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A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism

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A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism 《 》學報 ‧ 藝文│第三十三期 外文論文 A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism Chang Hongxing Ph.D. Candidate, Nanjing University Abstract Since Humanistic Buddhism was first proposed by Master Taixu, the issue of gender equality has gradually kindled widespread discussion in the field of Buddhism. During the Republican Era, Master Taixu and the female Buddhists of the Pure Bodhi Vihara have actively expressed their views on gender equality. Eventually, they reached a consensus of respecting a woman’s character, protecting her rights, and advocating equal status between men and women. After 1949, under the impetus of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Venerable Yin Shun, Venerable Sheng Yen, Venerable Chao- hwei, thoughts on gender equality in Taiwan have made great strides. After 1980, the rejuvenation of Humanistic Buddhism in Mainland China in turn developed thoughts on gender equality. As a result, the overall status of female Buddhists in Mainland China has remarkably improved. Keywords: Humanistic Buddhism, gender equality, Taiwan, Mainland China 176 A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism Since the beginning of Buddhism, women’s issues have always received great attention. There are discussions in the sūtras and the Vinaya (collection of monastic rules) concerning issues such as female renunciation, women’s status, and gender relations. In a nutshell, the attitude of ancient Indian Buddhism towards women has always cycled between respecting women and rejecting women. After Buddhism’s spread to China, due to China’s domestic politics, economics, cultures, and various other reasons, there was no lack of flash points in Chinese Buddhism regarding women. On the whole, the discrimination towards women derived from ancient Indian Buddhism persisted. For a long time, Chinese Buddhist female adherents have been on the verge of obscurity. It is difficult to compare them with men in all aspects. Since modern times, with the introduction of gender equality in the West and the trend of women’s emancipation, especially within Humanistic Buddhism as advocated by Master Taixu, the issue of gender equality has gradually attracted attention across the board from both men and women within the contemporary Buddhist community. During the Republican Era, Master Taixu and some women who had an earlier awakening expressed their own thoughts on this issue, and basically reached a consensus that Buddhism respects women’s character, protects women’s rights, and advocates equal status between men and women. After 1949, contemporary Humanistic Buddhism continued to develop in Taiwan. The thought of gender​​ equality in Humanistic Buddhism progressed further and matured. Under the impetus of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Master Yin Shun, Master Sheng Yen and Master Chao-hwei, the idea of gender equality in Humanistic Buddhism has made remarkable strides both in theory and in practice, until it has become the gold standard, leading Buddhism globally. Relatively speaking, Buddhism in Mainland China experienced a long-term stagnation in that same period, until it gradually rejuvenated in the 1990s. During this period, Master Long Lian and others have been committed to the development of Buddhist women’s groups and have made outstanding contributions to the improvement of the overall status of female Buddhists. The intent of writing this article is to systematically sort out thoughts on gender equality from the aforementioned spiritual leaders of Humanistic Buddhism, to conduct an all-encompassing assessment on the ideological 177 《 》學報 ‧ 藝文│第三十三期 development of Humanistic Buddhism in this field over the past 100 years, and with the hope to provide a theoretical reference for Humanistic Buddhism to promote gender equality into the future. 1. Thoughts on Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism during the Republican Era Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, China opened its doors, and feminist ideas of gender equality and women’s liberation of the West were introduced to the country. These ideas were gradually accepted by the people of China and had a direct impact on promoting the development of the feminist movement there. At the same time, with incoming waves of Western culture, traditional Chinese culture could not withstand this challenge initially. An important aspect of traditional culture is Chinese Buddhism. It was on the verge of being unable to revitalize itself when faced with the risk of elimination under Western intellectual influences.1 At that time, Chinese Buddhism was already facing deep troubles, both domestically and abroad. In this context, as one of the earliest pioneers of contemporary Chinese Buddhism—who opened people’s eyes and broadened people’s horizons in viewing the world—the young Master Taixu had long been exposed to “new Chinese and Western ideas.”2 Furthermore, he was able to take the prajna insights of Chan Buddhism along with the understanding of the doctrines, such as the Tiantai School, adapt them to the trends of thought in this era, and gradually established the ideology of Humanistic Buddhism.3 With the in-depth development of the domestic feminist movement, the idea of promoting gender equality gradually had an effect on Buddhism. At that time, there was a growing voice within Buddhism to promote the status of women 1. Luo Tongbing, Taixu’s Thoughts on the Modernization of Chinese Buddhism (Chengdu: Bashu Publishing House, 2003), 1. 