Chinese
Buddhist Nuns in the Twentieth
Century: A Case Study in Wuhan ([1])
Yuan Yuan
Graduate Program in
Religion
Duke University
209 Gray Building
Durham, NC 27708
U.S.A.
yuan.yuan@duke.edu
Abstract
In this paper, through
working at the intersection of the works on nationalism and women, and
the literature on Buddhist nuns during the Republican period, I aim to
take up questions of gender relations in the broader studies of
Buddhism and Buddhist modernization. I explore the Buddhist
nuns’ movement by examining the establishment of various
academies for female Buddhists. I also analyze the writings by female
Buddhists in the twentieth century. In so doing, I argue that the
Buddhist nuns’ revival movement fitted into the broader
women’s liberation discourse and the national modernization
project during this time. This paper promises to provide insights into
the history of women and nationalism from a Buddhist perspective, and
shed light on gender-related issues of modern Chinese Buddhism in the
course of China’s modernization.
Introduction
In the last decade, there
has been an explosion of interest in Republican China
(1911–1949), triggered both by China specialists’
rising interest in the multifarious voices of Chinese modernity and
collective discovery of parallels between Republican China and the
post-1976 period. Scholars, including Ted Huters, Wen-xin Yeh,
Madeleine Yue Dong, Sherman Cochran, Shao Qin, and Frank
Dikötter, have explored various but intertwined facets of the
Chinese Republic. By looking into economy and economic culture,
everyday experience, social and cultural practices, the literary field,
and politics and political behaviors, they construct the Republican
period as a dynamic and complex process, in which the global interacted
with the local and/or tradition was intertwined with transformation
(Huter, 2008; Yeh, 2000 & 2007; Dong, 2003; Cochran, 2000;
Shao, 2003; Dikötter, 2008).
An important issue for
the Republican period is the experience of Chinese women. China experts
have stressed finding new ways beyond modern Western and feminist
methodology to “engender history” in the Chinese
context, situating women in all social, political, cultural, and
familial discourses. Their research not only shows how
“modern women” were created by men and history,
but, more importantly, reveals how women remade themselves as modern
historical agents. ([2])
In this paper, through working at the intersection of the works on
nationalism and women, and the literature on Buddhist nuns during this
period, I aim to take up questions of gender relations in the broader
studies of Buddhism and Buddhist modernization. Specifically, I will
explore the Buddhist nuns’ movement by examining the
establishment of various academies for female Buddhists. I shall also
examine writings by female Buddhists in the twentieth century. ([3])
In so doing, I shall argue that the Buddhist nuns’ revival
movement fitted into the broader women’s liberation discourse
and the national modernization project during this time. This paper
will provide some insights into the history of women and nationalism
from a Buddhist perspective, and at the same time shed light on
gender-related issues of modern Chinese Buddhism in the course of
China’s modernization.
The Discourse on
Women’s Liberation in China from the End of the
Nineteenth
Century to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
The period from the end
of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, which was
marked by dramatic decentralization of government and large-scale
military conflicts, was one of the most turbulent times in Chinese
history. However, it was also a time when all kinds of intercultural
dialogues and intellectual creativities thrived. With the decline of
the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and the expanding influence of
Western colonial powers in China, the Chinese masses experienced
tremendous suffering and poverty caused by domestic turmoil and foreign
invasion. Intellectuals and religious leaders, both conservative and
radical, were simultaneously pondering the past three thousand years of
Chinese civilization as well as seeking new routes to save the people
and strengthen the nation.
In the midst of these
transformations, Chinese women became the site at which national
modernity was imagined and constructed: China’s weakness was
the weakness of its women; only if Chinese women were liberated would
the Chinese nation be strong (Hershatter 2004, p.1,028). While male
sympathy towards women did exist, and male intellectuals sometimes did
embrace women’s rights for women’s sake, current
scholarship demonstrates that well-known intellectuals and writers
always focused on how women’s emancipation was linked to
national salvation. ([4])
During the 1898 reform,
faced with Western missionaries’ criticism of
women’s status in China and impressed by the achievements of
Christian female education, Chinese reformers represented by Kang
Youwei 康有為 (1858–1927) and Liang Qichao 梁啓超
(1873–1929) linked strengthening the nation with banning
foot-binding and educating women to produce “good wives and
wise mothers” (xianqi
liangmu 賢妻良母). ([5])
They believed that the modernization of China could only take place
through the “modernization” of Chinese women.
Nevertheless, in reformers’ pragmatic and nationalistic
framework, women, as a social group, were simply a tool to be used in
the modernization of the nation: with a stronger body without bound
feet, they could bear stronger sons to resist foreign enemies; educated
mothers could raise and educate more talented young men (Gipoulon
1989–90, p.48).
In the first decade of
the twentieth century, women’s emancipation continued to be a
focal point of the nationalist discourse. Women’s education
became officially institutionalized, although it was still dominated by
male participation for the sake of restoring the nation.
Women’s textbooks in this period aimed to educate women with
a very specific kind of education: to produce qualified
“mothers of citizens” (guomin
zhi mu 國民之母), emphasizing the
new scientific knowledge, such as child psychology, hygiene,
physiology, and economics, that a woman must have in order to
successfully fulfill her duty as “the biological and moral
source of a new citizen” (Judge 1997, p.110). Nonetheless,
ironically, women themselves were not recognized as
“citizens” in the constitution of the Republic
(1912) (Gipoulon 1989–90, p.49). In addition, by separating
women from traditional and modern cultural capital—scholarly
practice, poetry, and knowledge about Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Daoism—male reformers managed to deprive women of a
potentially vital source of self-knowledge and subject the new meaning
of women and women’s literacy solely to the nationalist
project (Judge 1997, p.110).
In the midst of
overturning the Manchu empire and demanding governmental reform,
revolutionaries in the early twentieth century also opened the door for
women to enter the public arena by advocating equal rights between men
and women. Nevertheless, the educative role of women as mothers was
again emphasized, in that a mother who strongly believed in the
revolutionary cause would then so educate and influence her son
(Gipoulon 1989–90, p.49). In addition, the revolutionaries
desired more women’s support for their cause than
women’s rights.
Both reformers and
revolutionaries called upon women to participate in the modernization
of the nation. But rather than speak for women’s rights, both
groups only wanted to motivate women for the purpose of their own
nationalist projects. The gulf separating the education and worldly
ambition of men from that of women persisted. For instance, Xiang
Jingyu 向警予 (1895–1928), one of the best-known feminists in
the Communist movement and a teacher herself, stressed how the
educational inequalities between the two sexes persisted. ([6])
The girls’ schools, she wrote, have become places of
seclusion, cut off from society. The girls go from the home to the
school, but their vision of the world remains the same. Modern learning
has not penetrated the schools, and the most brilliant graduates from
girls’ schools will never be anything more than good
secretaries for their husbands (Gipoulon 1989–90, p.55).
