Buddhist Hour
Radio Broadcast 238 for Sunday 18 August 2002
on Hillside
Radio 88.0 FM
Glossary
Brahmin: one of the Brahmin caste, a
member of the highest or priestly Hindu caste.
Today’s program is titled:
Woman within the
religious frame of Buddha Dhamma
The theme of the Buddhist Hour broadcast for Sunday 4
August 2002 was "Buddha Dhamma Women Practitioners at our
Centre" and we interviewed Ms Piyaporn Erbprasartsook about her
involvement in Buddha Dhamma globally.
Ms Piyaporn
Erbprasartsook, B.Ec, is a leader from Thailand and a role model in
the Buddha Dhamma Community. She graduated from an Australian
university in 1969 and is fluent in the English language. Ms Piyaporn
Erbprasartsook is Advisor to the World Buddhist University and works
at their headquarters in Thailand, and is a Member of the World
Fellowship of Buddhists Standing Committee on Women. She is active in
many other international organisations, but because Thai culture
holds it is good to be modest about one’s activities she has
requested we do not list her appointments at this time.
Photographs
of our Buddhist Hour interview with Ms. Piyaporn Erbprasartsook will
be available with Issue 80 of the Brooking Street Bugle at
www.bsbonline.com.au
When the Most Venerable Phra Acharn
Plien Panyapatipo visited Victoria, Australia, in February and March
2002, Members of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. listened
to some of the Most Venerable’s Teachings given at Wat
Dhammarangsee, 387-389 Springvale Road, Forest Hill, Victoria 3131,
and wrote about their understanding of what was taught.
At
the request of one female person present the Most Venerable Phra
Acharn Plien Panyapatipo addressed the theme of woman in Buddha
Dhamma. In the words of our Members:
Acharn explained that the
world is very confused now. Many men want to become women, and many
women want to become men. It is understandable that women want to
become men, as men have stronger bodies, however if you are already a
man, then it is better to hold on to your male body. Women can do
everything that men can do. The only advantage of being male is that
men have more physical strength. Women have intelligence, they can
study at university, and they can improve their minds through
practice. Women can attain enlightenment just as men can. What is
more important for a woman – to aspire to become a male, or to
aspire to practise?
The Teachings given by Acharn on this
topic can by found in the Buddha Dhamma texts.
We have
gratitude for Venerable Professor Bhikku Dhammavihari who has cited
and explained canonical textual references on the topic of Woman in
the frame of Buddha Dhamma and we will share in today's broadcast
some of the insights gained in his some fifty years of scholarship.
We have summarised by paraphrasing and rewriting the ideas
explained in Venerable Professor Bhikku Dhammavihari essay “Woman
Within the Religious Frame of Buddhism” in his book Buddhist
Essays, Five Titles, published by the Buddhist Publication Society
2002.
The position of woman in Indian society at the time the
Buddha set up his Order of Bhikkhus was problematic as their was "the
widespread but groundless belief that woman is inferior to man".
Under the dominance of the Brahmanas woman had lost position
that had not yet been retrieved at this time.
At this time in
India, little sympathy was shown for woman's sad lot by the Brahmins
of the day and is evident in Altekar's description:
“The
prohibition of upanayana amounted to spiritual disenfranchisement of
women and produced a disastrous effect upon their general position in
society. It reduced them to the status of Sudras. What, however, did
infinite harm to women was the theory that they were ineligible for
Vedic sacrifices because they were of the status of the
Sudras.”
Under this regime the position of woman was
reduced to sudras and other backward classes in society.
In
the Bhagavadgita we witness the cruel infliction of domestic
subservience on women. The road to heaven is barred to her and there
is hard bargaining with her for the offer of an alternative route.
Matrimony and obedience to the husband are the only means whereby a
woman can hope to reach heaven.
This hostile attitude to women
both in religion and in society was repeatedly criticised and
challenged by the Buddha on numerous occasions.
In the Kosala
Samyutta (SN. I. 86) the Buddha contradicts the belief that the birth
of a daughter was not as much a cause for joy as that of a son, a
belief which the ritualism of the Brahmanas had contributed to
strengthen.
The Buddha pointed our clearly that the woman had
a dignified and an important part to play in society, and he defined
it with great insight, fitting her harmoniously into the social
fabric. Her sex did not matter, he argued, and added that in
character and in her role in society, she may even rival men.
