇas as well, but all are subordinated to a male guardian—in childhood to the father, in youth to the husband, in old age to the son—and are deemed unfit for independence. ⒇ The same texts formally recognized polygamy, prescribing three wives for a Brahmin, two for a Kṣatriya, and one each for a Vaiśya and a Śūdra. The higher the caste, the lower the wife's rights. The wife's position was thus very low, and she owed her husband absolute obedience. (21) The "ten evils of a woman's body" listed in the *Sūtra of the Woman Yājñavalkya* (22) show the same pattern—the low standing of women in the Buddha's day, the furthest expression of expanding male power.

### (2) The Result of Tribal Warfare

As the Āryan peoples of India developed, the various tribes fought among themselves; smaller tribes were absorbed, larger kingdoms emerged, and cities arose. The great kingdoms gradually extended their political and cultural reach, drawing in neighboring states. Even in the Buddha's day, this pattern of mutual slaughter and annexation continued.

The constant wars caused massive casualties, with the male population falling sharply and the number of women rising correspondingly. In such a society, with the ratio of men and women severely skewed, polygamy came easily.

### (3) The Strengthening of the Desire for Heirs

As agriculture advanced and cultivated land expanded, the demand for labor grew, while mortality remained high. The general Indian custom favored many sons and grandsons. Since women had no legal standing of their own and could not inherit, bearing a son was all the more urgent. The *Dharma Sūtras* allowed divorce if a man did not produce a male heir within the prescribed period. The *Baudhāyana Dharmasūtra* states: "If after ten years there is no pregnancy, or only daughters are born within twelve, or every son born within fifteen fails to survive, the wife shall be expelled." (23)

The ancient Indian longing for sons went beyond the ordinary. A man believed not only that through his son his body would continue into the future, but also that his soul after death depended on his son's offerings to ascend to heaven. The *Baudhāyana Dharmasūtra* (2.9.166): "Through a son one conquers the present world; through a grandson one attains immortality; through a great-grandson one reaches heaven." (24) Indian ritual texts also describe the Puṁsavana—the "male-child rite"—performed when a woman is three months pregnant to pray for a male birth. All of this makes plain that the Indian fixation on heirs—and its influence on polygamy—rested at bottom on the discrimination against women.

Putting these strands together, we can see that the economic dependence of Indian women was the main reason for their steep fall in social standing, and that the existence of polygamy only made the plight of women under expanding male power more visible.

In traditional Indian society, where women’s social standing was extremely low, what position did Buddhism—a tradition that advocates both caste equality and the equal worth of all sentient beings—take on women? We will explore this question in detail in the chapters ahead.

Section 3: The Distinctions of the Four Castes and the Buddha's View of Equality

India’s caste distinction system was originally rooted in differences of racial complexion and bloodline. Later, as society developed and labor divided, communities split into four occupational groups: warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Over time, hereditary occupation turned these professional divisions into rigid social classes. The priestly class held the highest rank as the Brahman caste (Brāhmaṇa); the political class of kings and warriors ranked second as the Kshatriya caste (Kṣatriya); commoners including farmers, artisans, and merchants made up the third, the Vaishya caste (Vaiśya); and indigenous peoples displaced by invasion, treated as slaves and forced into menial labor, formed the lowest fourth rank: the Shudra caste (Śūdra).

While the names of these four castes first appeared in embryonic form in the Purusha Sukta (Hymn of the Primordial Person) of the Vedas: “From the mouth of the primordial person the Brahman was first born; from his arms the Kshatriya; from his thighs the Vaishya; from his feet the Shudra”—the system was not formally codified until the Brahmans produced the Code of Manu (Manusmṛti). At first, the four castes weren’t strictly segregated, but by the Brahmana period (1000–800 BCE), under pressure from social change, they hardened into a rigid class hierarchy. Though inviolable distinctions separated the four castes, the upper three were collectively called the “twice-born” (Dvija): beyond their first birth from parents, they could undergo a ritual rebirth through religious practice once they reached a certain age. Both the Brahman and Kshatriya castes were slaveholders, and while they had conflicts with one another, they generally allied to exploit the lower classes. Vaishyas were nominally grouped with Brahmans and Kshatriyas as twice-born Aryans, but class divisions steadily grew within their ranks. A small number rose economically to become small or middling slaveholders, or even wealthy merchants and officials. The vast majority saw their standing collapse, falling into a status barely distinct from Shudras, teetering on the brink of slavery.

Shudras were considered untouchable: they were barred from living independently, prohibited from touching the bodies of the three higher castes, and faced severe social exclusion. That said, if physical contact was unavoidable—for instance, when barbers or washerfolk needed to touch a person’s body directly or indirectly—minor, incidental contact was permitted. They were deemed irredeemable outcastes, denied the rights the other three castes held to recite the Vedas and perform sacrifices. The only religious comfort they could access came from secular works like epic poems and folk tales, so they were called the “once-born” (Ekajāti), with no hope of ritual rebirth and excluded from formal religious life.

This four-caste system was an entirely discriminatory social order, designed by the Brahmans to cement their own power. It rigidly dictated the rights, duties, and even minutiae of daily life for every social stratum, with no room for transgression. Marriage across the four castes was banned, and even sharing a meal was forbidden. The Brahmans placed themselves at the top of the social hierarchy and sang the praises of their own inherent superiority, claiming to be noble beings born directly from Brahma’s mouth, as recorded here:

The Brahmans say: “I am first, others are inferior; I am white, the rest are black; the Brahman is pure, the non-Brahman is not. The son of a Brahman is born from the mouth, fashioned by the Brahman, and belongs to the Brahman.”(25)

But the Buddha rejected the four-caste hierarchy outright, and consistently challenged Brahman despotism and the structural inequality of the caste system. The social and class structure of the Buddha’s India, as described in the Daśadharmika Vinaya (T. 1435) volume 9, laid out distinct duties for each caste:

You of the Kshatriya class! … You should learn to ride elephants and horses, to ride in chariots and carriages; to wield swords, shields, bows and arrows; to wield iron hooks; to cast nets; to enter and leave battle formations. You should learn all such Kshatriya skills….

You of the Brahman class! … You should learn the Vedic scriptures and teach others to do so; you should build sacrificial shrines yourself and teach others to do so; you should learn incantations for food, for snakes, for swift running, for Kumbha, and for Kandala. You should learn all such Brahmanical skills….

You of the merchant class! … You should learn writing, calculation, and signets; how to distinguish gold and silver, silk and brocade; you should learn to sit in gold shops, silver shops, craft shops, copper shops, and jewel shops. You should learn all such merchant skills….

You of the smith class! … You should learn to make bracelets, chains, locks, cauldrons, golden vessels with floral patterns, spades, hoes, axes, spears, large and small knives, bowls, ghāṭa-pātras, half-ghāṭa-pātras, large and small scissors, razors, needles, hooks, locks, and keys. You should learn all such smithing skills….

You of the carpenter class! … You should learn to make mechanical wooden figures, male or female; to make basins, plows, vehicles, and carriages. You should learn all such carpentry skills….

You of the potter class! … You should learn to identify types of soil, how to take clay and mix it with the right amount of water, to turn the wheel in making basins, jars, cauldrons, lids, large bowls, ghāṭa-pātras, half-ghāṭa-pātras, large and small scissors. You should learn all such pottery skills….

You of the leather-worker class! … You should learn to identify types of hide, how to soften hard leather by soaking, to cut and sew, to make leather shoes and sandals, to process soaked leather and scraped leather, to know the surface and inner side of hide, and to make saddles, bridles, whips, and reins. You should learn all such leather-working skills….

You of the bamboo-worker class! … You should learn to identify types of bamboo and reeds, how to soften bamboo by soaking, to split and bend it, and to make spear shafts, fans, covers, baskets, and boxes. You should learn all such bamboo-working skills….

You of the barber class! … You should learn to keep the topknot of hair, to shave the beard and armpit hair, to clip the nails, to pluck nose hairs. You should learn all such barbering skills….

You of the Chandal class! … You should learn to cut off people’s hands, feet, noses, and ears; to carry their heads on poles; to take the dead out for cremation. You should learn all such Chandal skills….(26)

This passage reflects the occupational divisions of Indian society at the time. The Brahman-devised system that ranked the four castes as superior or inferior was firmly rejected by the Buddha, who argued for full equality across all four castes, upheld the equal worth of all sentient beings, and sought to free people from the shackles of class oppression. For the Buddha taught that all four castes were inherently pure and equal, and that any hierarchy of worth should be based solely on a person’s actions, not birth:

A person is not born lowly, Nor is one born a Brahman; It is by one’s conduct that one becomes lowly, It is by one’s conduct that one becomes a Brahman.(27)

××× ×××

A person’s surname and name Are merely labels by which one moves through the world; They are merely an inheritance— When a person is born, he already possesses a name.(28)

××× ×××

Birth cannot confirm that one is not a Brahman, Nor can birth deny that one is a Brahman; It is conduct that determines everything, It is conduct that determines whether one is a Brahman.(29)

××× ×××

By conduct one is shown to be a farmer, By conduct one is shown to be an artisan; By conduct one is shown to be a merchant, By conduct one is shown to be a servant.(30)

××× ×××

By conduct one is seen to be a robber, By conduct one is seen to be a warrior; By conduct one is seen to be a priest, By conduct one is seen to be a king.(31)

Likewise, the Chinese Buddhist scriptures record the Buddha teaching, “There are four kinds of people in the world, and all four are excellent.” Nobility or baseness is determined by the goodness or evil of one’s conduct. Even the Buddha himself, exalted as he was, had been reborn across all class stations in his past lives. For example:

In my teachings, giving is the foundation; those who practice good giving are the greatest among people. The noble ones of the world have all attained through good giving; they are not so by birth. In countless kalpas of my previous lives, I was also a Brahman boy, also a Kshatriya boy, also a farmer’s son, also an artisan’s son, and rose to be a prince. Now my body is that of a Buddha…. If one speaks of caste, where does it reside? All human castes arise from the mind-consciousness. Those whose mind-consciousness practices good are born in heaven or among humans; those whose mind-consciousness is evil fall into the realms of insects, beasts, animals, ghosts, spirits, or hell…. People of the world have no fixed caste, no permanence. The lofty and noble are those whose mind-will practices good excellently; they are thus noble. The lowly are those whose mind-will practices evil; they are thus base….(32)

The Brahmans’ boasts about their inherent superiority were regularly refuted by the Buddha’s disciples, who pushed back against their prejudices to affirm the equality of the four castes. For instance, in the Saṃyuktāgama (T. 99) volume 20, the Buddha’s disciple Mahākātyāyana, acting on the Buddha’s teachings, spoke to the king of Mathurā as follows:

“Great king! You should know that the four castes are entirely equal; there are no various distinctions of superiority. By worldly convention, it is said that the Brahman is first, the Brahman is white, the rest are all black; the Brahman is pure, the non-Brahman is not; the Brahman is born, born from the mouth, fashioned by the Brahman, belonging to the Brahman. But you should know that karma is real, and karma is the basis.”(33)

Whether viewed through the lens of wealth, law and politics, morality, or karmic retribution, the four castes are fully equal, with equal access to opportunity.

㈠ From the standpoint of wealth:

“Great king, you are a Brahman king. In your own kingdom, if you summon all these four kinds of people—Brahmans, Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, and elders—and employ them with wealth and force to serve as your guards, rising before you and lying down after you, and carrying out your various commands, is it done as you wish?” The king replied: “Yes, as I wish.”

“Great king, if a Kshatriya is king, or a gṛhapati is king, or an elder is king, and summons all four castes in his own kingdom, employing them with wealth and force to serve as guards, rising before him and lying down after him, and carrying out his various commands, is it done as he wishes?” The king replied: “Yes, as he wishes.”

“Great king! Thus the four castes are all equal; what distinction is there?”

㈡ From the standpoint of law and politics:

“Great king! In this realm there are Brahmans. If there are thieves among them, what should be done?” The king replied: “If there is a thief among Brahmans, he is whipped or bound, or driven out of the country, or fined in gold, or has his hands, feet, nose, or ears cut off; if the crime is grave, he is killed. As for the thief himself, though a Brahman, he is called a robber.”

“Great king, if there are thieves among Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, or elders, what should be done?” The king replied: “They too are whipped or bound, driven out of the country, fined in gold, and have their hands, feet, nose, or ears cut off; if the crime is grave, they are killed.”

“Thus, great king! Are the four castes not all equal? Is there any difference or distinction among them?” The king replied: “In this sense, indeed there are no various distinctions of superiority.”

㈢ From the standpoint of morality and karmic retribution:

“Great king! If a Brahman engages in killing, theft, sexual misconduct, false speech, harsh speech, divisive speech, idle chatter, greed, hatred, or wrong view—having committed the ten unwholesome courses of action—will he be reborn in an evil destination, or a good one? What have you heard from the Arhat?” The king replied: “If a Brahman commits the ten unwholesome courses of action, he will fall into an evil destination; this is what I have heard from the Arhat. The same is said for Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, and elders.”

“Great king! If a Brahman practices the ten wholesome courses of action, abstaining from killing up to right view, where will he be reborn—in a good destination or an evil destination? What have you heard from the Arhat?” The king replied: “If a Brahman practices the ten wholesome courses of action, he will be reborn in a good destination; this is what I have heard and learned from the Arhat. The same is said for Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, and elders…. How is it, great king? Are the four castes thus equal? Are there various distinctions of superiority?” The king replied: “In this sense, they are equal, without any various distinctions of superiority.”(34)

So the four castes were nothing more than artificial classes born of occupational division—a fabricated Brahman doctrine that claimed divine sanction. This is confirmed in the Mataṅga-sūtra, in the chapter “Dharmodgata-gaṇḍikā” (the chapter on guiding the low-caste woman), which records the Buddha’s disciple Ānanda’s fair treatment of lower and middle-class people, demonstrating Buddhism’s commitment to four-caste equality:

Early one morning, the Venerable Ānanda put on his robe, took his alms bowl, and entered the city to collect alms. After finishing his round, he returned to Jetavana Grove. On his way, he passed a large pond where villagers had gathered to spend time. Beside the pond was a young woman of the Chandal caste,(35) carrying a water vessel and coming to draw water. The Elder Ānanda approached her and said, “Sister! I am very thirsty and would greatly appreciate a drink. Would you be willing to share a little water with me?”

The woman replied, “Venerable sir! I am not stingy, but my body is that of a Chandal woman; if I were to give it to you, I fear it would not be appropriate.”

Ānanda said, “Sister, my name is Śramaṇa. My mind is impartial; whether one is noble or lowly, I see no distinction. Just give it now as the time requires; I should not linger.”

At this, the woman gave the clean water to Ānanda, who drank it….(36)

This passage makes clear that Buddhism upholds equality, and affirms the inherent dignity of every person.

The Buddha not only taught the equality of all human beings, but also enshrined this principle in the saṃgha system: those who leave home to practice the Way no longer carry their original surnames, and are known simply as śramaṇas, sons of the Śākyas.(37) For instance, in the Dīrghāgama (T. 1) volume 6, the “Sutta on Lesser Conditions” (Cūḷa-sīhanāda-sutta), the Buddha spoke to the Brahman Vasitthā:

“Bad actions bear bad results; dark actions bear dark results. If this karmic retribution fell only on Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, and Shudras, and not on Brahmans, then Brahmans could claim for themselves: ‘We Brahmans are the highest; all others are inferior; our caste is pure, now and in the future.’ But if bad actions bear bad results, and dark actions bear dark results, and this karmic law applies equally to Brahmans, Kshatriyas, gṛhapatis, and Shudras alike, then Brahmans cannot claim exclusively: ‘My caste is pure and foremost.’… As it is, we plainly see that the Brahman caste marries and begets children just like the rest of the world, yet they falsely proclaim: ‘I am of the Brahma caste, born from Brahma’s mouth; I am pure now and pure in the future.’ Vasitthā, you should now know that my disciples are of different castes and diverse origins. Having left home to cultivate the Way under my teaching, if anyone asks them: ‘What is your caste?’ they should reply: ‘I am a Śramaṇa, a son of the Śākya clan!’(38)

Furthermore, in various early scriptures, the Buddha repeatedly used the metaphor of the four castes merging as a single dharma seed, like all rivers flowing into the great ocean, to illustrate the equality of the four castes. For example:

㈡ Ekottara Āgama (T. 125) volume 21, “Chapter on Suffering and Pleasure.”(39) ㈡ Ekottara Āgama (T. 125) volume 37,

八难品>。(40) ㈢《四分律》卷第三十六，<说戒犍度>下。(41) ㈣《佛说恒水经》。(42) ㈤《法海经》。(43) ㈥《海八德经>。(44) So long as one’s mind is pure, the teaching holds: "Whether one is a renunciant, a brahmin, a celestial being, a Māra, a Brahmā, or any being in the three realms, all are my children, part of the same Dharma, with no distinction between them." (45) No matter their occupation or social standing, all are welcome to join the harmonious Sangha. With such open doors, the Buddhist community included many brahmins and nobles among its ranks. For instance, the Buddha’s two foremost disciples, Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, were both born into brahmin families; Mahākāśyapa, who led the first council to preserve the Buddha’s teachings after his passing, was also a brahmin by birth; and the venerable Upāli, recognized as the supreme master of the monastic code, came from a low caste. Others from marginalized backgrounds—butchers, fishers, hunters, sex workers, bandits, performers, and slaves (andsla)—all took refuge under the Buddha and became followers. Just as a hundred streams merge into the sea and lose their individual names and origins, caste and class distinctions cease to matter once one becomes a Buddhist. From that point on, no division of class or occupation holds any meaning; all are simply one community of disciples, united in the same path.

One might assume the Buddhist Sangha would draw mostly from lower castes in a society rigidly stratified by the four unequal varnas, but the community also included many young virtuous men and women from noble families. According to a tally by the Japanese scholar Akamatsu Chizen in his Original Buddhist Scriptures, the Buddha’s 1,160 disciples were categorized by varna as follows:

In that era, brahmins defined human worth through the rigid caste system, claiming they were the most noble and superior of all people. They believed they were entitled to anything they desired, and even when they committed crimes, punishments were either nonexistent or far milder than those imposed on lower castes. Flush with the privileges that came with their sense of caste superiority, brahmins held the most advantageous positions in society and looked down on everyone else.

But the Buddha, rooted in compassion and wisdom, took a humanistic stance that honored the inherent dignity of every person. He taught that a person’s value is not determined by their caste, race, or occupation, and actively put the principle of equality across the four varnas into practice—a full rejection of the idea that any group is inherently superior. Taken further, the Dharma is a path for all people. At its core is a spirit of radical equality: all sentient beings are equal, and women are no exception to this. There can be no doubt, then, that Buddhism holds gender equality as a fundamental principle.

Notes: ① India is a peninsula in South Asia, bordered by mountains to the north, northeast, and northwest, with the rest of the land surrounded by ocean. The vast plains south of these mountains have been the center of India’s economic and cultural development since ancient times. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the Mundā-speaking peoples, referred to as proto-Australoids. Next came the Dravidian peoples, who arrived in India later than the proto-Australoids, and were the dominant population before the Aryan migrations. By the Neolithic period, around 5000 BCE, they were already making pottery, farming grains, and raising cattle and sheep.

② After displacing the indigenous peoples of the Five Rivers region, the Aryans settled down to farm and raise livestock, building permanent homes and fortresses. As their labor needs grew, they enslaved the captured indigenous population to work in production, giving rise to the Śūdra caste. At this early stage, society was only divided into two broad groups: dark-skinned slaves and light-skinned slaveholders. During the Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE), the need for organized religious rituals led to the emergence of the brahmin class. By the time of the Brāhmaṇa period (c. 1000–800 BCE), the demands of a more complex, specialized society had gradually solidified the four-varna caste system.

③ Manusmṛti 1.88–1.91. Excerpted from Zhang Mantao (ed.), A History of Indian Buddhism, p. 10. Taipei: Dasheng Culture Publishing, 1978 (Minguo 67).

④ The Buddha is a historically recognized figure today, but scholars have long debated the dates of his lifetime, with dozens of competing theories. The four most widely cited ranges are: ㈠ 577–477 BCE……Cunningham (1854 & 1877), Max Müller (1859), G. Bühler (1878), J. Charpentier (1914)。 ㈡ 563–483 BCE……J. Fleet (1906 & 1909), W. Geiger (1912), T. W. Rhys Davids (1922)。 ㈢ 566–486 BCE……Recorded in the Points of the Noble Ones. ㈣ 466–386 BCE……Dr. Hakuchū Uchigi (1923, Taishō 12). These dates remain disputed to this day; this text adopts the third range.

⑤ An Outline of Indian Buddhist History, translated by Dharma Master Dahe, p. 10. Kaohsiung: Fo Guang Publishing, 1977 (Minguo 66).

⑥ Buddhist texts describe new ruling classes that included kṣatriya kings, local clan leaders, generals, village heads, and tribal chiefs. The term “groups of ideological leaders” refers to non-Vedic, anti-Vedic sramana movements outside the traditional brahmin priesthood, including Buddhist and Jain communities.

⑦ Dīrgha Āgama, Vol. 7, “The Sutra on Bitter Hostility” (Taishō 1, p. 46 middle).

⑧ Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 6 (Taishō 2, p. 572 upper–middle).

⑨ A Study of Social Customs in the Time of the Buddha, by Lai Limei, 240 pp. Master’s thesis, Graduate Institute of Indian Culture, Chinese Culture University, 1985 (Minguo 74).

⑩ Buddha’s Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Vol. 1 (Taishō 1, p. 163 middle–lower).

⑾ Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 10 (Taishō 2, p. 596 upper–middle).

⑿ Minor Biographies from the Middle, Vol. 2, <The Chapter on Saving the Woman Nai> 13 (Taishō 4, p. 161 middle–lower).

⒀ See note ⑿.

⒁ The Sūtra on the Causes and Conditions for the Salvation of the Daughter of the Elder Anāthapiṇḍada, Vol. 2 (Taishō 2, p. 850 lower).

⒂ Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 35 (Taishō 2, p. 744 lower).

⒃ Dīrgha Āgama, Vol. 7, “The Sutra on Bitter Hostility” (Taishō 1, p. 46 middle).

⒄ The Long Sūtra on the Origin of the Great Stable Brahmin, Vol. 2 (Taishō 1, p. 212 lower).

⒅ Oroon Kumar Ghosh, The Changing Indian Civilization. India: Minerva Associates, 1976, pp. 28–96.

⒆ A History of Indian Philosophy and Religion, by Takakusu Junjirō and Kimura Taiken, translated by Gao Guanlu, pp. 324–325. Taipei: Taiwan Commercial Press, 1983 (Minguo 72).

⒇ Note ⒆, p. 325.

(21) See note (20).

(22) The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Woman Yeli (Taishō 2, pp. 864 upper–867 upper).

(23) See note (20).

(24) See note (19), p. 337.

(25) Saṃyukta Āgama, Vol. 20 (Taishō 2, p. 142 upper).

(26) Ten Recitations Vinaya, Vol. 9 (Taishō 32, pp. 64 upper–65 upper).

(27) Pali Minor Anthology, Sutta Nipāta, Sutta 136 (Mizuno Hōgen, trans., Primitive Buddhism, pp. 191–192. Taichung: Bodhi Tree Magazine Society, 1982 (Minguo 71)).

(28) Pali Minor Anthology, Sutta Nipāta, Sutta 648 (see note 27).

(29) Pali Minor Anthology, Sutta Nipāta, Sutta 650 (see note 27).

(30) Pali Minor Anthology, Sutta Nipāta, Sutta 651 (see note 27).

(31) Pali Minor Anthology, Sutta Nipāta, Sutta 652 (see note 27).

(32) The Sūtra on the Brahmin Āḷavaka’s Questions about the Nature of Caste (Taishō 1, pp. 876 middle–878 middle).

(33) See note 25 (Taishō 2, p. 142 lower).

(34) See note 25 (Taishō 2, pp. 142 middle–lower).

(35) This term means “butcher”: it refers to people in ancient India who worked in the slaughter trade. Regarded as a low, “untouchable” caste by wider society, they were considered impure and evil. When traveling through cities, they had to shake a bell or strike bamboo to signal their presence, so that others could keep their distance; those who failed to do so faced punishment by the state.

(36) Mātaṅga Sūtra, Vol. 1, <The Chapter on Saving the Woman Mātaṅga> 1 (Taishō 21, pp. 399 lower–400 upper).

(37) Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 21 (Taishō 2, p. 658 lower).

(38) Dīrgha Āgama, Vol. 6, “The Minor Origin Sutra” (Taishō 1, pp. 37 upper–middle).

(39) Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 21 (Taishō 2, pp. 658 middle–lower): Now there are four great rivers flowing from Lake Anavatapta……When these four rivers enter the sea, they lose their original names and are called only “sea.” So too it is with the four varnas……Those who shave their heads and beards, put on the three robes, leave home, and practice the path in the presence of the Tathāgata lose their original caste names, and are called only Śākyamṇi renunciants.

(40) Ekottara Āgama, Vol. 37 (Taishō 2, p. 753 upper): In my Dharma there are the four varnas; those who become renunciants in my Dharma discard their former names and take new ones. Just as the four great rivers all flow into the sea and become one taste with no other name, so too is this.

(41) Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, Vol. 36 (Taishō 22, p. 824 lower): Just as five great rivers all flow into the sea and lose their original names to be called “sea,” so too, Maudgalyāyana, in my Dharma the four varnas—kṣatriya, brahmin, vaiśya, śūdra—who have firm faith, leave their homes to practice the path, and discard their original names, are all called Śākyamṇi renunciants.

(42) Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Ganges (Taishō 1, p. 817 lower): There are five great rivers in the world……that flow into the sea, all abandoning their original names to become seawater……Disciples! There are those of brahmin caste, kṣatriya caste, artisan caste, farmer caste, and beggar caste. Some stand and declare, “My caste is noble and high, rich and happy; yours is low and poor.” Let them be like the five rivers flowing into the sea: those who become my disciples, regardless of their number, all abandon their original names to be my disciples. How can there still be distinctions of high and low, and pride in one’s own status?

(43) Dharma Ocean Sūtra (Taishō 1, p. 818 lower): The great sea receives all hundred rivers and ten thousand streams; all waters from the constant rivers flow into it, and it is never called full or depleted. So too is my Saṅgha: those of brahmin and heavenly host lineage enter the Saṅgha; those of high four-varna families, whether of the Śākya or heavenly host lineage, kings who renounce worldly honor, or those of low artisan families, all enter the true teaching. Though their races differ, once they practice the great path, they become one taste, all disciples of the Śākya.

(44) Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Eight Virtues of the Sea, Vol. 1 (Taishō 1, p. 819 middle): My path is vast and all-encompassing, uniting all into one. Those of royal, brahmin, noble, and low castes who become renunciants all abandon their original surnames, draw close to one another through the path, advance together regardless of wisdom or ignorance, and become like brothers—just as the many streams merge to be called the sea.

(45) Sūtra on the Origins of the Two White Canopy Brahmins, Vol. 1 (Taishō 1, p. 218 upper).

(46) Akira Hirakawa, A Study of Primitive Buddhism. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1980 (Showa 55), p. 18.

Chapter 3: Views on Women in Primitive Buddhism

Section 1: Images of Laywomen in Early Buddhist Scriptures

The scriptures of early Buddhism (566–370 BCE) contain numerous passages about laywomen. This section examines four roles—wife, daughter-in-law, mother, and woman—to explore how women were viewed during the early Buddhist period.

1. Wife

Both the Bieyi Za'ahan (T99), juan 12, and the Za'ahan (T99), juan 36, record the Buddha's views on wives, such as: "When taking a wife, a 'chaste woman' is supreme" ①; "A virtuous wife is the foremost companion"; "One who obeys her husband is a virtuous wife" ②. In scriptures where the Buddha lays out secular ethics, such as:

㈠ Chang Ahanjing (T1), juan 11, Shanshengjing ③. ㈡ Zhong Ahanjing (T26), juan 33, Shanshengjing ④. ㈢ Shijialuo Yue Liufang Lijing ⑤. ㈣ Shanshengzi Jing ⑥.

