Introduction

The importance of siila

Women and arahantship

The roles of women in the Buddha’s family

Attitudes towards women

Contemporary problems

Conclusion
 

Introduction
 One of the most frequently asked questions is about women’s rights in Buddhism.  It seems women do not receive equal treatment from the Buddha, especially concerning ordination.  This assumption is substantiated by contemporary applications of ancient traditions such as the exclusion of women from certain public areas with the belief that women are ‘dirty’ because of the ‘blood’ from the womb.  This problem seems to exist in the Theravada countries and not in the Mahayana ones.  However, according to the Tipitaka, such discrimination was not apparent during the Buddha’s times.  This study proposes to present evidence from the Tipitaka and the ancient commentaries to clarify the role of women at that time.

The importance of siila
 One argument for the unequal treatment of women by the Buddha is the fact that there are more siilas for the bhikkhunii order.  Indeed the vinayas, or the siilas for the ordained, are described as the ultimate protection for the order like a thread in a garland that keeps the multitude of flowers in a pile from being scattered by the wind so easily.  Without the vinaya, the sasana would not last as long. As the Buddha explained to the Venerable Sariputta, the teachings of some former Buddhas lasted longer than others' because they established more vinayas and related major and minor rules for different occasions, which would become necessary when the order grew [Vinaya Pitaka, Vol. 1, Mahavibhanga, Part 1, No. 7].
 At the beginning of the bhikkhunii order, the Buddha set down the eight garudhammas, or 'grave/heavy' rules, which concern mainly interaction between bhikkhus and bhikkhuniis.  For example, among monks, seniority is according to the length of time beginning from ordination that constitute seniority; but where different sexes are concerned, the entire new order is considered the junior members of the ordained community. If Maha Pajapati and her followers had not accepted the initial eight rules, they would not have been ordained.
These are the rules that the Buddha said would be like a great dam that would prevent any harm that might come because of the presence of the bhikkhuniis in the order.
 These rules may seem unimportant to us but in those days class distinction was so significant that the Sakayan King Mahanama even tried to commit suicide rather than eat with Vidudabha, his grandson by a slave woman consort of his, who had become king of another country.  For Maha Pajapati, the dowager queen, the garudhammas must be indeed very ‘grave’ since not only the class distinction is completely disregarded but all family ties must be severed.  No longer should she enjoy intimate familiarities with her grandchild Rahula, but she must rise to greet him as her senior.  If he did anything wrong, she could no longer admonish him no matter what he did but could only tell the bhikkhus to do so. This applies to all the bhikkhus who were her former family members, some of whom were her former beloved charges.
 That the Buddha established the eight garudhammas at all indicates that he recognized not only the importance of family ties but the position of power of women such as his stepmother/aunt.  Indeed the Venerable Ananda used her position and privileged relationship with the Buddha himself as his argument to represent her cause; to which the Buddha continued to refuse permission until the right intentions/reasons were evoked.  The Venerable asked if women would not be able to attain arahantship.  To which the Buddha affirmed and gave his consent (after explaining the necessity of the garudhammas.)  As we often read, the arahants either passed away soon after their attainment or became ordained if they are not already in the order, in order to help others towards theirs or to accumulate great kusala by ministering to them in some way.  For women arahants just like for the men, life within the order is the only existence possible since they can no longer live as laity.
Intention to serve the community should prevail over any familial or personal considerations.
 One might consider the example of Maha Kassapa and his wife in lay life, Bhadda Kapilani, who were happily married until their parents died and they decided to become ordained according to their accumulations.  They gave away all their belongings and left home together, until they came to a fork in the road and agreed to part company for fear that people would think that normal worldly ties are carried on in the order as well.  Likewise, the Sakayan ordination was not moving the rest of the family into monasteries to be reunited.
 
