Women in the Footsteps of the Buddha: Struggle for Liberation in the Therigatha

188 Pages·2000·1.687 MB·English

by  Kathryn R. Blackstone

Women int he
Footsteopfts h eB uddha
StrugJgalrLe i beratiiontn h eT herigiithii
KATHRYRN. B LACKSTONE
MOTILAL BANAPRUSBILDIASSHSE RS
PRIVALTIEM IT.E DDELHI
FirsItn diaEnd itioDne:l hi2,0 00
FirsPtu bllShed: Br1i99t8a in,
PublisihneI dJ,j soriawtiitohn
Cunon PressB.r itain
Extracftr'o mK R. Norman\ translatoifto hne Thr ragtitahnad
Thdigrithiair er eproducweidt ht hek indp ermiiso.n o.. f t he
PalTie xtS ociety
© 1998K ATHRYN R BLAC,KSTONE
AllR ightRse served
ISBN,8 1-208-1715-x
Alioa vailabalel :
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CONTENTS
EditPorres'f ace
IX
Preface
XI
Introduction 1
TheT herfgTiietxath niidC: o ntext 1
13
ChaptIe:r TheL anguaogfeL iberation
16
LiberatRieofnr ains
20
DistinctBieotnwse etnh eT exts
A DiffereonfPc eer spective 30
ChaptIeIr: L ookinBga ckwarAdt:t iruTdoewsa rds
37
Renunciation
40
TheW ay TheyW ere
45
BreakiFnrge eG:o inFgo rttho t heH omeleLsisf e
51
Reflectoinot nhse GoLoidf e
ChaptIIeIr: L ookinIgn warAdt:t iruTdoewsa rdtsh e
59
Body
63
A BuddhiLsets soinnA natomy
69
TheB odyB eautiful
75
Lookinagtt heD octriansae M irror
Vll
Womeinnt hFeo otsotfte hpBesu ddha
ChaptIVe:r LookinOgu twarAdt:t ituTdoewsa rds
83
theE nvironment
86
The EnvironamsSe enttt ianngdS ymbol
94
TreMee ditations
102
EnvisiotnhienE ngv ironment
107
ChaptVe:r StrugfgolLre i beratiinto hneT herigatha
108
Modelosf L iberation
113
TheQ uestioofFn e malAeu thorship
117
Women'Sst rugfgolrLe i beration
Appendices:
119
A TechniTcearlm fso rL iberation
B TableosfL iberaTthede ratndsT heras 127
141
C Imageosft heE nvironment
D SettionfgL si beraTthede ratndsT heras 151
Notes 155
Bibliography 169
Glossary 181
Index 183
V1l1
EDITORS' PREFACE
Inr eceyneta rtsh ea cademsitcu doyfB uddhiisnmt hWee sth as
growinn e xcitnienwgd irectiToob ness .u rteh,e vpaasnto rama
ofB uddhishma sb ecome more atvaomi oldaebrlne scholars,
butB uddhist Shtausad liseaost tracatnee dv er-incrgeraosuipn g
ofs eriouisn,t eresstcehdo lawrhso haveb roughtto their
inquirai weosn derfvualr ieotfny e wp ursuaintdsm ethodolo­
gieisn,v igoratthiedn igs cipalsin neev ebre fore. sWchhiollea rs
arcc ontinuoaplelnyi nnegw a renafso rd ialogsuuec,ha st he
Buddhimsotv emenitnt he West, the roefBl uadtdihoinssmh ip
andh umanr ighstosc,i aelnlgya gBeudd dhisamn,da veritable
plethoorfao thesrt imulattoipnigc msa,n yo ft het raditional
Buddhitsetx tasr ea lsboe nefittfirnogmr eneweadt tention.