—all four describe a wife's duties in similar terms. Their contents may be compared as follows:

Additionally, in the Southern Transmission Piṭaka, the Aṅguttara-Nikāya ("7.59") ⑦, the Buddha classifies wives into seven types. The corresponding Zengyi Ahanjing, juan 49 ⑧, classifies them into four types. A comparison follows:

(一) Southern Transmission (1) Murderous wife (vadhā bhariyā); (2) Thieving wife (corī bhariyā); (3) Mistress-wife (ayyā bhariyā); (4) Mother-wife (mātā bhariyā); (5) Sister-wife (bhaginī bhariyā); (6) Friend-wife (sakhī bhariyā); (7) Servant-wife (dāsī bhariyā).

(二) Northern Transmission (1) Mother-like wife; (2) Relative-like wife; (3) Thief-like wife; (4) Servant-like wife.

Though the two transmissions differ, both further distinguish between good and bad wives. The following four scriptures contain similar classifications, all featuring the same female protagonist, "Yuye":

㈠ Foshuo Asuda Jing ⑨. ㈡ Foshuo Yuye Nü Jing ⑩. ㈢ Yuye Nü Jing ⑾. ㈣ Yuye Jing ⑿.

Scripture ㈠, the Foshuo Asuda Jing, describes three bad ways and four good ways a wife may serve her husband—seven categories in all:

Three bad ways: ㈠ Like living with a lover—unwilling to work, cursing until dusk, fond of fine things and quick to fight. ㈡ Like living with an enemy—not devoted to her husband, not wishing him well, not wanting him to succeed, even hoping for his death. ㈢ Like living with a thief—squandering her husband's property and scheming to deceive him, caring only for her own pleasure without regard for the family's descendants, constantly indulging in lust.

Four good ways: ㈠ When her husband returns from afar, she should be like a mother seeing her son; whether he faces hardship or ease, she longs to bear his burdens in his place. ㈡ She should serve her husband as a younger brother serves an elder—attentive and deferential at all times; even when treated harshly, she doesn't recoil, she doesn't indulge in lust, and she follows his words. ㈢ She should serve her husband as a friend—thinking of him whenever they're apart; when he returns from elsewhere, she greets him as she would a father or brother, her heart filled with joy, her face warm with welcome. ㈣ She should serve her husband as a servant—even when he scolds her severely, she doesn't take offense; even when he strikes her, she doesn't find it excessive; even when sent on errands, she doesn't consider it a burden. Though her husband may be difficult, she constantly strives to serve him well, keeping their descendants in mind.

Scripture ㈡, the Foshuo Yuye Nü Jing, records five ways of being a wife: ㈠ Mother-wife — loves her husband as a son; ㈡ Minister-wife — serves her husband as a lord; ㈢ Sister-wife — serves her husband as an elder brother; ㈣ Servant-wife — serves her husband as a handmaid; ㈤ Spouse-wife — leaving behind her family of birth to cleave to her husband forever; loving and intimate, two bodies but one heart; honoring and revering him without arrogance; ably managing both sides of the family so the household prospers; receiving guests graciously and earning a good name.

Scriptures ㈢ and ㈣—the Yuye Nü Jing and Yuye Jing—divide wives into seven types: ㈠ Mother-wife; ㈡ Sister-wife; ㈢ Friend-wife (㈣ Good-companion wife); ㈤ Wife-wife; ㈥ Servant-wife (the above being good wives); ㈦ Enemy-wife; ㈧ Life-taking wife (the latter two being bad wives).

These, then, are the views of wives found in the early scriptures—views that also reflect the standards expected of women in Indian society at the time. In sum, a wife's primary duties come down to: ㈠ keeping the household in good order; ㈡ treating her husband's relatives with care; ㈢ guarding her chastity; ㈣ managing the family's property; ㈤ being diligent and attentive in service. These five are the minimum requirements for a virtuous wife.

2. Daughter-in-law

In the Za'ahanjing (T99), juan 48, a celestial maiden speaks this verse: "I recall a former life when I was a daughter-in-law. My parents-in-law were fierce by nature, always speaking harshly. I held to my duties and observed the propriety of a wife, humble and obedient in their service..." ⒀

The Zhong Ahanjing (T26), juan 7, Xiangji Yujing, states: "...When a new bride is first welcomed and sees her parents-in-law, or faces her husband, she feels bashful and shy..." ⒁

Meanwhile, in the Foshuo Asuda Jing, Foshuo Yuye Nü Jing, Yuye Nü Jing, and Yuye Jing, the maiden Yuye is described as failing to show proper respect toward her parents-in-law. What, then, did the early scriptures consider good or bad in a daughter-in-law? We can find the answer in the following passages.

Foshuo Yuye Nü Jing — Five Good Qualities: (1) Retire late and rise early to attend to household affairs. Do not take any choice food for yourself—offer it first to your parents-in-law and husband. (2) Watch over the household goods; let nothing go missing. (3) Be careful in speech, patient and slow to anger. (4) Be dignified and discreet, always mindful of falling short. (5) With wholehearted devotion, serve your parents-in-law and husband so that they earn a good name, relatives are pleased, and others speak well of you.

Yuye Nü Jing: (1) Retire later, rise earlier, and offer the finest food first. (2) When beaten or scolded, do not harbor resentment. (3) Devote yourself solely to your husband; do not entertain lustful thoughts. (4) Wish your husband long life; keep the household in order; let your heart not be divided.

Yuye Jing: (1) As a wife, retire late and rise early. Comb your hair, arrange your clothes, and wash your face clean of any dirt. Begin your work only after informing your elders. Keep your heart reverent and obedient. If there is anything sweet or fine, do not eat it first. (2) When your husband scolds or berates you, do not harbor hatred. (3) Devote yourself solely to your husband; do not entertain lustful thoughts. (4) Constantly wish your husband long life. When he travels, keep the household in order. (5) Always think of your husband's good qualities, not his faults.

Three Bad Qualities: (1) Retiring before dark and not rising at sunrise. When the head of the household scolds in anger, answering back with complaints and abuse. (2) Taking the finest food for oneself while giving the worst to one's parents-in-law and husband. Vain and deceitful, resorting to every kind of trickery. (3) Giving no thought to the household but idling about the world, gossiping about others' merits and faults, stirring up quarrels and strife, until relatives despise her and others look down on her.

(1) Disrespecting her husband, defying her elders. Eating the finest food herself, retiring before dark, not rising at sunrise. When her husband corrects or scolds her, she glares back in anger. (2) Unhappy to see her husband, her heart constantly turning elsewhere, longing for other men. (3) Wishing her husband an early death so she can remarry.

(1) She does not fulfill her duties to her parents-in-law and husband as a virtuous wife should; she only wants to eat fine food, goes to bed early before night falls, and does not rise until the sun is high. When her husband tries to correct or admonish her, she glares at him, rejects his words, and even reviles him. (2) She does not keep her heart devoted to her husband, but thinks of other men. (3) She wishes her husband would die soon so she can remarry.

These sutra passages make clear that a good daughter-in-law not only holds the qualities of a virtuous wife, but also serves her parents-in-law with proper decorum, fostering a harmonious, warm household.

Three. Mother

Across a person’s life, from birth to death, they take on a wide range of names and roles as they grow and their circumstances change. For example, as they move through life stages, they are known as infant, toddler, youth, … and eventually old age. In terms of family relations, they take on designations including son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, … and even grandparents. Of all the shifts a person experiences over a lifetime, marriage is often the most profound change for a woman. This is because after marriage, a woman takes on the three roles of mother, wife, and daughter-in-law—roles that have been regarded as challenging to navigate since ancient times. We have already outlined the portrayals of wife and daughter-in-law above, but how is the figure of the "mother" presented in the early scriptures?

A woman conceives a child through marriage, carries the fetus for ten months of gestation, then gives birth. The three years of infancy that follow are almost always spent in the mother’s care. These stages of pregnancy, birth, and early childrearing are where motherhood is most fully realized. But what does motherhood stand for? It is the very embodiment of compassion. The Ekottara Āgama, Volume 32, states: “…The Tathāgata possesses great compassion, pitying sentient beings… never abandoning any sentient being, just as a mother loves her child…” ⒂ The sutra draws a direct parallel between the Tathāgata’s great compassion for all sentient beings and a mother’s love for her children. All beings are born of mothers, and the same is true of all Buddhas. ⒃

Two particularly notable figures are the Buddha’s mother, Māyā, and his maternal aunt Mahāprajāpatī (also called Gautamī). According to Buddhist records, seven days after the Buddha’s birth, his mother, Lady Māyā, passed away. She was the most exalted of women, who brought light into the world. After Māyā’s death, the task of raising Prince Siddhārtha fell entirely to his maternal aunt Mahāprajāpatī, who was also the mother of the Venerable Nanda. After King Śuddhodana passed away, the Buddha’s adoptive mother led five hundred Śākya women in asking the Buddha to ordain them into the Sangha, founding the bhikṣunī order. This was a milestone in the history of the Buddhist Sangha.

Beyond the Buddha’s mother Māyā and adoptive mother Mahāprajāpatī, the early scriptures record many other exemplary mothers, including:

㈠ The mother of the Elder Nuoguluó — she was able to awaken the first stirring of faith and understanding of the precepts and Dharma. ㈡ Visākhā the Mother, an upāsikā — who consistently practiced generosity toward the Sangha, earning her the revered title "Mother of the Sangha." ㈢ The mother of the Elder Retiluó — who possessed abundant merit accrued from giving in past lives. ㈣ The wife of the Elder Kǒu-ěr-kǒu-fù-gē — who had many children over the course of her life. ⒄

These four were all exemplary mothers the Buddha praised to the assembly of bhikṣus.

Mothers have made immeasurable contributions to Buddhism. For this reason, after the Buddha’s mother, the bhikṣunī Mahāprajāpatī, passed into final nirvāṇa, the World-Honored One personally made offerings to her relics, repaying the profound debt of her nurture and care, and setting a standard of filial piety for all generations to follow. The Ekottara Āgama records this as follows:

At that time, Mahāprajāpatī approached the Buddha and said: “I have heard the World-Honored One will soon attain final nirvāṇa… I cannot bear to witness the World-Honored One and Ānanda attain final nirvāṇa. I pray the World-Honored One will allow me to attain final nirvāṇa first.”

At that time, the World-Honored One silently consented.

At that time, the World-Honored One, surrounded before and behind by the bhikṣu Sangha, went to the monastery of the bhikṣunī Mahāprajāpatī.

At that time, the World-Honored One told Ānanda, Nanda, and Rāhula: “You lift the body of Mahāprajāpatī; I will personally make the offerings.”

At that time, Śakra, lord of the devas, and Vaiśravaṇa, the heavenly king, approached the Buddha and said: “We pray the World-Honored One will not trouble himself; we will make the offerings ourselves.”

Śāriputra told the gods: “Stop! Stop, heavenly kings! The Tathāgata acts only when the time is right. This is a practice appropriate solely to the Tathāgata, not within the power of devas, nāgas, or spirits. For parents who give us life bestow immeasurable benefits: the grace of raising and nurturing us, of holding and feeding us, is far too great to leave unrepayed. Know that in the past, the mothers of all World-Honored Buddhas passed into nirvāṇa first, after which each Buddha personally made offerings to their relics; the same will hold true for the mothers of all future World-Honored Buddhas, who will pass into nirvāṇa first, after which those Buddhas will personally make offerings. From this, you can see that the Tathāgata must make these offerings himself; this is not a task for devas, nāgas, or spirits.”

…At that time, the World-Honored One lifted one corner of the bier himself; Nanda lifted a second, Rāhula a third, and Ānanda a fourth. They rose into the sky and flew to the burial ground.

…At that time, the World-Honored One placed sandalwood upon Mahāprajāpatī’s body. ⒅

Since the Tathāgatas revere their mothers in this way, how could ordinary worldly people ever dare to slight them?

Four. Women

Broadly speaking, the category of “women” encompasses the three roles of wife, daughter-in-law, and mother we have discussed above. While each of these has clear, specific descriptions in the scriptures, there are still points that go unaddressed, so this section is added to explore the topic of women more broadly.

What do the early scriptures say about women?

㈠ The Saṃyuktāgama, Volume 36, which records the Buddha’s verse response to a deva’s question: “…A woman is the stain of the brahmacarya; a woman is a burden on the world…” ⒆

㈡ The Ekottara Āgama, Volume 27, where the Buddha, staying in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park, addressed the assembly of bhikṣus: “A woman has five grounds for arrogance: first, the power of her beauty; second, the power of her family; third, the power of her land and wealth; fourth, the power of her children; fifth, the power of her own self-restraint… She also has five desires: first, to be born into a noble, respected family; second, to marry into a wealthy, noble family; third, that her husband will obey her every word; fourth, to have many children; fifth, to have full autonomy over her household…” ⒇

㈢ The Alternate Translation of the Saṃyuktāgama, Volume 14, which records the Buddha’s verse reply to a god: “If a man is respectful and compliant, the woman will surely become overbearing; if a man is overbearing, the woman will surely be respectful and compliant. Women are childish and foolish in their play, like little children playing with dirt.” (21)

㈣ The Ekottara Āgama, Volume 41, “Chapter on the Horse King”: “…Women have nine evils: first, that they are unclean and impure; second, that they speak harshly; third, that they are ungrateful; fourth, that they are jealous; fifth, that they are stingy and envious; sixth, that they love to wander; seventh, that they are quick to anger; eighth, that they often speak falsehoods; ninth, that they speak frivolously and without thought.” (22)

Three further sutras — the Sutra Addressed to the Lady Yuyé by the Buddha, the Sutra of Lady Jīnyé, and the Jīnyé Sūtra — all describe “ten evils inherent in the female body” (23), with their contents compared as follows:

While the scriptures contain many passages that criticize women, they also include numerous discussions of virtuous women. For example, the Ekottara Āgama, Volume 3<

The Chapter on Female Lay Devotees> records thirty eminent upasikas, among them: the foremost in wisdom, one who constantly delighted in seated meditation, one who excelled in expounding the scriptural meaning, one who vanquished heterodox teachers, one of vast learning and broad knowledge, one who knew no fear, the last among the sravakas to attain the fruit, one who constantly practiced forbearance, ... and so on. (24)

The Ekottara Agama, Volume 22, records that Sumati's daughter, upon arriving in the wealthy city, led its countless people to liberation and brought them great benefit. (25) The Ekottara Agama, Volume 38, tells how in a past life Shakyamuni Tathagata was Prince Muni, daughter of a king, and through the merit of offering sesame oil for a lamp wick, received the prophecy that in a future age he would become a Buddha. (26) And the Dirgha Agama's Travel Sutra recounts how the courtesan Amrapali invited the Buddha to preach the Dharma; the Buddha bestowed the Five Precepts upon the upasikas, and Amrapali herself donated a grove to the Buddha. (27)

From these varied images of wives, daughters-in-law, mothers, and women appearing in early Buddhist scriptures, we can draw the following conclusions:

(a) The descriptions of a wife's duties and the standards for a daughter-in-law reflect that in traditional Indian society of the time, women were subordinate to men, and the rebukes directed at women in the texts reveal their lowly social status. Does this also indicate that the Buddha himself held women in contempt?

(b) The Buddha treated all beings equally. He believed that equality between men and women should be sought at the level of their essential nature and intrinsic character, taking into account the roles they played, the duties they bore, and the differences in their outward forms. Men and women should respect one another. For example, in the Buddha Pari-nirvana Sutra, one of the Seven Practices of Non-Decay for a nation that the Buddha spoke to Varshakara (Kausika) was: "maintain propriety and respect, with distinction between men and women"; (28) or, as the Madhyama Agama's Varshakara Sutra (Volume 35) puts it: "If the Vajjians do not use force to violate the wives and maidens of others, the Vajjians will surely prevail and not decline." (29) Here the Buddha explained that men and women should each apply their strengths, fulfill their responsibilities, and respect one another to maintain harmony in family and society. Therefore, in laying out the wife's duties and the daughter-in-law's standards, the Buddha prescribed that women should: respect the dignity of their husbands (respect does not signify personal inferiority but an elevation of character); maintain chastity and not fall into lewdness or depravity; share household duties, fulfill a woman's responsibilities thoroughly, and thereby preserve the happiness of the family. In return, the Buddha also prescribed the proper attitude for a husband. For example:

1. Madhyama Agama, Volume 33, Sigala Sutra: A husband should cherish and provide for his wife in five ways. ... First, treat his wife with affection; second, do not disdain her; third, adorn her with ornaments and finery; fourth, grant her autonomy within the household; fifth, honor her relatives. ... (30)

2. Sigalovada Sutra (Six Directions Sutra): A husband also has five duties toward his wife: First, when going out or coming in, he should show her respect; second, provide her food and clothing at appropriate times; third, give her gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fourth, entrust to her all household affairs, whatever their amount; fifth, he must not keep mistresses or concubines outside the home. (31)

3. Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Middle Volume: ... Second, constantly instruct wife and children in wholesome dharmas. ... (32)

From this we see that the equality the Buddha advocated is built upon mutual respect between men and women, not on favoring one side over the other in a pattern of male superiority and female subordination.

(c) When the Buddha taught beings, he always tailored his teaching to the capacity of his audience, prescribing medicine according to the illness. So the teachings the Buddha gave to Yashodhara — that the woman's body possesses ten evils, three obstacles and ten evils, that a wife has five virtues and three evils, ... and so on, along with the various rebukes of women found in the scriptures — were all adapted to circumstances. It is like seeing a mountain ablaze and telling the monks that people are burned by the fierce fire of the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion. Or seeing a great log floating in the Ganges and saying: "Monks, this log does not lodge on either bank, does not sink in the midstream, and is not rotted within; it will surely enter the great ocean. A monk who cultivates without inner or outer obstacles will surely enter the great ocean of nirvanic tranquility." There was also a monk named Kunda (Kuttha) who did not delight in the holy life and wished to lay down his precepts and return to the life of a householder. The Buddha then taught him with the words: "Women possess five kinds of unclean conduct ... women increase the hosts of demons ... they are like chains and hooks ... women are fearsome, like bandits in a village ..." (33) He exhorted Kunda, awakening him to attain nirvana. The purpose of the Buddha's teaching was, by rebuking the evils of women, to warn the monks against laxity in their cultivation and to use the contemplation of impurity to counteract the arising of lewd thoughts. As for Yashodhara, the daughter-in-law of the householder Anathapindika, who boasted of her lineage and was utterly arrogant, causing endless turmoil in the household, the Buddha, drawing upon the customs of Indian society at the time, spoke of wives and daughters ranging from the most wicked to the most ideal, in order to caution and transform Yashodhara, so that she would willingly become an ideal and virtuous wife. Consequently, we cannot take an isolated phrase out of context and definitively conclude that the Buddha despised women.

(d) Moreover, the Buddha also gave examples of praising women. Once, when the king of Kosala, King Prasenajit, met with the Buddha, the king had just received word of the birth of a daughter to his consort Mallika. Upon hearing that it was a girl, the king displayed displeasure. The Buddha corrected his view and uttered the following verse:

O King! Though she is a girl, she may yet surpass men. Possessing wisdom and virtue, she will marry and revere her parents-in-law. The son born of such a woman will be a hero, a sovereign ruler. The son of such a worthy wife will be fit to guide the kingdom. (34)

Does this not also illustrate that the mother is the cradle in which sages are nurtured?

(e) The Buddha taught that the way for a woman to cultivate proper conduct is to rectify the mind alone: to eliminate the eighty-four forms of improper deportment, to fix the mind in single-pointed concentration, and thereby be loved and respected by others. If one relies solely on outward beauty for propriety, being arrogant and willful, one will inevitably bring disgrace upon oneself. (35) This shows the great care with which the Buddha labored to awaken women's self-awareness and to improve their status.

Section 2: Women's Ordination and the Establishment of the Bhikshuni Sangha

In the Buddhist monastic system, only the Bhikshu Sangha existed at first. Several years later, the Buddha's foster mother, Mahaprajapati Gotami, together with five hundred women of the Shakya clan, joined the Sangha, and the Bhikshuni Sangha came into being. According to the scriptural records: after the Buddha attained enlightenment, he returned to the Shakya city of Kapilavastu to soften the hearts of his kinsfolk. Gotami, upon hearing the Tathagata's true Dharma, resolved to leave the household life. She made three requests to the Buddha, each of which was refused. At that time, the Buddha set out on a wandering journey with his disciples, departing from Kapilavastu. Gotami's resolve to renounce the household, however, did not end there. She accordingly took five hundred Shakya women, shaved their heads, donned the kashaya robe, and followed the Buddha on his wanderings. Arriving at Shravasti, the women — their faces soiled, their garments dusty, their bodies weary — stood weeping outside the gate of the Jetavana Vihara. Ananda, seeing the women in such a state, was moved with compassion. Out of gratitude for the Buddha's nurturing mother and on the grounds that women who renounced the household could ultimately attain the four fruits, he pleaded with the Buddha again and again. Finally, the Buddha, on the condition that women who renounce the household must observe the Eight Heavy Rules, permitted women to leave the household. Mahaprajapati became the first woman to renounce the household, and from then on the Bhikshuni Sangha was born. (36)

The accounts of the conditions surrounding Mahaprajapati's ordination differ slightly among the various Vinaya texts. Moreover, the Bhikshuni Vinaya was not produced at a Bhikshuni Council but was composed by the senior Bhikshus. It thus inevitably contains controversial points: ① Why did the Buddha repeatedly refuse women's ordination, and why does scripture even record the Buddha lamenting that when women renounce the household, the True Dharma will decrease by five hundred years? ② What is the meaning of the Eight Heavy Rules that the Buddha established for women? These questions are precisely the focus of discussion in this section.

1. The Teaching That the True Dharma Will Decrease Five Hundred Years

The tradition that women's ordination will cause the Buddha Dharma to decline early is a consistent account in all the major Vinayas, and is presented as a prophecy of the World-Honored One. For example, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, Volume 48: "Ananda, it is like a wealthy family with many daughters and few sons — one knows that household will decline. So, Ananda, if women in the Buddha Dharma renounce the household and receive the great precepts, it will cause the Buddha Dharma not to endure long. And it is like a fine field of rice being destroyed by frost and hail. So, Ananda, if women in the Buddha Dharma renounce the household and receive the great precepts, it will cause the Buddha Dharma not to endure long." (37)

The first simile is what the Chinese would call "yin flourishing, yang declining." When the number of women who renounce the household exceeds that of men, that may not be a good thing, but it cannot serve as a reason why women should not renounce the household. For a request to renounce the household does not mean that women will outnumber men. Moreover, according to the Japanese scholar Akanuma Chizen's statistical findings in the Primitive Scriptures, the ratio of Bhikshus to Bhikshunis is approximately eight to one; (38) with such a lopsided proportion, there is no basis for the concern that the Sangha will suffer from "yin flourishing and yang declining."

Second, as to the second simile, men are compared to rice and wheat, women to frost and hail. But are men themselves necessarily healthy grain? Are women necessarily frost and pestilence? The grave offenses established for Bhikshus — the four Parajikas and the thirteen Sanghadisesas — have nothing to do with women who have renounced the household, yet they are equally transgressed. Therefore, the two similes above merely reflect the mentality of ancient society, which valued men over women, regarding women as petty persons and harbingers of disaster. If one were to conclude from the fact that the World-Honored One initially did not permit women to renounce the household that the Buddha already viewed women as pests and blight, such a conclusion would be unreasonable. How could the Buddha knowingly transplant pest and blight into the rice field?

However, women's ordination did indeed present many problems, and the World-Honored One could not but consider them carefully. In Indian society of the time, men were valued over women, and women suffered much discrimination. According to Vinaya records, the economic life of women — dependent on alms — was considerably harder than that of the Bhikshus. Wandering, lodging, and teaching all involved greater problems for women than for men, due to safety concerns such as avoidance of assault. Moreover, women's strong attachment to relatives, narrow-mindedness, and physical weakness — these general tendencies arising from social environment — inevitably caused difficulties for the Sangha. Nevertheless, the World-Honored One ultimately agreed to women's ordination, because if problems exist, one should solve them; otherwise the problems remain.

Consider: when the World-Honored One first attained perfect enlightenment, he wished to proclaim the true Dharma he had realized to convert sentient beings, achieving present happiness, future happiness, and ultimate happiness. Yet, considering the entrenched habits of the age, he found it difficult to express the original intent of his enlightenment, and for three weeks he engaged in a long period of solitary practice, pondering how to respond. He once lamented: "My Dharma is profoundly subtle; without faith, how can it be understood? What I have diligently realized would be spoken in vain; I would rather not preach the Dharma, and swiftly enter nirvana." ... Later, tradition has it that Brahma came to beseech him, and only then did the Buddha rise and disseminate his true Dharma. (39) Is this not of the same essence as the narrative in the scriptures, in which Ananda's repeated requests led to Gotami's ordination, indicating that the Buddha, after long deliberation over the difficulties of women's ordination, finally established the Eight Heavy Rules as the key to resolving the problem and permitted women to renounce the household!

Thus, within the spirit of the Buddha's universal compassion, women at last left the household and gained the equal opportunity to cultivate the path and attain liberation. If the prophecy that "when women renounce the household, the True Dharma will decrease five hundred years" is regarded as the speculation of the dhuta-practitioner Mahakashyapa, the Vinaya-minded Upali, and others, who, observing the gradual mix of types within the Sangha, attributed the decline to women's ordination and anticipated that the True Dharma would not long endure — this is a reasonable interpretation. However, the Vinaya masters transmit it as a prophecy of the World-Honored One, which has provoked much debate.

This prophecy, according to the Sutras and Vinayas, has three divergent accounts:

(a) Ananda repeatedly requested, and the Buddha permitted: only after Ananda conveyed to Gotami that women's ordination was a settled matter did the Buddha then prophesy that with women's ordination, the True Dharma would decline by five hundred years. Ananda heard this and made no response. This is the account of the Southern Transmission Tamrasatiya Vinaya and the Majjhima Nikaya's Gotami Sutta.

(b) The content is the same as (a), but at the end, Ananda, "having heard this, wept bitterly in grief and said to the Buddha: 'World-Honored One! I did not previously hear or know of this teaching; I implored that women may renounce the household and receive full ordination. If I had known in advance, would I have requested three times?'" (40) This is the account of the Mahishasaka Vinaya. Yet, if it were truly as the Mahishasaka Vinaya states, then at the Council, when Mahakashyapa criticized him for "requesting the Buddha to ordain women," (41) Ananda should have wept and confessed his fault. Why then was Ananda not seen to be at fault? This is unreasonable.

(c) Ananda requested the Buddha to ordain women; the Buddha told Ananda that with women's ordination the True Dharma would not endure long, and gave the two similes. But Ananda paid no heed and continued to make his request; only then did the Buddha permit. This is the account of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, the Madhyama Agama, Volume 28, Gotami Sutta, and the Madhyama-bhadra-carita Sutra.

Considered by ordinary human sentiment, Ananda — reverent toward the Buddha and the Dharma, of vast learning and keen insight — would not have insisted on his request if he knew it would destroy the Buddha Dharma. This is hard to believe. Therefore, when requesting the ordination of women, if the World-Honored One had already prophesied, no matter at what stage he spoke it, the matter would be inconsistent with reason and human feeling. On this basis, Master Yin Shun concluded: "The Vinaya masters could not place the prophecy at any stage without contradiction, yet they had to insert it somewhere, so they placed it either before or after, resulting in self-contradiction!" (42)

This must be because, as the Buddha Dharma developed, fame and gain became easier to obtain, so many of impure motivation entered the Buddhist household life, causing the Sangha to grow mixed in quality. Moreover, with women's ordination, the Sangha took on many additional problems, creating an unfavorable impression in society; consequently, the elders of the dhuta-practitioners and the Vinaya-keepers attributed all of this to women's ordination, giving rise to the saying that with women's ordination the True Dharma will decrease five hundred years. In reality, Ananda's request to ordain women, and the World-Honored One's permission of women's ordination, represent the Buddhist view of equality between men and women in cultivation and liberation!