Therefore, the question
is, with men being the dominant presence in education, politics, and
public life in early twentieth-century China, were women just
subordinates to male undertakings? The following account will try to
answer this question by analyzing a specific group of women, Buddhist
nuns, and their endeavors to confront the challenge of their times and
their accomplishments. Through unraveling the complex relationship
between nationalism and women in the specific context of Buddhist
reform, the subsequent analysis intends to explore how Buddhist nuns
actively participated in the women’s liberation discourse
through inserting their understanding of gender, and how they managed
to constitute alternative female subjectivities to the ones prescribed
by men and redefine their roles in the nationalist project.
Buddhist Modernization
and Taixu’s Reform in the Twentieth Century
Though Chinese Buddhism
enjoyed great imperial patronage from the Qing court due to its
strategic and political importance in dealing with the trianglular
relations among Qing rulers, Tibetans, and Mongols, the Taiping
rebellion (1858–1864) at the end of the Qing dynasty
regenerated persecution and proved catastrophic for Buddhism in modern
China. In southeast and central China, where the Taiping
rebels’ power was extensive, Buddhist monasteries were
destroyed and Buddhist monks were massacred. It is said that the
Taiping attack on Buddhism was almost fatal (Pittman 2001, p.35).
Persecution of the Buddhists continued after the fall of the Qing
dynasty. Local warlords who controlled the political and economic
powers ordered the confiscation of Buddhist properties and closed the
monasteries for the use of public education.
Besides the persecution
by local government, Buddhism also was challenged by both Chinese
intellectuals and Christian missionaries. In the period during and
after the May Fourth Movement (1919), Westernized Chinese intellectuals
and cultural radicals employed the “end of history”
rhetoric, specifically “Scientism,” to launch
campaigns against religion, which was condemned as superstitious and
backward (Duara, 1995: 85). Considered along with Confucianism and
Daoism as the remnants of feudal society and the source of
superstition, Buddhism was attacked by Chinese revolutionaries under
the slogans “Mr. Science” (sai
xiansheng 賽先生) and
“Mr. Democracy” (de
xiansheng 德先生). Buddhism was
regarded as useless or even an impediment to the unification of the
country and reconstruction of the nation. Christian missionaries, who
at this time were mainly Protestants, expanded their influence
extensively in China with the assistance of imperialism by preaching
and offering various social services, such as education and medical
treatment. Regarded as the major religious competitor of Christianity
in China, Buddhism inevitably became the target of criticism. Christian
missionaries argued that despite Buddhism’s long influence in
China, its characteristics marked by idolatry and superstition had
little value, or were even obstacles, to China’s
modernization.
Taixu 太虚
(1890–1947), whose secular name is Lü Peilin 呂沛林,
developed his career as a “reformist monk” in that
context. Born in 1890 in Congde district, Zhejiang Province, in
Southeast China, where Buddhism has had deep-rooted influence since its
earliest entry to China, he was brought up by his grandmother, who
introduced him to Buddhism. Gradually, after studying with a variety of
Buddhist teachers and reading widely, Taixu started to display his
talents as a creative spiritual leader and an active religious reformer
in his early twenties. In response to the challenges posed to Buddhism
by the state, modernist intellectuals, and Christian missionaries, he
reformed Buddhism to facilitate the modernization of the nation,
calling for the revitalization of Buddhism through educational
modernization, social service, and international cooperation (Pittman
2001, p.96). In his reform plan, Taixu suggested that in order to
dismantle popular misunderstanding of Chinese Buddhism and disassociate
it from superstition, the first necessary step was to reeducate
Buddhist clergy with a more comprehensive curriculum that placed
Buddhist teachings in relation to the social and political issues of
the day. It is under the circumstances of the Buddhist reform movement
in the twentieth century that Chinese Buddhist nuns actively responded
to women’s liberation and nationalist discourse. However, due
to the conflicts between conservatives and radicals in the sangha,
Taixu’s struggle for national leadership of Buddhism was not
smooth. ([7])
The Establishment of the
First Academy for Female Buddhists
In 1920, after his reform
plan encountered several failures within Buddhist circles in southeast
China, Taixu went to lecture in Wuhan in Hubei Province and gained
great popularity among sangha
and lay Buddhist supporters there. In order to continue his Buddhist
reform, Taixu decided to build a modern Buddhist educational institute
to educate new generations of Buddhists who could carry out his
Buddhist modernization and reform plan. In 1922, with the help of
several lay supporters, Taixu established the first modern Buddhist
educational institution in Chinese history—Wuchang Buddhist
Academy (Wuchang foxueyuan
武昌佛學院)—in Wuhan (Wuhan
shi zhi: Shehui zhi 1997,
p.194). In 1924, as part of Wuchang Buddhist Academy, Taixu formed
Wuchang Academy for Female Buddhists (Wuchang
foxueyuan nüzhong yuan
武昌佛學院女眾院) with support from layman Li Yichen 李隱塵 (? –1929) (Wuhan
shi zhi: Shehui zhi 1997,
p.196). This was the first modern educational institute for female
Buddhists in Chinese history.
The Academy for Female
Buddhists followed the same structure as the Wuchang Buddhist Academy
and accepted both ordained nuns and laywomen through examination. The
courses taught at the Academy included both Buddhist texts and other
subjects, such as philosophy and literature. Less than two years after
its establishment, the Academy was temporarily closed because of
warfare. But in 1928, it was reopened by Fafang 法舫
(1904–1951), a Wuchang Buddhist Academy graduate, and a lay
Buddhist named Tang Dayuan 唐大圓 (1885–1941) (He, 1999). ([8])
In 1931, Taixu changed Wuchang Buddhist Academy into World Buddhist
Institute (Shijie foxue yuan 世
界佛學苑), and the Academy for Female Buddhists was also changed to the
World Buddhist Institute for Female Buddhists (Shijie
foxue yuan nüzhong
yuan 世界佛學院女眾院). In 1933, Li
Deci 李德慈, the wife of layman Fang Benren 方本仁 (1880–1951),
organized a trustees’ committee for the World Buddhist
Institute for Female Buddhists. Taixu, Daxing 大醒 (1900–1952),
and lay Buddhist scholar Wang Sengpu 王森甫 (1881–1934) became
teachers at the Institute. Subsequently, with stable financial support
and proper academic guidance, the Institute gradually became the center
for female Buddhist education in China. The two nuns in charge of the
Institute were both very well-educated: Deying 德瑛 had studied art in
Japan and had been a teacher for many years, and Dingcheng 定成,according
to Zhang Shenghui 張聖慧, an active Buddhist laywoman, also
“came from the scholastic background, later studied sutras
and scriptures, and was especially good at taking care of
business” (Zhang 1934, p.88). ([9])
Zhang also described the achievements of the Institute: “[The
Wuchang Academy for Female Buddhists] has survived for almost ten years
and produced several dozen of graduates. Most of them can become
Buddhist dharma masters and disseminate Buddhist teachings”
(Zhang, 1934, p.88).