TheT herigiiisot nhes iiu cthe xStu.s aMnu rcotTt'hseF irst
BuddhWiosmte nT:r anslaatnidoC nosm mentoafrt yh e
Therig(iiBetrhkiie Plaerya:l Plraexs 1s9,9 1wa)s o neo ft hefi rst
news tudioefts h iism portPaanltBi u ddhicslta ssIinct.e resting
scholaarrltyi ctloeoss,,u cahs K eviTnr ainoirm'pso rt'aIntnth e
Eyeo ft heB eholdNeorn:a ttachmaenndtt h e BoidnSy u bhii's
Vetli(eT heri7g1ii)pt,uh'bii l isihnet dhJ e ournaolft hAem erican
AcadeomfRy e lig[i6(o11n 9 9537)-:7 9ha]v,be e gutno a ppear
witrhe gulaKraitthyr.By lna ckstoWnoem'esi nnt hFeo otsotfe ps
thBeu ddhSat:r ugfgoLlrie b eraitnti hoTenh erigiiisa t mohsiit
importaadndti titootn h ilsi terature.
Beginnfirnogtm h per esumpttihoatnth eT herigiiisa m tohsiit
'excitainndgp rovocattievxetK ,a't hryBnl ackstgooneesf ar
beyontdh et raditieoxnpallo raotfit ohnet exats a ne xpression
oft hea ttainmoefnB tu ddhisme'asr lwyo menr enunciants.
ix
Womeinnt hfeo otsotfte hpBesu ddha
Withoulto sianngy s ensoef t hei ntenbseea utayn dd ramatic
valuoeft hep oemss,h ec oaxuessi ntaon d etaielxepdl oraotfi on
the qufeosrlt i beraotnit ohnep art tohfee arlbyh ikkuSnhef s.
considtehriisss suneo to nloyn t heb asisp roefv iohuiss torical
studiaensdi, n formbeydt hec omplicastyemdb oliosftm h et ext,
buta lsion o rdetro u neartthhe a ttituadnedsa ssumptions
inherienntt h et exatn,d t oe xaminteh et ermism,a geesv,e nts,
ands ituatiinosnosfa astr h erye vetahlef eminipneer specotfi ve
theb hikkhunf-sangha.
Blackstmoonvee bse yonhde rp redesceisnst ohrassth eo ffers
botah qualitaatnidvq eu antitaatniavley soifs t het ext,
comparetdh roughtooui tt cso mpanitoenx tt,h eT heragiithii.
Hera nalyssehso wt hawth ilteh et wot extesm ploiyd entical
forms,t ructaunrdes ,t ylteh,e iurt ilizaotfti eornm sp,h rases,
stocdke scriptainodns st,y listic rdeefvlieiccmetps o rtant
differeinnce emsp hasHiesr.c arefaunla lyosfit sh el anguage
andi mageorfyt het exatlsl ohwesr t op ostulsaotmeeb olnde w
conclusiaobnosu tt het exts,u pportbeyd a n interesting
compilatofid oant ap,r esenitnef do uarp pendixes.
Inl igohftt hea bovteh,e CurCzroint ical iSntB uuddidehsi sm
isd elighttoep dr esetnhtii sm portnaenwts tudy.
x
PREFACE
This monogirsaa p rhe VISIofOm ny M.A.t hesiosr,i ginally
1989-1990.
researcahnedwd r ittaetMn c MasteUrn iversity, The
focuasn dm ethodoloofgt yh et heseivso lvienda conteoxft
converstaantdif orni enadrlgyu mewnitt fho usrp ecpieaolp lPea:t
Doldw hoc onvinmceet do l eatt exstp eafko irt seelvfe,in fw hat
its aycso ntradmiyc etxsp ectatMiaovnisFs;e nnw hos teermeed
tot heT hertgaiindtT hhiie ragiiinrt ehsiip ontsome y questions
abouth ow Buddhirsetn unciaunntdse rstnanidb biiAnnane;
Pearswohno s howemde t hei mportaonfcd ei scovewroimnegn 's
ownp erspecotnit vhee irre ligainodnt hes trenagntdhc ourage
themya intaeivne,in n s eeminogplpyr essive asnydsG treamesm;e
Macqueewnh oe ncouramgeet do p usmhy seblefy on'dd octrinal
interpretsautgigoensstt,he'adI tc ountte rmasn,d t hehne lpmeed
translmaatteh ematiinctEson glipsrho sWei.t ht hehierl pa,d vice,
andw illingtnoae rsgsu wei tmhe ,m y worka ndm ye xperieansc e
a graduastteu dehnatv bee eg�t eatelnyr iched.