2. Review of the Bhikshuni Eight Heavy Rules

The recognition of the Bhikshuni Sangha in Buddhism is of considerable significance. Within the monastic system, the Bhikshuni Sangha is independent, but this independence is only formal; in actuality it is an appendage of the Bhikshu Sangha, dependent on the Bhikshu Sangha for its existence. This fact can be illustrated through the Eight Heavy Rules, and through them we can also see the Buddha's protection of women.

The Eight Heavy Rules (attha garu-dhamma), also translated as the Eight Respectful Dharmas, the Eight Non-Transgressing Dharmas, or the Eight Venerable-Teacher Dharmas, are traditionally recounted as follows: when the Buddha's maternal aunt, Mahaprajapati, requested to renounce the household, the World-Honored One proposed that only if women accepted the "Eight Heavy Rules" would they be permitted to renounce the household. The Eight Heavy Rules are the implementation plan by which Bhikshunis should respect the Bhikshus and submit to their guidance. What significance do the Eight Heavy Rules hold for women? Do they contradict the Buddha's thought of equality?

Let us first look closely at the context surrounding the Eight Rules of Respect (八敬法) established by the World-Honored One. The Vinayamātṛkā (毗尼母经), Volume One, states: "The reason the Eight Rules were prescribed for women is like a person who wishes to cross water first building a bridge or boat, so that when later the waters rise high, he will surely be able to cross. The Eight Rules are likewise; out of concern that the True Dharma would be compromised in later ages, they were set forth for women." The Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra (大爱道比丘尼经), Upper Volume, adds: "There are Eight Rules that one may not overstep; one should study and uphold them for the entirety of one's life, with self-discipline, faith, and single-minded dedication to practice. It is like building a sturdy embankment to hold back water, so that no seepage occurs..."(43) This passage makes clear that when the Buddha permitted women to go forth into homelessness, he had already carefully weighed the internal and external factors that could affect the entire Buddhist Sangha, and only then put measures in place to address problems before they arose, to prevent harm before it could take root. So what were the considerations that led the World-Honored One to weigh this decision so carefully?

㈠ Social Criticism and Opposition from Non-Buddhist Traditions: In the society of that time, men and women held vastly different social status. The independence of the Bhikṣuṇī Sangha would signal a shift toward gender equality, something contemporary society was not prepared to accept. Further, dominant Indian social views held that śramaṇas were expected to practice strict celibacy. If women joined the Sangha, the core śramaṇa community, it would inevitably draw public criticism, attacks, and exclusion from non-Buddhist traditions. For example, Volume Four of the Vinayamātṛkā records that during the Scriptural Compilation, Venerable Mahākāśyapa reproached Ānanda on seven matters, among which, because Ānanda had petitioned for women to go forth, ten charges were brought against him:

1. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always bring vessels of food, kneel by the roadside, and offer them to the śramaṇas.
2. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always offer robes and bedding, going out onto the road to seek the śramaṇas to receive them.
3. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always ride elephant-drawn or horse-drawn carriages along the roadside and prostrate themselves with the five limbs to invite śramaṇas to tread over them.
4. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always spread out their hair on the road to invite śramaṇas to tread over them.
5. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always, with reverent hearts, invite śramaṇas to their homes for offerings.
6. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always, with reverent hearts, sweep clean the ground and spread their upper garments on it for śramaṇas to sit upon.
7. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always remove their upper garments to brush the dust from the bhikṣus' feet.
8. If women had not gone forth, lay supporters would always spread out their hair to brush the dust from the bhikṣus' feet.
9. If women had not gone forth, the prestige and virtue of śramaṇas would have surpassed the sun and moon; how much less would lay supporters and non-Buddhist traditions have dared to look a śramaṇa in the face.
10. If women had not gone forth, the Buddha’s True Dharma would have endured for a thousand years; now, it will last only five hundred....(44)

These ten charges make plain that the pressure exerted on Buddhism by wider society and non-Buddhist traditions was one key factor the Buddha had to weigh with great care.

㈡ Safety of the Wandering Life: The Sangha lived by alms-begging, moving through forests and towns with only their bowls. The following challenges were especially pressing:

1. Natural Disasters: Every year, the three months starting in mid-June bring monsoon rains to India, with heavy downpours that cause rivers to swell and flood. These conditions posed a major hardship for ordained people living a wandering life.
2. Public Safety: While the Buddha’s time saw a growing economy, stark wealth inequality and conflicts between small states led to frequent bandit raids. According to vinaya records, when bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs were begging alms or practicing meditation beneath the trees, they were often subjected to robbery and molestation by bandits. For example, the Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya (摩诃僧祇律), Volume Twenty-Nine, records: "At that time, Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī and five hundred bhikṣuṇīs were meditating in the Kaiyan Forest. All were young, beautiful women from the Śākya, Malla, and Licchavi clans who had gone forth. During the first watch of the night, a group of lewd young men came to assault them; the bhikṣuṇīs escaped only by means of their spiritual powers..."(45) The Daśādhyāya Vinaya (十诵律), Volume Twelve, also records: "A bhikṣu is not permitted to share a boat with a bhikṣuṇī. The bhikṣuṇīs said, ‘If that is the rule, Venerables, you may cross first.’ The boat left and never returned. The bhikṣuṇīs were forced to sleep on the shore; that night, thieves arrived, stripped them of all their clothes, and left them naked."(46)
3. Female Physiology: Women’s monthly menstruation and typically weaker physical strength both brought difficulties and dangers to the wandering lifestyle. These practical challenges made it easy to see how women’s presence would create hardships for the Sangha’s way of life.

㈢ Safeguarding the Sangha’s Celibacy: The Buddha taught all who go forth to practice absolute celibacy, as his core teaching aims to free beings from attachment and bondage. Desire is the greatest tie binding people to saṃsāra, and so it is to be abandoned. What is more, the very first precept the Buddha established came about when the bhikṣu Sudinna committed a sexual offense. With women now joining the Sangha, the impact on the community’s discipline and practice could not be ignored.

㈣ Women’s Wisdom: While women are generally physically weaker than men, their wisdom and spiritual attainment are in no way inferior, and may even surpass men’s. We can see this clearly in the Therīgāthā (长老尼偈), in sūtra and vinaya accounts, and in the ten foremost female disciples of the Buddha.

1. The Therīgāthā is a collection of personal verses and confessions from the Buddha’s elder bhikṣuṇī disciples, expressing their direct spiritual experiences. For example, from the verses of the bhikṣuṇī Vimala, who had once been a courtesan, we can clearly read her spiritual ideal: "All fetters binding me to the heavenly or human realms have now been wholly severed; all defilements that once numbed my mind have likewise been abandoned. In this stillness I am fully content, and have found lasting peace."(47) The Therīgāthā contains 522 verses. More than just works of women’s religious literature, these verses show the fierce resolve with which women rejected and resisted male temptation in their practice. For example, when a young man repeatedly tried to seduce and harass the bhikṣuṇī Subhā, she gouged out her own eyes rather than give in. Shocked by her resolve, the man immediately lost all desire for her, confessed his wrongdoing, and begged her forgiveness.(48)
2. The following verses from Volume Forty-Five of the Saṃyuktāgama (杂阿含经) show bhikṣuṇīs repelling demonic disturbances and holding firmly to their practice: ㈠ Bhikṣuṇī Alavikā: "In the world there is a path to liberation—I know this for myself, through my own attainment; Base and lowly Evil One, you know nothing of this path. Just as a sharp blade brings harm, the five senses and their objects are the same; Just as the punishment of cutting flesh brings pain, so too do the five aggregates bring suffering. As you yourself said, those who indulge in the five desires Find no joy there, only a realm of great terror! Forsaking all joy and pleasure, abandoning the thick darkness of ignorance, Having realized the deathless, I abide free of all defilements. I see you clearly, Evil One—now depart and be destroyed!"(49) ㈡ Bhikṣuṇī Somā: "When the mind is established in right concentration, what use is a woman’s body? Once wisdom has arisen, the supreme Dharma is attained! If the mind cannot let go of ideas of male and female, It follows the demon’s delusion—go and tell him this. Forsaking all suffering, abandoning all darkness, Having attained the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. I see you, Evil One—now destroy yourself and vanish."(50) ㈢ Bhikṣuṇī Kisāgotamī: "Boundless sons—all have been lost; This is the shore of men, and I have crossed far beyond it. No longer afflicted, no longer sorrowing, the Buddha’s teaching is fulfilled; All love and suffering abandoned, all darkness cast off, Having realized the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. I know you, wicked demon—depart now and be destroyed!"(51) ㈣ Bhikṣuṇī Uppalavaṇṇā: "Even if a hundred thousand cunning, deceitful beings Like you demons came to where I dwell, They cannot move a single hair of mine; I do not fear you, Evil One! ……………… ……………… My mind holds great power, well cultivated in spiritual faculties; The great bondage has been cut; I do not fear you, Evil One. I have cast out the three poisons, the root of all terror; Abiding in the ground of fearlessness, I fear no army of demons. Freed from all love and delight, having abandoned all darkness, Having realized nirvāṇa, I abide with all defilements ended. I see you, Evil One—vanish and be destroyed of your own accord!"(52) ㈤ Bhikṣuṇī Selā: "You speak of beings—this is the view of the Evil One; Only a hollow cluster of aggregates exists; there is no "being" here at all. Just as people call assembled wood a "chariot", So too do the aggregates combine by conditions, and we give them the name "being." Their arising is the arising of suffering; their abiding is the abiding of suffering; When no conditions remain to give rise to suffering, suffering’s arising ceases of itself. Forsaking all attachment to suffering, abandoning all darkness, Having realized serenity, I abide with all defilements ended. Having seen you, Evil One, you vanish and are destroyed on your own."(53) ㈥ Bhikṣuṇī Vajirā: "This body was not made by itself, nor made by any other; It arises when conditions meet; when conditions separate, it is ground away. Just as all kinds of seeds in the world grow from the great earth, So too do the aggregates, elements, and sense bases arise from earth, water, fire, and wind; When conditions combine, they arise; when conditions part, they are destroyed. Forsaking all attachment to suffering, abandoning all darkness, Having realized serenity, I abide with all defilements ended. The Evil One sees this clearly—and destroys himself at once!"(54) ㈦ Bhikṣuṇī Vijayā: "Songs, dances, and all manner of performances, every kind of shared pleasure— I give them all to you now; they are not what I seek. If serene right concentration, or the five desires of gods and humans, All of these I offer to you as well; they are not what I require. Forsaking all joy, abandoning all darkness, Having realized the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. Having seen you, Evil One, you shall vanish and be destroyed on your own."(55) ㈧ Bhikṣuṇī Gaḷā: "All that is born must surely die; birth brings every kind of suffering; Beatings and all torments—all arise from conditioned existence. One should cut off all suffering, transcend all birth; With the eye of wisdom contemplating the noble truths, the teaching of the Muni— Suffering, the origin of suffering, cessation, and the path leading to the end of suffering, Practice the Noble Eightfold Path, and walk securely toward nirvāṇa; The Great Teacher’s impartial Dharma—I rejoice in this Dharma; Knowing this Dharma, I no longer delight in being born. Freed from all love and joy, having abandoned all darkness, Having realized the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. I see you, Evil One—vanish and be destroyed of your own accord!"(56) ㈨ Bhikṣuṇī Upacālā: "The Heaven of the Thirty-Three, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇaratī, and Parinirmitavaśavartin—all these heavenly realms Are not free from conditioned existence; therefore they fall under the demon’s control. All the world, without exception, is a gathering of conditioned formations; All the world, without exception, is subject to constant change; All the world, without exception, burns ceaselessly with the fire of suffering; All the world, without exception, is perpetually clouded with dust and smoke. Unmoved and unshaken, I do not draw near to ordinary people; I do not fall into the demon’s path, and find joy in this very place! Freed from all attachment to suffering, having abandoned all darkness, Having realized the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. Having awakened to you, Evil One, you destroy yourself and vanish."(57) ㈩ Bhikṣuṇī Śiśupacālā: "All paths outside this Dharma are bound by wrong views; Bound by wrong views, one falls forever under the demon’s control! If one is born in the Śākya clan, with the incomparable Great Teacher as guide, One can subdue all demonic foes, and is not subdued by them. Freed from all defilements, the Dharma-eye sees all things clearly, All-knowing wisdom fully realized, the supreme one free from all taints— That one is my Great Teacher; I take joy only in his Dharma. Having entered that Dharma, I have attained the peace that passes beyond, Freed from all love and joy, having abandoned all darkness, Having realized the deathless, I abide with all defilements ended. Having seen you, Evil One, you vanish and are destroyed as I have said."(58)

These verses show the fierce determination with which these bhikṣuṇīs rejected demonic temptation, demonstrating the depth of their wisdom and attainment. Women’s dedication to the path of liberation deserves to be taken seriously.

3. The Buddha’s Ten Foremost Female Disciples: Sūtra records name fifty bhikṣuṇīs of great renown among the Buddha’s female disciples. The ten most eminent were:

| Rank | Name | |---|---| | Foremost in Ordination Seniority | Mahāprajāpatī | | Foremost in Wisdom | Khemā | | Foremost in Spiritual Powers | Utpalavarṇā | | Foremost in Teaching the Dharma | Dhammadinnā | | Foremost in Diligence | Sonā | | Foremost in Quick Wisdom | Bakkula | | Foremost in Upholding the Vinaya | Paṭācārā | | Foremost in Meditation | Nandā | | Foremost in the Divine Eye | Sakulā | | Foremost in Faith | Sigālamātā |

It is clear from the many accomplished bhikṣuṇīs in the Buddha’s time that women’s wisdom and spiritual attainment could not be excluded from the Sangha.

㈤ The Growing Influence of the Bhikṣuṇī Sangha: Given the wisdom and ability of women, the growing influence of the Bhikṣuṇī Sangha was a development the Buddha could not ignore. According to vinaya records:

1. The Elder Mahākāśyapa often taunted the bhikṣuṇīs, calling them “non-Buddhists” (外道)(59), “petty bhikṣus” (小小比丘)(60), and comparing them to “a needle-seller hawking wares at the needle-maker’s house”(61). When begging for alms, he would turn his back and shield it with his elbow to avoid accepting offerings from them(62). These deliberate acts of disrespect caused them no end of trouble.
2. The bhikṣuṇī Khemā was sharp and quick-witted; once she posed questions to a group of bhikṣus that they could not answer, leaving them deeply embarrassed.(63)
3. The Elder Upāli was once surrounded and beaten by a group of bhikṣuṇīs, as recorded in Volume Thirteen of the Wu-fen Lü (五分律).(64)

Both Mahākāśyapa and Upāli were senior elders of the Sangha, yet they faced this kind of mockery and even physical assault from bhikṣuṇīs. This gives us a clear sense of the growing influence of the Bhikṣuṇī Sangha in the Buddha’s time; maintaining harmony and discipline within the community was a challenge that could not be overlooked.

㈥ Education for Bhikṣuṇīs: In Indian society of that era, girls from cultured or wealthy families might have the opportunity to learn Vedic rituals or the arts, but these educational privileges were entirely out of reach for women from lower-class or impoverished backgrounds.(65) Unsurprisingly, women had far fewer educational opportunities than men overall. The Buddha was committed to improving women’s social status and raising the caliber of the Sangha, so he devoted significant effort to providing education for women. The large number of accomplished bhikṣuṇīs in his time is a clear sign of the success of these efforts.

In short, the Buddha established the Eight Rules of Respect to address each of these six concerns. How these rules would resolve these issues, foster harmony in the Sangha, and ensure the lasting endurance of the True Dharma, the author will explain in detail in the sections on the Eight Rules below.

Surviving records of the Eight Rules contain one or two variations. Below, following Master Yinshun’s comparative overview in The Compilation of the Sacred Scriptures of Primitive Buddhism (《原始佛教圣典之集成》), the differing recensions are outlined as follows:

Views on the content of the Eight Rules of Respect differ among Buddhist schools. Here, we will follow the order given in the Tsu-chi Lü (《铜□律》), examining each rule in turn to unpack the Buddha’s intention and the spirit behind their establishment.

1. Even a bhikṣuṇī who has been ordained for a hundred years must bow to and greet a newly ordained bhikṣu, as a gesture of respect.

Regardless of seniority or learning, the formal structure of the Saṅgha places bhikṣuṇīs in a position subordinate to bhikṣus. Yet in essence, “respect begets no insult”: to earn others’ respect, one must first offer it. This is a simple matter of human reciprocity, rooted in the dignity of every person and the fundamental equality of all beings.

For instance, the first women to join the Saṅgha were mostly Śākya clan noblewomen, who naturally fell into pride at their high birth and arrogance at their talents. As recorded in the Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra, fascicle lower: “At one time, the bhikṣuṇī Mahāprajāpatī went with the elder bhikṣuṇīs to see the venerable Ānanda and asked, ‘Ānanda, these elder bhikṣuṇīs have all practiced the holy life for many years and have realized the Truth. How can they be required to bow to newly ordained, young bhikṣus?’”(67) The Buddha rejected this request, intending for women to seek the Dharma through reverence. Furthermore, these rules of respect kept the bhikṣu and bhikṣuṇī Saṅghas at a remove from one another, preventing the arising of romantic desire. In practical terms, placing men in leadership roles also shielded the Saṅgha from social criticism and reduced hostility from non-Buddhist groups.

2. Bhikṣuṇīs may not observe the three-month Rain Retreat (varṣā) in a place where no bhikṣus are nearby. This rule was established with bhikṣuṇīs’ safety and education in mind: if no bhikṣus lived nearby, they would face safety risks during the retreat, and would have no one to turn to for biweekly guidance. For example, the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, fascicle 13: “At that time, bhikṣuṇīs observing the Rain Retreat in a place with no bhikṣu community had all kinds of doubts: who was fit for ordination and who was not, who could receive the precepts and who could not, whether robes had been made correctly, and many other questions about the precepts they had no one to ask. They were also harassed by malicious people and non-Buddhist outsiders.”(68)

3. The Buddha established biweekly upoṣadha (posadha) ceremonies and the recitation of the Prātimokṣa. Bhikṣuṇīs hold their upoṣadha and precept recitations within the bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha, and also appoint one bhikṣuṇī to represent the assembly in visiting the bhikṣu Saṅgha to “request an instructor” and “ask about the upoṣadha.” The bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha was formed after the bhikṣu Saṅgha, so all its regulations were developed with guidance from the bhikṣu Saṅgha. This practice let the two independent assemblies stay in communication, fostering Saṅgha harmony while also completing the bhikṣuṇīs’ training.

4. At the close of the three-month Rain Retreat comes the pravāraṇa ceremony, where participants invite others to point out their faults as openly as possible, so they can confess and return to a state of purity. After the bhikṣuṇīs complete their pravāraṇa within the bhikṣuṇī assembly, they must go the next day to the bhikṣu dwelling, join the bhikṣu Saṅgha in a shared pravāraṇa, and ask the bhikṣus to point out any of their faults to help them purify themselves. This follows the same reasoning as the previous rule: to build mutual understanding and hold each other accountable.

5. The Tāmraśāṭīya Vinaya (Dharmaguptaka Vinaya) states that bhikṣuṇīs who violate the “rules of respect” must perform mānatva penance before both Saṅghas. This is the atonement process for a saṃghāvaśeṣa offense; for bhikṣus, this penance lasts six nights, but for bhikṣuṇīs it lasts a full half-month—a clearly harsher sentence. In addition to performing the “compliance procedure” within the bhikṣuṇī assembly, a bhikṣuṇī who breaks these rules must also report daily to the bhikṣu dwelling: “I am observing mānatva; [x] nights have passed, [x] remain; may the Saṅgha bear this in mind.” Once the half-month is complete, she must also undergo the rehabilitation process before both Saṅghas, which requires a total of forty monks and nuns present. This is the foundational stance of women in the Saṅgha system: to revere the bhikṣu Saṅgha. In terms of spiritual cultivation and realization, bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs are fully equal. But in the social context of the time, with its vast gender inequality, women’s limited access to education, weaker physical standing, and strong familial ties meant they could not organize or sustain themselves independently. They therefore relied on the instruction and guidance of the bhikṣu Saṅgha. Teaching and advising bhikṣuṇīs is not a privilege reserved for bhikṣus, but a core responsibility of all venerable senior monks. For example, the Saṃyuktāgama, fascicle 11: “The Buddha instructed the venerable senior bhikṣus that they should instruct the bhikṣuṇīs. The bhikṣus in turn instructed the bhikṣuṇīs in sequence. When it came to Nanda’s turn, he was unwilling to instruct. At that time, the World-honored One said to Nanda: ‘You should instruct the bhikṣuṇīs and teach them the Dharma. Why? Because I myself instruct the bhikṣuṇīs, and so should you; I teach the bhikṣuṇīs the Dharma, and so should you.’”(69) Furthermore, the Vinaya sets out stipulations for bhikṣus who serve as instructors, as recorded in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Ekādaśakarman, fascicle 7: “If a bhikṣu possesses the seven qualities required to instruct bhikṣuṇīs, he should be appointed if he has not been already, and should not abandon the role once appointed. What are the seven? First, he upholds the precepts; second, he is learned; third, he is of long standing in the Saṅgha; fourth, he is skilled in refined, appropriate speech; fifth, he has never engaged in sexual misconduct with a bhikṣuṇī; sixth, he can clearly explain the permitted and prohibited aspects of the eight pārājika rules; seventh, he can skillfully expound the eight rules of respect.”(70) Thus, from the perspective of preserving the True Dharma in the world, bhikṣuṇīs are expected to follow the rules of respect. Violating these rules amounts to rejecting the bhikṣu Saṅgha’s guiding role, which is equivalent to undermining the Saṅgha system and showing disrespect to the bhikṣu Saṅgha. Offenders must therefore perform mānatva penance before both assemblies to acknowledge their wrongdoing to the bhikṣu Saṅgha.

6. After completing two years of training in the śikṣamāṇā precepts under a bhikṣuṇī preceptor, a candidate receives full ordination via the “ten-member formal karma” procedure within the bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha. That same day, she goes to the bhikṣu Saṅgha, and before a joint assembly of both Saṅghas with at least ten members present, she receives full ordination again. This dual recognition is required for a bhikṣuṇī’s full ordination, and it must be confirmed by the bhikṣu Saṅgha.

7. Bhikṣuṇīs are forbidden from verbally abusing or slandering bhikṣus. This rule of respect does not appear in the Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya or the Daśādhyāya Vinaya; the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and Mahīśāsaka Vinaya go further, adding a rule that bhikṣuṇīs may not discuss bhikṣus’ faults with laypeople. This is the rule that varies most widely across Vinaya traditions, and it is rooted in a desire to preserve the Saṅgha’s purity and harmony.

8. Under no circumstances may bhikṣuṇīs point out faults in bhikṣus, whether they have seen, heard, or merely suspected them, while bhikṣus are permitted to point out bhikṣuṇīs’ faults. The Vibhaṅga-śāstra states: “Bhikṣuṇīs may not interrogate bhikṣus or instruct them in the training.”(71) The Daśādhyāya Vinaya records: “If a bhikṣuṇī is told not to ask about the Sūtras or Vinaya, she may not pose questions about them.”(72) The first rule concerns questioning bhikṣus about their faults, while the second specifically refers to challenging questions about Sūtra and Vinaya teachings. Both rules serve to uphold the dignity of the bhikṣu Saṅgha, as there was no shortage of sharp, wise bhikṣuṇīs. For instance: “The bhikṣuṇī Anwei, who was greatly wise, asked various bhikṣus about the meaning of the teachings; when questioned, the bhikṣus could not answer, and were all filled with shame.”(73) This rule of respect is therefore an expression of the bhikṣuṇīs’ humility regarding Dharma principles. Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya includes a “not receiving first” rule of respect: if laypeople offer food, lodging, bedding, or other gifts to bhikṣuṇīs, the bhikṣuṇīs must first allow the laypeople to make the same offering to bhikṣus before they themselves may accept the gift. This is an expression of the bhikṣuṇīs’ humility regarding material offerings.

While the eight rules of respect outlined in the Vinayas above are well known, the version listed in the Mahāprajāpatī-bhikṣuṇī-sūtra and Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra is more directly relevant and important for preventing transgressions and supporting the virtue of bhikṣuṇīs. They are listed as follows:

1. Bhikṣus uphold the great precepts; bhikṣuṇīs should receive the true Dharma from them, and must not treat them with casual disrespect or contempt, nor tease, laugh with, or chat about frivolous matters with them for their own amusement. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “Bhikṣus uphold the great precepts; bhikṣuṇīs should receive the true Dharma from them.”) This admonishes bhikṣuṇīs not to use the act of receiving the Dharma as an excuse for frivolous, disrespectful interaction.

2. Bhikṣus uphold the great precepts; for half a month or longer, bhikṣuṇīs should show them reverence, and must not casually ask, “New śramaṇas, have you been striving diligently? How are you bearing the cold and heat today?” If such words are spoken, they will disturb the minds of newly ordained bhikṣus. All should cultivate self-respect, practice self-discipline, encourage and support the newly ordained, stay far from indulgence in desire, and remain composed and self-possessed. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “The bhikṣu Saṅgha upholds the great precepts for half a month or longer; bhikṣuṇīs should attend to them.”) This rule governs speech.

3. Bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs may not live together or share quarters. Co-habitation is impure, leads to entanglement in desire, and opens the door to grave offenses. All must firmly restrain themselves, clearly cut off desire, and remain composed and self-disciplined. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “The bhikṣu Saṅgha and bhikṣuṇīs may not live together or share quarters.”) This admonition against shared residence exists to prevent conditions for sexual intimacy between men and women, and forms the foundation of purity for both Saṅghas.

4. [Bhikṣuṇīs] should remain in one place for three months, holding each other accountable. For anything they hear or see, whether confirmed or unconfirmed, they should have no occasion for unnecessary interaction with outsiders; they should remain composed and self-disciplined. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “They should remain in one place for three months, examining one another; what is heard and seen, they should examine themselves.”)

5. Bhikṣuṇīs may not initiate lawsuits or disputes on their own. If bhikṣus question them about anything they have heard or seen, the bhikṣuṇīs must immediately reflect on their own faults and wrongdoings, and must not speak loudly or act in a provocative, desirous manner; they should examine themselves and remain composed and self-disciplined. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “Bhikṣuṇīs may not initiate lawsuits or disputes over matters of the bhikṣu Saṅgha; if the bhikṣu Saṅgha questions them about anything they have heard or seen, the bhikṣuṇīs should immediately examine themselves.”)

6. Bhikṣuṇīs who are earnestly pursuing the path may ask the bhikṣu Saṅgha about Sūtras and Vinaya. They may discuss only the prajñā-pāramitā, and must not engage in talk of worldly, trivial matters with the bhikṣus. Anyone who engages in such trivial talk shows they are not truly on the path, but are worldly, indulgent people. All should examine themselves deeply, and remain composed and self-disciplined. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “Bhikṣuṇīs earnestly pursuing the path may ask the bhikṣu Saṅgha about Sūtras and Vinaya.”)

7. If a bhikṣuṇī who has not yet attained awakening violates the Vinaya rules, she should go to the Saṅgha assembly for half a month to confess her faults and repent, letting go of her proud, arrogant attitude. As stated earlier, she should feel shame and contrition, examine herself deeply, and remain composed and self-disciplined. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “If a bhikṣuṇī who has not yet attained awakening violates the Vinaya rules, she should go to the assembly for half a month to confess her faults and repent, letting go of her proud, arrogant attitude.”) Confessing faults and repenting are essential conditions for practicing the path and cutting through delusion.

