Femininity In Buddhism

When discussing Chinese deities, it is important to note the structure of heavenly hierarchy. Not all gods and goddesses are on the same plane of existence, and “just as lower-level bureaucrats govern small administrative districts and higher-level officials control larger ones, so lesser gods reign over small local systems while more exalted gods rule the larger ones” (Sangren 5). Thus, there are Chinese deities who are considered above others and there are some that carry much more influence than others. This is a common organizational structure in many polytheistic traditions, including Hinduism. As opposed to there being one God, as in Western traditions, Eastern traditions often have several deities or higher figures for different aspects …show more content…
Even in the story of the Buddha himself, an evil demon arrives to lead the Buddha astray from his path to enlightenment. She and others are sometimes seen as daughters of the demon Mara, and they attempt to seduce the Buddha and cause him to give into his temptations, and thus deny his own enlightenment. In the story, the Buddha, through his infinite wisdom and strength, is able to resist the actions of these evil temptresses and repel their attempts to sway him. With stories like these, it is clear that “traditional Buddhist attitudes toward women as inferior reflect a view of woman as temptress or evil incarnate” (Paul 3). Thus, not only do women and female deities in Chinese Buddhist culture need to overcome their own inherent “impurities” and “pollutions,” but they also need to battle the image of themselves as uncontrollable temptresses who exist only to lead pure men away from enlightenment. Both of these factors are crucial in maintaining the image of women in Buddhism as being inferior to men, and both lead to an overall negative view of women. However, there are some stories that offer a positive view of the lives of Buddhist …show more content…
Being enlightened, however, was not something that was often spoken of in relation to women. In order to become a Buddha and to reach enlightenment, a woman would “somewhere along the way, in the course of her own rebirths, […] have to cease to be female and go on being born only as a male” (Haddad 90). It was said in the Mahayana tradition that women were able to “tread the bodhisattva¬-path toward enlightenment,” but that they could only aspire to true Buddhahood and nirvana (Haddad 90). This shows again the idea of women being inferior to men in the culture of Buddhism. Like the female deities spoken of earlier, these women were symbolically kept out of nirvana simply due to their own gender. While women were allowed to join the nunnery, in many Buddhist traditions, they were not allowed to be elevated to the same level of knowing and consciousness of their male counterparts, including the