In 1934, laywomen Li
Dezhao 李德肇 and Cai Chaoshuang 蔡超爽 took charge of the Institute after
Deying retired (Zhang 1934, p.88). Following these two laywomen,
Dingchu 定初 became the incumbent. And more course subjects such as
English and mathematics were added to the curriculum. The length of
study at the Institute was three years, and each class consisted of
twenty to forty students. In 1948, after the establishment of the
Hankou Academy for Nuns (Hankou
qiyin nizhong xueyuan 漢口栖隱尼眾學院)
at the Nunnery of Secluded Rest (Qiyin
si 栖隱寺), all the students at
World Institute for Female Buddhists were transferred there. In 1949,
forty students graduated from the Hankou Academy for Nuns. After the
establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hankou
Academy for Nuns was turned into part of the socialist mass workforce.
All the students were eventually transferred to Wuhan Women’s
Knitting Factory, and the school was closed down until the
reestablishment of the Wuchang Academy for Nuns at the Nunnery of Lotus
Creek (Lianxi si 蓮
溪寺) in 1986.
The Pure Bodhi Vihara (Puti
jingshe 菩提精舍) and the Dedicated
Journal for Female Buddhists
(Fojiao nüzhong zhuankan 佛教女眾專刊)
With Taixu’s
influence and active support from lay Buddhists, Wuhan soon became the
most important platform for female Buddhists. Zhang Shenghui wrote in
her article “The impression from observing Buddhism in
Wuhan” (Zhang 1934, p.88):
It has been several
decades since our country started promoting female education. Though it
has been developing at a speed of a thousand miles a day, it is still
far behind compared with the West. The education of female Buddhists is
even more backward, to be honest. Though there are female Buddhists all
over the country, one has never heard of the establishment of academies
for female Buddhists, except a few small convents. However, the
northern part of Hubei Province is different from other places. In
Wuchang city alone there are already three educational institutes for
female Buddhists.
Besides the Wuchang
Academy for Female Buddhists, established by Taixu in 1924, the other
two study institutes for female Buddhists mentioned are the Pure Bodhi
Vihara (Puti jingshe 菩
提精舍) in Wuchang and the Institute of the “Eight
Precepts” (Bajing
xueshe 八敬學社) in Hankou.
The Pure Bodhi Vihara was
established by Hengbao 恒寶 in 1931 with the help of layman Wang Sengfu
王森甫, the president of Hankou Lay Buddhist Association, ([10])
and Huijüe 慧覺 from the Wuchang Buddhist Academy. The Vihara
was located in a residence bought from a Deng family at Dachao jie 大朝街
in Wuchang. According to “The abbreviated codes for the Pure
Bodhi Vihara,” the goal of the this institute was to
“establish a cultivation and study institute for nuns, to
cultivate nuns’ talents and virtues so as to preach Buddhist
dharma, and to educate and affect female lay Buddhists” (Zhu,
1934). The daily schedule of the Vihara included “three hours
of chanting and reciting, five hours of reading and reviewing, four
hours of working (cooking, knitting, cleaning, and gardening), and two
hours of Buddhist scripture learning” (Hai
Chao Yin, 1934, p.49). The
course subjects included Amituo
jing 阿彌陀經
(Amitaayur-dhyaana-sutra), Wuliangshou
jing 无量壽經 (the larger
Sukhaavatii-vyuuha-sutra),
Zajia lüyao 在家律要 (The
Abbreviated Precepts for Lay Buddhists), Zongpai
yuanliu 宗派源流 (The Origins of
Schools), Shannüren
zhuan 善女人傳 (Biographies of
Virtuous Women), Xindiguan
jing 心地觀經 (Sutra on the
Contemplation of the Mind), Shami
lüyi 沙彌律儀 (Manual for
Buddhist Novices), Jingxin
jieguan fa 净心戒觀法 (The Method
of Abstention and Contemplating the Purity of Mind), Biqiuni
zhuan 比丘尼傳 (Biographies of
Chinese Buddhist Nuns from the Fourth to Sixth Centuries), Biqiuni
jie ben比丘尼戒本 (Precept Manual
for Bhik.su.nii), and Wangsheng
jingtu lun 往生净土論 (Treatise on
Rebirth in the Pure Land). ([11])
After three years of study, students could stay at the Vihara to teach
or conduct further study. In 1934, ten nuns were accepted through
examination.
In addition to providing
Buddhist nuns and laywomen with a systematic modern Buddhist education,
the Vihara also published the first Buddhist journal for female
Buddhists in China. In 1937, it published the Dedicated
Journal for Female Buddhists.
Although the journal only published one volume due to the capture of
Wuhan in 1938 by the Japanese army, it signaled a big step forward in
the history of Chinese Buddhist nuns. In this volume, Chinese Buddhist
nuns had the opportunity not only to write in their own voices, but
also to actually found their own journal. ([12])
In the “opening remarks” of the Dedicated
Journal for Female Buddhists,
Hengbao claims, “The Dedicated
Journal for Female Buddhists is
now born! In the history of Chinese Buddhism, not only are there no
specific publications on female Buddhists, but there rarely are
writings by them. This is the first time in history to publish a
journal dedicated to female Buddhists….” She then
asserted women’s right to pursue religion:
“Regarding equality between humans and equality between
religions, women are the majority [of the Chinese people]. How could
female Buddhists be ignored and not educated?” (Hengbao 1937,
p.1)
The Journal
explains in detail the curriculum and daily schedule of the Vihara.
Compared to what was offered in 1934, the curriculum in 1937 included
more courses on Buddhist teachings, such as Weishi
ershi lun 唯識二十論 (Twenty Verses
on Consciousness-only), Abidamo
jushe lun 阿毗達磨俱舍論 (Abhidharma
Storehouse Treatise), Diamond
Sutra, and Madhyamaka-śāstra
中論 (The
Middle Treatise), and the length of study also was extended from three
years (six semesters) in 1934 to five years (ten semesters) in 1937. ([13])
Furthermore, the curricula of the Vihara were not limited to Buddhist
classics—it also incorporated a variety of modern subjects,
such as Chinese language, English language, journalism, philosophy,
calligraphy, writing, and speech.
The more comprehensive
coursework at the Vihara was the result of Taixu’s efforts to
modernize Buddhism, and his insistence on understanding Buddhist
teachings in relation to social and political issues of the day. Facing
the criticism from intellectuals and revolutionaries that Buddhism was
superstition, Taixu decided that in order to dismantle the popular
misunderstanding of Chinese Buddhism, the first necessary step was to
reeducate Buddhist clergy with a more comprehensive curriculum. This
modern Buddhist education, though first initiated by a male monk,
provided women an alternative learning path. ([14])
Many famous Buddhist dharma masters and scholars had taught at the Pure
Bodhi Vihara, including Huijue 慧覺,Fafang 法舫, Chengkong 塵空
(1908–1979), Lü Jiucheng 吕九成, and Zhou Guanren 周觀仁.