But
it is not unusual to find scholars who have missed this singular
virtue of Buddha Dhamma. It would be grossly unfair to say that the
Buddha did not devote much attention to the duties and ideals of lay
women or that he showed indifference to or contempt of women.
The
instances are numerous where the Buddha defines and describes the
duties of women in society (AN.IV,265f). Further, the Buddha
recognises the face that these do not constitute the whole of their
life.
It is not with a view to limiting their life solely to
the secular affairs of the household that the Buddha laid down a code
of good living for women, but to serve as a complement to the good
life already enjoined in his religion to all his followers,
irrespective of their sex.
A host of these considerations as
they are addressed to women are grouped together in the Samyutta
Nikaya in a chapter solely devoted to them (SN.IV,328f). A good lay
woman endowed with religious devotion, moral virtue and liberality as
well as wisdom and learning, makes a success of her life in this
world. For it is said:
Saddhaya silena ca yidha
vaddhati
pannaya cagena sutena cabhayam
sa tadisi silavati
upasika adiyati
saram idheva attano ti. (SN.IV.250)
“Such
a virtuous lady who posses religious devotion,
cultivates virtue,
is endowed with wisdom and learning
and is given to charity makes
a success of her life in this very existence.”
The
following are also given as virtues by means of which a woman can
make her life fruitful, both here and hereafter:
Saddho
(religious devotion), hirima ottappi (sense of shame and fear),
akkodhano anupanahi (not given to anger), anissuki (not jealous),
amacchari (not niggardly), anaticari (chaste in behaviour), salava
(virtuous), bahussuto (learned), araddhaviriyo (zealous),
upatthitassati (mentally alert), and pannava (wise).
The good
and successful life of the laywomen as much as of the layman, seems
to have loomed large in the ethics of Buddha Dhamma.
The
Buddha accepts the reality and significance of the institution of
marriage for women. But, unlike in Hindu society, it was not the only
means for the social elevation of women.
The significant part
that she is called upon to play is meticulously defined and it
reveals neither indifference to nor contempt of women on the part of
the Buddha.
Bhikkuni Soma illustrated the Buddhist attitude to
the spiritual potentialities of women by saying:
Itthibhavo no
kim kayira cittamhi susamahite
nanmhi vattamanamhi samma dhammam
vipassato.
meaning
“When one’s mind is
well-concentrated and wisdom never fails, does the fact of our being
women make any difference?”
However, there is evidence
that this age-old scepticism about the spiritual potentialities of
women died hard.
Even in the face of success achieved by
Bhikkhunis in Buddha Dhamma, a groundless belief seems to have
prevailed with distrusted the capacity of women for spiritual
perfection.
On the eve of her final passing away, when
Mahapajapati Gotami visits the Buddha to bid him farewell, he calls
upon her to give proof of the religious attainments of the Bhikkhunis
in order to convince the disbelieving sceptics, the men in
society:
Thinam dhammabhisamaye ye bala vimatim gata
tesam
ditthipahanattham iddhim dassehi Gotami
(Apadan, II,.535).
“O
Gotami, perform a miracle in order to dispel the wrong views of those
foolish men who are in doubt with regard to the spiritual
potentialities of women.”
Buddha Dhamma, with its
characteristic note of realism, also recognises the inherent
qualities of women that make them attractive to the opposite sex.
Nothing else in the world, it is said, can delight and cheer a man so
much as a woman. In her, one would find all the fivefold pleasures of
the sense. The world of pleasure exists in her.
Pancakamaguna
ete itthirupasmim dissare
rupa sadda rasa gandha photthabba ca
manorama
(AN.III,69.)
“All these five-fold pleasures
of the senses which gratify the mind are centered in the feminine
form.”
The power that the woman derives through this may,
at the same time, extend so far as to make man throw all reason to
the winds and be a pawn in her hand, under the influence of her
charm.
Therefore a man might say without exaggeration that
woman is a trap laid out on all sides by Mara. These observations are
made, however, not as a stricture on their character but as a warning
to men, who in seeking their company, might err on the side of
excess. It is true that, at times, they tend to be over stressed, but
obviously with no malice to women.
