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Women's Role In Buddhism Essay

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With the advent of Buddhism, the religious life became centered on the samgha. As women were admitted with a prominent role in the tradition, social tensions aroused, as the woman’s role in society was restricted to the home. Buddhism, unlike Hindu tradition, “did not provide an alternative vision for society” (Ellwood & McGraw, 2005, p. 164). Budhism developed as a detachment: from society and its conditioned reality, from ego and from suffering. As Ellwood & McGraw considered, the equalitarian role that Buddhism was offering to women was “an opportunity, an option not available to women before” (2005, p. 164) Women could decide to continue in their sacrificial role as daughter, wife and mother or join a tradition whose goal was outside society …show more content…

Nevertheless it is Buddha’s foster mother that is repeatedly asking for a role recognition for women in samgha. In Buddhism, there is no testimony of marriage rituals or wife’s duties even if teaching about sexuality is common. Since women were now offered the opportunity to attain nirvana and join the samgha, it is possible that marriage was a chosen path rather than a family imposed one. Women’s role is Buddhism tradition was centered on the newly created function of nuns and the Eight Special Rules. In order to join monks in monasteries and enlightenment, women had to accept in particular, to be treated as junior to any monk. Most of the monastic rules were set by monks and written with a bias. Different interpretations gave rise to contrasting views of the Eight Special Rules: some considered the role of woman being purely subordinated to men, while others viewed the rules as a way to protect women from men and Hindu paternal world. Some Buddhism movements believed that a separation of role was not required to achieve liberation. Both renunciant monks and secular householders could achieve nirvana in Mahayana sect. While some religious texts claim that only men can reach the enlightement, other stories narrate “a significant move toward an egalitarian Buddhism” (Ellwood & McGraw, 2005, p.

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