According to the Journal,
the number of students at the Vihara grew from ten in 1934 to fifty by
1937. In her introductory article, Jingyun 錦雲 listed some brief
information about each student: Most of the students were in their
mid-twenties. The oldest student, Haiping 海屏, was thirty-eight and the
youngest students, Dading 大定 and Zhigao 志高, were both only fourteen. ([15])
Most of these students had three to four years of formal education
before coming to the Vihara. Some of them graduated from middle school
or had studied several years at the Wuchang Academy for Female
Buddhists. One nun, Haiguang 海光, even held a teacher’s
college degree.
In the early twentieth
century, men played an important role in transmitting knowledge to
Buddhist nuns. But female nuns were not merely passive recipients. They
recognized that although inspiration had come from their male
counterparts, this in no way suggested that men were superior.
Women’s participation in the modern Buddhist education led by
men did not prevent them from voicing their demand for equal status
with their male counterparts. Chinese Buddhist nuns during this period
actively used the cultural capital they gained from the broader
discourse of Buddhist education to express their understanding of
gender identity, advocate women’s rights from a Buddhist
perspective, and formulate an alternative role to the passive
“mothers of citizens” in the national modernization
discourse.
For instance, in her
article “Buddhist attitudes toward women,” Hengbao,
the incumbent of the Pure Bodhi Vihara, first draws attention to the
conventionally marginalized subject of women in Buddhism and Buddhist
studies: “I could not help noticing that there are hardly any
writings about women in Buddhism, such as how to reform them, how to
educate them, and more. Even writings by women are rarely
seen.” She lost no time in identifying traditional patriarchy
as the culprit: “This is not surprising because in the
backward society of the past several thousand years, the question of
men and women was considered an unspeakable secret
…” She declared her intention to revisit the issue
of gender inequality, “I think men and women are all human
beings in this world. [But] why are they named differently?”
Hengbao then quotes
Buddhist texts to challenge the traditional androcentric assumptions
about gender in Chinese society and to further reconceptualize the idea
of gender. ([16])
In her view, there is a difference between the female (nüren
女人) and women (nüxing 女性). Gender, she
emphasizes, is not just an inherent, natural, and universal attribute,
but is a gendering process and a system of power. It is morally
constructed: “It is said on Ekottara
Agama 增一阿含經, ‘one
with abundant cravings and sensual feelings will become the
female.’ In addition, according to the Jingxin
guanfa淨心觀法, `the female has ten
evils … Whoever has all above ten evils is called the
female.” She therefore contended, “If a man is
voluptuous and greedy and has the above ten characteristics, why
shouldn’t he be called a female?” For her, gender
is also spiritually constituted: “Why does the female (nüren)
have to refer to women? It is said on the Nirvana
Sutra, ‘one has to
see the Buddha nature to be a man, otherwise, is a
woman.’” Upon reinterpreting Buddhist scriptures,
Hengbao asserted: “[I] want to ask those who are called men
whether they have seen the Buddha nature? If not, I dare to say that
all human beings in this world are women. No one is a man.”
Finally, Hengbao argues that it is exactly this kind of morally and
spiritually constructed conception of gender in Buddhist texts that
empowers women: “If there is no man in the world, why do we
need to talk about the question of women? … Therefore, the
Buddha said that Buddhist dharma is neither masculine nor feminine. One
can see how egalitarian Buddhist attitudes toward men and women
are!”(Hengbao 1937, pp.17–18)
Furthermore, Hengbao
defends the Buddhist view on women by arguing that the “Eight
precepts” (Bajing fa 八敬法) originated in the
specific social conditions in ancient India, and were not simply a
result of the Buddha’s discrimination against women:
In Indian
culture…women are considered the lowest and the filthiest
beings. Therefore, under these circumstances, the Buddha had to [lay
the "Eight Precepts" on nuns] for the sake of [dispelling] oppositions
and criticisms (Hengbao 1937, p.19).
Indeed, many modern
scholars have argued vigorously that it is perhaps a mistake to depend
solely on the existence of the additional monastic rules for bhik.su.nii,
without examining their origin or social context, to form a generalized
Buddhist view of women. ([17])
The Journal demonstrates
that by the 1930s Buddhists nuns in China had begun to search for an
alternative interpretation of the origin of Buddhist Vinaya rather than
completely subordinating themselves to the male order.
In addition to Hengbao,
several other nuns wrote about women’s issues in Buddhism.
Some of them explicated stories of mythical females in various Buddhist
texts, such as the Avatamsaka
Sutra 華嚴經 and
Vimalakirti Sutra 維摩詰經, and
how these stories advocate women’s rights (nüquan
女權). As Rita Gross points out, the stories of mythic females could not
be simply equated with the high status, freedom, or equality of women
in the real society. We must distinguish between the discussion of
gender and Buddhism in canonical texts and the relations between gender
and Buddhism in history (Gross, 1993). Nevertheless, for nuns who wrote
and read these articles, the cultural legacies they inherited from
Buddhist texts and their inspiration coming from these mythical female
figures not only allowed them to embrace the discourse of
women’s liberation in early twentieth-century China from a
Buddhist perspective, but also enabled them to formulate an alternative
role to the passive “mothers of citizens” ideal in
order to become independent national actors. For instance, Tiantong 天童
wrote in her essay:
Bhik.su.nii are an intrinsic part
of the Buddhist sangha
and have equal status as bhik.su
in Buddhist monastic community. Bhik.su.nii
also have the responsibility to preach Buddhist dharma, lead Buddhists,
cultivate and guide the society, benefit sentient beings, and carry on
the lamp of Buddhist wisdom. Bhik.su.nii
are the real descendants of the Buddha in the Buddhist sangha.
As citizens of the nation (guomin 國民), women stand on the
same level as men in twentieth- century Republican China, whether in
law, economics, politics, or education. [Women and men] are equal and
not so different. Women also have the responsibilities to reform
society, benefit human beings, benefit the nation, educate students,
and cultivate citizens. Hence, one could see the high status and the
important duties of bhik.su.nii
both in Buddhism and in the nation. (Tiantong 1937, p.71)
Tiantong’s
writing endorses women’s liberation and gender equality
advocated by Chinese writers—many of them men—in
the early twentieth century, which has greatly improved
women’s social status in China. By emphasizing the equal
status of men and women in the modern discourse of Republican China,
Tiantong justifies the equal status of bhik.su.nii
and bhik.su
in the Buddhist monastic community. Tiantong stresses women’s
role as “citizens of the nation” (guomin)
rather than “mothers of citizens.” For Tiantong and
others, Buddhist nuns should contribute to the modernization of China
equally with their male counterparts, such as by providing spiritual
guidance for citizens and serving as educators, not as an instrument of
fertility as prescribed by male nationalists.
Tiantong continues in her
article:
Though there are many bhik.su
who have talents and are good at providing spiritual guidance for
others, they are secluded from society, especially from the two hundred
million women of China. As men, it is inconvenient for bhik.su
to preach to women. Therefore, women who are able to hear true dharma
and learn wise knowledge are extremely rare. We bhik.su.nii
from now on should take up the responsibility to preach dharma and
benefit sentient beings, especially preach Buddhist dharma to women, so
as to persuade them to take refuge in the Three Jewels, abstain from
killing, obey the Five Precepts, and cultivate the Ten Virtues
… (Tiantong 1937, p. 72)
Tiantong further points
out a practical advantage of Buddhist nuns: their easy and convenient
access to women audiences plays an important role in preaching Buddhist
dharma and educating Buddhist laywomen.
