{"id":153,"date":"2010-05-29T22:59:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-29T22:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/05\/a-little-buddhist-feminism\/"},"modified":"2014-05-08T10:57:55","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T09:57:55","slug":"a-little-buddhist-feminism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/05\/a-little-buddhist-feminism.html","title":{"rendered":"A Little Buddhist Feminism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Volumes have been written over the past few decades on Buddhism<\/a> and Feminism<\/strong>, much of it by feminists in the West pushing Buddhism to live up to its egalitarian values<\/em> in opposition to its often\u00a0chauvinistic\u00a0institutions. See below for a short list of recommended books.<\/p>\n

The work of Buddhist<\/a> feminists, which should be all of us<\/em>, still has a long way to go. But anyone who thinks that this is a wholly new <\/em>development has some catching up to do. The Buddha did create the world\u2019s first female monastic order. And while he made them \u2018under\u2019 the men, I support arguments that this was for pragmatic purposes<\/strong>. In a sense he was a radical, ordaining women, but he was also well aware of the need to fit somewhat within the social structures of his day. A cooperative relationship with the laity, while pushing them toward greater generosity, mindfulness, and so on, was a must in order for his \u2018middle way\u2019 to be successful in the world.<\/p>\n

Today, of course, much of the world has changed. <\/strong>Women still face unfair challenges, but we\u2019ve come a long way. And even in the time of the Buddha it was acknowledged that women were absolutely equal in ability to attain awakening (if there were hindrances, they were socially constructed, and not inherent in gender).<\/p>\n

A wonderful little \u201cPoem by an Elder Nun\u201d (Therigatha<\/a>) helps us see some early feminism in action. \u00a0Other poetry in the Therigatha is certainly amongst the most endearing and human of all the poetry I have ever read. In all humility, I think it needs a better translator than Thanissaro Bhikkhu, let alone myself. But with proper translation, I would expect these poems to rise quite near the level of Neruda or Rumi.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So here goes. A poem simply titled, \u201cThe Poem of the Elder Nun, \u2018Free'\u201d.<\/p>\n

My translation (staying very close to the original structure):<\/div>\n

So free, I\u2019m so wonderfully free!\u00a0From three lowly things I\u2019m freed:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

From mortar and pestle,\u00a0and lowly husband<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Free from birth & death, having removed the support of becoming.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2014 The Elder Nun, \u201cFree\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(P\u0101li from here<\/a>):<\/p>\n

11. Mutt\u0101ther\u012bg\u0101th\u0101<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018\u2018Su<\/a>mutt\u0101<\/a>\u00a0s\u0101dhu<\/a>mutt\u0101<\/a>mhi<\/a>, t\u012bhi<\/a> khujjehi<\/a> muttiy\u0101<\/a>;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Udukkhalena musalena<\/a>, patin\u0101<\/a> khujjakena<\/a> ca<\/a>;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mutt\u0101mhi<\/a>\u00a0j\u0101ti<\/a>mara\u1e47\u0101<\/a>, bhava<\/a>netti<\/a> sam\u016bhat\u0101<\/a>\u2019\u2019ti<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2026 Mutt\u0101<\/a> ther\u012b<\/a>\u2026.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some notes on translation. Click on words for the PTS definitions of each word (and sometimes prefix). Some words, like\u00a0s\u0101dhu<\/a>mutt\u0101<\/a>mhi<\/a>, are conjuncts, joined in a process called sandhi<\/a>, of several words. In this case:\u00a0s\u0101dhu<\/a>\u00a0+\u00a0mutt\u0101<\/a>\u00a0+ amhi<\/a>. I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s how it breaks down, though I\u2019m still pretty new to this. One bit of good news to the budding P\u0101li student is that the use of sandhi is much, much rarer than it is in Sanskrit, where three or four or sometimes more words are all meshed together, with each junction following it\u2019s own rules, often changing the vowels that may be at the end or beginning of the words. Here we have a simple one, where the only tricky part is the last\u00a0\u0101, where it could be mutt\u0101+amhi, or mutta+amhi, or mutt\u0101+mhi (and mhi isn\u2019t a word as far as I know, so we can rule that out). There may be other combinations that can create the\u00a0\u0101, but I\u2019m not sure.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Also, Thanissaro Bhikkhu translates\u00a0bhavanetti<\/a>\u00a0sam\u016bhat\u0101<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cHaving uprooted the craving that leads to becoming\u201d (See AtI<\/a>). I am a bit unsure about the ending on bhavanetti. It may be another sandhi (bhavana + itti or itta?). Or it may be \u00a0a verb ending that I don\u2019t know. I took the \u2018e\u2019 as indicating a causal verb.\u00a0Sam\u016bhata \u00a0is straightforward as \u2018taken out, removed\u2019. So \u2018having removed the cause of cultivation\u2019? That seems wrong.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This and other poems of Elder Nuns are available at Access to Insight<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"Burmese<\/a>
Burmese nuns on alms rounds, Burma 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

SUGGESTED READING:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Buddhism After Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism<\/a>\"\"\u00a0\u2013 Rita M. Gross<\/p>\n

Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self<\/a>\"\"\u00a0\u2013 Anne C. Klein<\/p>\n

Prolife, Prochoice: Buddhism and Reproductive Ethics.: An article from: Feminism & Nonviolence Studies<\/a>\"\"\u00a0\u2013 Karma Lekshe Tsomo<\/p>\n

Religious Feminism and the Future of the Planet: A Christian-Buddhist Conversation<\/a>\"\"\u00a0\u2013 Rita M. Gross, Rosemary Radford Ruether<\/p>\n

Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender<\/a>\"\"\u00a0\u2013 Jose Ignacio Cabezon (Editor). My undergrad advisor has an article in this on early Buddhism and Women that has been very influential.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volumes have been written over the past few decades on Buddhism and Feminism, much of it by feminists in the West pushing Buddhism to live up to its egalitarian values in opposition to its often\u00a0chauvinistic\u00a0institutions. See below for a short list of recommended books. The work of Buddhist feminists, which should be all of us, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":3144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,30],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buddhism","category-gender","tag-feminism"],"yoast_head":"\nA Little Buddhist Feminism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Volumes have been written over the past few decades on Buddhism and Feminism, much of it by feminists in the West pushing Buddhism to live up to its\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/05\/a-little-buddhist-feminism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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