8. Even if a bhikṣuṇī has upheld the great precepts for a hundred years, she should take a seat below newly ordained bhikṣus who have just received the great precepts, and bow to them with humility and reverence. (The Madhyama-utpāda-sūtra version: “Even if a bhikṣuṇī has upheld the great precepts for a hundred years, she should take a seat below the newly ordained, young bhikṣu Saṅgha who have received the great precepts, and bow to them with humility and reverence.”)(74)

In sum, the eight rules of respect recorded in these two sūtras are mostly absent from the standard Vinayas, and their purpose is clear: they are all designed as character education for bhikṣuṇīs, forming a vital safeguard for their progress in virtue and spiritual practice. Looking at the core intent of these eight rules: while the Buddha confirmed that both men and women who leave home and receive the great precepts can attain the first through fourth fruitions of awakening, from the standpoint of upholding the Vinaya framework and carrying the weighty responsibility of preserving the holy teaching, women of the time were seen as physically and socially weaker, less likely to inspire respect and faith, and more likely to bring disrepute to the Dharma than benefit in spreading it. The bhikṣuṇī Saṅgha therefore depends on the larger bhikṣu Saṅgha, so that equality can be realized through this very distinction. This was truly a painstaking measure (苦心) that the Buddha had no choice but to adopt.

Notes: ① Saṃyuktāgama (Separate Translation), fascicle 12 (Taishō vol. 2, 458c). ② Saṃyuktāgama, fascicle 36 (Taishō vol. 2, 263b–c). ③ Dīrghāgama, fascicle 11, Siṅgāla-sutta (Taishō vol. 1, 70–72). ④ Madhyamāgama, fascicle 33, Siṅgāla-sutta (Taishō vol. 1, 638a–642a). ⑤ Śikṣākṛtā-ṣaḍaṅga-sūtra (Taishō vol. 1, 250c–252b). ⑥ Siṅgāla-sūtra (Taishō vol. 1, 252b–255a). ⑦ Iwamoto Yutaka, Buddhism and Women, pp. 24–25, Tokyo: [Publisher], 1980. ⑧ Ekottarāgama, fascicle 49 (Taishō vol. 2, 820c–821a). ⑨ Fo-shuo Asōda-jing (Taishō vol. 2, 863). ⑩ Fo-shuo Yuyēnǚ-jīng (Taishō vol. 2, 863c–864c). ⑪ Yuyēnǚ-jīng (Taishō vol. 2, 864c–865c). ⑫ Yuyē-jīng (Taishō vol. 2, 865c–867a). ⒀ Saṃyuktāgama, fascicle 48 (Taishō vol. 2, 354a). ⒁ Madhyamāgama, fascicle 7 (Taishō vol. 1, 465a). ⒂ Ekottarāgama, fascicle 32 (Taishō vol. 2, 725c). ⒃ Dīrghāgama, fascicle 1, Mahāpadāna-sutta (Taishō vol. 1, 3–5); Fo-shuo Qīfó-jīng (Taishō vol. 1, 150c); Qīfó fùmǔ xìngzì-jīng (Taishō vol. 1, 159). ⒄ Fo-shuo Āluóhàn jùdé-jīng (Taishō vol. 2, 834b). ⒅ Ekottarāgama, fascicle 50, [text continues].

⒅ Mahāprajāpatī Nirvāṇa Chapter (Taishō 2.821b–823b).

⒆ Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 36 (Taishō 2.266a).

⒇ Ekottarāgama, vol. 27 (Taishō 2.699a–b).

(21) Separate Translation of the Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 14 (Taishō 2.471a).

(22) Ekottarāgama, vol. 41 (Taishō 2.769b).

(23) Taishō 2.864a–867a.

(24) Ekottarāgama, vol. 3 (Taishō 2.560).

(25) Ekottarāgama, vol. 22 (Taishō 2.660–665b).

(26) Ekottarāgama, vol. 38 (Taishō 2.756b–758b).

(27) Dīrghāgama, vol. 2, Cārikā Sutta (Taishō 1.13b–14).

(28) Sutra of the Buddha's Parinirvāṇa (Taishō 1.160b).

(29) Madhyamāgama, vol. 35, Varṣāsthāma Sutta (Taishō 1.648b).

(30) Madhyamāgama, vol. 33, Siṅgāla Sutta (Taishō 1.641a).

(31) Sutra, Spoken by the Buddha, on the Sixfold Reverence of Sigālovāda (Taishō 1.641a).

(32) Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, middle section (Taishō 1.251a).

(33) Sutra of Ānanda's Fellow Students (Taishō 2.874b–875a).

(34) On the Thought of Primitive Buddhism, by Kimura Taiken, trans. Ouyang Hancun, pp. 236–237, Taipei Commercial Press, 1974.

(35) Sutra of the Woman Yāśodharā (Taishō 2.863b–864a, 866a).

(36) The scriptures recording the circumstances of Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī's ordination include:

Vinayamātṛkā, vol. 1 (Taishō 24.803).

Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sutra, upper section (Taishō 24.945b–946b).

Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), lower section (Taishō 22.185b–186a).

Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya), vol. 48 (Taishō 22.922b–923).

Sutra of the Middle Origin, lower section (Taishō 4.158).

Madhyamāgama, vol. 28, Gotamī Sutta (Taishō 1.605).

(37) Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya), vol. 48 (Taishō 22.922b–923a).

(38) Research on Primitive Buddhism, by Hirakawa Akira, p. 18, Shunjūsha, Japan, 1980 (886 bhikṣus, 103 bhikṣuṇīs).

(39) Buddhism in India, by Master Yin Shun, pp. 24–25, Taipei Chengwen Publishing, 1985.

(40) Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), vol. 29 (Taishō 22.186a).

(41) Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya), vol. 54 (Taishō 22.967b).

(42) "Where Does Ānanda Err?", by Master Yin Shun, Sound of the Tide, vol. 46, March issue, 1965, p. 13.

(43) See note (36).

(44) Vinayamātṛkā, vol. 4 (Taishō 24.818b–c).

(45) Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya, vol. 29 (Taishō 22.465b).

(46) Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya), vol. 12 (Taishō 23.83b).

(47) The Buddha and Women, by Iwamoto Yutaka, pp. 123–124, Daisan Bunmeisha Co., Ltd., Japan, 1980, trans. by the present author.

(48) See note (47), p. 229.

(49) Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 45 (Taishō 2.326a).

(50) See note (49) (Taishō 2.326b).

(51) See note (49) (Taishō 2.326c).

(52) See note (49) (Taishō 2.327a).

(53) See note (49) (Taishō 2.327b).

(54) See note (49) (Taishō 2.327c).

(55) See note (49) (Taishō 2.328a).

(56) See note (49) (Taishō 2.328b).

(57) See note (49) (Taishō 2.328c).

(58) See note (49) (Taishō 2.329a).

(59) Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya), vol. 40 (Taishō 23.291a).

(60) Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya), vol. 12 (Taishō 23.85b–c).

(61) Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 41 (Taishō 2.302b).

(62) Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya), vol. 40 (Taishō 23.291b).

(63) Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), vol. 14 (Taishō 22.98b).

(64) Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), vol. 12 (Taishō 22.90).

(65) An Investigation of Social Customs in the Time of the Buddha, by Lai Limei, p. 109, Master's thesis, Graduate Institute of Indian Culture, Chinese Culture University, 1985.

(66) The Compilation of the Primitive Buddhist Canon, by Master Yin Shun, pp. 402–403, Taipei Huiri Lecture Hall, 1978.

(67) Sutra of the Middle Origin, lower section (Taishō 4.159a).

(68) Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), vol. 13 (Taishō 22.89a).

(69) Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 11 (Taishō 2.74a).

(70) Mūlasarvāstivāda One Hundred and One Formal Acts, vol. 7 (Taishō 24.484). Additionally, in Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Five-Part Vinaya), vol. 7, there is the statement that "a bhikṣu who fulfills ten qualities should be appointed by the Saṅgha to admonish the bhikṣuṇīs" (Taishō 22.45b). What are the ten? First, he is accomplished in precepts and deportment, constantly fearful of even minor offenses; second, he is learned, able to penetrate the truth, and understands the Buddha's teachings—excellent in beginning, middle, and end, excellent in meaning and expression, complete in the marks of the pure brahmacariya; third, he is able to recite and comprehend both divisions of the Vinaya; fourth, he is able to speak well, with clear and fluent reasoning; fifth, he is ordained from a good family, with distinguished faculties; sixth, he has never been defiled within the Buddha's Dharma; seventh, his conduct is composed, his body upright without deviation, his robes clean and orderly; eighth, he is respected by the community of bhikṣuṇīs; ninth, he teaches in accordance with the Dharma, showing, instructing, benefiting, and gladdening them; tenth, he is full twenty years old, or older.

(71) Vimativinodanī (Treatise of Twenty-Two Clarifications) (Taishō 24.670).

(72) Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Ten Recitations Vinaya), vol. 47 (Taishō 32.345c).

(73) Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Four-Part Vinaya), vol. 30 (Taishō 22.775c).

(74) Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sutra, upper section (Taishō 24.946).

Sutra of the Middle Origin (Taishō 4.158b–159a).

Chapter Four: The View of Women in the Age of Hīnayāna Buddhism

Section 1: A Review of the Teaching on Women's Five Obstacles

The sūtras and vinayas were compiled by the bhikkhu (monk) sangha. Because the different sects held varying attitudes toward women, their content reflects these differences.[^1] Generally speaking, we can see varying degrees of discrimination toward women in the sūtras and vinayas of each sect from the Hīnayāna period (c. 370 BCE – 500 CE). For instance, the texts record a teaching called "women have five obstacles" (five states they cannot attain), which left many ordinary women with a deep sense of inferiority, leading them to willingly accept a lower status.

This teaching is also phrased as "women cannot accomplish five things" or "women are barred from five acts." The five obstacles are recorded in the canon as follows:

Women have five obstacles: they cannot become Śakra (Heavenly Emperor), Māra (Demon King), Brahmā King, Cakravartin (Wheel-Turning King), or the Dharma King of the Three Realms.[^2]

These five roles—Buddha, wheel-turning king, Brahmā king, Māra, and Śakra—were deemed inaccessible to women, attainable only by men (the "great man," or puruṣa). Hīnayānists upheld this view and excluded women because the Hīnayāna era emphasized the renunciant ideal and individual practice. In their view, allowing women to join the monastic order would create obstacles to the bhikkhus' cultivation. Hīnayānists blamed these difficulties on women, using the five-obstacle teaching to bar them from the possibility of attaining Buddhahood. For example, the Mahīśāsaka school held that only men who observe the brahmacarya (holy life) could attain these five states, and that women could never become Buddhas.[^3] The Mahāsaṃghika school took a milder stance: while women could not fill these five roles, they could still attain the supreme, true, and correct path after many kalpas.[^4] On the whole, Hīnayānists held that a woman's body could never awaken to full Buddhahood.

Does the Hīnayānists' exclusion and devaluation of women through the five-obstacle teaching mean the Buddha himself discriminated against women? No. This was simply a pretext Hīnayānists used to prevent women from ordaining, to make their own practice easier. It was not the Buddha's original intention.

Original sūtras do contain records of the Buddha teaching the five obstacles for women, including the Ekottara Āgama ("Chapter on the Eight Questions of the Blood-Sweating Devaputra"),[^5] the Mahīśāsaka and Haimavata Five-Part Vinaya,[^6] the Madhyama Āgama ("Gautamī Sūtra"),[^7] and others. But this teaching reveals something important: these five roles were already being used in Indian society at the time to deny women's social status and value. Since the Yajur Veda period (c. 1000–500 BCE), women's status was generally low, with sayings such as "women are untrustworthy," "women are impure," and "Three things are classed with impure deities: dice, women, and sleep."[^8] By the Brāhmaṇa period (c. 500–250 BCE), women's status had fallen even further: they were regarded as equivalent to Śūdras, and women's knowledge was dismissed as the same low, worldly knowledge as that of Śūdras. The penalty for killing a woman was also set to the same level as killing a Śūdra.[^9] Women in ancient India were also barred from political participation, and brahmacarya practitioners generally saw women as a major obstacle—Jainism, for example, did not permit women to join its śramaṇa order. So women, viewed as impure, of low intellect, and permanently excluded from political life, could not become Buddhas, wheel-turning kings, Brahmā kings, Śakra, or Māra; only men could attain these five roles. This reflects the pre-existing discriminatory attitudes toward women in Indian society of the time. The Buddha taught skillfully according to his listeners' capacities, using this worldly idea to admonish women, helping them let go of pride and attain awakening and the fruits of the path through respectful practice.

After much deliberation, the Buddha finally consented to allow women to ordain, on the condition that they observe the Eight Garudhammas (Eight Heavy Rules). One reason he established these rules was that the first women to request ordination, including Mahāpajāpatī and the other Śākya nuns, were all of noble birth. The Buddha worried these noble Śākya women might grow arrogant, hindering their spiritual progress and disrupting the harmony of the sangha. Hence the rule that even a bhikṣuṇī ordained for a hundred years must pay respect to a newly ordained bhikkhu. When Mahāpajāpatī, who had practiced brahmacarya for many years, asked the Buddha to abolish these rules, he taught the five obstacles for women to caution the nuns, subdue their pride, and help them cherish their hard-won chance to ordain and practice diligently.

In fact, the Buddha affirmed that women can attain the four fruits of the śramaṇa path, as recorded in the Mahīśāsaka and Haimavata Five-Part Vinaya:

"If a woman renounces the household life and receives full ordination, can she attain the four fruits of the śramaṇa path?" The Buddha said: "She can attain them."[^10]

To claim the Buddha despised or excluded women based on this teaching of the five obstacles is unreasonable.

The sūtras also state that women cannot perform these five deeds, which only men can do. But after his maternal aunt Mahāpajāpatī passed away, the Buddha praised her conduct as "the conduct of a great man, having attained the fruit of an arhat,"[^11] clear proof that he recognized women's capacity for the path. This further demonstrates that the Buddha's teaching of the five obstacles for women was intended only to encourage female practitioners, with no intention of disparaging women.

In summary, the teaching of women's five obstacles was a pretext Hīnayānists used to exclude women, not the Buddha's original intent. Later Mahāyāna teachings, in which women engaged with senior bhikkhus in discussions on the profound meaning of gender equality everywhere, can be said to be a revival of the spirit of the Sage Śākyamuni's own era.

Section 2: A Review of the Buddha's Thirty-Two Marks and the Teaching that Women Cannot Attain Buddhahood

Vinaya tradition records that Queen Māyā dreamed one night that a six-tusked white elephant entered her womb. King Śuddhodana summoned brahmin seers to interpret the dream.

The seers replied: "According to the science of physiognomy, Your Majesty's great queen will give birth to a son endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great man, with a magnificent form. If he inherits the throne, he will ride the golden wheel and subdue the four quarters; if he renounces the world to practice the path, he will attain the position of Dharma King, his name will be renowned throughout the ten directions, and he will be the father of all sentient beings...."[^12]

Later, Queen Māyā indeed gave birth to a son, and the king was overjoyed. He summoned the seers again to read the prince's physical marks:

"This prince has truly fulfilled the thirty-two marks. If he remains a householder, he will become a golden-wheel Cakravartin, ruling the four quarters with righteous governance, possessing the seven treasures... endowed with a thousand brave, handsome sons who will subdue hostile armies. All people in this land will live without conflict, and all will be guided to practice excellent wholesome dharmas. If he renounces the world, he will attain the position of Dharma King, a Tathāgata, arhat, perfectly awakened one, his name universally renowned, endowed with the thirty-two marks."[^13]

Tradition holds that the Buddha was born already endowed with the thirty-two marks. These thirty-two marks are the marks of a great man (mahāpurusha).[^14] According to Indian belief, these are the bodily characteristics befitting the highest authority. As one sūtra states: "When a universal monarch gives birth to a son with the thirty-two marks, he will immediately become a flying emperor, ruling the four quarters, with the seven treasures appearing naturally."[^15] The Japanese scholar Kimura Taiken argued that this Indian belief originated from the mythology of Viṣṇu,[^16] but on a worldly level, it was primarily associated with the bodily marks of a Cakravartin, the dominant belief in Buddhism at the time.

A Cakravartin was conceived as the ruler of the region of the Iron Ring Mountains, but long before the Buddha's era, Indians already harbored an ideal of a universal unifier. Eventually, the Cakravartin became the name for the ideal king who would unite the world. Possession of the wheel, a symbol of Viṣṇu, was one of the qualifications for this role; through the power of the wheel-king, the world would be unified in peace. The great-man marks, likely influenced by Persian tradition, came to be associated with these so-called thirty-two marks. Linking the Cakravartin to the Buddha: as a prince, the Buddha was already shaped by this ideal (according to vinaya tradition, this is why he retained a deep awareness of himself as a Dharma-realm wheel-king even after awakening. His heroic spirit of ruling the world through the true Dharma also aligned with the great aspirations of the wheel-king, hence the teaching being called "turning the wheel of Dharma"—i.e., teaching as a wheel-king rides the golden wheel to subdue the four quarters—and the establishment of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment[^17] corresponding to the seven treasures of the wheel-king. All of these remain tied to the wheel-king's mythology and regal imagery.)[^18] The thirty-two marks themselves were also transferred from the wheel-king to the Buddha. While the Buddha as a historical figure was originally described as handsome, the system of the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary marks of excellence evolved out of wheel-king mythology. Once this conception of marks and excellences entered Buddhism, it gradually became the distinctive feature of Buddhas and bodhisattvas (in their final incarnation). As sūtras state: "One who lacks even a single one of the thirty-two marks and eighty excellences is not a Buddha. I have now fulfilled all of them without exception, and thus I am called the Buddha,"[^19] and "They suddenly saw the bodhisattva, endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty excellences, his halo extending one fathom."[^20] The Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra, volume 177, specifically explains the relative superiority of the Cakravartin's thirty-two marks and the Buddha's thirty-two marks.

According to doctrinal accounts, the Northern Recension school held that the thirty-two marks are characteristics attained by bodhisattvas, and are exclusive to bodhisattvas. The Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra states that when a bodhisattva cultivates the thirty-two excellent marks, he abandons five inferior states and gains five superior states:

1. Having abandoned the evil realms, he is always reborn in wholesome realms;
2. Having abandoned a lowly family, he is always reborn in a noble family;
3. Having abandoned a non-male body, he always takes a male body;
4. Having abandoned incomplete faculties, he always possesses complete faculties;
5. Having abandoned a state of forgetfulness, he always has innate recollection.[^21]

From this Hīnayāna perspective on the thirty-two marks, we see they are exclusively the insignia, auspicious signs, and markers of superior attainment for Cakravartins, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas (the Buddha's final incarnation). What's more, even a bodhisattva who has cultivated the thirty-two excellent marks has already abandoned a non-male body and always takes a male form. Combined with the Hīnayāna doctrine of women's five obstacles, this seems to make clear that a woman's body cannot attain the thirty-two marks of excellence, and cannot become a Buddha or a wheel-turning king.

However, during the period when Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna circulated side by side (c. 150–500 CE), Hīnayāna teachings were influenced by Mahāyāna thought and underwent new changes. The claim that women could not attain Buddhahood was no longer absolute. For example, the Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra (belonging to the Sarvāstivāda school), volume 177, explains that the thirty-two marks are the result of "hundred-fold merit adornment"—that is, the result of practicing the ten wholesome actions through a hundred contemplations.[^22] This means women can also accumulate wholesome deeds and cultivate the marks of a great man; while they must ultimately transform to a male body in terms of dharma characteristics, they can still ultimately practice and attain full Buddhahood.

The Upāsaka Sūtra, which the Japanese scholar Hirakawa Akira identifies as an expansion of the spirit of the original Sigālovāda Sūtra,[^23] presents the same view as the Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra above. The sūtra records:

Śrīdatta asked: "World-Honored One, when does a bodhisattva's bodily strength become complete?" The Buddha said: "Good man! At the beginning of cultivating the karma of the thirty-two marks, one is called a bodhisattva when one cultivates and accumulates such karma.... Good man! From the time a bodhisattva begins cultivating the karma of the thirty-two marks until he attains anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, he never tires of wide learning. A bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates each mark, surrounded by a hundred merits.... Throughout immeasurable kalpas, the bodhisattva works for the great benefit of all sentient beings, performing all wholesome deeds with wholehearted diligence. Thus the Tathāgata accomplishes and fully possesses immeasurable merits. These thirty-two marks are the fruit of great compassion.... The substance of this karma of marks is bodily, vocal, and mental action. When cultivating this karma, it is not done in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three or on the northern continent, but only in a male body in the three other directions, not in a female body. Once a bodhisattva-mahāsattva has completed this cultivation, he is said to have fulfilled three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and will successively attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi...."[^24]

The sūtra explains that the thirty-two marks are cultivated by bodhisattvas, and a bodhisattva's final incarnation has already abandoned the female body and taken a male body. In the "Chapter on Vows" of this sūtra, the World-Honored One also says that the karma of the thirty-two marks can be accomplished by wise beings who are able to generate the supreme great vow. The sūtra further records:

Śrīdatta asked: "World-Honored One, who can accomplish this karma of the thirty-two marks?" The Buddha said: "Good man, the wise can accomplish it." "World-Honored One, what do you mean by wise?" The Buddha said: "Good man! Those who can well generate the supreme great vow are called wise. After a bodhisattva-mahāsattva generates bodhicitta, all wholesome deeds performed with body, speech, and mind, he vows to dedicate their future fruits to all sentient beings, to share them universally.... May I, in all future lives, never take a female body, a eunuch's body, a hermaphrodite's body, or a slave's body...."[^25]

If so, does this mean the Buddha's original intention was also to discriminate against women?

First, in line with the Buddha's spirit of equality: he held that a person's status—high or low, noble or base—is determined by their conduct, not by the physical form they are born with.

Second, the Buddha acknowledged natural differences between men and women in terms of their dharma characteristics. He also recognized that external conditions—social customs, educational access, and so on—led to deficiencies in women such as weaker physical strength, greater emotional reactivity, and narrower perspectives, all of which would inevitably hinder their spiritual attainments. Aware of this, the Buddha asked women to overcome the various obstacles of the female body, accumulate wholesome deeds, and become true great men.

Third, even if attaining Buddhahood requires a male body, the difference between men and women is only a single lifetime apart, caused by differing karmic forces. A male body in this life is the result of vows made by a female body in a past life; a female body in the next life is the result of vows made by a male body in this life. In light of the Buddha's teaching on saṃsāra, men and women are equal; how could women be subject to discrimination? What's more, the Buddha also spoke of his own past lives, in which he had been a muni woman[^26] and the Silver Woman,[^27] practicing the bodhisattva path and accumulating merits, and thereby attaining Buddhahood in this life.

This shows the Buddha held that all beings have equal opportunity to cultivate the thirty-two marks and fulfill the ideal of the Buddha path. So when Queen Śrīmālā in the Mahāyāna Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra makes her three great vows and ten great acceptances, she is a wise being capable of generating the supreme great vow, one who has cast off the unwholesome habits of the female body, attained the state of a true great man, and turned the great Dharma-wheel in this very life—a perfect expression of the Buddha's egalitarian spirit! The Contemplation of Amitāyus Sūtra likewise states: "The bodies of the Tathāgatas are Dharma-realm bodies, universally entering the minds of all sentient beings. Therefore, when you call the Buddha to mind, that mind itself is the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary excellences; that mind creates the Buddha, that mind is the Buddha."[^28] When compared with the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, the Mahāyāna exaltation of the Buddha's egalitarian spirit becomes even more clear. As for Hīnayāna discrimination against women, Mahāyāna sūtras refute it at every turn, relegating it to a subordinate position. This will be detailed in the following chapter.

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Notes:

[^1]: The Origin and Development of Early Mahāyāna Buddhism, by Master Yinshun, pp. 193–194, Zhengwen Publishing House, Taipei, 1982 (Republic of China year 71). The bhikkhu's Prātimokṣa was established at the original compilation. Despite long transmission and sectarian divisions, except for the Sekhiya rules, the precepts have remained generally consistent. The bhikṣuṇī's Prātimokṣa situation was vastly different. For example, in the Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya, the bhikṣuṇī precepts totaled 277; the bhikṣuṇī-specific precepts numbered only 107. The Five-Part Vinaya had a total of 379 precepts, with as many as 175 specific to bhikṣuṇīs. According to the tradition of the Saṃmitīya school, the bhikṣuṇī-specific precepts were 99, totaling no more than 254 precepts. The variations among the schools were thus substantial. Originally, the bhikṣuṇī Vinaya was compiled by the bhikkhu Vinaya holders. Because the various sects held different attitudes toward bhikṣuṇīs, the elaborateness or brevity differed greatly.

[^2]: Mahīśāsaka and Haimavata Five-Part Vinaya, vol. 29 (T. 22, 186a). Other canonical texts that contain the teaching of "women's five obstacles" include: Madhyama Āgama, vol. 28, "Gautamī Sūtra" (T. 1, 607b); Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Fruits of Gautamī's Record (T. 1, 856a); Ekottara Āgama, "Chapter on the Eight Questions of the Blood-Sweating Devaputra" (T. 2, 757b); Madhyama-pratyaya Sūtra (T. 4, 159b); Mahāpajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra (T. 24, 949b).

[^3]: Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Fruits of Gautamī's Record (T. 1, 866a).

[^4]: Ekottara Āgama, "Chapter on the Eight Questions of the Blood-Sweating Devaputra" (T. 2, 757b–758a).

[^5]: See note 4.

[^6]: See note 2 (T. 22, 186a).

[^7]: Madhyama Āgama, vol. 28, "Gautamī Sūtra" (T. 1, 606b–607b).

[^8]: History of Indian Philosophy and Religion, by Takakusu Junjirō and Kimura Taiken, translated by Gao Guanlu, pp. 324–325, Commercial Press, Taipei, 1983 (Republic of China year 72).

[^9]: See note 8 (p. 325).

[^10]: See note 2 (T. 22, 185b).

[^11]: Sūtra on the Buddha's Mother's Nirvāṇa (T. 2, 870b).

[^12]: Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya: Story of the Schism, vol. 2 (T. 24, 107).

[^13]: See note 12 (T. 24, 109).

[^14]: The thirty-two marks of a great man are: (1) A cranial protuberance (uṣṇīṣa); (2) Hair coiled to the right; (3) Broad, even forehead; (4) Ūrṇā (white tuft between the brows); (5) Eyes deep blue, with eyelashes like a bull-king; (6) Forty teeth complete; (7) Teeth even and close; (8) Teeth deeply rooted; (9) Teeth white and pure; (10) Throat saliva producing superior taste; (11) Cheeks like a lion; (12) Tongue covering the face to the hairline; (13) Voice like Brahmā; (14) Round arms; (15) Seven parts of the body full; (16) Filled armpits; (17) Fine, smooth skin; (18) Standing upright, the two hands reach below the knees; (19) Upper body like a lion; (20) Body proportioned like the Nyagrodha tree; (21) Body hair blue, soft, and fine; (22) Hair curling upward; (23) Male organ concealed like a horse-king; (24) Round, perfect heels; (25) Ankles not protruding; (26) Hands and feet soft; (27) Webbing between fingers and toes; (28) Slender fingers; (29) Hands and feet bearing a thousand-spoked wheel; (30) Sole of foot perfectly flat; (31) Instep high and prominent; (32) Calves like an antelope-king.

[^15]: Sūtra of the Buddha Explaining to the Brahmin Alavaka (T. 1, 259b).

[^16]: On Hīnayāna Buddhist Thought, by Kimura Taiken, translated by Yanpei, p. 66, Huiri Lecture Hall, Taipei, 1978 (Republic of China year 67).

[^17]: Saṃyuktāgama, vol. 27 (T. 2, 194a). When a Cakravartin appears in the world, the Seven Treasures appear in the world: the golden wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the wish-fulfilling jewel treasure, the jewel-woman treasure, the commander-in-chief treasure, and the steward-in-chief treasure.... When a Tathāgata appears in the world, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment appear in the world: mindfulness, dharma-investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity.