Jueyuan 覺圓 wrote in the
article “The Duty of the Pure Bodhi Vihara”:
Students! Since we are
members of Buddhist monastic community and disciples of Shakyamuni
Buddha, we should follow Buddhist dharma and take up the responsibility
to revive Buddhism and preach Buddhist dharma … to expand
our school, to extend it to the whole province and the whole country,
and to create happiness for our 200 million women sisters …
[We should] revive China’s degenerate Buddhism and
disseminate profound Buddhist doctrines to the whole world so as to
awaken people from delusional dreams and defeat evil. We should reveal
the true value of the Buddhist dharma and the true salvational spirit
of Buddhism (Fojiao jiushi de
zhen jingshen 佛教救世的真精神) to the
nation and all human beings so that they will become willing to take
refuge in Buddhism. This is the duty of the Pure Bodhi Vihara! (Jueyuan
1937, p.89)
The idea of Buddhist
salvational spirit (Jiushi
jingshen 救世精神) was a key
concept in Taixu’s “Buddhism for the Human
World” (Renjian
fojiao 人間佛教) movement. It
originates from the heroic descriptions of the bodhisattva’s
selfless actions in the various literatures of Mahayana Buddhism. In
response to criticisms of Buddhism’s otherworldliness and
escapist mentality, Taixu argued that because some people, such as
Liang Shuming, did not understand the great compassion of a
bodhisattva, they mistakenly assumed the incompatibility between
Buddhism and twentieth-century China (Taixu 1998, pp.300–6).
He further asserted that only a society shaped by Mahayana
Buddhism—in which people seek enlightenment both by
developing their own inner life and, simultaneously, by working to
bring beneficial changes in the external world—can
successfully address the problems of the twentieth century (Taixu 1935,
p.6). As early as 1928, during his nine-month world tour to Europe, the
United States, and Japan, Taixu had already been convinced that
Buddhism should inevitably be the one religion that can save the world
both because it is more compatible with modern sciences than Western
theistic religions and because Buddhism will help to “reduce
harmful ambitions and promote virtuous actions in the modern world
(Taixu 1978, p.92). The writings in the Journal demonstrate
that Buddhist
nuns in the Republican period actively participated in this discourse
of Buddhist modernization by assuming responsibilities equal to their
male counterparts’ in saving the world, saving the nation (jiuguo
救國), and saving all
sentient beings (jiudu
zhongsheng 救度眾生).
Another nun, Changchao
常超, quoting the story of the goddess in Vimalakīrti
Sūtra to demonstrate the
feasibility of Buddhahood for women, and called upon Buddhist nuns to
lead Chinese women and embrace the liberation of women:
Nowadays, it is the
time of liberation, we should also move forward following the
ever-changing social circumstances. Men and women are the same in
nature. Why should women be left behind? Therefore, we should work hard
so as to truly liberate women from all the restraints and share the
same responsibility as men.
She continued:
Based on the current
situation, there are indeed more female Buddhist practitioners than
male ones. In addition, it is easier to affect and change women. But
without model Buddhist academies for nuns, we cannot achieve great
success even if there are wise nuns. Therefore, we need to build
excellent academies for nuns and cultivate nuns with talents and
skills… We should move forward and take up the duties to
preach dharma and transform our society. We should think about how we
can influence and guide women. We should extend Buddhism from county to
province, to the entire country, and to the whole world. This is how to
really expand and revive our female Buddhism. (Changchao 1937, p.52)
In the minds of Tiantong,
Jueyuan, and Changchao, Buddhist nuns are situated at the heart of the
national project of modernization and Buddhist reform. Buddhism not
only provided nuns an alternative learning path with the establishment
of modern academies, but also gave them a potentially vital source of
self-knowledge and cultural identity. The cultural
capital—the Buddhist education and other kinds of knowledge
and training—they acquired from the comprehensive curriculum
at modern Buddhist educational institutes granted Buddhist nuns
independence and a very powerful sense of collective identity. As a
group they wanted to respond to the nationalist project and take up the
challenges given to them at the beginning of the century. And they
shared with Taixu and other Buddhist/non-Buddhist intellectuals a
cosmopolitan concern for the globe as well: by participating in the
revival of Buddhism, they aspired to play a crucial role not only in
national salvation, but also in the salvation of the world.
These Buddhist nuns also
identified themselves as the leaders of women, addressing themselves to
all women of China, and integrating their female compatriots into their
project of helping China and the world. The phrases “200
million women sisters” and “all women in
China” came up again and again in their writings. Rather than
stressing the importance of female fertility and domesticity as mothers
to bear and educate sons, Buddhist nuns pointed out the importance of
nuns in educating and transforming female Buddhist practitioners, who
are the majority in the Buddhist community, and even all the women in
China. Therefore, instead of being used as a tool in the modernization
of the nation as “mothers of citizens,” Buddhist
nuns made themselves into independent national actors, serving as
Buddhist dharma preachers, educators, religious leaders, and spiritual
counselors.
Conclusion
First initiated in Wuhan,
modern Buddhist education for nuns soon spread to other parts of China.
In 1929, laywoman Zhang Lianjue 張蓮覺 (1875–1937) built an
academy for female Buddhists—the Forest of Merit of Amitabha
Buddha (Wuliangshou gongdelin 無
量壽功德林)—in Aomen澳門 (Macau),which started to accept Buddhist
nuns and provide them with modern Buddhist education. Zhang Lianjue
also established a branch of the Forest of Merit in Hong Kong in 1935
to continue female Buddhist education. In 1941, several female students
at the Forest of Merit initiated a discussion on how to approach the
discrimination against women in various Buddhist texts. This heated
discussion attracted so much attention that the two prominent monks at
the time—Taixu 太虚 and Hongyi 弘
(1880–1942)— participated through correspondence.
In Zhejiang province, Zhang Shenghui established the Fachang Academy
for Female Buddhists (Fachang
foxueyuan 法昌佛學院) in Fenghua 奉化
in 1937, and invited Buddhist nun Jueming 覺明 to lecture on the Lankavatara
Sutra 楞伽經. Zhang Shenghui
herself quit her job at Wuhan University and became a lecturer at the
Fachang Academy for Female Buddhists. She also wrote and published
frequently in major Buddhist journals, such as Hai
Chao Yin, on topics related to
Buddhism and women. The eminent Buddhist monk Zhizang 智藏 regarded her
as “the no. 1 female lay Buddhist” in modern China
(Zhizang 1935, p.180).