Women and arahantship
  Another common opinion is that the Buddha was reluctant to admit women to the order. First of all the Buddha in his great omniscience must have known that the establishment of the Bhikkhunii order was inevitable. This is because all previous Buddhas established four parisas.  The nature of all Buddhas was completely without preferences.  This does not mean that they did not recognize human nature.
 Humans are born different, not only as individuals but naturally divided as two major groups, men and women. Biologically and physically, men and women are not born equals.  Because of the reproductive systems, women do have to endure more physical pain than men at least during child bearing and childbirth.  This will never change no matter the centuries, as long as the race survives, in any culture.  The individual degrees of discomfort are, of course, the result of past kamma, for men as well as women, and women who do not have any children would continue to be the exception to the rule.  However, it does not mean that the one is better than the other in the individualistic approach.
 Buddhism being a religion that faces reality squarely, this difference is dealt with practically and in a certain way with great wisdom, and problems eliminated very selflessly. Therefore, before women were allowed to become ordained, the Buddha explained to the Venerable Ananda that if precautions were not taken, the sasana might last only half as long as it should.  The garudhammas and other additional vinayas would perform the duty of the great wall to protect the sasana against any problems that might arise.
 With the garudhammas in place, women may safely become ordained.  Therefore the reluctance was for practical physical reasons and do not concern the mental potential of the women.  In fact the Buddha was the first to declare that women can become arahants and as such the mental equals of men.  People might still insist that his initial response indicated reluctance but when the right reason was invoked, he immediately gave his consent together with the proper protections for all concern. For example, for safety reasons the bhikkhunis were not allowed to stay alone without some sort of protectors.  For the new order also, new silas were added as necessity arose, after the original garudhammas were established.
 Ordination is always allowed when the right cetana is shown.  Within the application of the vinaya, cetana cetasika or intention plays a vital part in determining whether a bhikkhu had done wrong, for example, when they break a sila such as by killing someone.  If they did not have the intention to do so but the person died from some accident he provoked, he would not be 'guilty' to receive any punishment in any way.  Intention is so important since it is the abhisankhara above all the sankharas or cetasikas, and accumulates the kamma performed mentally or physically and verbally.

The roles of women in the Buddha’s family
 The degradation of women seems to be recent development since in the days of the Buddha women were prominent in several areas.  Women were leaders in Brahmin society, for example the Venerables Sariputta and Mogallana were known by their mothers’ names. In fact, in most common families the legitimacy of the lineage was through the mother’s bloodline, except for the royal dynasties, which were based on patrilineal descent.
 To become a Buddha is not easy.  The first time the Buddha was predicted to become self enlightened was four assankhayas and a hundred thousand kappas in his last lifetime in samsara vatta when he served the Buddha by the name of Dipankara; by laying himself down to fill the gap in the road that was being built for the Buddha Dipankara to walk on.  From the time of his prediction, he diligently accumulated panna and other paramis to become a Buddha, with the highest perseverance, enduring heaven and hell and all the dangers of samsara through all that time.  The result is the dhamma that he expounded for forty-five years after his enlightenment, up to the last breath before his ultimate parinibbana.
  What is less often quoted is that the Buddha’s wife in his last lifetime also received the prediction from the Buddha Dipankara. According to the the Pubbacariya of the Venerable Yasodhara Theri, [Suttanta Pitaka, vol. 25 Khuddaka Nikaya Part II, Apadana Part II, Buddhavamsa-Cariya Pitaka], the Buddha Dipankara predicted that she was to be the Buddha's beloved wife and party to his great kusala through the samsara until he became a Buddha and she his disciple, and achieve parinibbana in that lifetime. Dipankara Buddha said:

Behold, great ascetic, this upasika whose citta is your own's equal, whose family and kusala kamma is equal to yours, who is performing kusala together with you, is beloved of punnakamma, is for your beneficence; a pleasure to behold, to praise, to love, to like, with gentle words; she will be your heir in the Dhamma [dhammadayada] endowed with supramundane powers [in their last lifetimes].  This upasika will maintain all kusala dhammas even as all owners of possessions who keep their treasures in the treasury.  Therefore people will assist/support your beloved upasika.  This upasika will have complete parami, she will abandon kilesas like a lion abandons the cage, and will attain the bodhinana in the innumerable kappa from this one [from that day on there is never again mention of her ever being born in hell, as opposed to the Buddha himself, after this prediction. Indeed she became an arahant half a month after she became ordained a Bhikkhuni.]

 During the time before his enlightenment she was given away by him countless times, as wife to another, as labor and even as food, which she never regretted in the least.  This is part of the Paramis that the Bodhisatta and his beloved wife must accumulate, to condition the arising of the Sammasambuddha in samsara.  In her last lifetime her accumulated kusala was such that she was born second only to the Buddha in beauty, they were born on the same day, and parents to Rahula, who became ordained at seven and an arahant at twenty.  At the head of 1,100 noble women who were in her retinue, she became ordained and attained the highest abhinnas, which she manifested at the Buddha's invitation at the time of her leave taking at the age of 78, before attaining parinibbana that same night.
 Not only his wife but also his mother must have perfect siilas and great kusala accumulations to benefit them in their last lifetime.  For example, the Buddha’s mother must maintain impeccable precepts throughout her life. Without the common efforts of those closest to him, the Buddha would never have arisen.  Nor would there be any Buddhists in the world today.