[^18]: See note 17. For comparisons between the Cakravartin and the Tathāgata, see Prajñapti Śāstra, vols. 1–3 (T. 26, 514–521).

[^19]: Brahmāyu Sūtra (T. 1, 885b).

[^20]: See note 12 (T. 24, 122b).

[^21]: Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra (T. 27, 887a).

[^22]: See note 1 (T. 27, 889b–890b); "hundred contemplations" is called "hundred merits."

[^23]: Buddhist Textual Introduction Dictionary, compiled by Horizon Publishing, p. 113, Horizon Publishing, Taipei, 1977 (Republic of China year 66).

[^24]: Upāsaka-śīla Sūtra, vol. 1 (T. 24, 1038b–1039a).

[^25]: Upāsaka-śīla Sūtra, vol. 2 (T. 24, 1040a–b).

[^26]: See note 4 (T. 2, 757b).

[^27]: Silver-Woman Sūtra (T. 3, 451b).

[^28]: Contemplation of Amitāyus Sūtra (T. 12, 343a).

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Chapter 5: The View of Women in the Mahāyāna Buddhist Era

Looking at the trajectory of Buddhism’s development, during the era of Sectarian Buddhism (approximately 370 BCE – 150 CE), the structure of the Buddhist community was already fairly well-organized: the canonical scriptures had been fixed, doctrinal interpretations① had been formalized, and even monastic disciplinary rules had grown increasingly detailed. Yet for all this thorough systematization, the spirit of early Buddhism slowly faded, and the tradition ultimately lost touch with ordinary people. Among the sectarian schools, the Mahāsāṃghika and Andhaka (Andhakavṛddhi) sects took a liberal approach, trying to breathe new life into the spiritually stagnant traditional Buddhism. But bound by the constraints of the sectarian framework, they could not make any significant breakthrough.

Mahāyāna thought, a dynamic current of ideas that emerged in both North and South India, revived the vibrant spirit of early Buddhism, broke through the formalism of sectarian Buddhism, carried forward the liberal lineage of the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, and applied the Buddha’s spirit to the needs of the age, sparking fresh vitality.

As for the social context that gave rise to Mahāyāna thought, it emerged under the Āndhra and Gupta dynasties (roughly 50–400 CE), both of which offered little support to Buddhism. This pushed Mahāyāna to reach down to lower social strata to win popular support. In the south, the Mahāsāṃghika-Andhaka school spread its teachings among ordinary people, so Mahāyāna took root on this pre-existing base of lay followers. As a result, its doctrines reflected the worldviews of these social groups, and this shows up clearly in the Mahāyāna sūtras.

Building on this, this chapter will examine each of the various perspectives on women presented in Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures in turn.

Section 1: The View of Women’s Attainment of Buddhahood in Mahāyāna Scriptures

The question of whether women can attain Buddhahood is a central point of debate around gender equality in Buddhism. This section will draw on a range of doctrines from Mahāyāna scriptures—the teaching of the oneness of Buddha-nature, the teaching of sex transformation leading to Buddhahood, the teaching of women’s immediate attainment of Buddhahood in this very body, and the prophecy (vyākaraṇa) of Buddhahood attainment—to clarify Mahāyāna Buddhism’s perspective on gender equality.

1. The Teaching of the Oneness of Buddha-nature

Of all the Mahāyāna sūtras, the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras are the most ancient and foundational. Prajñā represents the thought of emptiness, the culmination of early Buddhism’s doctrine of dependent origination, and the synthesis of the various emptiness theories developed in the sectarian period. At the same time, all Mahāyāna scriptures’ views of life and the world are built on this foundation.

The thought of emptiness is, at its core, a lived expression of equality: equality across castes, between men and women, and among all sentient beings. This is why the exposition of emptiness in the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra makes clear that all sentient beings share the same, undifferentiated Buddha-nature, as the following passage shows:

All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow… Furthermore, Subhūti, this Dharma is equal, without high or low; this is called Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. When one cultivates all wholesome dharmas without attachment to self, person, sentient being, or lifespan, one attains Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi.…②

Yet sentient beings, led by deluded minds, cling to discrimination and attachment, creating divisions between men and women, high and low, superior and inferior. They have even constructed countless forms of discrimination against women and false doctrines, not realizing that all these are illusory, unreal appearances, and obstacles to the path.

This Prajñā teaching of emptiness shattered the widespread discrimination against women of the sectarian era, opened a new chapter in the Buddhist women’s movement, and advanced the ideal of gender equality in the Mahāyāna age.

Using Prajñā as its foundation and dramatic narrative to refute Hīnayāna views, the sūtra that lays out the equal teaching that men and women share the same Dharma-nature—and in doing so challenges male supremacy and the denigration of women—is the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra. Within this sūtra, the

From the "Observing Sentient Beings" chapter: through non-discriminating wisdom, the bodhisattva finds no flowers clinging to the body; in the Hīnayāna, flowers adhere and do not fall, because the mind gives rise to discrimination. On this account, the celestial maiden (devī) and Śāriputra engage in a debate. With the great-vehicle's lion's roar, she subdues the Hīnayāna prejudice, breaks through the bodily view of male and female marks, and expounds that the original nature of male and female is fundamentally equal and without distinction.

(1) Breaking Through the Bodily View of Male and Female Marks

Śāriputra listened to the wondrous Dharma the celestial maiden turned, but his habituated thinking led him to hold women in contempt—he believed that anything a woman taught was worthless. So he hoped the celestial maiden would transform into a male form to remedy this defect, and asked:

"Why do you not transform your female body?" The celestial maiden answered: "For twelve years I have sought the mark of womanhood and cannot find it; what, then, is there to transform? It is like an illusionist who conjures an illusory woman—if someone asks, 'Why doesn't she transform her female body? Is this a proper question?'" Śāriputra replied: "No! An illusion has no fixed mark; what would there be to transform?" ③

This shows that although the marks of all dharmas differ, their nature is inherently equal. Male and female arise from long-accumulated habit; once that habit is exhausted, no difference in male and female marks remains. The illusory woman conjured by an illusionist is false and unreal, without a fixed form—and so it is with all dharmas, which lack fixed marks. Through the emptiness-nature of dharmas, one sees that the Buddha-Dharma is originally equal, and therefore one should not cling to marks or discriminate.

(2) Clarifying That the Dharma-Nature of Male and Female Is One, Equal and Undivided

All sentient beings, driven by karma, manifest as male or female according to the differences of their causes and conditions; all bodhisattvas, by the power of their vows, manifest as male or female in the same way. Every woman is likewise so: she manifests a female body through karmic differences, yet though she appears in a female body, in truth she is not female. The Buddha therefore says that all dharmas are the magical play of causes and conditions—their marks differ, but they share the same Tathatā. As the sūtra says:

The celestial maiden, by her supernatural power, transformed Śāriputra to look like a celestial maiden, while she herself took Śāriputra's form, and asked: "Why do you not transform your female body?" Śāriputra, speaking through the celestial maiden's likeness, replied: "I do not know by what transformation I have come to take a female body." The celestial maiden said: "Śāriputra! If this female body could be transformed, then all women would be able to transform likewise. Śāriputra, though not female, he manifests a female body—and so it is with all women: though they appear in a female body, they are not female. Therefore the Buddha says: 'All dharmas are neither male nor female…'" ④

This means that in the realm of conventional reality, male and female marks are illusorily manifested through karmic force and cannot be denied; yet in the realm of ultimate reality, though causes and conditions differ, the nature is originally empty and still—in truth, one is not female. Still, phenomena and principle are inherently in perfect harmony. The nature of causes and conditions is empty; all marks are illusory. Whether the magical play of dharmas is male or female, its value is equal. In principle, sharing the same Tathatā-dharmatā, how could there be the faults of an impure female body, or of women being a great obstruction? In fact, men and women each have their own strengths, and neither can substitute for the other.

In short, in this Dharma where no distinction exists among all dharmas—where the dharma-nature of male and female is quiescently one—how could attaining Buddhahood be divided between male and female?

The great-vehicle sūtras that likewise teach the non-distinction of male and female, the female body as illusory transformation, the unity of dharma-nature, and the ability of all to attain Buddhahood include:

⑴ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Bodhisattva Aśokadattā, Daughter of King Atyantakīrti ⑤ ⑵ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Moon-Girl (Candrā) ⑥ ⑶ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Great Pure Dharma-Gate ⑦ ⑷ The Sūtra of the Great Adornment of Dharma-Gates ⑧ ⑸ The Ratnolkā (Jewel-Girl) Sūtra ⑨ ⑹ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Stainless Virtuous Maiden ⑩ ⑺ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Bodhisattva Sumati ⑾ ⑻ The Sūtra of Convenient Means Following Authority ⑿ ⑼ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Taint-Free Giving Maiden ⒀ ⑽ The Mahāvaipulya Nirvāṇa Sūtra ⒁ ⑾ The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha of the Elder Dharmarśi's Wife ⒂ ⒃ The Definitive-Meaning Sūtra of the Lion's Roar of the Elder Woman Piṇḍolā ⒃ ⒀ The Śūraṅgama-Samādhi Sūtra ⒄ ⒁ The Sūtra of the Essential Teachings Gathered by the Buddhas ⒅

These fourteen sūtras chiefly teach that on the path to Buddhahood one must hold oneself far from all false discrimination. As for the marks of male and female bodies—being illusory and dependently arisen, how could one establish any superiority or inferiority, or give rise to contempt in the mind? As the sūtra says: "All dharmas have one flavor; that is, the flavor of dharma-nature" ⒆; "The five aggregates are like magical transformation, the three realms are self-made; the three times are characterized by equality, the path-mind has no companion equal to it"; "Empty wisdom is primordially pure throughout" ⒇. Apart from the three sūtras—the Great Pure Dharma-Gate, the Great Adornment of Dharma-Gates, and the Stainless Virtuous Maiden—which expound the great-vehicle teaching that there is no male and no female, the remaining eleven sūtras all begin with the Buddha's great disciples—Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti, Mañjuśrī, and the Heavenly Emperor Śakra—who, standing from the Hīnayāna standpoint, maintain that a female bodhisattva should transform her female body into a male one. Out of a psychology of contempt for women, they assume that these female bodhisattvas—with their supernatural transformations and unobstructed eloquence, brimming with Buddha-like wisdom—ought all to be in male bodies. In reply, the female bodhisattvas refute these prejudices with declarations such as: "The empty essence neither turns back nor transforms; all dharmas are likewise so" (21); "Though in a female form, her mind is not that of a female" (22); "One does not attain perfect enlightenment through a female body nor through a male form" (23); "That which is male and that which is female are both inverted; all dharmas and this inversion itself are ultimately free from the two marks" (24); "All dharmas are just like empty space" (25).

Furthermore, the World-Honored One teaches that the female bodhisattvas, in order to save both men and women, expediently manifest male or female forms according to occasion—yet in truth the great-vehicle Dharma has no male and no female. As the sūtra says: "The bodhisattva, by expedient means, joyfully manifests the existence of male and female, with no obstruction or limit, in order to save both male and female" (26). "The bodhisattva-mahāsattva, by the power of wisdom, supernatural ability, skillful expedient means, and holy clarity, manifests a female body to teach and transform the masses… Cultivate this view: there is no Dharma of male, no Dharma of female; all dharmas are fully complete in essence" (27). "This celestial maiden has, for immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas, manifested a female body for the sake of sentient beings… The bodhisattva-mahāsattva who abides in this samādhi moves freely, able to perform various expedient means; though taking on a female image, the mind is unattached, and the fetter of desire does not defile" (28).

These sūtras, then, fundamentally refute the Hīnayāna view of difference between male and female, and go further to unfold the great-vehicle spirit of equality among men, women, and all sentient beings.

On the equal and quiescent empty nature of sentient beings, besides the question of a woman transforming into a male—where the sūtra strikes out: "The mark of womanhood cannot be found; what is there now to transform?" (29)—the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and the Mahāvaipulya Complete Enlightenment Sūtra go further. There the Buddha plainly tells his great disciples: "All sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature." For example:

⑴ The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra

"Whoever has a mind will surely attain Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. On account of this meaning, I always proclaim: 'All sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature.'" (30)

⑵ The Mahāvaipulya Complete Enlightenment Sūtra

"Good son, this bodhisattva, as well as sentient beings of the final age who cultivate and accomplish this—in this there is no cultivation and no accomplishment; perfect enlightenment universally illumines, quiescent extinction, without duality… One then realizes that sentient beings are originally already Buddhas… the nature of all dharmas is equal and indestructible." (31)

From the foregoing arguments of the great-vehicle sūtras, it is plainly evident that great-vehicle Buddhism affirms the identity of the Buddha-nature in all sentient beings. And the samādhi-play of supernatural ability, in which the marks of male and female cannot be found, manifests the true spirit of male-female equality in great-vehicle Buddhism.

II. The Teaching of Sex-Transformation for Buddhahood

The teaching of "sex-transformation for Buddhahood" holds that a woman cannot attain Buddhahood unless she transforms into a male body. This question, within Buddhism, is an extremely important topic in the thought of women's attainment of Buddhahood. Because this teaching inevitably gives rise to two questions:

(1) If a woman must change her body into that of a male in order to attain Buddhahood, does this conflict with the Buddha's egalitarian meaning that all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood? And is this not a contradiction that satirizes the great-vehicle spirit of male-female equality?

(2) Is the prerequisite of sex-transformation for a woman's attainment of Buddhahood an acknowledgment of the Hīnayāna teaching of the "five obstructions" of women?

In response to these two questions, this section offers a balanced argument.

The most representative sūtra of the sex-transformation teaching is the attainment of Buddhahood by the Nāga Girl in the Lotus Sūtra. In the "Devadatta" chapter of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, the eight-year-old Nāga Girl, of keen and excellent wisdom, upon one moment of giving rise to the bodhicitta, achieved non-retrogression and could attain the Buddha-path. The Bodhisattva Zhìjī entertained a doubt and asked:

"I have seen the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, over immeasurable kalpas, practicing the difficult and painful asceticisms, accumulating merit and virtue, seeking the bodhi-path and never pausing. Surveying the trisāhasra-mahāsāhasra-lokadhātu, there was not even a mustard-seed's worth of ground that was not a place where this bodhisattva gave up body and life for the sake of sentient beings, and only thereafter attained the bodhi-path. I cannot believe that this girl has accomplished perfect enlightenment in the space of a single moment." (32)

Before the Bodhisattva Zhìjī had finished speaking, the Dragon King's daughter, wishing to prove the matter, by the power of her supernatural abilities appeared before the Buddha and praised him: "Profoundly penetrating the marks of sin and merit, universally illuminating the ten directions, subtle and pure in Dharma-body… honored by gods and humans, revered by nāgas and spirits; among all classes of sentient beings, none does not venerate and honor him. I have also heard of the attainment of bodhi—only the Buddha can verify and know this." The Nāga Girl then said: "I proclaim the great-vehicle teaching to liberate suffering sentient beings." With the Buddha himself as witness, this was certainly no empty claim.

Śāriputra, foremost in wisdom among the Buddha's disciples, hearing Mañjuśrī tell Zhìjī—"The Nāga Girl, at eight years old, with compassion and gentleness, can attain bodhi"—also entertained doubt, and questioned her with the "five obstructions of women":

"You claim you will soon attain the unsurpassable path; this is hard to believe. Why? The female body is filthy and not a Dharma-vessel; how could it attain unsurpassable bodhi? The Buddha-path is vast and distant; it requires immeasurable kalpas of diligent and painful accumulation of practice, the complete cultivation of the pāramitās, only then is it accomplished. Moreover, the female body has five obstructions: first, she cannot become the Brahma-king; second, the Deva-king Indra; third, the Māra-king; fourth, the Cakra-vartin; fifth, the Buddha-body. How can a female body quickly attain Buddhahood?" (33)

At this moment the Nāga Girl, holding a jewel worth the trisāhasra-mahāsāhasra-lokadhātu, offered it to the World-Honored One, and the Tathāgata immediately accepted the jewel, confirming her mind. The Nāga Girl, having offered the jewel, then asked Zhìjī and Śāriputra: "Was my offering of the jewel and the World-Honored One's acceptance of it swift?" They replied: "Very swift."

Thereupon the Nāga Girl told the two: "By all your supernatural powers, my attainment of Buddhahood is even swifter than that offering of the jewel." All listeners present in the assembly then saw:

The Nāga Girl, in an instant, transformed into a male; possessed of the bodhisattva-conduct, she immediately proceeded to the southern Vimala-world, sat upon a jeweled lotus, and attained perfect enlightenment. Endowed with the thirty-two marks and the eighty secondary marks, she universally expounded the wondrous Dharma for all sentient beings of the ten directions. At that time, in the Sahā-world, the bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, devas, dragons, the eight kinds of non-human beings, and humans—all from afar saw this Nāga Girl attain Buddhahood, universally expound the Dharma for the humans and devas of that assembly; their hearts filled with great joy, and they all paid reverent salutation from afar. Immeasurable multitudes, hearing the Dharma, awakened in understanding and achieved non-retrogression; immeasurable sentient beings received the prediction of the path… The Bodhisattva Zhìjī, Śāriputra, and all the assembly silently and with faith accepted this. (34)

What the Lotus Sūtra expounds is the thought of the One Vehicle: all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood. Even the Nāga Girl, of the animal realm, could in this very life transform into a male, proceed at once to the southern Vimala-world, sit upon a jeweled lotus, and attain perfect enlightenment. Yet the Nāga Girl's "sudden transformation into a male" and attainment of Buddhahood has become a matter of doubt and controversy. Why? If all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood, does not this case of sex-change and Buddhahood become a contradiction—indeed an agreement with the Hīnayāna claims that "the female body is filthy, not a Dharma-vessel" and that "the female body has five obstructions"? How can the very same sūtra exhibit two distinct views of women? In fact, the Lotus Sūtra is a scripture extremely rich in literary character; the forms it employs are largely parables and analogies that lead beings to an understanding of the One Vehicle. The Nāga Girl's attainment of Buddhahood should therefore be read as a literary device. Thus:

⑴ That the Lotus Sūtra says the female body has five obstructions is a question raised by the Venerable Śāriputra standing from the Hīnayāna side. Śāriputra clung to the provisional and questioned the real, seeking to break through provisional doubts and so hear the real path. This is not, therefore, the ultimate purport of the Lotus Sūtra, which displays the wondrous meaning of the One Vehicle. A sūtra that, like the Lotus Sūtra, records that "women have five obstructions and should become male" is the two-fascicle Sūtra of the Unsurpassed Sun-Illuminating Samādhi, translated by Nie Chengyuan during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Western Jin.

There was an elder's daughter named Huìshī who, with five hundred other women, went to visit the Buddha. Hearing the Buddha's teaching of the "Unsurpassed Sun-Illuminating Samādhi," she was overjoyed and said to him:

"I, now in a female body, vow to give rise to the mind of the unsurpassable, true, and correct path; I wish to transform my female image and quickly attain perfect enlightenment to liberate the ten directions." (35)

At that time there was a bhikṣu named Shàngdù who, hearing the woman speak thus, was quite disapproving. He said to the maiden Huìshī:

"A female body cannot attain the Buddha-path. Why not? A woman has three restraints and five obstructions. The three: in youth she is controlled by her parents; after marriage she is controlled by her husband and has no freedom; grown older, she is bound by children—these are the three. The five obstructions:

First: a woman cannot become Indra. Why? Because one must be courageous and have few desires to become a male. Being given to mixed evils and manifold deportment, as a woman she cannot become the Heavenly Emperor Indra.

Second: she cannot become the Brahma-god. Why? Because one must practice pure conduct without defilement, cultivate the four immeasurables, and follow the four dhyānas to ascend to the Brahma heaven. Given indulgence without restraint, as a woman she cannot become the Brahma-god.

Third: she cannot become the Māra-king. Why? Because one must be complete in the ten virtues, honor the Triple Gem, dutifully serve one's two parents, and humbly defer to elders—and only then can become the Māra-king. Given contempt and disobedience, and the destruction of the right teaching, as a woman she cannot become the Māra-king.

Fourth: she cannot become the Cakra-vartin. Why? Because one who practices the bodhisattva-path, with compassion for the multitude, honors and supports the Three Honored Ones and former sages and teachers—only then can become a Cakra-vartin ruling the four quarters, teaching the people and universally practicing the ten virtues, honoring virtue and the Dharma-king's teaching. Given hidden states and eighty-four forms, lacking pure conduct, as a woman she cannot become the Sage King.

Fifth: a woman cannot become a Buddha. Why? One must bring forth the bodhisattva-mind, compassionate toward all beings; with great love and great compassion put on the great-vehicle armor; dissolve the five aggregates, transform the six sense-faculties, and broadly practice the six pāramitās; penetrate the profound wisdom-practice of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; transcend the three gates of liberation; realize non-self, non-person, non-life, non-soul; awaken to the original non-arising of dharmas and the patient acceptance thereof; and discern all things as like illusion, magical transformation, dream, shadow, plantain-tree, foam, mirage, lightning, or the moon in water—where the five are originally non-existent, free of the notions of the three realms—only then can one attain Buddhahood. But given attachment to form and desire, sensual indulgence, hidden states, and the difference of body, speech, and mind, as a woman she cannot become a Buddha. Whoever obtains these five states all has a cause." (36)

With this, the maiden Huìshī and the bhikṣu Shàngdù entered into debate. Huìshī asked Shàngdù: "When one plants various seeds and obtains the fruit, are there originally male and female, and retributions? Are there originally the five positions of Indra, Brahmā, Māra-king, Cakra-vartin, the great path and the small path?" Shàngdù replied: "No." Huìshī asked: "If originally there is none, what causes them to appear?" Shàngdù answered: "Through practice they are accomplished."

…Under the piercing series of questions from the maiden Huìshī, the bhikṣu Shàngdù then admitted that the perfect enlightenment of male and female is equal, with no discrimination between them. Huìshī therefore declared: "What difficulty is there for me to attain Buddhahood?" (37) The Buddha praised her, and Huìshī transformed her female image into a male, leapt into the air, descended, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and obtained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

From all this, the great-vehicle sūtras thoroughly refute the Hīnayāna claim that "the female body is defiled and has five obstructions," and it is plainly evident that great-vehicle Buddhism acknowledges the female as a vessel of the path.

⑵ The Nāga Girl's transformation into a male and attainment of Buddhahood does not imply a denial of female personhood or human nature—rather, it resolves the problem of the female body and the female flesh. Because the object of male desire is the female body, women thereby become the greatest obstacle to the male practitioner of the Buddha-path; this fact is extremely important. On this basis the Vinaya contains many regulations regarding matters between men and women, and among the great-vehicle scriptures the most representative is the "Chapter of Peaceful and Joyful Conduct" of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter emphasizes to the great-vehicle practitioner that one must not draw near to women—the purpose being to avoid obstacles in practice and proceed toward Buddhahood.

The Nāga Girl's transformation into a male, her casting off of the female body and attainment of Buddhahood, cannot therefore be regarded as a Buddhist prejudice against women. It signifies that the female body is no longer an object of male desire; and for women, it is their own release from a heavy state of dependency.

⑶ As for Huìshī's "transformation of the female image into a male," it is to demonstrate that everything is like illusion, like magical transformation—all accomplished according to causes and conditions. If one can, in accord with one's practice, transform the female into the male, what difficulty is there for a woman to attain Buddhahood? As her verse says:

Long I observed on my own, supposing the male holds a permanent seed; The strong and weak each have their kinds, the female is fixed and cannot shift. Today, favored by the Buddha's grace, I know there is nothing firm or lasting; The five realms are like magical transformation, each one accomplished through practice. The three realms are bewildered by mind, failing to see the original non-truth; Self-calculating as having an "I," bound and attached, one sinks into the mire. Like a fisherman, who with hook catches fish— Not his own, yet he says: "I ought to obtain it." The three realms are like a temporary lodging; the four great elements are not mine; Understanding all dharmas as a dream, there is no taking or rejecting. Only the Buddha, in his compassion, spreads his sheltering protection; Causing me to transform the female body, and to encounter the Unsurpassed Sun-Illuminating Samādhi. Becoming a Buddha, establishing a pure land, teaching and transforming gods and humans; All sentient beings are liberated, swiftly attaining the supreme truth. (38)

So Huìshī's transformation of the female into the male serves only to prove her words are not false; it does not imply any contradiction that excludes women. In brief, the transformation into males of the Nāga Girl and Huìshī can be seen as the skillful expedient play of great-vehicle Buddhism in realizing the Buddha's spirit of equality.

III. The Teaching of Attaining Buddhahood in the Female Body

This teaching holds that a woman can become a Buddha just as she is, in her female body — a striking contrast to the Lotus Sutra, where the dragon girl changes sex before attaining enlightenment. The Mahayana scriptures that present this teaching include:

(1) Sutra of the Sea Dragon King, Volume 3, Chapter 14: "The Maiden Baojin Receives the Prediction"

In the Buddha-spoken Sutra of the Sea Dragon King, the maiden Baojin debates Mahakashyapa on the question: "Can a female body attain Buddhahood?" In the end, even Mahakashyapa must concede that a woman too can become a fully enlightened Buddha.

The Sea Dragon King had a daughter named Baojin Liguo Jin — Baojin of the Stainless Brocade. Together with ten thousand dragon ladies, she offered jeweled necklaces to the World-Honored One and praised the Buddha, saying:

"Today we, of one accord and with single hearts, all set forth the aspiration for the supreme, true way. In a future life we shall become Thus Come Ones, truly and equally enlightened, and we shall preach the Dharma and protect the monastic community just as the Thus Come One does now."⁽³⁹⁾

The Venerable Kashyapa, who had always held women in contempt, heard these women make such a bold request of the Buddha. He turned to the dragon king's daughter and the others:

"Supreme enlightenment is exceedingly hard to attain. One cannot attain Buddhahood in a female body."

The Hinayana view had long held that Buddhahood results from exceptional practice by exceptional individuals. And since the female body was regarded as defiled and burdened by the five obstacles, it is no surprise that Mahakashyapa, as the Hinayana representative, would warn the dragon king's daughter. But Baojin refuted him:

"When the mind and will are fundamentally pure, for one who practices the bodhisattva path, attaining Buddhahood is not difficult. For one who sets forth the aspiration for the way, it is as easy as looking at the palm of one's own hand. If one can arouse a mind of penetrating wisdom, one gains the capacity to take up all the Dharma of the Buddhas.... Furthermore, as you say, one cannot attain Buddhahood in a female body — but neither can one attain it in a male body. Why? Because the aspiration for the way is neither male nor female. As the Buddha taught, in the eye there is no male and no female; likewise, the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all without male and female."⁽⁴⁰⁾

After a lengthy exchange of questions and answers, Kashyapa finally conceded that he had no reply and admitted to Baojin:

"With such eloquence as yours, you will before long attain the supreme, true, and highest enlightenment."

Then the dragons, gods, and other beings in the assembly wondered to themselves:

"When will this maiden Baojin attain supreme, true, and highest enlightenment?"

The Buddha, perceiving their thoughts, addressed the bhikshus:

"This maiden Baojin, after three hundred incalculable kalpas, will attain Buddhahood. She will be known as Universal-World Thus Come One, True and Equal Enlightenment."⁽⁴¹⁾

The two debaters in this scripture represent opposing positions: Mahakashyapa speaks for the Hinayana, while Baojin — a dragon king's daughter, occupying one of the most lowly stations as a non-human female — gives voice to a reformist challenge against a traditional society that despised women.

(2) The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala: The One Vehicle of Great Skillful Means

(3) Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, Volume 119, Chapter 48: "The Assembly of Queen Srimala"

Both scriptures recount Queen Srimala's lion's roar and her attainment of Buddhahood. They, too, affirm that a woman can become a Buddha in her female body. The heroine, Queen Srimala (Srīmālādevī), was the daughter of King Prasenajit of Kosala and Queen Mallikā, married to King Yudhājit of Ayodhyā. Born compassionate, perceptive, and wise, she was moved by letters from both her parents praising the true virtues of the Thus Come One, and she extolled the Buddha's supreme qualities.