Buddhism in Republican
China witnessed the culmination of a remarkable period of institutional
and organizational innovation that began in the late nineteenth
century. Following Taixu’s reform efforts and support from
lay Buddhists, Buddhist nuns actively participated in the modernization
of Buddhism and the nation with incredible vitality. Wuhan was the
center of Buddhist nuns’ activism in the early twentieth
century. Several educational institutes for female Buddhists were
established there, and the first Buddhist journal for female Buddhist
was published by the Pure Bodhi Vihara in Wuchang in 1937. Articles in
the Dedicated Journal for
Female Buddhists were written
by Buddhist nuns and for Buddhist nuns. A close examination of these
writings reveals the innovation and resilience of Chinese Buddhist nuns
during this time. By embracing the discourse of women’s
liberation in the early twentieth century, and by drawing on the
cultural capital gained through modern Buddhist education, Buddhist
nuns challenged the androcentric concept of gender from a Buddhist
perspective. In addition, they also vigorously argued for the equal
status of men and women in the Buddhist monastic community.
Furthermore, they reinterpreted the gender roles in the national
project of modernization, and implemented their own understanding by
focusing on Buddhist nuns’ responsibilities in saving the
nation and saving the world.
The writings by
Republican-era nuns provide an example of how they went beyond the
prescriptive literacy discourse formulated by male reformers and
nationalists. Their thought posited a new understanding of female
literacy as a means of enabling women to become independent national
actors, rather than passive “mothers of citizens.”
In addition, their struggle for gender equality in the Buddhist
community shows that they had launched the project of challenging
Buddhist patriarchy long before Western female Buddhists began to do
so. ([18])
Buddhist nuns’ activities in the early twentieth century not
only constitute an integral part of Chinese women’s ongoing
struggle for emancipation, but also address intently some of the issues
vitally relevant to their religious identity. These issues include,
among others, the continuous exploration of the vexed relationship
between Buddhism and gender, and the implications of nationalism for
Buddhist nuns in a period of rapid social change.
To a significant extent,
the Buddhist nuns’ movement during the early twentieth
century foreshadowed the development of female Buddhism in China. The
establishment of various academies for female Buddhists was a big step
forward in the history of Chinese Buddhism, which succeeding
generations would use to their advantage. The Wuchang Buddhist Academy
and Wuchang Academy for Female Buddhists have been recognized as
educational models for Buddhist academies throughout China to this day.
In addition, the various educational institutes for female Buddhists
also have produced many eminent Buddhist nuns, who, as I shall show in
closing, have worked tirelessly to sustain and support Buddhism in
Mainland China during the Republican Period, after 1949, and through
the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution to this day.
It must be pointed out,
furthermore, that in addition to inventing themselves as active Chinese
citizens, Buddhist nuns also acted on this new identity. During the
Japanese invasion of Wuhan in 1938, Buddhist nuns went beyond the
rhetoric of saving the world and saving the sentient beings, to join
the “Buddhist monastic emergency medical service
team” led by Buddhist monk Haijing海鏡. They also followed the
No. 97 division of the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) to
fight Japanese troops throughout China until the end of the war (Zhu
1992, pp.145–46). After the founding of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, many Buddhist nuns
in Wuhan, such as Chaoquan 超筌 and Cixue 慈學 (1920–), actively
participated in the new government. To maintain the status of Buddhism,
they strove to serve as the mediator between the government and the
Buddhist community, adapting to the socialist revolution movement. In
the 1950s, Chaoquan and Cixue mobilized the Buddhist nuns at the
Nunnery of Secluded Rest, the former Hankou Academy for Nuns, to
establish the No. 1 Wuhan Women’s Knitting Factory. Even
though many Buddhist rituals were no longer allowed to be performed
during this period, Buddhist nuns still managed to keep their celibacy
status and carry out their daily worship in addition to participating
in the socialist mass work force. ([19])
Finally, how can we place
Republican-era nun’s achievement in the Greater China
perspective? Many scholars have vigorously demonstrated the active
participation in Engaged Buddhism by female Buddhists in various
Chinese communities, especially in Taiwan. ([20])
Buddhist nuns in contemporary Taiwan not only outnumbered monks 3 to 1,
but also obtained highly visible achievements in a vast range of areas
(Cheng, 2003: 39). From the charismatic character of Venerable Zhengyan
証嚴 to the global medical relief efforts by the Buddhist Compassion
Relief Tzu-chi (Ciji) Association Foundation 佛教慈濟功德會, and from the
highly educated nuns at Luminary Buddhist Institute to the
international presence of nuns in various branch temples of Buddha
Light Mountain and to the outspoken nun Venerable Chao Hwei 昭慧
(1957–), they have extended nuns’ social and
cultural influence on that island and beyond. Undoubtedly, contemporary
Taiwanese female Buddhists’ activism has many roots. To a
significant extent, it is based on Taiwan’s particular
circumstances and Japan’s influence. However, the influence
of mainland Buddhism should be counted, too. From the 1960s to the
1980s, nuns in Taiwan were directly or indirectly inspired by Yinshun
印順 (1905–2005) and Taixu. In this sense, what also deserves
attention is the question of how their aspiration to save sentient
beings and the world exemplifies a historical continuity, harking back
to the Chinese Buddhist nuns’ movement in the early twentieth
century, which signaled the beginning of a long journey of female
Buddhist activism in the modern world. ([21])
Notes
[1].
I want to thank Duke Asian/Pacific Studies Institute, Duke Graduate
School, and Social Science Research Council for their generous support,
which made my various research trips to China to collect archives
possible. I especially want to thank professor Hung-Yok Ip at Oregon
State University for her help with several revisions of this paper.
[2].
Regarding
scholarship on Chinese women, one good example is Judith Stacey, 1984.
In this important book, Stacey shows how women were not granted
equality by men in the Communist revolution. However, in the 1990s, in
addition to analyzing how women were treated by men inside various
social institutions and by larger historical forces, scholars have
shown tremendous interest in dissecting how women themselves made
history. For instance, Tyrene White, 1994. Also see Wang Zheng, 1999.
For a more recent example, see Denise Gimpel, 2008.
[3].
For the definition
of movement (yundong 運
動), see Hung-yok Ip’s introduction to this special issue,
note 14. Historically, nuns have always been the minority in Buddhist
monastic community in China, with the exception of the more recent
development of Buddhist nuns in Taiwan. In Wuhan, however, Buddhist
nuns have outnumbered monks almost by half according to the government
census in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. In April 1950, there were 803
nuns and 410 monks in Wuhan and the number shrank to 581 nuns and 386
monks in 1959. In August 1966, there were 511 nuns and 239 monks in
Wuhan. In 1985, right before the reestablishment of Wuchang Academy for
Nuns at Nunnery of Lotus Creek there were only 299 nuns and 94 monks
left. These statistics are taken from Wuhan
shi zhi: Shehui zhi 武漢市志
• 社會志 (The
Chronicles of Wuhan City: the Society), p. 158. After talking to Dr.
