Download Buddhism and Gender In Ancient India

Buddhism and Gender
In Ancient India
Women’s Role
In Traditional Ancient Indian Society
• Generally looked upon as being inferior to men
• At times treated the same as Sudras, the
lowest of the four castes
• Only small amounts of power & responsibility
• Limited freedom concerning education and
religious rituals
• Traditionally under constant control & protection
 Under control of the Parents in childhood
 Under control of the Husband in marriage
 Under control of the son in their old age
Wife’s Role
In the Traditional Ancient Indian Family
• Life is dedicated to the future of her
husband and son(s)
• Her main role is a housewife and the
management of affairs according to the
wishes of her husband
• Giving birth to a son ensures continuation
of hereditary line and improves her status
within the Husband’s family
• Giving birth to a daughter was considered
a sign of misfortune for the family
• Widow’s were not usually allowed to
remarry and would often kill themselves
by jumping into their husband’s funeral fire
The Impact of Buddhist Thought
In the Traditional Indian Society
BUDDHIST IDEOLIGIES:
• Basic Philosophy: How to Live The Good Life
• Basis of Core Buddhist Values:
 Dharma (One’s moral obligations)
 Karma (One’s deeds and actions)
 Reincarnation (The cycle of suffering and
rebirth)
• The Four Noble Truths
 Life leads to suffering
 Suffering is caused by one’s cravings
 Enlightenment occurs when cravings end
 Liberation occurs by following Buddha’s
Eight Fold Path to reaching Nirvana
The Impact of Buddhist Thought
In the Traditional Indian Society
BUDDHIST IDEOLIGIES (Continued):
• The Eight Fold Path
 Wisdom that purifies the mind through:
 Viewing reality as it is, not as it seems to be
 Renunciation , freedom and harmlessness
 Ethics and abstention from immoral deeds
 Speaking truthfully but un-hurtful
 Acting in a non-harmful way
 Living a non-harmful livelihood
 Development of mastery over one’s mind
 Making an effort to improve one’s life
 Being aware of one’s self without cravings
 Correct meditation and concentration
• The Middle Way: Taking a path of moderation to
avoid the extremes of self-indulgence in order to
reach Nirvana
The Impact of Buddhist Thought
In the Traditional Indian Society
BUDDHIST INFLUENCES:
• Concerned with spiritual emancipation of the
individual (regardless of gender)
• Matters of marriage, divorce, property, politics
are to be regulated by society
• Recommended that social practices should be
compatible to each individual’s Dharma
• Emphasized principles of reciprocity between
husband and wife (and visa-versa)
• identified qualities of women (beauty, wealth,
virtue, kinship, and sons) generally accepted by
society
• However, true Monastic Buddhists had greater
restrictions concerning family, society and sex
Confucianism, Kinship and Gender
In Ancient China
The Traditional Chinese Family
• Followed the Ancient Rules of Kinship and Descent
• Descent was Patrilineal through the extended family
• Sons stayed with the extended family,
while Daughter’s were forced to marry & leave
their parents family.
• Daughter-in-law’s were not full members of the
family until they had a son.
• Ancestor worship was a key foundation of the
Chinese tradition.
• Confucian ideologies would promote filial piety.