In recognition of the roots of goodness accumulated through her praise, the Buddha bestowed upon Srimala the prediction of her future Buddhahood:

"Wherever you are born, you will always encounter me and extol me in person, just as you do now. You will make offerings to countless world-honored Buddhas. After passing two thousand asaṃkhyeya kalpas, you will become a Buddha named Universal Radiance Thus Come One, One Worthy of Right and Universal Enlightenment. In that Buddha-land there will be no evil realms, no aging, sickness, or suffering — not even the names of unwholesome karmic paths. The beings there will have radiant forms, endowed with the five wondrous objects and enjoying pure happiness."⁽⁴²⁾

On hearing this prediction, Srimala immediately made three great vows and ten great pledges to receive and uphold the true Dharma. This is the most distinctive feature of her path to Buddhahood. The content of these vows represents the defining virtues of the Mahayana bodhisattva path and embodies its highest ideal — a powerful expression of the fierce will with which women can walk the path to awakening.

The Srimala Sutra's treatment of women's attainment of Buddhahood rests on the foundation of the One Vehicle teaching:

"World-Honored One! The ground previously attained is not deluded about the Dharma, not dependent upon another. One knows for oneself that there is a further ground to attain, and one will certainly attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Why? The vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas all enter into the Great Vehicle. The Great Vehicle is the Buddha Vehicle. Therefore, the three vehicles are but the One Vehicle."⁽⁴³⁾

The One Vehicle teaching is, at its core, a teaching of non-discriminatory awakening — a direct negation of any distinction between men and women regarding the capacity for Buddhahood. It resolves, once and for all, the question of whether women can attain enlightenment.

These two scriptures, in affirming women's attainment of Buddhahood in their female body, represent the Mahayana's decisive refutation of the Hinayana teaching that women are burdened by the "five obstacles." They give expression to the principle of equality between men and women. Closely related is the appearance, in other Mahayana texts, of women reigning as sage-kings who govern the realm. For example:

(1) The Mahāvaipulya Nirvāṇa Sūtra of No-Fixed-Form

On the southern bank there was a city called Shu Gu — Ripe Valley. Its king was named Equal-Rider. The king's queen bore a daughter named Increase.... The daughter upheld the precepts and practiced diligently without rest. Because of her birth, the kingdom's grain ripened abundantly, joy was boundless, the people flourished, and there was no decline, sickness, suffering, worry, terror, or disaster. All auspicious things were fulfilled. Neighboring kings came to pledge their allegiance.... When the king suddenly passed away, the ministers installed the daughter to succeed him. Once enthroned, she commanded the world with majesty. Every land throughout Jambudvīpa came to serve and obey her, with none daring to resist. The queen, in her sovereignty, crushed all erroneous views.⁽⁴⁴⁾

(2) The Mahāvaipulya Nirvāṇa Sūtra of No-Fixed-Form, Volume 4

"Heavenly maiden! That queen was none other than you.... Encountering my appearance in the world and hearing the profound teaching once more, you will cast off your heavenly form and, in this very female body, become a king. You will obtain one quarter of the realm a wheel-turning king would govern, with great freedom, upholding the five precepts. As an upāsikā, you will teach and transform the men, women, young, and old of the cities and villages under your domain — leading them to uphold the five precepts, guard the true Dharma, and crush the heterodox views of outside paths."⁽⁴⁵⁾

These works from the Mahayana era reveal a consistent thread: Mahayana adherents continually championed the Buddha's spirit of equality. Through various skillful means, they challenged the traditional society's contempt for women, striving to forge a new image of womanhood and to ease the suffering that unequal treatment imposed on women in their daily lives.

IV. The Prediction of Buddhahood

A prediction (vyākaraṇa) is a formal declaration that one will attain Buddhahood in the future. As early as the Buddha's own time, he directly bestowed upon five hundred bhikshunīs the prediction of attaining the first fruit. The Saṃyuktāgama, Volume 11, Sutra 276,⁽⁴⁶⁾ records how Nanda taught the bhikshunīs in detail that the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses are suffering, impermanent, and non-self. Using similes, she instructed them to practice the seven factors of enlightenment in order to exhaust their defilements and attain liberation. The World-Honored One told Nanda that, to ensure the bhikshunīs fully understood, she should repeat the same teaching the next day. Nanda did so, and the World-Honored One then bestowed upon the five hundred bhikshunīs the prediction of the first fruit.

This scripture is considered a precursor to the predictions given to women in the Lotus Sutra. The Encouragement Chapter of the Lotus Sutra is generally regarded as the most famous passage in which the Buddha predicts women's future attainment of Buddhahood. In it, the Buddha gives predictions to bhikshunīs and to the dragon girl.

Beginning with Śāriputra, the Buddha bestowed predictions of future Buddhahood upon countless śrāvaka disciples, and even upon Devadatta — the very embodiment of evil. But could women, too, attain Buddhahood? This was the question weighing on their minds. And so, led by the Buddha's maternal aunt, the bhikshunīs brought their doubts before him.

At that time, the Buddha's maternal aunt, Mahāprajāpatī the bhikshunī, together with six thousand bhikshunīs — both those still in training and those beyond training — rose from their seats. With single hearts they joined their palms, gazed upon the World-Honored One's face, and did not look away for even a moment. Then the World-Honored One said to Gautamī: "Why do you gaze at the Thus Come One with such worry? Do you perhaps think I will not speak your name and bestow upon you the prediction of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi?"

Understanding what lay in their hearts, the Buddha bestowed predictions upon them one by one, dispelling their doubts and strengthening their faith.

"Gautamī, I have already spoken in general terms, predicting that all śrāvakas will attain Buddhahood. Now, as for what you wish to know: in a future age, throughout the Dharma of sixty-eight trillion Buddhas, you will serve as a great Dharma-master. Together with six thousand bhikshunīs, both those still in training and those beyond training, you will all be Dharma-masters. Thus, gradually perfecting the bodhisattva path, you will attain Buddhahood...."

At that time, Yaśodharā the bhikshunī, mother of Rāhula, thought to herself: "The World-Honored One, in all his predictions, has not spoken my name." The Buddha said to Yaśodharā:

"In a future age, throughout the Dharma of hundreds of trillions of Buddhas, you will cultivate the bodhisattva path and serve as a great Dharma-master. Gradually perfecting the Buddha-path, you will attain Buddhahood in a virtuous land."⁽⁴⁸⁾

In the Mahayana scriptures, the Buddha's predictions of women's future Buddhahood are abundant. For example:

(1) The Buddha-spoken Sutra of Bodhisattva Sumati: The maiden Sumati, for eighty-four koṭis of kalpas, would never again fall into the evil realms. She would make offerings to sixty thousand world-honored Buddhas and leave home to pursue the śramaṇa's life.... Constantly upholding the essential Dharma with a kind heart, she would be honored as "God of Gods."⁽⁴⁹⁾

(2) The Buddha-spoken Sutra of the Bodhisattva Princess Aśokadattā, Daughter of King Aśoka: The king's consort Moonbright (Candraprabhā), throughout her entire life, would successively follow that Buddha and eventually attain Buddhahood.⁽⁵⁰⁾

(3) Sutra of the Sea Dragon King, "Chapter on the Prediction Received by the Maiden Baojin": The maiden Baojin, after three hundred incalculable kalpas, would attain Buddhahood with the title Universal-World Thus Come One, True and Equal Enlightenment.⁽⁵¹⁾

(4)

In the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra, chapter 48, Lady Śrīmālā, after passing through twenty thousand asaṃkhyeya kalpas, will attain Buddhahood and be known as Universal Light Tathāgata, Arhat, and Perfectly Awakened One.(52) Likewise, the maidens Miaohui (Wondrous Wisdom) and Jingxin (Pure Faith), among others, all received the Buddha's prediction that they would attain Buddhahood in a future life.

Prediction is a form of confirmation. What significance does the Buddha's prediction of women attaining Buddhahood hold in Mahāyāna Buddhism?

(1) Confirmation of women's spiritual capacity

According to the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha is:

Deeply versed in the marks of fault and grace,
Shining throughout the ten directions,
Subtle and pure, the Dharma-body,
Adorned with thirty-two marks,
With eighty kinds of excellence,
Perfecting the Dharma-body.
Devas and humans look up to him,
Nāgas and spirits revere him.
All classes of beings—
None but revere him.
Having heard him attain bodhi,
Only the Buddha himself knows it fully.(53)

So when the universally revered Buddha predicts that women will become Buddhas, this strengthens the credibility of women's spiritual capacity as an undeniable fact—overturning the Hīnayāna claim that women are unfit vessels of the Dharma.

(2) Encouragement for women on the path

Once women's spiritual capacity is confirmed, any woman who diligently practices the holy life and walks the bodhisattva path can be assured of attaining Buddhahood. This not only steadies women's resolve to seek the path but also fills them with hope for liberation from suffering.

V. Pure Land Thought, Original Vows, and Women

The essence of the Dharma is to achieve liberation from suffering through the cultivation of body and mind—it is a religion of moral and spiritual wisdom. Human suffering has many sources: the greed, hatred, and delusion of one's own mind, along with aging, sickness, and death; social causes, be they love or hatred, that inevitably bring pain; and the relationship between self and world—the deficiencies of nature, the unsatisfactoriness of material goods, and the inability to fulfill one's desires.

The Buddha wanted people to know suffering. In the sectarian Buddhist schools, suffering had already been classified as birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from what one loves, encounter with what one hates, and the inability to obtain what one seeks. The principle for liberating sorrow and grief is to purify the mind, for "when the mind is defiled, beings are defiled; when the mind is pure, beings are pure." When the mind is free from afflictions and no longer troubled by aging, sickness, and death, nirvana—the complete cessation of all suffering—is realized. This is the attainment of the sage. Alongside this inner cultivation, there's also the aspiration to relieve the suffering of human society and the natural world all at once. This is the root of the Buddhist Pure Land ideal.(54)

The Pure Land represents an ideal world set against the deficiencies of the actual world. In India, where Śākyamuni was born, neither nature nor society was ideal, and Buddhist practitioners faced many obstacles. Thus, the Pure Land became a place where practitioners could certainly realize their lofty ideals.

Faced with the male-dominant nature of Indian society, Buddhist women needed to find a reasonable resolution regarding the female body. Mahāyāna Pure Land thought and the original vows of the Buddhas offered them ideals and hope for breaking free from the bonds of traditional discrimination.

How do the original vows in Pure Land thought offer assistance to suffering women?

1. Akṣobhya Buddha's Pure Land

Among the various Buddha-lands, Akṣobhya's is the only one that includes women. It developed relatively early in the Mahāyāna conception of Pure Lands and still retains certain characteristics of a human realm. The virtue of the women in this Pure Land surpasses the jewel-like celestial maidens by countless times. As the sūtra says:

"The people of that land never lose the practice of good Dharmas. For example, Śāriputra, the jewel-like celestial maidens are surpassed—ordinary women cannot compare; their virtue is like that of celestial maidens. Thus, Śāriputra, comparing the virtue of the women in that Buddha-land to the jewel-like celestial maidens: the jewel-like celestial maidens cannot equal the women of that Buddha-land—by a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a ten-thousandfold, a hundred-millionfold, by any greater multiple they cannot compare."(55)

Thus, women in this Buddha-land are improved in both psychological and physiological ways:

(1) Psychologically

Women no longer suffer from jealousy or the faults of divisive speech. They're also respected, and there are no disputes or troubles between men and women. As the sūtra says:

The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "The people of that realm do not engage in matters of sexual desire... The women of that Buddha-land do not have the nature of women as in my realm. Śāriputra, what is the nature of women in my realm? The women of my realm have ugly appearance and vicious tongues, are jealous and contentious toward the Dharma, and fix their minds on false matters. The women of that Buddha-land have none of these faults. Why? It is due to the original vow of Akṣobhya Tathāgata in a past life."(56)

(2) Physiologically

Women have no impurities, and childbirth is without suffering. The clothing, jewelry, and ornaments that women desire appear naturally and fulfill their need for adornment. As the sūtra says:

The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "For the women in the Buddha-land of Akṣobhya Tathāgata, if they wish for jeweled ornaments, they simply take them from the trees; if they wish for clothing, they likewise take clothing from the trees."... The Buddha further said to Śāriputra: "When the women in Akṣobhya's Buddha-land are pregnant and give birth, their bodies don't become weary, their minds don't feel fatigue; they only feel peace and ease, and there is no suffering. These women have no suffering whatsoever, no foul odor or impurity. Śāriputra, this is due to the original vow of Akṣobhya Tathāgata in a past life."(57)

"Akṣobhya" means "without anger or rage." When Bodhisattva Akṣobhya made his vows and cultivated the path, he took "without anger" as his foundation and attended to the resolution of women's suffering. When Mahāyāna Buddhism arose, it was clearly dissatisfied with the misfortunes and inequalities women endured. So early Mahāyāna scriptures often expressed vows to be freed from the female body in the next life, or to transform from female to male in this life. This was a response to women's predicament—but Bodhisattva Akṣobhya's intention was quite different. If a woman's bodily suffering and the pains of childbirth were simply resolved, then in terms of practice and attainment, women are no less capable than men. Why would they need to become men?

2. Amitābha Buddha's Pure Land of Supreme Bliss

Akṣobhya's Pure Land retains both men and women, while Amitābha's Pure Land is established as the realization of a perfect Buddha-land without women. As the sūtra says:

When Amitābha Buddha was practicing in the causal ground, he was the bhikṣu Dharmākara, and he made these vows: "If I attain Buddhahood, the gods and humans in my land who do not all fully possess the thirty-two marks of a great man—may I not attain perfect enlightenment... If I attain Buddhahood, and there are women in the immeasurable, inconceivable Buddha-lands of the ten directions who, upon hearing my name, joyfully believe and take delight, set forth the bodhi mind, and feel aversion toward the female body, yet after their lives end they take on female form again—may I not attain perfect enlightenment."(58)

Therefore, in Amitābha's Pure Land, women who are reborn there are transformed into men. This reflects the male-dominant nature of society and the depth of women's aversion to the female body, giving rise to the faith in transforming from female to male. Thus, surpassing the Pure Land shared by men and women, there arose a Pure Land of pure men—with no women at all.

3. Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha's Lapis Lazuli Pure Land

Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaidūrya-prabhā Tathāgata, in a past life while practicing the bodhisattva path, generated twelve great vows out of great compassion to guide sentient beings. Compared with the previous two Pure Lands, the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land represents a later development in Pure Land thought. At that time, women still couldn't escape traditional social afflictions, and women still wished to abandon the female body. Therefore, in Bhaiṣajyaguru's Lapis Lazuli Pure Land, adorned with merit and virtue, always pure, there are no women, no evil realms, and no sounds of suffering. To fulfill the aspirations of sentient beings, Bhaiṣajyaguru vowed that all beings could attain Buddhahood: those who wish to abandon the female body, upon hearing the name of Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgata, with single-minded recitation, reverence, and devotion, can all transform from female to male and possess the marks of a great man. Through this practice, they can attain supreme bodhi. For example:

First Great Vow: "When I attain anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in a future life, may my own body shine with brilliant light, illuminating infinite, countless, boundless worlds. With the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty secondary characteristics, may I adorn my body, so that all sentient beings are no different from me..."

Eighth Great Vow: "When I attain bodhi in a future life, if there are women afflicted by the hundred evils of womanhood, who deeply wish to be free and abandon the female body, upon hearing my name, may they all transform from female to male, possess the marks of a man, and ultimately attain supreme bodhi."(59)

It can be seen that in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the expression of vows to be reborn in other Pure Lands arose from the general Indian Buddhist world of the time—facing the chaotic and suffering real world and the male-dominant nature of society, it gave rise to a thought of renunciation. The emergence of original vows in Pure Land thought shows that the Mahāyāna social movement stood on the ground of gender equality. Because women couldn't attain equality in the actual world, feeling inevitable pressures from within and without, they were given spiritual relief, enabling them to liberate themselves from the bonds of reality.

For example, the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life Sūtra describes Ajātaśatru of Rājagṛha, who, instigated by his evil friend Devadatta, plotted to harm his father Bimbisāra. His mother Vaidehī brought ghee, honey, and roasted flour to the king but was also imprisoned by him. Vaidehī was distressed by her evil son's deeds, grieving without end, and so she appealed to the World-Honored One, wishing to leave this impure and evil world of Jambudvīpa. Out of compassion, the Buddha taught Vaidehī sixteen methods of contemplation, expounding the wondrous means for rebirth in the Pure Land, enabling Vaidehī and her five hundred attendants to see the broad and long marks of the Land of Supreme Bliss, the body of Amitābha Buddha, and the two bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Their hearts were filled with joy, and their suffering was dispelled. In her joy, Vaidehī suddenly awakened to the great enlightenment and attained the patience of non-arising. The five hundred attendants also each set forth the great bodhi mind, vowing to be reborn in that land. The World-Honored One predicted that they would all be reborn there.(60)

Vaidehī's contemplation of the Pure Land to escape suffering is a typical example of how Pure Land thought remedied the deficiencies of women's real-life situation!

Once a woman is reborn in a Pure Land, there's no longer any discrimination between men and women—only the various causes and conditions that aid the path to Buddhahood. So, by relying on the original vows of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, all can practice and attain Buddhahood, achieving the equality of true suchness Buddha-nature. This, too, is the manifestation of the Buddha's spirit of equality.

Section Two: Expedient Means and the Female Body

The Buddha taught by meeting people where they were, using countless expedient devices to guide and transform beings. His approach to questions about women was no different—he worked within the customs of his day to bring about real equality. Carried by the same spirit, Mahāyāna Buddhism developed the idea of expedient female forms and a method for transforming the female body. The point is straightforward: male and female bodies are expedient forms, nothing more. There's no inherent difference between them. The teaching on transcending the female body shows, too, how the Dharma addresses social problems through gentle, adaptive means—working gradually toward the equality the tradition holds dear.

1. The Emergence of the Expedient Female Form

Several Mahāyāna scriptures propose the expedient appearance of female forms:

(1) Shùnquán Fǎngbiàn Jīng (The Sutra of Skillful Means in Accordance with Conditions), 2 fascicles

All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, wishing to enlighten beings, practice skillful and expedient means. They generate an equal mind toward all beings, without grasping at marks. This is what constitutes the Mahāyāna Path.

The Venerable Subhuti asked the woman: "Sister, by what skillful and expedient means do you never abandon any being, but instruct and transform them all as the occasion calls for?" The woman replied: "You should understand this, good man. Women in the world are much inclined toward sensual pleasure, and are no more attached to it than men. Women are simply drawn to and delighted by sensual pleasure. For this reason, Bodhisattvas use expedient means to guide them—appearing in a female form to teach them. A man's body cannot appear and enter among high-ranking courtesans."(61)

Here we see a Bodhisattva who, in order to draw women away from sensual pleasure and keep them from falling, expediently appears in a female form to liberate them. But this alone doesn't fully unpack the meaning of equality. So Subhuti asks again:

"Why, Sister, do you, in a woman's form, transform women?" At that time, the Bodhisattva Turning-Female (Dharmavikāla), who had been manifesting in a woman's form for a short while, appeared for twelve years in the form of the son of an elder, dressed in clean garments and the clothing of a man, and asked Subhuti: "Are you an ordinary person, sir, or one on the path of learning?" Subhuti answered: "I'm not on the path of learning, and I'm not ordinary." She said: "So it is, so it is—Subhuti, I rely on nothing."

The son of the elder had recognized Subhuti as one who had attained such profound and wondrous wisdom—a Bodhisattva cultivating the conduct of equality—and posed his questions accordingly.

The Bodhisattva Turning-Female appeared in a woman's form to save women from falling, and cleverly transformed the son of the elder to lay out the meaning of equality for Subhuti. So all dharmas are illusory transformations. The male and female forms are just names held for the purpose of transforming beings. Given the equal nature of all dharmas, why make contrived distinctions and give rise to discrimination? A sutra with a similar teaching is:

(2) Lè Yīngluò Zhuāngyán Fāngbiàn Pǐn Jīng (The Sutra of the Adornment of the Necklace of Joy: Chapter on Expedient Means).(63)

(3) Foshuo Āshé Shèn Wáng Nǚ Āshù Dá Púsà Jīng (The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Bodhisattva Princess Aśokadatta, Daughter of King Aśva)

Śāriputra asked the Buddha: "Why doesn't this woman leave the female form behind?" The Buddha replied: "Do the Śrāvakas really think that 'Sorrowless One' (Anāçrī) is a woman? If they don't penetrate deeply into the prajñā-pāramitā, fail to see the source of human faculties, and don't contemplate the original ground—if they go on making distinctions in their conduct—then a Bodhisattva, moved by her aspirations and delights, expediently shows the existence of male and female forms. These limits involve no obstruction; the point is to liberate both men and women."

To settle Śāriputra's doubts, Sorrowless One vowed on the spot: "May everyone in this great assembly see me as a man." No sooner had she made this resolve than everyone in the assembly saw her as a man, and no longer as a woman.(64)

This illustrates the Mahāyāna view: male and female forms are expedient means by which a Bodhisattva guides beings. The forms may differ, but because of the mind of equality, there's no obstruction. Śrāvakas, by contrast, who can't penetrate the prajñā-pāramitā, make false distinctions and look down on women, giving rise to all kinds of suffering. Sutras similar to this include:

(4) Dabao Jī Jīng (The Great Treasury Sutra), fascicle 99, "Assembly of the Bodhisattva Abhirati (Fearless Virtue)," the thirty-second

Śāriputra asked: "World-Honored One, can this woman transform her female body?" The Buddha replied: "Śāriputra, do you really see that woman as a woman? You shouldn't view her that way. Why? Because this Bodhisattva, by the power of her vow, expediently appears in a female form to liberate beings." Then the woman Abhirati made this vow: "If all dharmas are neither male nor female, may I now appear in a male form, and may everyone in this great assembly see it." With these words, she immediately transformed her female body into a male body and rose into the empty sky, seven tāla trees high….(65)

So the Mahāyāna scriptures use the expedient appearance of the female form to show that all dharmas are illusory marks arising in mind, that we should let go of all discriminating marks and be free from inverted views. When this is realized, all beings are freed from the burning of afflictions, and men and women in society can meet each other as equals.

2. The Method of Transcending the Female Body

The four sutras above describe how Bodhisattvas, using the expedient female form and skillful means, transform beings—leading them away from delusive discriminations toward the Dharma of equality. But facing actual social reality—women burdened by inner and outer suffering and who despised the female body—how did Mahāyāna practitioners use expedient means to put the Buddha's spirit of equality into practice?

Stories of those who despise the female body and delight in the male form appear even in early scriptures, such as the Madhyama Āgama, fascicle 33, the Sutra of Questions and Explanations:

The great sage Gopikā, daughter of the Śākyas, was a disciple of the World-Honored One. She too practiced the holy life under the Buddha, despising the female body and delighting in the male form. Through transforming the female body into a male form, abandoning desire, and being free of desire, at the breaking of the body and the end of life she was reborn in a wonderful place among the Thirty-Three Heavens, becoming my son.(66)

In the Buddha's time, he addressed the plight of women by teaching them to practice the holy life and be free from sensual pleasures, encouraging them to reflect on and transform the habitual tendencies tied to the female body. In the Mahāyāna period, this expedient Dharma-door continued to be used. For example:

(1) Foshuo Fùzhōng Nǚ Tīng Jīng (The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Female Fetus Who Listens)

The Buddha taught that both male and female bodies arise from one's own karma. When certain women of the Kāra family wanted to hear the Buddha expound the sutra in hopes of attaining a male form, he said:

"I do not turn you into a man, and I do not turn you into a woman. Each comes from your own actions."(67)

If so, what path can bring about a male form, freeing women from suffering? The Buddha said:

"There is one thing that brings the male form quickly. What is it? Setting one's mind on the Bodhisattva Path. There's also this: a woman should look inward. The body is like a contraption, held together by joints of bone, with only sinews and skin over them. Women are always in fear of others, like owls and hawks, snakes and weasels—afraid to come out by day, always afraid. Like a maidservant, always among filth and stench. Even a king's daughter lives in fear. The many troubles of women are like this…."(68)

Bound by social customs that discriminated deeply against Indian women at that time, women were unable to develop their abilities, and many came to feel inferior and ashamed. To elevate the image of women and promote the Buddha's spirit of equality, Mahāyāna practitioners encouraged women to walk the Bodhisattva Path and to reflect on the various difficulties inherent in the female body as a way of transforming and strengthening themselves from within. Just as a tree with deep, healthy roots flourishes in luxuriant branches and leaves, so too, when women bring their virtuous conduct into the world and gradually dispel society's traditional prejudices, equal social status for women will come within reach. Furthermore:

(2) Foshuo Zhuǎn Nǚshēn Jīng (The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on Transforming the Female Body).(69)

(3) Dabao Jī Jīng, fascicle 111, "Assembly of the Pure Faith Maiden," the fortieth(70).

Both sutras set forth various virtuous practices by which one can quickly transcend the female body and become male. Among them, what deserves our careful attention is what the sutra says:

"World-Honored One, the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās gathered here wish to hear what virtuous practices to cultivate, so they can transcend the female body, quickly become male, and bring forth the mind of unexcelled bodhi. We ask the World-Honored One to explain this for us."

At that time, the Buddha, wishing to benefit and fulfill the fourfold assembly, told the Pure Radiance Maiden (Vimalaprabhā): "If a woman fulfills one dharma, she can transcend the female body and quickly become male. What is it? It is to seek bodhi with a deep mind. Why? When a woman brings forth the bodhi-mind, it is a mind of supreme goodness, a mind of the great man, a mind of the great sage—not a mind of lesser persons. She will be forever free from the narrow mind of the Two Vehicles, able to defeat the heterodox views of non-Buddhist traditions. Among the three times, it is the most supreme mind—a mind that can extinguish afflictions without admixture of habitual tendencies, a pure mind. When women bring forth the bodhi-mind, they'll no longer be entangled by the binding minds of women. Because there's no admixture, they will forever transcend the female body and attain the male form…."(71)

The Buddha, to benefit the fourfold assembly at Pure Radiance Maiden's request, expounded this method of transcending the female body and quickly becoming male. At first glance, the sutra might seem to offer only a teaching for women. In truth, the Buddha's intention encompasses both men and women. Even a man who doesn't bring forth the bodhi-mind or remove his faults cannot be called a "great man." Conversely, even a woman who brings forth the bodhi-mind and abandons her faults is rightly called a "great man"—truly transcending the female body and becoming male.

All of this can be seen as the lively expression of the Buddha's spirit of equality between men and women in Mahāyāna Buddhism. It's also the Buddhist response to real social problems—a skillful approach that uses the expedient to address what's real. This is the working out of the Buddha's wisdom.

Section Three: Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas and Women

The first two sections of this chapter drew on the Mahāyāna sutras to show how Buddhism embodies the Buddha's spirit of equality—through its teachings on women attaining Buddhahood and through its expedient skillful means. This section shifts perspective: by looking at the relationship between Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas and women, we'll see how Mahāyāna Buddhism affirms women's wisdom and compassionate virtues, encouraging women to bring those virtues forward in dedication to the Dharma and service to society.

The Mahāyāna sutras are full of accounts concerning Bodhisattvas and women. Among them, those involving Mañjuśrī, Sudhana, and Avalokiteśvara best illustrate the point of this section. We'll take them up one by one.

