Family Matters in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms

298 Pages·2014·1.749 MB·English

by  Shayne Clarke

shayne clarke
Family Matters
in
Indian Buddhist
Monasticisms

P
Family Matters
in
Indian Buddhist
Monasticisms
P
Shayne Clarke
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
© 2014 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
19 18 17 16 15 14 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clarke, Shayne Neil, author.
Family matters in Indian Buddhist monasticisms / Shayne Clarke.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8248-3647-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Monastic and religious life (Buddhism)—India. 2. Buddhist
monks—Family relationships—India. 3. Buddhist nuns—
Family relationships—India. I. Title.
BQ6160.I4C53 2014
294.3’6570954—dc23
2013031366
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by Wanda China
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations xi
Conventions xiii
Chapter One. The Rhinoceros in the Room:
Monks and Nuns and Their Families 1
1. Indian Buddhist Monasticisms 2
2. Conflicting Visions of the Ideal Monk 10
3. Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes 18
4. The Family 21
5. A Preview of the Inquiry 27
6. Reading Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes 29
7. A Note on the Scope of the Present Study 36
Chapter Two. Family Matters 37
1. Family Ties Set in Stone 39
2. From Home to Homelessness 45
3. Close Shaves with Monkish Assumptions 56
4. The Family That Eats Together 58
5. The Family That Stays Together 62
6. Like Father, Like Son 63
7. Incidental Incidents and Pugnacious Parents 68
8. Families on Different Paths 72
9. Conclusions 74
Chapter Three. Former Wives from Former Lives 78
1. Monastic Education Concerning Sex with One’s Wife 80
vi Contents
2. Monks Arranging a Marriage for Their Children 87
3. Procedures for Formal Marital Dissolution 92
4. Relations between Married Monastics 96
5. A Monastic Family: Udāyin, Guptā, and Their Son,
Kumāra-Kāśyapa 99
6. Mahākāśyapa and His Wife: Ascetic Values in Indian
Buddhist Monasticisms 106
7. Married Monastics beyond India 115
8. Conclusions 118
Chapter Four. Nuns Who Become Pregnant 120
1. Mothers Becoming Nuns 121
2. Nursing Nuns 124
3. Monastic Motherhood 129
4. Nuns Becoming Mothers 134
5. Child Care and Nannying Nuns 144
6. Conclusions 146
Chapter Five. Reconsidering Renunciation:
Family-Friendly Monasticisms 150
1. A View of the Evidence 150
2. Family-Friendly Monasticisms 152
3. Family-Friendly Monasticisms in a Competitive Religious
Marketplace 155
4. A Scholarly Misperception 162
5. Comparative Monasticisms 163
6. On the Utility of Vinaya Texts for the Study of Indian
Buddhist Monasticisms 165
Notes 171
Works Consulted 229
Index of Texts 263
Index of Authors/Subjects 267
Acknowledgments
This book has taken shape over many years and through the kindness
and generosity of many, not all of whom are mentioned here. One
person in particular, however, deserves special mention. To Professor
Gregory Schopen I owe a profound debt of gratitude, both scholarly
and personal (for among numerous other things, his gallant, albeit
ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to teach me the rudiments of bas-
ketball). In 1998, I was studying under Professor Paul Harrison, the
first of many great teachers, at the University of Canterbury in Christ-
church. Paul invited Professor Schopen to deliver a series of lectures
on “Monks and their Money.” These lectures shattered all notions I
had about Buddhist monasticism, and irrevocably changed the trajec-
tory of my research. The seed of what was later to become the present
book was undoubtedly planted at this time, although it would take
several more years for it to begin to take any definite shape. First, I
had to study under some of the world’s finest vinaya scholars: Profes-
sors Sasaki Shizuka and Yamagiwa Nobuyuki in Kyoto, and finally
Professor Schopen at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Professor Schopen has always given greatly of his time and ency-
clopedic knowledge of Indian Buddhism in general and the Mūla­sar­
vā­sti­vāda­vinaya in particular. His unpublished anthology of stories
from the Mūlasarvāstivāda­vinaya was invaluable in the early stages
of this work. His scholarship continues to provide inspiration and
an ideal to work toward, no matter how unattainable it still seems.
And that is perhaps as it should be: ideals, like that of the Rhinoceros
Horn, probably function best when they are unattainable. I continue
to learn much from our now too infrequent conversations. Indeed,
every time I think I have a good idea, it is accompanied by a lingering
suspicion that the seed of that idea, if not the idea itself, was planted
by Professor Schopen.
Throughout the course of this project, I have benefited greatly
vii
viii Acknowledgments
from numerous comments, criticisms, and suggestions proffered by
many, beginning with, at an early stage, William Bodiford, Robert
Buswell, and Jonathan Silk. I would also like to thank the two anony-
mous reviewers for the Press: John Strong and Daniel Boucher. Both
reviewers graciously revealed their identities, and offered important
advice and critical suggestions for the manuscript’s improvement. Al-
though I struggled in particular with many of Daniel’s criticisms, the
struggle has improved the book immeasurably.
A number of former and current colleagues in the Department
of Religious Studies at McMaster University read through the manu-
script, some of them twice, offering encouragement and sound advice
from fields far removed from vinaya studies: James A. Benn, Annette
Y. Reed, Mark Rowe, and Peter Widdicombe; I thank them for their
keen insights, friendship, and good counsel over many years. Readers
may join me in thanking them for improving the readability of the
book immensely. I have likewise benefited from comments and sug-
gestions made by a number of careful readers: Ven. Anālayo, Oskar
von Hinüber, Ute Hüsken, Petra Kieffer-Pülz, Gregory Schopen, Peter
Skilling, Stephen Sharp, and Tim Ward. Petra in particular went
through the manuscript at several different stages, offering further
references, valuable advice, and good humor. Two of my students,
Chris Emms and Chris Handy, helped collect and check references,
and caught a number of errors. Stephanie Balkwill read a draft and
offered useful comments. Despite the sound advice received from
many, I alone remain responsible for all errors and infelicities in the
present work.
Although the initial research for this book was conducted prior
to joining McMaster University, the present work has benefited from
research supported by McMaster’s Arts Research Board and Cana-
da’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. I also wish
to acknowledge financial support from the Arts Research Board and
Dean Charlotte Yates, Faculty of Social Sciences, for the indexing of
this volume.
At the University of Hawai‘i Press, Patricia Crosby was enthu-
siastic about the project right from the beginning. I thank her for
her encouragement, and especially her patience. Ann Ludeman over-
saw production of the book. Stuart Kiang, copyeditor extraordinaire,
went above and beyond the call of duty, making the electronic copy-
editing adventure almost enjoyable, certainly educational, and only
minimally nerve-racking; to him I remain greatly indebted for many
Acknowledgments ix
a smoother turn of phrase and for finding my endnotes once thought
lost in the black hole that exists between Mac and PC worlds.
In a book about the importance of family, it seems only fitting
that I acknowledge my own family. I thank my mother, Lyn, for her
love, support, and encouragement over many years, and especially
for letting me go my own way, to exotic far-off lands such as America
and now Canada. I thank my sister, Lisa, and brother, Graham, who
have always found time for me on my infrequent visits back home.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Masami, and daughter, Kira,
for filling my days with smiles and joy. Masami and Kira have been
extremely patient, and have sacrificed much while my attention has
been focused on this and other projects. Without their love and sup-
port, this book would have taken even longer; their warmth has gone
a long way to making the frigid temperatures of the north bearable
for this flightless kiwi. I thank my family for teaching me in ways that
the vinayas could not that family matters.