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Is a Female Buddha Possible in Non-Esoteric Buddhism?

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Is a Female Buddha Possible in Non-Esoteric Buddhism? Gender and the Soteriology Debate in Buddhism: Is a Female Buddha Possible in Non-Esoteric Buddhism? Karma Sonam Palmo Shastri (Bachelor of Arts), Acharya (Masters in Philosophy) Central University of Tibetan Studies Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania November 2013 Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Karma Sonam Palmo Dated Authority of Access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Karma Sonam Palmo Dated Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank the Tasmania Buddhist Studies Exchange Program between the University of Tasmania and the Central University of Tibetan Studies for generously granting me the Buddhist Studies Graduate Research Scholarship. Next, I thank my supervisors Dr. Lucy Tatman and Dr. Sonam Thakchoe for their advice, support, guidance and supervision throughout the completion of this thesis over the last four years. I owe special thanks to Lucy and Belinda for going through my final draft and suggesting grammatical corrections. I am also thankful to Ruth Gamble of Australia National University and James Stewart of University of Tasmania for generously sharing their resources during my early period of research. I would like to thank Jane Franklin Hall for providing me accommodation and board during the first six months of my candidature and my sincere thanks to all my friends and colleagues for their support and company during my stay in Hobart. I cannot imagine the completion of my thesis without the love, care and support of my parents, siblings - Chophel, Tsering and Gyaltsen - and the blessings of my teachers in India; I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all of you. Abstract Is a Female Buddha Possible in Non-Esoteric Buddhism? Buddhism today can broadly be divided into two forms: Tantric (esoteric) and non-Tantric (non-esoteric) Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism‘s answer to the above question is unequivocally positive: it never questioned the possibility of a female Buddha. In non-Tantric Buddhism, this question has long been a subject of debate, and thus far, it is assumed that a female Buddha is impossible. In my view, this latter conclusion is problematic and is not well supported in the traditional canonical literature. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is to further investigate the relationship between non-Tantric Buddhism‘s perspective on gender and soteriology. I will argue that the premises employed to rule out the possibility of a female Buddha in non-Tantric Buddhism are flawed, and that such a view cannot be attributed to the Buddha himself. I will advance my argument based on two pieces of evidence: (1) that the premises used to rule out a female Buddha are not supported by the Buddha‘s own teachings as recorded in canonical texts, and (2) such premises are employed only in the commentaries, and therefore in the hermeneutic works of later scholars. Of an enormous corpus of literature representing the views of many different Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna schools in several languages, my research will focus on Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda sources to present the Śrāvakayāna perspective in the first half of the thesis, and non-Tantric Mahāyāna sources in order to present the Mahāyāna perspectives in the second half. Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 PART I. Enlightened Nuns ...................................................................................... 6 Chapter One ............................................................................................................. 7 Women‘s Spiritual Capability: Bedrock of the Buddhist Nuns‘ Order ................... 7 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 7 1. Historical Overview .......................................................................................... 8 a) Women in the Vedic Period .............................................................................. 8 b) Women in the Brāhmaṇical Period ................................................................. 11 c) Women in Buddhism ...................................................................................... 14 2. The Nuns‘ Order in Buddhism ........................................................................ 21 a) Traditional Accounts ....................................................................................... 21 b) Modern Theories ............................................................................................. 31 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................................. 40 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................... 42 Gotamī, the Epitome of Buddhist Nuns and Female Spirituality .......................... 42 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 42 1. Gotamī and her Nuns‘ Order ........................................................................... 43 a) Going Forth ..................................................................................................... 43 b) Full Ordination ................................................................................................ 45 c) Life in the Nuns‘ Order ................................................................................... 48 2. Gotamī, the Role Model of Enlightened Women ........................................... 50 a) Arhathood: Path and Result ............................................................................ 50 b) The Spiritual Stages Leading to Arhathood .................................................... 53 c) Gotamī, the Arhat ............................................................................................ 56 d) Grand Passing Away of Gotamī ..................................................................... 62 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................................. 68 Part II. Female Buddha in Śrāvakayāna ................................................................. 71 Chapter Three ......................................................................................................... 72 Enlightened Female Arhats versus ‗The Impossibility of a Female Buddha‘ in Theravāda ............................................................................................................... 72 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 72 1. Enlightened Women Arhats from the Therīgāthā .......................................... 73 2. Critical Analysis of the Concept ‗The Impossibility of a Female Buddha‘ .... 85 a) Somā and Māra ............................................................................................... 85 b) The Impossibility of a Female Buddha in Theravāda ..................................... 90 c) Buddhaghoṣa on a Female Bodhisatta in Theravāda ...................................... 97 d) Is the Passage on ‗The Impossibility of a Female Buddha‘ Interpolation? .. 100 e) Somā‘s Reply to Māra .................................................................................. 102 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................ 103 Chapter Four ........................................................................................................ 105 Female Arhats and Bodhisattvas versus ‗The Impossibility of a Female Buddha‘ in Sarvāstivāda ..................................................................................................... 105 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 105 1. Arhat Nuns in Avadānaśataka ....................................................................... 107 2. Outstanding Arhat Nuns from Avadānaśataka ............................................. 110 3. Women Receiving Buddhahood Prediction .................................................. 115 4. Women and Buddhahood in Sarvāstivādin Canonical Texts ........................ 126 5. Vasubandhu on a Female Bodhisattva .......................................................... 129 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................ 132 PART III. Female Buddha in Mahāyāna ............................................................. 134 Chapter Five ......................................................................................................... 135 Transcending Gender ........................................................................................... 135 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 135 1. Variegated Jewel,
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