1. Mañjuśrī and Women

Mañjuśrī, in the Tang translation Mǎnshū Shìlì (Manjuśrī), is rendered in English as "Universal Head," "Soft Head," "Wondrous Virtue," or "Wondrous Auspiciousness." In Mahāyāna Buddhism, he's a renowned Great Bodhisattva embodying wisdom—"praised by all Buddhas, deeply entering patient endurance, practicing the wisdom of emptiness, and unsurpassed."(72)

Yet for all Mañjuśrī's preeminence, three female Bodhisattvas—Liyini, Sumati, and Ligou Shi—all brought forth the aspiration to seek the Path before he did, and some were even his teachers. For example:

(1) Zhūfó Yàojí Jīng (Sutra of the Gathered Essentials of All Buddhas), translated by Zhu Fahu of the Jin dynasty, 2 fascicles

At that time, the World-Honored One told the Bodhisattva Sudhī: "It was the maiden Liyini who originally encouraged Mañjuśrī to bring forth the aspiration for the Path."(73)

(2) Xūmótí Púsà Jīng (The Sutra on the Bodhisattva Sumati), translated by Zhu Fahu of the Jin dynasty

The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: "Sumati has cultivated the unexcelled aspiration for universal liberation for an incalculable time—three billion kalpas before you did. You brought forth the aspiration then and have just entered the patient endurance of the Unborn. She was your teacher at the time you first made the aspiration." Mañjuśrī, hearing the Buddha's words, bowed and said to Sumati: "After so long apart, today at last I stand in your presence. To meet my teacher and receive the Dharma's instruction—I count myself fortunate."(74)

(3) Lígòu Shī Nǚ Jīng (The Sutra on the Maiden Ligou Shi), translated by Zhu Fahu of the Jin dynasty

The Buddha said: "Ligou Shi Bodhisattva cultivated the unexcelled, true Path for eighty thousand asamkhya-kalpas; only afterward did Mañjuśrī bring forth the aspiration for the Path. When she attained Buddhahood, Mañjuśrī's path followed in succession."(75)

The same sutra also records: when the Buddha Deva-King transported Mañjuśrī to the Iron Enclosing Mountains, Mañjuśrī exerted all his spiritual power but couldn't bring Liyini out of her samādhi. Ligou Shi posed difficult questions to the eight great Bodhisattvas and eight great Śrāvakas who came for alms—Mañjuśrī was among them. In dialogue between Mañjuśrī and Sumati, Sumati rebuked him: "You would have done better not to ask."(76) When he questioned the maiden Ajñātakauṇḍinyā (Candī), she sighed in admiration: "Alas! A truly great being—yet he doesn't grasp the meaning of ultimate emptiness."(77)

These encounters make clear that, in wisdom and the bringing forth of aspiration, women are in no way inferior to men—in some cases surpassing them. So when it comes to the possibility of attaining Buddhahood, there's no difference between women and men. As the Sūtra of Pure Discipline and Vast Meaning says:

Mañjuśrī said: "Good man, all worlds are wholly equal; all Buddhas equal; all dharmas equal; all seekers equal. I abide in this… All lands are equal as empty space; the Dharma-realm of Buddhas equal as inconceivable; all dharmas equal as illusory; all beings equal as without self."(78)

2. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Spiritual Teachers (善知识), and Women

In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the

, uses the occasion of the young Sudhana's visits to spiritual friends (kalyāṇamitra) to elucidate the bodhisattva path—how, through a lifetime of diligent practice, one enters the ground of Samantabhadra. The definition of a spiritual friend is given in the fifty-eighth fascicle of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra as follows:

(1) A spiritual friend is a loving mother, for she gives birth to one in the Buddha's family. (2) A spiritual friend is a loving father, for he benefits sentient beings in countless ways. (3) A spiritual friend is a guardian and protector, for he wards off all evil. (4) A spiritual friend is a great teacher, for he instructs and guides others to learn the bodhisattva precepts. (5) A spiritual friend is a way-guide, for he teaches beings to follow the path that leads to the farther shore. (6) A spiritual friend is a skilled physician, for he heals all afflictions and maladies. (7) A spiritual friend is a snowy mountain, for he nurtures the bright and pure medicine of wisdom. (8) A spiritual friend is a brave warrior, for he defends against all terrors. (9) A spiritual friend is a sturdy ship, for he ferries all across the sea of birth and death. (10) A spiritual friend is a helmsman, for he guides beings to the isle of the Dharma-jewel of omniscience.(79)

In sum, a spiritual friend is a great karmic condition—a great bodhisattva who employs various skillful means to guide sentient beings, leading them to cultivate wholesome dharmas and advance toward the Buddha Way.

The young Sudhana serves as a model for one who, having generated the great aspiration, accomplishes the bodhisattva path within a single lifetime—an exemplar of Buddhist practice. The spiritual friends he visited one by one, seeking instruction in various Dharma gates, numbered fifty-three in total,(80) of whom eleven were women:

• One bhikṣuṇī
• Four upāsikās
• Three young maidens
• One lady of the court
• Two women

What Dharma gates did these eleven women accomplish? How did they come to be Sudhana's spiritual friends, guiding him to generate the anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi mind and thereby behold the Buddha? According to the "Jin Translation" (Sixty-Fascicle Avataṃsaka), each of these eleven female spiritual friends attained the following extraordinary realizations:

First, the Upāsikā Śūrasā:

Śūrasā attained the "Gateway of Liberation called the Banner of Freedom from Sorrow and Tranquility." Sentient beings who enter this Dharma gate, or who see, hear, think of, or draw near Śūrasā, will not have lived this life in vain, and may further attain the stage of non-retrogression within it. Śūrasā made great vows and practiced ceaseless diligence in order to rescue sentient beings, adorning and purifying the Buddha-lands—a diligent bodhisattva who has given rise to the great bodhi mind.(81)

Second, the Maiden Maitrāyaṇī:

Maitrāyaṇī attained the "Dharma Gate of the Universal Adornment of Prajñāpāramitā." Through it, she cultivated right mindfulness and contemplation, gave rise to a mind of impartiality, taught and transformed sentient beings, and served as their refuge, enabling them to reach the farther shore of awakening.(82)

Third, the Upāsikā Freedom (Zìzài):

The Upāsikā Freedom accomplished the "Dharma Gate of the Adornment of the Storehouse of Exhausted Merit." At will she offered food to sentient beings, enabling countless, numberless beings—even all śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas—to partake of her food and attain the fruits of the Way.(83)

Fourth, the Upāsikā Immovable (Búdòng):

The Upāsikā Immovable accomplished the "Indestructible Dharma Gate." Through it, she contemplated the dhāraṇī of the equality of all dharmas and manifested boundless spontaneous miraculous powers. With the light of her pure wisdom, she expounded subtle Dharma for sentient beings, eradicating their afflictions and nurturing their wholesome roots.(84)

Fifth, the Bhikṣuṇī Siṃhavijṛmbhitā:

The Bhikṣuṇī Siṃhavijṛmbhitā accomplished the "Dharma Gate of the Foundation of the Bodhisattva's Omniscience." This gate is adorned with the light of wisdom, universally illuminating the three periods of time. With profound understanding of emptiness, she taught the Prajñāpāramitā to sentient beings with an impartial mind, enabling them all to attain the stage of non-retrogression.(85)

Sixth, the Courtesan Vāsudevī:

Vāsudevī was a courtesan of profound wisdom who had already accomplished the "Dharma Gate of the Pure Actualization of Freedom from Desire." She used various skillful forms—such as "celestial maiden, human woman, or non-human woman"—to transform sentient beings, so that those who drew near her were freed from greedy desire.(86)

Seventh, the Śākya Maiden Gopā (Qúyí):

Gopā attained the "Dharma Gate of the Discriminating Contemplation of the Ocean of All Bodhisattva Samādhis." Through this gateway of liberation she guided sentient beings out of the evil paths, enabling them to obtain light and liberation.(87)

Eighth, Lady Māyā:

Māyā, through the "Dharma Gate of the Great Vow-Wisdom Illusion," served as the mother of all Buddhas. Unattached to the world, she ceaselessly made offerings to the Buddhas and practiced the bodhisattva path without ever turning back.(88)

Ninth, the Maiden Indriyeśvarā:

Indriyeśvarā attained the "Bodhisattva Liberation of the Pure Adornment of Unhindered Mindfulness." This maiden practiced diligent perseverance, never slackening, making offerings to all Buddhas and Tathāgatas. With the power of this pure liberation, she upheld the teachings expounded by all Tathāgatas, constant and without lapse.(89)

Tenth, the Upāsikā Virtuous-Victor (Xiánshèng):

Virtuous-Victor attained the "Gateway of Liberation of the Bodhisattva's Placeless Bodhimaṇḍa." Within this Dharma gate, she ceaselessly explained the truth she had realized to others. At the same time, she also obtained the Inexhaustible Samādhi, different from ordinary samādhis, and through it she widely taught others, benefiting countless, boundless sentient beings.(90)

Eleventh, the Maiden Merit (Yǒudé):

Merit attained the "Gateway of the Bodhisattva's Liberation of Abiding in Illusion." With this pure wisdom, she contemplated all worldly dharmas as illusory abidings, knowing that the nature of illusory realms is inconceivable.(91)

These eleven women reveal just how broad, universal, and egalitarian the scope of Sudhana's visits was. From the nobility of the royal court down to courtesans; monastic and lay; adults and children—people of every kind of station were encompassed within it. As vessels of the Way, they all accomplished various Dharma gates that benefit sentient beings, serving as spiritual friends in the world and propagating the Mahāyāna Dharma.

Sudhana's sweeping pilgrimage of spiritual friends makes clear that women, too, are great spiritual friends in the world. Even the prince Sudhana of the city of Nāgapura on the northern frontier of the Pañcāla kingdom,(92) for the sake of practicing the bodhisattva path, relied on the guidance of female spiritual friends in all his bodhisattva practices—the pāramitās of the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva grounds, the bodhisattva's forbearance, the bodhisattva's gates of samādhi, the bodhisattva's miraculous wisdom, the bodhisattva's dedication of merit, the bodhisattva's vows, and the bodhisattva's consummation of Buddha-Dharma. This shows plainly that women's aspiration, wisdom, and compassion must not be overlooked, and provides the finest testament to the egalitarian spirit of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

III. The Compassionate Manifestation of Avalokiteśvara and Women

Avalokiteśvara, also rendered as Guānzìzài—"Perceiver of Sovereignty"—is the bodhisattva celebrated for great loving-kindness and great compassion in relieving those who suffer.

The name Avalokiteśvara first appears in early Mahāyāna scriptures. Among the Pure Land texts, the Sūtra of the Buddha's Teaching on the Infinite Pure and Equal Awakening notes that he can relieve people's suffering;(93) his name appears frequently in texts of the Perfection of Wisdom tradition, such as the Sūtra of the Fundamental Vows Asked by Maitreya Bodhisattva,(94) the Sūtra of the Buddha's Teaching on the Determination of Vinaya,(95) the Ratnacūḍa Bodhisattva Chapter,(96) the Sūtra of the Buddha's Teaching on the Samādhi of Illusion,(97) the Sūtra of Ugraparipṛcchā on the Bodhisattva Path,(98) the Chapter on the Secret Vajra-Wielding Spirit,(99) and the Vimalakīrti Sūtra.(100) Within the Avataṃsaka corpus, there is the Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra.(101)

In the first hundred and fifty years of early Mahāyāna, in fact, no scriptural passage mentions Avalokiteśvara appearing in female form. Even in the twenty-third chapter of the Zhèngfǎhuá Jīng (Sūtra of the True Dharma Flower), the "Universal Gate Chapter of Light-Perceiver (Guāngshìyīn)," there's only mention of his relieving beings' suffering. As for his manifestations, no female body is recorded. For example:

If one enters great waters, rivers, or swift currents and terror arises in the heart, calling upon the name of the Light-Perceiver Bodhisattva with single-minded devotion, his awesome spiritual power will protect that person from drowning and bring them to safety…. If there be a woman without children who seeks a son or a daughter, let her take refuge in the Light-Perceiver and she shall obtain a son or daughter…. The Buddha said: "Though one may make offerings to countless bodhisattvas, it is not equal to a single act of taking refuge in the Light-Perceiver."(102)… The Buddha said: "Noble youth, the Light-Perceiver Bodhisattva, as he travels through the worlds, may manifest in the body of a Buddha to proclaim the Dharma; or he may appear in the form and appearance of a bodhisattva to expound scriptures and transform beings; or as a pratyekabuddha, or as a śrāvaka; or in the form of Brahmā or Indra to expound the sutras and the Way;… he may also manifest in the form of great celestial beings,… generals, or in the guise of śramaṇas or brahmins…. or as a vajra-spirit, a hermit dwelling alone, an immortal, or a dwarf. The Light-Perceiver Bodhisattva travels through all Buddha-lands and universally manifests in various forms, transforming wherever he goes to liberate all beings."(103)

From this passage, it's clear that in the Zhèngfǎhuá Jīng, translated by Dharmarakṣa of the Western Jin dynasty, the categories of transformed bodies described for Avalokiteśvara's practice of skillful means do not include female form. As for the relief of beings' suffering, the text does mention alleviating women's hardship—specifically resolving the difficulty of "a woman without children." In traditional Indian society, producing heirs was an extremely important responsibility; offspring served as a guarantee of a woman's married life. A childless woman faced the unfortunate fate of being divorced.

In the later Miàofǎ Liánhuá Jīng (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra), translated by Kumārajīva during the Yao-Qin era, however, the bodhisattva's liberation of suffering beings is discussed alongside his ability to transform into thirty-three kinds of bodies, including a woman's. For example, the sūtra states:

The Buddha addressed Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intent: "Good man! If countless hundreds of thousands of millions of beings suffer various afflictions, and they hear of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and single-mindedly call upon his name, then Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva will immediately perceive the sound of their voices, and they shall all attain liberation!… If there be a woman who desires a son and reverently makes offerings to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, she will give birth to a son endowed with merit and wisdom; if she desires a daughter, she will give birth to a daughter who is beautiful and well-formed, planted with the roots of virtue in past lives, loved and respected by all."… The Buddha addressed Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intent: "Good man! If there are beings in any land who should be saved by means of a Buddha's body, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva will manifest in a Buddha's body to expound the Dharma for them…. Those who should be saved by means of the body of a bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī, upāsaka, or upāsikā—he will manifest in the body of a bhikṣu, bhikṣuṇī, upāsaka, or upāsikā to expound the Dharma. Those who should be saved by means of the body of an elder, layperson, official, brahmin, or woman—he will manifest in a woman's body to expound the Dharma. Those who should be saved by means of the body of a young boy or young girl—he will manifest in the body of a young boy or young girl to expound the Dharma…."(104)

Tracing Avalokiteśvara's development, we see that originally there was no doctrine of his saving beings from suffering and calamity. Beginning with the Pure Land tradition, records of his resolving sentient beings' suffering appeared. The Zhèngfǎhuá Jīng already makes special mention of his relief of women. And Kumārajīva's Lotus Sūtra, in the "Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva Universal Gate Chapter," states: "If there be a woman who desires a son and reverently makes offerings to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, she will give birth to a son endowed with merit and wisdom; if she desires a daughter, she will give birth to a daughter who is beautiful and well-formed, planted with the roots of virtue in past lives, loved and respected by all." This passage shows that Avalokiteśvara not only grants the wishes of those seeking children, but also symbolically marks the male as representing wisdom and the female as the embodiment of compassion.

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva "manifests in whatever body is needed to save beings, and in that form expounds the Dharma." Taking on various bodies and teaching various Dharmas is Avalokiteśvara's skillful means for saving the world. Among these thirty-three skillful emanations, seven are female forms: bhikṣuṇī, upāsikā, elder's wife, official's wife, layman's wife, brahmin's wife, and young maiden. These seven female manifestations symbolize the compassionate virtue of women.

Mahākaruṇā—great compassion—is Avalokiteśvara's distinctive virtue, hence the title "Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion." In early Buddhism, great compassion was an exclusive quality of the Buddha. The Buddha's great compassion is described in fascicle two of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya Saṃgraha:

The World-Honored One, by the very nature of the Dharma, observes sentient beings at all times—there is nothing he does not hear or see, nothing he does not know. He constantly generates great compassion to benefit all beings…. Six times day and night, he surveys the worlds with the Buddha-eye: among those with wholesome roots, who increases and who decreases? Who encounters suffering? Who heads toward evil destinies? Who is mired in the mud of desire? Who is ready to receive the teaching? What skillful means should be employed to rescue and deliver them?(105)

The Mahāyānasaṃgraha (Compendium of the Great Vehicle), fascicle thirteen, states:

Six times day and night he surveys all realms of sentient beings; endowed with great compassion, he benefits all—to him I bow.(106)

The Buddha's great compassion lies in observing worldly beings at all times: whose wholesome roots have ripened, who has encountered suffering. He then employs skillful means to bring relief. To be "greatly compassionate toward all worldly beings" is the Buddha's exclusive merit; to enter the eight assemblies universally and manifest to teach the Dharma is also the Buddha's exceedingly rare quality. The Mahāyāna Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva—manifesting to teach the Dharma and saving suffering beings with great compassion—is, therefore, entirely identical to the Buddha. Avalokiteśvara arose as a continuation of the World-Honored One's spirit of great compassion for the world.(107)

Mahāyāna Buddhism now regards Avalokiteśvara as the symbol of women's compassionate virtue, which also means it firmly believes that women possess the same great compassionate spirit as the Buddha. Avalokiteśvara thus offers spiritual liberation for the real-world suffering women encounter, while also encouraging them to cultivate their compassionate virtue and bring benefit to society and humanity.

All of this points to a single conclusion: Mahāyāna Buddhism affirms the compassionate qualities inherent in women. Faced with the various difficulties women encounter in real-world circumstances, Mahāyāna Buddhism offers not reproach or disparagement, but resolution and support through various skillful means.

Section Four: The Lion's Roar

In the preceding section, on the relationship between Mahāyāna bodhisattvas and women, women's aspiration, compassion, and wisdom were already affirmed. Given these feminine qualities, what role do women play in the propagation of the Dharma? And what significance does this role hold for women in the age of Mahāyāna Buddhism? These questions will find their answer in what follows.

1. Women as Dharma Teachers

Among the transmitters of early Mahāyāna teachings, although the majority were bhikṣus, female preachers were by no means rare. For example, fascicle four of the Daoxing Bōrě Bōluómì Jīng (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā) states:

If a good man or good woman serves as a Dharma teacher and expounds the Dharma on the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the month, the merit obtained is incalculable!(108)

This sūtra explicitly affirms the existence of female Dharma preachers—women's status as fǎshī, or Dharma teachers, was recognized. A parallel passage appears in the Fàngguāng Bōrě Jīng (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā):

A good man or good woman serving as a Dharma teacher, who expounds the Prajñāpāramitā on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month… the merit obtained is incalculable!(109)

And in the Lotus Sūtra, <

The chapter on the Dharma Teacher (法師品) also says: "If a good man or good woman, regarding the Lotus Sutra—even if it be just one verse—receives and upholds it, recites it, explains it, copies it, and makes various offerings to the sutra scrolls… such a person should be honored and served by all the world…" (110)

The Rǔshǒu Púsà Wúshàng Qīngjìng Fēnwèi Jīng also records: "Upasika widely manifests inspiring images of brilliant light, visibly turning the supreme Avaivartika* wheel." (111)

As Mahayana Buddhism entered its middle period—roughly the two centuries between the fifth and sixth centuries CE—works in which women "turn the wheel" and "give the lion's roar" appeared in growing numbers.

The lion, called hari in India, is not the largest of beasts in body; elephants, camels, and giraffes all outweigh it. Yet because of its naturally fierce character and its ability to subdue every other beast, it is called the king of beasts. The sutras often use the term "lion's roar" for the teaching of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, because when they teach, it is like a lion roaring—exerting tremendous force to crush and subdue all unwholesome and evil persons.

According to Master Yanpei's discussion in his Notes on the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra (112), the lion's roar carries three meanings:

1. Teaching in Accordance with Practice (如行说) Every dharma spoken by Buddhas and bodhisattvas conforms to "unity of word and deed" or "correspondence of understanding and practice." There is no false speech whatsoever; what is said is immediately put into practice. Hence they can roar like the lion without any fear.

2. Fearless Teaching (无畏说) The lion is the king among beasts. When it roars, it roars free from fear itself, and the hundred beasts that hear it are all terrified. An ancient worthy said: "The lion's roar, the fearless teaching—the hundred beasts hear it and their skulls split." The Buddhas and bodhisattvas' explication of dharma is likewise—effortless and at ease. As the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: "Expounding the Dharma without fear, like the lion's roar."

3. Definitive Teaching (决定说) Also called "one-directional recorded teaching," this means firmly affirmative, consistently being so, with absolutely no change in what is said. Even when expedient means are employed, the central thought remains unchanged. Like a lion crossing a river, no matter how wide the river may be, it follows its nature and proceeds straight ahead toward the farther shore, never changing its mind and turning back. The Buddhas and bodhisattvas' teaching is likewise: based on ultimate principle, they speak the ultimate teaching; if it is not ultimate, they do not speak it. As scroll 25 of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: "The lion's roar is called definitive teaching. All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature; the Tathāgata is permanent, without change or decay." Moreover, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas' teaching can accomplish "crushing all that is false, revealing all that is true," like the lion's roar subduing the herd of beasts.

These three meanings, when likened to the lion's roar, carry profound significance. Among the Mahayana sutras, works in which women's teaching is likened to the lion's roar include:

㈡《胜鬘师子吼一乘大方便方广经》(Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra), translated by Guṇabhadra of the Liu Song dynasty

In this sutra, Śrīmālā reveals the One Vehicle Great Dharma like the lion's roar, exerting tremendous power. The "lion's roar" characterizes the One Vehicle Great Dharma taught by Śrīmālā.

⑴ As-Conduct Teaching: Śrīmālā is able to speak and to practice, so she roars without fear like the lion. As in the sutra's "Ten Vows" chapter, Śrīmālā speaks these truthful vows before the Buddha:

I receive these Ten Great Vows and will practice as I have spoken. By virtue of this vow, in the great assembly, heavenly flowers shall rain down and wonderful heavenly sounds shall emerge. (113)

When these words were spoken, in empty space, multitudes of heavenly flowers rained down, and wonderful sounds emerged, saying: "So it is, so it is! Just as you have spoken—true and without difference."

⑵ Fearless Teaching: Queen Śrīmālā, personally in the Buddha's presence, exerted unhindered eloquence before the great and excellent assembly, expounding the supreme, subtle, correct Dharma. She feared neither the excellent audience hearing the Dharma, nor the challenges raised by those who heard it. The One Vehicle Great Dharma manifested by Śrīmālā, as described in the sutra, is especially like the lion's roar, causing Māra and outsiders to tremble with fear. The sutra's "One Vehicle" chapter says:

Speaking the One Vehicle Path, the Tathāgata has accomplished the Four Fearlessnesses and gives the lion's roar teaching. (114)

⑶ Definitive Teaching: As this sutra says: "With the lion's roar, based on the definitive meaning, giving one-directional recorded teaching." (115) What Śrīmālā expounded before the Buddha speaks the meaning of the permanent, self-nature, purity—the definitive Great Dharma that is ultimately only the One Vehicle, which can crush the false and reveal the true. Hence Śrīmālā's teaching is likened to the lion's roar.

㈡《阿阇贳王女阿术达菩萨经》(Sūtra of the Bodhisattva, Daughter of King Ajñāta), translated by Dharmarakṣa of the Western Jin dynasty

The girl Wuchouyou—"No-Sorrow"—debated the teaching of emptiness with the great śrāvakas Śāriputra, Subhūti, Maudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, and others. The Buddha testified that what the girl expounded was the lion's roar. For example:

Śāriputra asked again: "What do you seek, girl, in order to give the lion's roar?" The girl replied to Śāriputra: "In what is sought, nothing is sought. If there is something sought, then it is not the lion's roar. Abiding nowhere, one can give the lion's roar." …

Bodhisattva Maitreya addressed the Buddha, saying: "From which pure land does this sandalwood fragrance come? Its fragrance here is thus." The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Maitreya: "It is because the girl Wuchouyou, together with the great śrāvakas, gave the lion's roar together that this auspicious sign appeared." (116)

㈢《长者女菴遮师子吼了义经》(Sūtra of the Definitive Meaning of the Lion's Roar Spoken by the Elder's Daughter Aṃjā), translator unknown

This sutra recounts how a Brahmin elder's daughter named Aṃjā debated the meaning of emptiness with Mañjuśrī and Śāriputra, and the Buddha praised this woman's teaching as the lion's roar. For example:

The Buddha told Śāriputra: "This woman is not an ordinary person. She has encountered measureless Buddhas and can always speak such definitive-meaning sutras of the lion's roar, benefiting measureless seekers. I myself have also been a fellow practitioner with measureless Buddhas alongside this woman. This woman will soon attain perfect enlightenment. Among these beings, those who can give true faith to the essential teachings spoken by this woman have all long heard this woman's teachings before, and so now can give correct faith. Therefore you should earnestly accept this definitive-meaning sutra of the lion's roar without doubt." (117)

Other sutras mentioning women giving the lion's roar include:

㈣ Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, scroll 99, "Assembly of Bodhisattva Abhayagupta," No. 32, translated by Buddhaśānta of the Northern Wei dynasty. (118)

㈤ Suññata-adhikāra-sūtra, translated by Dharmarakṣa of the Western Jin dynasty. (119)

㈥ Sukhālaṃkāra-ādhikāra-sūtra, translated by Dharmayaśas of the Yao Qin dynasty. (120)

These six records of women giving the lion's roar and greatly turning the

*…Mahayana works, illustrating the fact that women served as Dharma teachers during the Mahayana period. In the transmission of the Dharma, the role of women's lion's roar demonstrates women's outstanding capacities; and the spread of the Dharma without distinction of sex is itself a manifestation of Mahayana equality.

2. Women's Rights as Seen Through Women's Dharma Teaching

Women's lion's-roar debates and Dharma teaching reveal not only women's superior ability to teach and benefit others, but also—through the spirited exchanges preserved in various Mahayana works—Mahayana's pointed critique and satire of traditional Indian norms. This in turn shows how Mahayana actively advanced women's rights and worked to raise women's status.

(1) Mocking Advocates of Male Superiority

When Princess Wuchouyou, daughter of King Ajatashatru, saw the bhikshus arriving, she did not rise from her seat to greet them; the king scolded her for disrespecting the bhikshus. Whereupon, Princess Wuchouyou let out a lion's roar, sharply mocking the Hinayana sravakas. As the sutra records:

At that time, Shariputra, Mahamaudgalyayana, Mahakashyapa, Subhuti, Khema, Rahula, Pindola Bharadvaja, Aniruddha, Upali, Ananda, and countless other great bhikshus from every direction—an incalculable assembly … arrived at the palace of King Ajatashatru. … Princess Wuchouyou, upon seeing these venerable bhikshus, did not stir from the seat in her father's main hall. When they came, she did not rise to greet them, did not bow, did not invite them to sit, nor did she offer them alms. The venerable bhikshus, for their part, observed her in silence. When King Ajatashatru saw that his daughter Wuchouyou had not respectfully received these venerable bhikshus, he turned to her and said: "Do you not know? … Why, when you see them, do you stay in your seat and stare in silence? What special merit do you have that you need not bow to these supreme elders?" Princess Wuchouyou replied: "Your Majesty, have you ever seen a lion bow to small beasts, welcome them, and sit alongside them?" The king answered her: "I have not." …(121)

When Princess Wuchouyou saw the great bhikshus come begging for alms, she "did not rise, did not greet them, did not bow, did not invite them to sit, nor did she share alms provisions." With her lion's roar she mocked the great bhikshus as "small beasts," and debating the Dharma with them she elevated the Mahayana and disparaged the Sravakayana. The clear intent behind having a woman belittle the various Sravaka vehicles in Mahayana literature is to extol the surpassing excellence of the Mahayana Dharma. At the same time, however, it also shows a pointed rejection of the traditional notion of male superiority, and an active effort to claim and honor women's status.