The Role of Kinship
In the Traditional Chinese Family
• The Patrilineal family is an entity that takes precedence over its individual members
• The Relationship between members of a family is not horizontal—based on mutual
love — but vertical — characterized by the attributes of obedience and authority
• The Traditional Family is Patrilineal, Patrilocal and Patriarchy
• Husband/Father has power and authority over everyone in Family
• Obedience is owed the Father/Husband by all family members
• Importance placed on male relationships and descent traced through a male line
Relationships between Members
In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family
• The Father/Husband maintains power over family members and resources
• The Family is an hierarchical patriarchic pyramid steeped in the male role
• Kin family roles are embedded with established norms governing how people
should act and behave in relation to people in other kin roles
• There is a proper “right relationship” way one should act toward one’s father,
one’s grandfather, one’s uncles, one’s mother and Sister
• Kinship terms such as grandparents, parents, husband or elder brother
represent authority and superiority
• Kinship terms such as wife, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter or
even younger brother and younger sister suggest inferiority and obedience
• Inferior is not allowed to call superior by name
The Impact of Confucian Thought
In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family
CONFUCIAN IDEOLIGIES:
• Basic Philosophy: How to Live The Good Life
• Basis of Core Confucian Values:
 Honor, Respect and Obedience to Father
and Aged Relative
 Importance of Family as Corporate Group
 Honor to Ancestors
• “Right Relationship”— The guiding principles for
thought and action within
the family and society
• Wise Family Structure: Both Hierarchical and
Patriarchical
Portrait of Confucius, by Wu Daozi (680–740).
The Impact of Confucian Thought
In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family
FOUNDATIONS OF CONFUCIAN FILIAL PIETY:
• Focuses on correct behavior to parents and other
elder family members
• Devotion to Aged Parents (Father retains power
no matter how old he may be)
• If Father dies, eldest son become head of the
household and cares for obedient mother
• Devotion, Dedication and Honor to dead
Ancestors is paramount
Traditional Chinese Portrait of Confucius
The Impact of Confucian Thought
In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family
THREE CONFUCIAN OBSERVANCES:
• Father/Husband: Is like the Ruler or King of his family
• Obedience to the Father/Husband: Ensures Harmony
• Harmony: Is Maintained through observing Filial Piety
FIVE HIERARCHICAL
RELATIONSHIPS:
• Ruler / Subject
• Husband / Wife
• Father / Son
• Brother / Brother
• Friend / Friend (Only among equals)
Women’s Role
In the Traditional Chinese Family
• Given little thought and even less power
• Seen as Reproducers of male line and aid in
home/farm labor
• Only small amounts of power & responsibility
• Patriarchy demands that a wife’s only
connection with her husband’s family be
through the husband himself
• Women must Practice the Five Virtues





Womanly work (House and Farm)
Womanly deportment (Well Behaved)
Obedience (To all Male Relatives)
Womanly speech (Respectful)
Filial Observance (To Husband’s Family)
Wife’s Role
In the Traditional Chinese Family
• Life is dedicated to the future of her
husband and son(s)
• Her husband’s needs are paramount
• Acceptance into husband’s family based on
her ability to produce son(s)
• Giving birth to a son ensures continuation
of hereditary line and improves her status
within the Husband’s family
• The ideal wife sacrifices herself completely to serve her husband and family
• Women are required to obey their Father, then their Husband, and finally their Son
• All husbands are considered righteous and all important to the wife’s existence
Daughter’s Role
In the Traditional Chinese Family
• Considered unimportant to father’s family
• Never really a member of her father’s family
• Married off by her father at earliest convenience
• Expensive due to traditional dowry requirements
• Often a victim of female infantcide
Daughter-in-Law’s Role
• Occupies the lowest position in her Father-in-laws Family
• All Patrilineal relatives, including small children, have the
power to reprimand her
• Always an outsider since she is not related by blood
• Status may only improve through birth of a son
Examples of Women’s Status
In the Traditional Chinese Family and Society
Within ancient Chinese society, young girls and women were expected to
“Cow Tow”. Cow Towing was a series of bows in the presence of a superior,
male, elder, that would show their obedience and respect.
If a husband’s wife and mother did not get along within the same household,
filial piety dictated that the husband get rid of his wife in order to please his
mother.
After all, the husband could always find another wife, but he would only
have one mother.
In the case of a farmer’s negligence to protect his crops from flood or drought,
his punishment was to be 100 lashes with a bamboo pole. However, instead of
allowing her husband to be punished, the wife was expected to take the blame
and the hundred lashes that came with it.