Xue Yu on April 25, 2008, at the “Buddhist Activism in
Greater China and Beyond” conference hosted by Oregon State
University, I decided to change the translation of Nüzhong
foxueyuan from
“Buddhist academy for nuns” to “academy
for female Buddhists.” Buddhists include four different
groups (sizhong di zi 四
眾弟子): bhik.su
(Bi qiu 比
丘) or monks, bhik.su.nii
(Bi qiu ni 比
丘尼) or nuns, upasaka
(Youposai 優
婆塞) or layman, and upasika (Youpoyi 優婆夷) or
laywoman. Because
the academies mentioned in this paper accepted both Buddhist nuns and
Buddhist laywomen, it is better to call them “academies for
female Buddhists.” This is quite different from the Buddhist
academies for nuns in contemporary China (Fojiao
nizhong xue yuan 佛教尼眾學院). For
more, see my analysis below of the establishment of the first academy
for female Buddhists.
[4].
See Weikun Cheng,
2000, and Xiong, 2008. In these two articles, both authors discussed
male sympathy for women and some male intellectuals’
commitment to women’s growth for women’s sake.
[5].
I would like to draw
the reader’s attention to a couple of articles: Ye, 1994, and
Judge, 2002.
[6].
“Feminist” here is defined as Chinese women who
fought for women’s right to political participation,
education, etc., in the Republican period. See Wang Zheng, 1999.
[7].
I would like to note
that since the publication of Don Pittman’s book on Taixu,
other researchers have also done interesting research on this famous
monk. For instance, Tao Jiang (2002). By moving beyond the image of
Taixu as a “modernist monk,” established by
Pittman, who appropriates the model of Kitagawa, Tao Jiang portrays a
different image of Taixu, as one who believed in the superiority of
Buddhist spirituality over scientific methods in a human quest for
scientific truth.
[8].
I would also like to
note that the famous Buddhist laywoman Lü Bicheng 呂碧城
(1883–1943) and Taixu became friends in the early 1930s.
[9].
Zhang’s
writings appeared frequently in the well-known Buddhist journal Hai
Chao Yin 海潮音. The various
articles written by her on Buddhism and related issues were later
published as treatises of collective writings, such as Bore
hua 般若花 (Yunmeng xueyuan
yinxing; Taibei: Yuanquan chubanshe faxing, 1975) and Yanshui
ji 煙水集 (Hongkong: Taiping
chuban she, 1974). Unfortunately, because of the limited biographical
materials on her and other female Buddhists mentioned in this paper, I
was unable to specify their birth and death dates. And Hai
Chao Yin (Sound of Tide) is one
of the most influential Buddhist journals published in modern China. It
was launched by Taixu in 1920 in Wuchang. It can be considered an
essential source for scholars who study Republican-era Buddhism.
[10].
In 1920, after Taixu lectured at the Anhui Guild in Hankou (part of
Wuhan city), lay supporters suggested the establishment of Hankou
Buddhist Association (it was renamed the Buddhist Right Faith Society
佛教正信會 in 1929). See Wuhan shi dang’anguan 1999, p.342.
[11].
Amituo jing (Amitaayur-dhyaana-Sutra,
Discourse Concerning Meditation on Amitaayus) is one of three texts
basic to Pure Land Buddhism. Together with the larger and smaller Sukhaavatii-vyuuha-Sutra
(Description of the Western
Paradise Sutra), this text
envisions rebirth in the celestial Pure Land of Amitaabha, the Buddha
of Infinite Life.
Zai
jia lü yao (The
Abbreviated Precepts for Lay Buddhists) is a Buddhist treatise on rules
to be obeyed by Buddhist lay followers composed by Ming dynasty
Buddhist dharma master Ouyi Zhixu 蕅益智旭 (1599–1655). Also see Xu
Zang Jing 續藏經 (Supplement to
the cannon) vol. X60, no. 1123, Zaijia
lüyao guangji 在家律要廣集
(The Collective Treatise on the Abbreviated Precepts for Lay Buddhists).
Zongpai
yuanliu (The Origins of
Schools), also named Fo jiao
ge zong pai yuan liu 佛教各宗派源流
(The Origins of Buddhist Schools), was written by Taixu in 1922 as
lecture notes for students at Wuchang Buddhist Academy. See Taixu,
“Fo jiao ge zong pai yuan liu 佛教各宗派源流” in Taixu
dashi quanshu 太虚大師 全書 (The
Complete Works of the Venerable Taixu) (Taibei: Shandao sifojing
liutongchu, 1998), vol. 2, pp.761–868.
Shan
nü ren zhuan
(Biographies of Virtuous Women) was composed by Qing dynasty Buddhist
scholar Peng Jiqing 彭際清 (1740–1796). It includes two volumes
in total and records the stories of 138 Buddhist laywomen and their
virtuous deeds. Also see Xu
Zang Jing, vol. X88, no. 1657, Shan
nü ren zhuan.
Xindiguan
jing (Sutra on the
Contemplation of the Mind) was translated into Chinese by Prajna
(734–?). It describes the Buddha’s discourse at
Vulture Peak to Manjusri, Maitreya, and other great bodhisattvas on the
contemplation of the mind, the elimination of delusions, and the
attainment of the path of Buddhahood. See Taishō
Tripitaka,
vol. T03, no. 159, Dasheng
bensheng xindiguan
jing 大乘本生心地觀經 (Sutra on the
contemplation of the mind in Mahayana Jatakas).
Sha
mi lü yi (Manual for
Buddhist Novices), also titled Shami
lüyi yaolüe 沙彌律儀要略, is a treatise on
Buddhist monastic rules, edited by famous Ming dynasty Buddhist dharma
master Zhuhong 祩宏 (1523–1615).
Jingxin
jieguan fa (The Method of
Abstention and Contemplating the Purity of Mind) was composed by
Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667). See Taishō
Tripitaka, vol. 45, no. 1893, Jingxin
jieguan fa 靜心戒觀法.
Biqiuni
zhuan (Biographies of Chinese
Buddhist Nuns from the Fourth to Sixth Centuries) is a collection of
chronologically organized biographies of sixty-five Chinese Buddhist
nuns compiled by Buddhist monk Shi Baochang 釋寶唱 (495–528)
around 516. It is an important work not only because it is the earliest
text devoted to women in Buddhist canon, but also because it covers the
period of the founding of the Buddhist monastic order for women. Also
see Taishō Tripitaka,
vol. 50, no. 2063, Biqiuni
zhuan.
Biqiuni
jieben (Precept Manual for
Bhik.su.nii) refers to Sifen
biqiuni jie ben 四分比丘尼戒本 (The
Four-Parts Precept Manual for Bhik.su.nii). See Taishō
Tripitaka, vol. 22, no. 1431, Si
fen bi qiu ni jie ben.
Wangsheng
jingtu lun 往生靜土論 (Treatise on
Rebirth in the Pure Land), also named Wuliangshou
jing youpotishe 無量壽經優婆提舍, is
written by Vasubandhu 世親 and translated into Chinese during the
northern Wei (386–534) in 529 by Bodhiruci 菩提流支. This text
explains rebirth in the Pure Land to be the path of the Bodhisattva.