(2) Women Seeking Release from Traditional Constraints

An Uttara had returned briefly to her parents' home from her husband's house to look after them when the Buddha happened to arrive at her dwelling, where a Brahmin elder was making offerings to him. But An Uttara, bound by the precepts governing a wife's service to her husband, could not freely come out to see the Buddha. The sutra uses this episode to hint at Mahayana Buddhism's struggle to free women from traditional constraints and secure their liberty.

At that time, the Thus Come One already knew that the elder had a daughter indoors who had not come out, and knew the reason she had not. If she were to come out, she would benefit immeasurable sentient beings and all the gods and humans. … This is a metaphor: whether in the case of Mahayana or in the case of women, whoever can break free from traditional constraints and step outward will surely cause the Buddha's teaching to shine forth and bring measureless benefit to beings. So the Tathagata deliberately left some food in his alms bowl and sent an emanation woman to deliver the leftovers to An Uttara, the daughter within. The emanation woman addressed her in verse:

"This is the Tathagata's leftover, a gift from the supreme victor; I bear the Buddha's teaching—may you receive it with a pure mind."

An Uttara responded at once in verse:

"Alas, great compassionate one, you knew I was kept indoors; Now you bestow this food of one taste—I gaze upward and glimpse the saint's will."

She then replied to the emanation woman in verse:

"I always dwell on the deeds of the great sage; I have never differed from you—how could anything here be impure?"

This clearly shows Mahayana Buddhism's concern with real social and monastic problems and its resolve to reform. An Uttara, her heart set on the Dharma, then recited:

"Where is my husband now? May he come forth to see the noble victor; May he know my heart is pure—may he come quickly to hear the Dharma together." … When An Uttara saw her husband, joy arose in her heart, and she praised in verse:

"Alas, great noble victor, you have now fulfilled my wish; I do not mind breaking a minor precept—I only fear we may not hear together."

Her husband, hearing An Uttara's verse, immediately rebuked her in verse:

"Alas, you are deeply foolish, you do not know what benefits you; You troubled the sage to give you leftover food—what is the use of keeping precepts so rigidly?"

Thereupon An Uttara followed her husband to where the Buddha was. …(122)

From this, Mahayana Buddhism's rejection of traditional constraints and its vigorous effort to win women's liberation is plainly evident.

(3) Critiquing the Tightening of Precepts

Since the Buddha's parinirvana, monastic precepts have grown ever stricter. In particular, the way the bhikshu sangha (which compiled the bhikshuni precepts) treated bhikshunis was extremely severe before the sectarian schisms. During the successive schisms (200–100 BCE), things had become noticeably more lenient. Yet in the compilation of the bhikshuni precept codes, minor regulations grew ever more numerous and burdensome. The critique of precepts voiced through women's lion's roar in Mahayana sutras can therefore be read as a call for reform.

At that time, the Venerable Rahula asked Princess Wuchouyou: "You who possess such understanding, who grasp the essence of all teachings and the wisdom that holds them—why do you occupy an entire lofty, unclean bed without any humility or respect? You seat yourself on a high bed and expound the profound Dharma to great bhikshus. I once heard the Buddha say: 'A person who is not ill may not sit on a high bed, nor recline while listening to or teaching the Dharma.'" The princess replied to Rahula: "Do you know what the world counts as pure, and what it counts as impure?" Rahula answered: "Those who keep the precepts, have faith, and do not transgress—they are pure; those who transgress are impure." The princess replied: "Enough! You have not understood. Why so? Rahula—those who keep the precepts, have faith, and do not transgress are in fact impure; those who break the precepts are pure." … At that time, King Ajatashatru said to Princess Wuchouyou: "Do you not know? The Venerable Rahula is the foremost of the Shakya royal line; trusted for his virtue, he left home to become a monk while still young, renouncing a cakravartin kingdom. He is the son of Buddha Shakyamuni, foremost in keeping precepts. How can you belittle him and not show respect?" The princess said to the king: "Enough! Do not say such things! Can a divine elixir pearl be compared to quartz crystal? …"(123)

From these three points, it is clear that during the Mahayana era—particularly the Gupta period—women's rights were breaking through the constraints of traditional society, and women's status was steadily rising. As described in Li Zhifu's translation of A General History of India:

"During this period, Indian women—particularly those of the upper classes—had already taken on roles in state governance. The queens of the Gupta Dynasty enjoyed a notably high social position. In later periods, queens ruled in kingdoms such as Kashmir, Orissa, and Andhra, as historical records attest. Chinese scholars record a princess who assisted her brother in managing government affairs. In some provinces, especially the kingdom of Kanares, women could often serve as governors or village heads, and the custom of women remaining hidden from public view was steadily fading. In the Deccan, royal women were not only skilled in music and dance but also gave public performances of their artistic talents—facts preserved in contemporary inscriptions. In northern India, Princess Rajyasri sat behind her brother and listened to the Chinese Buddhist vinaya master Xuanzang expound Mahayana teachings. This not only shows that some married women were not absolutely forbidden to appear in public, but also that some girls—at least in the upper classes—received a broad education and engaged in cultural pursuits." …(124)

Looking back over this section, the lion's roars of women repeatedly confirm their outstanding capacity to shoulder the Buddha's household affairs, and the debates carried out through these lion's roars demonstrate the development of women's rights within Mahayana. The Mahayana view of gender equality emerges unmistakably here.

Section 5: Conclusion

The Buddha's Dharma is the Dharma of equality. On the matter of gender, it can be said to transcend attachment to male and female identities. From the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism's view of women, men and women are equal. Gender equality is unimpeded in both principle and practice; the key lies in how to bring it about. Hence the scriptures present various expedient means—expedients through a female body, methods to leave behind the female body, rebirth in the Pure Land, and so on.

The Dharma holds that equality cannot be sought in name or form. Names are empty conventions; from the Buddhist standpoint, "man" and "woman" are merely provisional labels formed through the coming together of conditions, with no fixed essence to be found. When masculine traits are predominant, the provisional name is "man"; when feminine traits are predominant, the provisional name is "woman." As for form, it is changeable—man becoming woman, woman becoming man. With today's advanced medical techniques, this is no longer difficult at all. Modern science, in particular, offers striking support for the Dharma: male bodies carry female hormones, and female bodies carry male hormones. When female hormones predominate, feminine patterns of behavior appear, and vice versa. This shows that there is no absolute male form, nor any absolute female form.

Therefore, the equality spoken of in the Dharma is equality in substance, not in name or form. For instance, men can spread the Dharma and rescue sentient beings, and women too can greatly turn the *

Like a Lion's Roar: Men can practice the Way and cultivate the Path; women too, through their resolve and wisdom, can pass beyond birth and death and attain Buddhahood. True equality is found only in this striving—and this is precisely what the Mahāyāna Buddhist view of women seeks to bring about. Whether bodhisattvas appear as male or female, it is wholly a skillful means for the sake of liberating sentient beings. The compassion of bodhisattvas embodies the noble virtues of Buddhist women. The Mahāyāna view of women is thus profoundly egalitarian and dynamic—the flowering of the Buddha's great spirit of "unconditioned compassion and shared sorrow."

Notes:

① The Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and other Buddhist teachings.

② Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Diamond Sūtra) (Taishō 8, 749a).

③ Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra (Taishō 14, 548b–c).

④ Same as note ③.

⑤ Fo shuo Ashèzhàn wáng nǚ Ashùdá púsà jīng (Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Aśokadattā, Daughter of King Ajātaśatru) (Taishō 21, 88b). Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: "Why does this woman not abandon her womanhood?" The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "Do you, śrāvakas, regard this Without-Sorrow as a woman? Since you have not deeply entered the Prajñāpāramitā, you do not see the root of persons, do not observe their underlying traces, and so merely judge by outward conduct. Bodhisattvas, following whatever they delight in, appear as male or female through skillful means, unhindered in any respect, in order to liberate both men and women." The girl Without-Sorrow, wishing to resolve Śāriputra's doubts, made a vow before the assembly: "Let everyone here see me as a man." As soon as this thought arose, the entire assembly saw Without-Sorrow's body as that of a man, with no woman's form to be seen. Without-Sorrow then leapt up into the open sky and remained suspended in mid-air seventy zhang above the ground. The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "Do you see Without-Sorrow, now a man, leaping in the open sky seventy zhang above the ground? Do you see this?" Śāriputra said to the Buddha: "Yes, I have seen it." The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "This Without-Sorrow, after seven hundred asaṃkhyeya kalpas, shall become a Buddha…"

⑥ Fo shuo yuèshàng nǚ jīng (Sūtra of the Girl Candrottamā) (Taishō 14, 620b). At that time, the Bodhisattva Akṣobhya said to the Girl Candrottamā: "So it is, Candrottamā. Since Buddhahood cannot be attained in a female body, why do you not transform your female body?" The girl replied: "Good man! The nature of emptiness has no turning and no reversing. All dharmas are likewise. How then could you ask me to transform my female body?"

⑦ Fo shuo dà jìng fǎmén jīng (Sūtra of the Great Pure Dharma Gate) (Taishō 17, 818b). "The Way has no master, thus there is no self and nothing to be received.… Furthermore, in the eye there is no dharma of male, no dharma of female. Having understood the Way, there is no dharma of male and no dharma of female—no male and no female is the Way itself. The ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind likewise have no dharma of male and no dharma of female; the Way too is without male and female.… Therefore it is said: You yourself are the Way. Furthermore, elder sister! One's own body has no self—no self, no person, no life, no vital force, no form, no intention,… no knowing. The Way too has no person, no life, no vital force, no male, no female, no body, no creation, and nothing to be seen.…"

⑧ Dà zhuāngyán fǎmén jīng (Sūtra of the Great Adornment Dharma Gate) (Taishō 17, 827a). "Bodhi too has no master and no grasper. In the eye there is no dharma of male or female, and it is neither male nor female. Likewise in bodhi there is no dharma of male or female, and it is neither male nor female. In ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind there is no dharma of male or female; ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are neither male nor female. Thus in bodhi there is no dharma of male or female, and bodhi too is neither male nor female.…"

⑨ Bǎo nǚ suǒ wèn jīng (Sūtra of the Questions of the Jewel Girl) (Taishō 21, 460b). This Jewel Girl first awakened the aspiration for supreme, perfect enlightenment under the Buddha Vipaśyīn. At that time Śāriputra asked the World-Honored One: "Through what karmic obscuration did she receive a woman's body?" The Buddha said to Śāriputra: "A great bodhisattva does not receive a woman's body through karmic obscuration. Why? Because great bodhisattvas, by virtue of their wisdom, spiritual powers, skillful means, and holy clarity, appear in female form to transform and enlighten the multitudes. What do you think, Śāriputra? Is this Jewel Girl actually a woman? Do not hold such a view. Through the power of holy transcendence she transforms as needed—she is a true bodhisattva. Hold this view instead: there is no dharma of male and no dharma of female; she is complete in all the essentials of the dharmas.…"

⑩ Fo shuo wú gòu xián nǚ jīng (Sūtra of the Girl Vimalaśrī) (Taishō 14, 914a). At that time the girl replied: "…You are an arhat; my aspiration is that of a bodhisattva. You are not my kind; our aspirations are not the same." Śakra said again: "Because your female body is exposed and unseemly, I offer you this robe." The girl replied: "In the Great Vehicle there is no male and no female.…"

⑪ Fo shuo xūmótí púsà jīng (Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Sumatī) (Taishō 12, 80b–c). Mañjuśrī asked: "How is it that you do not transform your female body?" Sumatī replied: "In this there is nothing to be attained. Why? Dharmas have no male and no female. Now I shall resolve your doubt." Mañjuśrī said: "Excellent! I would like to hear it." Sumatī said to Mañjuśrī: "Before long, I too shall attain Tathāgata-hood, becoming perfectly and completely enlightened in the practice of wisdom.… If this is truly so, I shall now transform into a man." As soon as she spoke these words, she became a man, and her hair fell away.

⑫ Shùn quán fāngbiàn jīng (Sūtra of Accordant Skillful Means) (Taishō 14, 927b). At that time the Elder Subhūti asked the girl: "Sister, through what skillful means do you never abandon any sentient being, converting them all according to the appropriate occasion?"… Subhūti asked: "Sister, why do you assume female form to transform other women?" At that time, the bodhisattva who had transformed from female form appeared as a woman; then, for twelve years, she manifested the appearance of a noble youth, wearing pure garments in men's attire. She asked Subhūti: "Are you an ordinary person, or have you attained something through practice?" Subhūti replied: "I am neither an ordinary person nor one who has attained." The girl replied: "Just so, just so! O Subhūti, I too have nothing to grasp."

⑬ Fo shuo lí gòu shī nǚ jīng (Sūtra of the Girl Vimaladattā) (Taishō 21, 96b). At that time Mahāmaudgalyāyana asked: "Vimaladattā! Noble one, you who have long been established in wisdom and awakened the aspiration for supreme, perfect enlightenment—why do you not transform your female body?" Vimaladattā replied: "The World-Honored One praises you as foremost in spiritual powers—why do you not transform into a man?" Maudgalyāyana fell silent. Vimaladattā said: "It is neither through a female body nor through a male form that one attains perfect awakening. Why? The Way has no origination; there is nothing that can attain supreme, perfect awakening."

⑭ Dà fāngděng wú xiǎng jīng (Mahāmegha Sūtra) (Taishō 12, 1106b–1107a). At that time the Bodhisattva Great Cloud, Secret Store, rose again from his seat…: "We pray the Tathāgata to speak of this heavenly maiden… When will she be able to transform this female body?" "Good man! You should not now ask about transforming the female body. This heavenly maiden, for the sake of sentient beings, constantly appears in female form throughout countless, incalculable kalpas. Know that this is a body of skillful means, not an actual female body. How can you ask when she will transform her female body? Good man! When the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva abides in this samādhi, the body is free and able to assume various appropriate forms. Though she takes on a female appearance, her mind is free from attachment and untainted by the bonds of desire."

⑮ Fo shuo zhǎngzhě fǎzhì qī jīng (Sūtra of the Elder Fǎzhì's Wife) (Taishō 14, 945a–b). "Bodhisattvas cultivate their own minds and contemplate the Great Vehicle—no male and no female, like an illusion. Like a painting by a master that takes shape at will, one who comprehends the wisdom of emptiness sees all as fundamentally pure.… When the woman heard the Buddha's teaching, her heart opened with joy and she awakened the aspiration for supreme, perfect enlightenment, establishing herself on the ground of non-retrogression. At that time Śakra, Lord of the Gods, came and stood behind the Buddha and said to the woman: 'The Buddha Way is difficult to attain. It would be better to seek transformation from female to male, to become Sun, Moon, Śakra, or a Wheel-Turning Sage King.' Thereupon the woman spoke in verse:

'…The five aggregates are like illusions; the three realms arise from oneself. The three times are equal; the mind of the Way has no peer. Truly understood in this way—who is male, and where is female?'

Hearing these words, Śakra fell silent, with nothing to say."

⑯ Fo shuo zhǎngzhě nǚ Āntízhē shīzi hǒu liǎoyì jīng (Sūtra of Definitive Meaning: The Lion's Roar of the Elder's Daughter Āntízhē) (Taishō 14, 964b). At that time Śāriputra again asked the woman: "Your wisdom and eloquence are such that the Buddha himself praises you, and we śrāvakas cannot match you. Why can you not leave behind this female bodily form?"… The woman replied: "I wish to ask the Venerable One—please answer as you will. Venerable One! Are you presently male?" Śāriputra said: "Though in body I am male, in mind I am not male." The woman said: "Venerable One! It is the same with me. As you have said—though in female form, my mind is not female." Śāriputra said: "You are now held captive by a husband—how can you speak this way?" The woman replied: "Venerable One! Can you trust your own words?" Śāriputra said: "Trust myself—how could I not trust myself?" The woman replied: "If you trust yourself, then your earlier statement—that your body is male but your mind is not—implies a split between mind and body. If you truly trusted your own words, you would not form the pernicious view that I belong to a husband. Because you yourself are male, you see me as female; because of my female form, you disturb your own mind. When one sees oneself as male and the other as female, one cannot give rise to genuine faith in the Dharma."

⑰ Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra (Taishō 15, 635a). At that time the Bodhisattva Firm Resolve asked the Devaputra Guṇa: "What meritorious deeds must one practice to transform a female body?" He replied: "Good man! Those who awaken to the Great Vehicle see no difference between male and female. Why? Because the mind of all-knowing wisdom does not abide within the three realms; it is through discrimination that males and females appear. As for your question about what meritorious deeds transform a female body—in the past, one served bodhisattvas with a mind free of deceit. How so?"… He asked: "How does one transform a female body?" Reply: "Like becoming." He asked: "What is 'like becoming'?" Reply: "Like transforming." He asked: "Devaputra, what is the meaning of these words?" Reply: "Good man! In all dharmas there is no becoming and no transforming. All dharmas have but one taste—the taste of dharmatā. Good man! I assume a female body according to my vow. Even if I were to become a man, I would neither damage nor abandon the characteristics of a female body. Good man! Therefore know this: male and female are both inverted views. All dharmas together with all inversions ultimately transcend dualistic characteristics.…"

⑱ Zhū fó yào jí jīng (Sūtra of the Essential Collection of All Buddhas) (Taishō 17, 768b–c). Mañjuśrī asked the girl (Liyì): "Why do you not transform your female body?" The girl replied: "Mañjuśrī! Enough! Do not harbor delusive thoughts. You who contemplate the meaning and fathom all dharmas—are there males and females?" He replied: "No." "Are there males and females in feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness?" He replied: "No." "Are there males and females in earth, water, fire, and wind?" He replied: "No." "The vast emptiness, boundless and limitless, with no visible location—are there males and females there?" He replied: "No." She further asked: "In the words you speak, from beginning to end, is there anywhere that males and females can be found?" He replied: "No." The girl said: "Then why did you just now ask: 'Why do you not transform your female body?' If I had attained a 'woman'-place and from there could see male and female, then I would discard the female form and take the male. But I have found no 'woman,' nor have I found 'man'—on what basis would I abandon the female and become male? Examining all dharmas: no joining, no separating, no origin. The beginningless is empty and still. Empty space has no joining and no separating. All dharmas are entirely like empty space—on what basis would one transform a female form into that of a male? Why? This is the foremost teaching proclaimed by the Tathāgata."

⑲ See ⑰.

⑳ See ⑮.

(21) See ⑥.

(22) See ⑯.

(23) See ⑬.

(24) See ⑮.

(25) See ⑱.

(26) See ⑤.

(27) See ⑨.

(28) See ⑭.

(29) Miàohuì tóngnǚ huì (The Assembly of the Girl Wonderful Wisdom) (Taishō 11, 548b–549a).

(30) Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, fascicle 27 (Taishō 12, 524b).

(31) Dà fāngguǎng yuánjué xiūduōluó liǎoyì jīng (Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment) (Taishō 17, 915a).

(32) Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra (Lotus Sūtra) (Taishō 9, 35a).

(33) Same as (32) (Taishō 9, 35b).

(34) Same as (33).

(35) Fo shuo chāorì míng sānmèi jīng (Sūtra of the Sun-Illuminating Samādhi) (Taishō 15, 540a–b).

(36) Same as (35) (Taishō 15, 541b).

(37) Same as (35) (Taishō 15, 542a).

(38) Fo shuo chāorì míng sānmèi jīng, fascicle 2 (Taishō 15, 542a).

(39) Sāgara Nāgarāja Paripṛcchā Sūtra (Sūtra of the Ocean Dragon King), fascicle 3, Chapter 14: "The Nāga Princess Bǎojǐn Receives the Prophecy" (Taishō 15, 149b).

(40) Same as (39) (Taishō 15, 149c).

(41) Same as (39) (Taishō 15, 150b–c).

(42) Śrīmālādevī Sūtra (The Assembly of Lady Śrīmālā), No. 48 (Taishō 11, 673a–b).

(43) Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra (Taishō 12, 220b).

(44) Mahāmegha Sūtra (Taishō 12, 1107a).

(45) Mahāmegha Sūtra, fascicle 4 (Taishō 12, 1098a).

(46) Saṃyuktāgama, fascicle 11 (Taishō 2, 73b–75b).

(47) Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 4 (Taishō 9, 34b–35a).

(48) Same as (47) (Taishō 9, 36a).

(49) Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Sumatī (Taishō 12, 81a–b).

(50) Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Aśokadattā, Daughter of King Ajātaśatru (Taishō 12, 89a).

(51) "The Nāga Princess Bǎojǐn Receives the Prophecy," Chapter 14 (Taishō 15, 149b–150c).

(52) The Assembly of Lady Śrīmālā, No. 48 (Taishō 11, 672b–673b).

(53) Same as (47) (Taishō 9, 35b).

(54) The Origins and Development of Early Mahāyāna Buddhism (Chūqī dàshèng fójiào de qǐyuán yǔ kāizhǎn), by Venerable Yinshun, p. 807. Taipei: Zhengwen Publishing House, 1983.

(55) Akṣobhyatathāgatasya Buddhabhūmi Sūtra (Sūtra of the Land of Akṣobhya Buddha), fascicle 1 (Taishō 11, 755b–756a).

(56) Same as (55) (Taishō 11, 756a–b).

(57) Same as (55) (Taishō 11, 756b).

(58) Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Sūtra of Immeasurable Life) (Taishō 12, 268).

(59) Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhāsapūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra (Sūtra of the Merit and Virtue of the Original Vows of Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgata) (Taishō 14, 405).

(60) Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra (Sūtra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life) (Taishō 12, 340b–346b).

(61) Sūtra of Accordant Skillful Means, fascicle 2 (Taishō 14, 927b).

(62) Same as (61).

(63) Lè yīngluò zhuāngyán fāngbiàn pǐn jīng (Sūtra of Joyful Adornment through Skillful Means) (Taishō 14, 930b–939b).

(64) Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Aśokadattā, Daughter of King Ajātaśatru (Taishō 12, 88b).

(65) Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, fascicle 99, <

Chapter 6: Conclusion

Section 1: A Buddhist View of Women Based on Equality

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the idea of equality between men and women had become something of a general trend in Western civilized societies. Few realize that more than twenty-five hundred years earlier, Shakyamuni Buddha in India had already proclaimed this equality aloud. From the moment women were permitted to join the Sangha, Buddhist women had already secured equal and free rights.

From the Vedic period onward, Indian women lived in an unequal society. In living conditions, marriage, education, or the development of their futures, they suffered discrimination on every side—and these conditions could not be swiftly or effectively improved. Moved by the plight of Indian women and unwilling to leave them in an endless night, the Buddha taught expedient teachings suited to the times, embedding the true meaning of equality within them, so that women might gradually be transformed, their status raised, and the original aspiration of full awakening fulfilled. For example:

1. Universal Education for Women

(a) He taught the Dharma to women without distinction of rank or wealth.

(b) He pointed out the various faults of the female body, guiding women toward self-awakening.

(c) He established precepts and standards of life and education for bhikshunis within the Sangha.

These measures gave women opportunities for growth in character and knowledge.

2. Harmony in Marriage

(a) Husband and wife should respect and love one another.

(b) Men and women should respect each other and abide by the same moral standards.

3. Affirmation of Women's Wisdom

The Buddha held that the wisdom of men and women is equal, and that both can attain the fruit and become a Buddha. He therefore permitted women to join the Sangha, breaking the iron rule of the Indian religious world that forbade women's ordination. This was both the Buddha's determination to protect women and champion their rights—and the proof of it.

In the Hinayana, there are teachings that seem to exclude women, but these may be regarded as expedient statements of Buddhism, not its ultimate teaching. Hence the Mahayana Lotus Sutra calls the Hinayana an "illusory city in a parable"①—that is, the Hinayana is merely a provisional city of expedience, not the destination. The true place one wishes to reach is the Buddha-vehicle, which both men and women can attain. In the Mahayana, therefore, the cultivation of merit and wisdom is the same for men and women. For example, the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra contains the Shrimati Sūtra, the Miaohui Tongnu Hui②, and the Henghe Shang Youboyi Hui③; the Mahāsannipāta Sūtra contains the Precious Woman Chapter; among the spiritual friends visited by the youth Sudhana in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra there is the upāsikā Xiushé, the bhikṣuṇī Shizifenxun, and a courtesan... as well as the Dragon Girl in the Lotus Sutra and the Heavenly Maiden in the Vimalakīrti Sūtra. All of these demonstrate that in Mahayana Buddhism, women are equal to men.

Furthermore, on the foundation of Mahayana equality, both men and women should shoulder the burden of the Dharma. As Queen Shrimati's teaching reveals, this opens up the true meaning of equality between the sexes. Mahayana Buddhism also paid close attention to the situation of women, and to bring about their liberation of body and mind, it put forward various theories of the Pure Land. The unfolding of Avalokiteśvara's compassionate thought of saving those in suffering and distress serves as both a symbol and an encouragement of women's compassionate virtue.

Section 2: The Current Situation of Buddhist Women in Taiwan, and the Understanding and Practice Required

In Taiwan's Buddhist world, women have long been active, making up somewhat more than two-thirds of all believers. Women may ordain as bhikshunis, receive an education, and freely establish temples; they may expound the sutras and teach the Dharma, transmit the precepts as teachers; their status is the same as that of male bhikshus—they may take disciples and grand-disciples, and conduct liturgical services. In particular, attendance at Dharma assemblies in women's monasteries far exceeds that at men's. In some temples, women's status even far surpasses that of men.

Among laywomen, the majority uphold and protect the Dharma, revere the Three Jewels, and propagate Buddhism. For example, laywoman Zhang Qingyang, in her unstinting support of Buddhism, once rescued monastics from imprisonment and let forth a great lion's roar in a turbulent age—she was a great wall of Dharma protection in the early pioneering period of Taiwanese Buddhism. Laywoman Ye Man, at the Buddhist Friendship Conference convened in 1985, won the admiration of representatives from many countries through her outstanding performance and was elected vice-chair of the conference, creating a highly successful instance of international fellowship for Buddhism and the nation.

In the flourishing and development of modern Buddhism, women have played the vital role of pushing the boat and steering the helm, making enormous contributions to the protection and propagation of the Dharma. The relationship between women and Buddhism is close; therefore, grounded in an understanding and practice of the Dharma's equality, women should carry forward the following feminine qualities, contributing their share to family and social harmony and to the development of Buddhism.

1. Uprightness of Heart and Conduct in Managing the Home

The reason women are loved and respected lies in the uprightness of their heart and conduct, not merely in the beauty of their appearance. Women should therefore reinterpret the Liufang Li Jing and the Yuye Nü Jing to suit modern society, bringing family happiness through virtuous womanly conduct, cultivating the seedlings of bodhi, correcting the social atmosphere, and elevating the character of women.

2. Serving Society with Compassion

The way of women puts compassion first. Avalokiteśvara's appearance in female form is precisely a symbol of compassion as a feminine virtue. Apart from maintaining wholesome families, Buddhist women should give fuller play to this quality, taking part in all kinds of social good works—running free clinics, caring for orphans and the elderly, and the like—in order to bring benefit to society.

3. Propagating the Dharma and Benefiting Beings with Wisdom

Talented Buddhist women have emerged generation after generation. They should fully employ their wisdom in education, nurturing the seedlings of bodhi; they should develop the foundational work of Buddhist culture, writing and publishing; they should let forth a great lion's roar, proclaiming the Dharma; they should even receive professional training and, through every avenue, sow the seeds of Buddhism everywhere—so that the toil of today may bring forth the robust and abundant fruit of Buddhism tomorrow.

Drawing on the principle of equality in Buddhism, today's Buddhist women should follow the models of those who came before and leave a landmark stroke in the history of modern Buddhism!

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Notes:

① Lotus Sutra (Taishō 9:22a–27c).

② Miaohui Tongnu Hui (Taishō 11:547c–549c).

③ Henghe Shang Youboyi Hui (Taishō 11:549c–550c).

(Selected from The Buddhist View of Women by Venerable Yongming, published by Fo Guang Publishing)