Attitudes towards women
 The ten paramiis are accumulations for the bodhisattas towards becoming a Sammasambuddha. The one paramii that is most criticized is the daana paramii, especially the giving away of his beloved family.  It takes real faith in individual kusula accumulations to relinquish your dearest and most intimate companions.  However, if we were to give up 'existence' entirely, we would have to be able to give up our family ties beforehand.  Besides, how could we have family ties after parinibbana?
This has nothing to do with the attitude towards women in general.
 Proponents of women’s rights often quote the following words attributed to the Buddha:
"Ananda, a woman is given to anger. Ananda, woman is envious. Ananda, a woman is greedy. Ananda, woman is poor in wisdom. This is the reason, Ananda, this is the cause, why women-folk do not preside in a court of justice, nor engage in an occupation, nor go to a foreign country." (Anguttara Nikaya II Chapter VIII PTS)
 However, we find many more long passages such as the following, of warnings for monks against sensual pleasures:
"In the same way, monks, there are some priests & contemplatives who hold to a doctrine, a view like this: 'There is no harm in sensual pleasures.' Thus they meet with their downfall through sensual pleasures. They consort with women wanderers who wear their hair coiled in a topknot…"
This shows how even ascetics can fall prey to their own sense desires, aversions and ignorance just like women.  In short, we are all born because of the basic kilesas: lobha, dosa and moha.  An interesting point is that there hardly are any teachings for Theris to contain their lust for men.  Perhaps those who became ordained were serious in their abstention from the very beginning, since it was harder for them to become ordained.  Of course, the teachings to the bhikkhus also apply to them, so perhaps that is the reason why they are not taught the above separately, by the Buddha.  Again, we are all born with a certain sex, part of the pancadvara experiences since there are the bhava rupas that influence the citta, according to our level of accumulated attachments and aversions as well as deep moha that makes us think of us, others and different sexes  instead of rupadhamma and namadhamma.
As for the women’s poor wisdom, perhaps it is what the statistics in those days indicate.  For example, in the old days more men were educated at higher levels than women, although now it may be the opposite:  there are more women in certain fields than men in some universities.  In the Buddha's days travel for women and any weak or unprotected person was very hazardous, and high education was mainly in Takasila, although those who could afford it could hire teachers at home for basic education and were able to read and write.

Contemporary problems of equality
 Certain Thai traditions degrading women that exist nowadays are incorrectly attributed to the Buddhist teachings.  If we search in the Tipitaka, no references can be found.  Recently, a lady was forbidden to pay respects to the Buddha’s relics since she, being a woman, was ‘dirty’ because of ‘the blood’.  Wherever this tradition originated, it was not the Theravada teachings.  Indeed, according to the Visuddhimagga, the fifth from 23 types of the cloth (to be made into robes) permitted to the monks who practice ciivara-dhuta"nga [the highest austerity of robe] is “cloth discarded after wiping birthing waste”.  It is evident that Buddhism does not regard “blood from the womb” as something debasing; it is just another bodily fluid among many.
 Another unsubstantiated belief is that, through her son’s ordination, a woman can go to heaven ‘by hanging on the rim of his robe’ since she cannot become ordained herself.  In Khuddaka-nikaya Itivuttaka Sanghatisutta The Buddha said, "For even those that had seen his person, that had heard the dhamma teachings from his lips, or even those who had held the rim of his clothing as they followed in his footsteps; if they did not know the dhamma or see the dhamma, then they had not seen him."  If there is no merit to clinging to even the robe of the Buddha himself, how can clinging to the robe of a temporarily ordained bhikkhu/saamanera bring such exalted results?

Conclusion
 We must differentiate between the ‘Buddhist teachings’ as in the Tipitaka proper and the traditional Thai customs.  In his supreme selflessness the Sammasambuddha never makes mistakes in his timeless teachings whereas ordinary human customs can integrate certain ancestral or foreign influences.  Whatever is of illogical reasoning is almost always of non-Buddhist origin.  There are several levels to the Buddhist teachings that can point the ways to arahantship as well as successful normal daily life across all social strata.  From some dhamma in the Tipitaka/commentaries an answer or solution can be found for virtually every problem we face.  This priceless heritage should be passed on to future generations and should be included in the curricula of all educational institutions.