There is a pointed
reference to the unguarded nature of the man who falls a prey to
these feminine charms.
Mutthassatim ta bandhanti pekkhitena
mihitena ca
atho pi dunnivatthena manjuna bhanitena ca neso jano
svasaddo api ugghatito mato.
(AN.III,69).
“Women
ensnare a man of heedless mind with their glances and smiles or with
artful grooming and pleasing words. Women are such that one cannot
approach them in safety even though they may be stricken and
dead.”
Thus it becomes clear that it is not in the spirit
of Buddha Dhamma to brand women as a source of corruption for man.
Note the words ‘a man of heedless mind’ in the above
quotation.
In Buddha Dhamma, the caution which men are called
upon to exercise in their dealings with the opposite sex springs
solely from the Buddhist attitude to kama or the pleasures of the
senses.
Kama are described in Buddha Dhamma as leading to
grief and turbulence. Kama thwarts the path to transcendental
happiness.
Of this vast field of this sense experience of man,
sex is only a segment but is admittedly one with irresistible appeal,
and thus required a special word of warning, particularly to those
who are keen on the pursuit of mental equipoise.
The Buddha
says that if it were left unbridled, it would, in expressing itself,
shatter all bounds of propriety.
Hence the desire to lead a
chaste and moral life, eschewing, even completely, the gratification
of sex desires, and can as much be the aspiration of a woman as that
of a man. Besides this philosophic attitude to the pleasures of the
world admittedly plays a dominant part, there seems to be nothing in
Buddha Dhamma that looks upon sex or woman as being corrupt in
themselves.
Thus it becomes clear that the philosophy of early
Buddhism has no reservations whatsoever regarding the spiritual
emancipation of women.
In the ocean of samsara, her chances of
swimming across to the farther shore are as good of those of
man.
Emancipation of the mind through perfection and wisdom,
which is referred to as cetovimutti: pannavimutti was the goal of
religious life and for this the way that had proved the most
effective was the life of renunciation.
Women as much as men
were encumbered by household life and women in her spiritual
earnestness would have equally well echoed the words of the man who
chooses renunciation. Women and men would say that houshold life is
full of impediments and contrast it with the life of pabbajja.
Even
so, that Pali texts suggest that it women did not gain admittance in
to the life of a pabbajja with ease. The Buddha declined Mahapajapati
Gotami’s request three times.
This may seem to imply
that the presence of women in monastic institution of brahmacariya
was considered to be detrimental to its well-being.
However,
the Buddha concedes to Ananda that women, living the life of the
pabbajja, are able to attain Arahantship.
Although the
Bhikkunis form a part of single body of the Sangha linking up with
the more established and senior group of the Bhikkhu Sangha.
Based
on the study of the gurudhamma it is evident that the Buddha
understood how to advise on maintaining healthy and harmonious
relations between the two groups.
Women play a vital role in
the day to day running of our organisation.
Often, they are
the first point of contact within and from outside the organisation.
They have the skills and knowledge to organise and manage
customer relations, including telephone and reception duties, mail
filing and word processing.
They have the skills and
knowledge to prepare documents at our intermediate and advanced
levels.
They improve their time management by overcoming
procrastination, conflicting activity plans and reducing time
wasters.
Goal setting and redefining priorities hour by hour
are part of their full life.
They help team building and
staff development, and in addition, they provide suitable good order
in the garden and keep the premises at the appropriate level of
orderliness.
They are taught to manage the various work
stresses.
The good training given at our Centre means they can
accept job positions having higher duties.
They become more
happy and more employable or if self-employed become better
operators.
If you would like to come and help us at our
Centre, please telephone our President Mr. Julian Bamford on mobile
number 0400 267 330.
May all women be free from work stress
and be well and happy.
May all beings be free from work stress
and be well and happy.
Thank you very much.
Today’s
script was written and edited by John D. Hughes, Anita Hughes, Julian
Bamford, Leanne Eames and Pennie White.
References
Bhikku
Dhammavihari, Venerable Professor, (2002) “Woman Within the
Religious Frame of Buddhism”, Buddhist Essays, Five Titles,
Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka, pp. 19-40.
Buddhist
Hour Broadcast, Hillside Radio 88.0 FM. Bayswater Village, Bayswater
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