Theiirn flueinscv ee rye videtnhtr oughmoyu tw orkM.y
studcyo nsisatlsm osetn tireolfya closree adinogft he
Therfgaiintdt hhiieT heragOiitthheiisro. u rc(ecso mmentarial,
canonicaanld s cholarwleyr)ec onsultoendl ya fteIr h ad
grapplweidt ht hei ssuienst het exttsh emselIv heasv.et ried
nott op resuppdoesfien itioofnk se y tersmist,u atiaonnds ,
patteronfes x pressbiuotnh ,a ves oughtto d iscovheorw t he
authoorfts h et exutnsd ersttohoedm . FiInh aalvlmeya ,i ntained
ac leafro cuosn t hes pecificfaelmliyn ipenres pectcilvaei mbeyd
theT hertgIiiu tseht hiieT. h eragoiintlthyo iie stablhioswth h e
Therigpiietrhsiip'ecsit sdi ivset inctive.
xi
Womeinnt hFeo otsotfte hpBesu ddha
WhenI b egarne searchIiw nasgs ,u rpriasnedda ppallbeyd
howl itsteler iosucsh olartshheirhpea sb eeno nt het extTsh.i s
lacunrae mainesv,e na ftear g apo ffi vey earsT.h isi s
particusluarrplryi isintn hge coafst eh eT herigwiihtichihiis
uniquieni tfso cuosn f emalree ligieoxupse rieanncdie t csl aim
tof emalaeu thorsShoi,ap l.t houIgw ha ss omewhaamtb ivalent
abouptu blishmiyn Mg. A.t heswihse,n C harlPerse biasshk ed
me toi ncluidtie n h iss eriIe asc,c eptIec da.n o nlhyo pem y
workw ileln courafguer threers earbcyth h osweh oa reb etter
equippteoda ddretshse t extuhails,t oriacnadsl o,c iological
issuIec so ulodn lgyl impwshee nI w rotteh et hesis.
Ia m verayw aroef i tssh ortcomiinnpg asr,t liacrum,y usco f
translatWihoennsI .w rotteh et hesIiw sa,s j usbte ginntion g
develmoypl anguasgkei lWlhse.n I r evisietId,d idn oth ave the
timteo p rovimdye o wnt ranslaotfit ohnets e xts. Throughout
thef ollowsitnugd Iy ,p reseKn.tR .N orman'tsr anslatoifo ns
EldeVresr's Ie asn dI I,t hougIh h avec onsulttehdeP ali
extensively.
Ia lsfoe atrh atth en umeriacpaplr oaIcu ht iliinza en alyzing
thet exts intweirtftheh rebe esa utoyfs omeo ft hep oemsT.o
compensaftoert hiIs ,o pene ach chaptear q uwoitteh from
C.A.F.R hysD avidst'r anslattioo pnose ticaelvloyk et he
sentimIed nits cuisnts h ec hap.t er
Ast hec haptteirt laensds ectihoena dinignsd icattheis,st udy
is desitgon deids covtehre d istincpteirvsep ectoifvt eh e
TherigMiiyt howiin. p erspechtaisvb ee ens hapebdy many
influenTcheosu.gt hh eayr et oon umerotuosn ameI,w oulldi ke
tot hanka llm y friendfso rt heisru pporotv ert hey ears,
especiPaaltDl oyl dw,h os howetdh et hestiosC harlPerse bish,
andw ho ist,h erefore, resptohnispsiu bbllei caftIoir ao lns.o
thanEkl leBna donDea,v iKdi nslaenyd,G raemMea cqueefno r
commenotnst het hesainsd,M arilNyenf skKye,i tPha rrEyi,l een
Schuelrla,n dA delRee inhafrothrze lpimneg r efinmey skililns
research, aannadlp yrseisse,n taTtoi oMna.n dyB erglaIn d
extenmdy heartfaeplptr eciaftoirgo enn erousshlayr ihnegr
techniecxaple rt(iasnecd o mputewri!t)mh e .C harlPerse biIs h
thanfko rp atieanntde ncourageidnigt oraisasli staInw coeu.l d
xu