See Taishō Tripitaka,
vol. 26, no. 1524, Wuliangshou
jing youpoti she.
[12].
I think this particular volume is path-breaking for two reasons. First,
it is the first collective publication by a group of modern Chinese
female Buddhists. And second, in this volume one can gain insights into
the writings by ordinary female Buddhists and Buddhist novices (not
just eminent nuns) whose voices are usually not heard in the history of
Chinese Buddhism. For writings by female Buddhist masters in pre-modern
China, see Beata Grant, 2009, and Miriam Levering, 2000.
[13].
I want to point out that most of the Buddhist scriptures mentioned in
this paper are still taught in the academies for nuns in China today.
For instance, while conducting field research in Wuhan in 2008, I
participated in a small seminar discussion class on Abidamo
jushe lun阿毗達磨俱舍論 (Abhidharma
Storehouse Treatise) with five nuns. We each took turns preparing one
section of the book and explaining word for word the meaning of the
texts to the class.
Weishi
ershi lun (Twenty Verses on
Consciousness-only) was written by Vasubandhu and translated in 661 by
Xuanzang 玄奘. There are also translations by Bodhiruci 菩提流支 (with the
title Weishi lun
唯識論) and Paramârtha 真諦 (with the title Dasheng
weishi lun 大乘唯識論). This was one
of Vasubandhu’s most philosophically important Yogacara
works, which refutes the realism of the non-Buddhist and pre-Mahayana
schools. See Taishō Tripitaka,
vol. 31, no. 1590, Weishi
ershi lun.
Abi
damo jushe lun was written by
Vasubandhu and translated between 563 and 567 by Paramartha (Taishō
Tripitaka, vol. 29, no. 1559).
It was also translated between 651 and 654 by Xuanzang (Taishō
Tripitaka, vol. 29, no. 1558).
It is Vasubandhu’s most important pre-Yogacara work. This
text includes detailed analysis of the action of human consciousness in
its relationship to the environment, as well as the transformations
that occur in the process of meditation practice.
Diamond
Sutra, also named Jingang
bore boluo mi jing 金剛般若波羅蜜經, is
the Chinese version of the Vajracchedikaa-praj~naapaaramitaa-sutra
translated by Kumarajiva 鸠摩羅什 (344–413).
Madhyamaka-`saastra (The
Middle Treatise) is a Buddhist text attributed to Nagarjuna 龍樹 and
translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in 409. It is a basic text for
the study of Madhyamaka thought.
[14].
I want to point out that even though Taixu initiated and supported the
establishment of the various academies for female Buddhists, he himself
did not encourage women to renounce household lives and become nuns. In
his various writings and correspondence with lay Buddhists, he
suggested that women should stay home and raise families while
supporting Buddhist modernization as lay followers. See Taixu,
“Reply to Lu Xinfan” (Fu Lu Xinfan ju shi shu
復陸心梵居士書), “Reply to Female Buddhists in Hongkong”
(Fu Xianggang nüzhong shu 復香港女眾書). In addition, Taixu even
suggested reducing the number of nuns in China in his
“Treatise on Building Modern Chinese Buddhism.”
Other prominent monks
during the Republican period, such as master Yinguang 印光
(1862–1940), also thought that women’s proper
position was at home (nü
zhengwei hu nei 女正位乎內) where
they should work hard to raise children. He also suggested that women
advocate Buddhist belief and protect the country by adopting a
vegetarian diet. See Yinguang, [1936] 1996. Yinguang
dashi huguo xizai fayu 印光大師護國息災
法語 (Master Yinguang’s lectures on how to protect the nation
and how to lessen calamities of the world) (Taibei shi: Huazang jingzu
xuehui, 1996).
[15].
A bhik.su.nii
is a fully ordained Buddhist nun. There are three different levels of
ordination in the sangha
of women in Buddhism. A novice nun receives ten precepts: 1) Abstention
from taking life, 2) Abstention from taking what is not given, 3)
Abstention from sexual contact, 4) Abstention from lying, 5) Abstention
from drinking alcohol, 6) Abstention from beautifying oneself with
ornaments or cosmetics, 7) Abstention from dancing, singing, and
entertainment, 8) Abstention from
using a high or luxurious seat or bed, 9) Abstention from eating food
at a wrong time, 10) Abstention from handling silver or gold. When a
female novice reaches eighteen, she is required to receive an interim
ordination as a probationary nun. A probationary nun must be trained
for two years under the six rules before she is fully ordained. The
contents and numbers of the six rules differ among the various Vinaya
schools, but the probationary nun ordination basically represents a
training period in preparation for the full ordination. Therefore,
based on the ages of these students at the Vihara, some of them may not
yet have received full ordination at this time.
[16].
The androcentric assumption of gender mainly refers to what Hengbao
said about “the question of men and women in the backward
society of the past several thousand years.” I
don’t think she is referring to Buddhist attitude toward
women. The question whether or not Buddhism is misogynistic has long
been a debate in the study of Buddhism and gender. From various
studies, one can discern a certain ambiguity toward women and the
feminine in Buddhist literature. Many scholars have noticed such a
tension between the sometimes positive assessment of women and the
feminine, and other times more blatantly negative attitudes within
Buddhist literature, sometimes even within the same text. My approach
to understanding the relations between Buddhism and gender is very
close to Alan Sponberg’s approach in his article
“Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early
Buddhism.” See Alan Sponberg, 1991. In that article, Sponberg
argues that the key issue in understanding the multivocality in early
Buddhist literature with regard to the attitude toward women is to
understand the social and intellectual dynamics of the early community
of Buddhists that led to such an ambivalent juxtaposition of divergent
views.
[17].
See Chung, 1999.
Chung also suggested that because the “Eight Rules”
were so different in character and tone from the rest of the body of
the bhik.su.nii praatimok.sa,
they could be disregarded as later additions appended by the compilers,
and not indicative of either the intentions of Gautama Buddha himself
or of the Buddhist traditions as a whole.
[18].
For a critique of
Rita Gross’s Buddhism
after Patriarchy, especially
its ethnocentric view on Buddhism and women, see Wei-yi Cheng, 2007.
Elise Devido also wrote a review on Cheng’s book (2007).
[19].
Based on my interviews with Master Cixue 慈學 in March 2008.
[20].
A few works are
relevant. See Wei-Yi Cheng, 2007; Devido, 2004; Jones, 1999.
[21].
This point is inspired by my exchange with Elise Devido in late March
2009. She pointed out that Yinshun’s and Taixu’s
works are included in some monasteries’ and
nunneries’ curricula in Taiwan. It was definitely Taixu who
began systematic training and education of nuns and laywomen in
Republican China. But she also emphasized that the modern Buddhist
movement tackled in this paper should not be regarded as the only path
to the phenomenon of modernized nuns in Taiwan. One of the other paths
is via Japan. Under Japanese rule, several prominent Taiwanese nuns
were trained in Japanese Buddhism, such as the master of the nun Wuyin
悟因 of the Luminary Buddhist Institute, Tianyi 天乙 (1924–1980).
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