2. Id., 5. 3. Venerable Taixu, “A Brief History of My Buddhist Reform Movement,” in The Complete Works of Master Taixu (Beijing: Religion Culture Publishing House, 2004), vol. 31, 65. Hereinafter, the references to Master Taixu’s works will all be from this source. Only the volume and page numbers will be indicated. Other publishing details will be omitted. 178 A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism and promote gender equality. Faced with this unavoidable request, Master Taixu—who advocated actively, adapting to the “times of thought”—responded positively to this issue. Based on the theories of buddha-nature, emptiness, and causality, Master Taixu pointed out that all sentient beings “have the potential of achieving the highest level of consciousness,” so “in this respect alone, all things are equal.”4 From the Buddhist theory of emptiness, reflecting upon impermanence and non-self, it is understood that everything in the world is “empty” in its essence. Applying this theory of emptiness to life, we know that everything in life results from conditions. Conditions themselves impact one another interchangeably. Their intrinsic nature is also empty. From here, we can “see life is the most equal.”5 According to the Buddhist law of cause and effect, “all things in the world” are essentially the products of conditions, all of which have innate and universal “causality.” At the same time, it is precisely because of the existence of “causality” that everything is completely equal.6 Based on these three aspects of the theory of equality, Master Taixu further pointed out that men and women are considered as one part of all living beings in the world. Both generally encompass the buddha-nature and cannot possibly transcend the constraints of emptiness and causality. Therefore, men and women are absolutely equal in their buddha- nature without any distinction. One may think that “the difference between a woman’s body and a man’s body is only a one-time karma. One should not be too attached to the emptiness of the gender inequality in the world but rather Chinese Buddhist nuns in the one should go beyond this inequality in pursuit Republic of China. 4. Taixu,〈佛陀學綱〉in The Complete Works of Master Taixu Volume 1, 195. 5. Taixu, 〈從無我唯心的宇宙觀到平等自由的人生觀〉in The Complete Works of Master Taixu, Volume 23, 424. 6. Taixu, 〈提供談文化建設者幾條佛學〉 in The Complete Works of Master Taixu, Volume 22, 103. 179 《 》學報 ‧ 藝文│第三十三期 of buddha-nature, emptiness, causality, and so on where the “existence of true equality lies.”7 Under this concept of gender equality, Master Taixu made a breakthrough in the traditional Buddhist idea of discrimination towards women to a certain extent, and gave immense support and encouragement to the development of Buddhist women, who were in a vulnerable position. As for bhikṣuṇīs, Master Taixu encouraged them to view themselves exactly the same as bhikṣús and share the same responsibilities equally in terms of actual cultivation and practice, propagation of the Dharma, and spreading of the Dharma. Considering the uniqueness of gender identity in the bhikṣuṇīs, Master Taixu felt that the bhikṣuṇīs were more suitable to lead women in society to achieve the purification of public morals and the propagation of the Dharma. At the same time, in view of the rapid development of modern society, Master Taixu also encouraged the bhikṣuṇīs to expand their knowledge outside of Buddhism and proactively learn about other aspects of society. This would enable the bhikṣuṇīs to resonate with the “trends of contemporary times” and thereby be better able to demonstrate a greater use of Buddhism in the modern era.8 As for the female laity, Master Taixu advocated for a Buddhist family and encouraged practitioners to maintain a constant interaction between Buddhist faith and belief and the whole of society through social education. This in turn will allow the Buddha’s teachings to carry on in this new era. He emphasized that women who stay at home should also proactively seek employment and political rights. This would give women an affirmation in terms of their dignity and moral emotions. Master Taixu especially emphasized the study of the English language and Chinese and Western medicine for women at home, and he even encouraged them to travel overseas to spread the Dharma. Given the prestige of Master Taixu in the sphere of Humanistic Buddhism, his advocacy for gender equality and the promotion of female Buddhist practitioners had a remarkable influence in wider Buddhist sphere during this 7. Taixu, 〈 答朱中翰問（ 三次十則）〉in The Complete Works of Master Taixu, Volume 29, 332.
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