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Innumerable studies have appeared in recent decades about practically every aspect of women's lives in Western societies. The few such works on Buddhism have been quite limited in scope. In The Power of Denial, Bernard Faure takes an important step toward redressing this situation by boldly asking: does Buddhism offer women liberation or limitation? Continuing the innovative exploration of sexuality in Buddhism he began in The Red Thread, here he moves from his earlier focus on male monastic sexuality to Buddhist conceptions of women and constructions of gender. Faure argues that Buddhism is neither as sexist nor as egalitarian as is usually thought. Above all, he asserts, the study of Buddhism through the gender lens leads us to question what we uncritically call Buddhism, in the singular. Faure challenges the conventional view that the history of women in Buddhism is a linear narrative of progress from oppression to liberation. Examining Buddhist discourse on gender in traditions such as that of Japan, he shows that patriarchy--indeed, misogyny--has long been central to Buddhism. But women were not always silent, passive victims.Faure points to the central role not only of nuns and mothers (and wives) of monks but of female mediums and courtesans, whose colorful relations with Buddhist monks he considers in particular. Ultimately, Faure concludes that while Buddhism is, in practice, relentlessly misogynist, as far as misogynist discourses go it is one of the most flexible and open to contradiction. And, he suggests, unyielding in-depth examination can help revitalize Buddhism's deeper, more ancient egalitarianism and thus subvert its existing gender hierarchy. This groundbreaking book offers a fresh, comprehensive understanding of what Buddhism has to say about gender, and of what this really says about Buddhism, singular or plural.
Bernard Faure is George Edwin Burnell Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University. He is the author of "Visions of Power", "The Red Thread", "Chan Insights and Oversights", and "The Rhetoric of Immediacy," (all Princeton).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi Introduction: "Soaring and Settling"--Too Soon? 2 The Cultural Approach 6 Gender Revisited 8 Gendering Buddhism 15 PART ONE: BUDDHISM AND WOMEN 21 CHAPTER ONE The Second Order 23 The Evolution of the Female Sanngha 24 The Female Order in Japan 28 The Issue of Ordination 36 Sociological Context(s)38 Sorely Missed 47 Nunhood and Feminism 51 CHAPTER TWO The Rhetoric of Subordination 55 A Theodicy of Disprivilege 57 The Five Obstacles and the Three Dependences 62 A Case of Blood Poisoning 66 Drinking from the Blood Bowl 73 The "Facts" of Life 79 The Red and the White 81 CHAPTER THREE The Rhetoric of Salvation 91 The Legend of the Naga-Girl 91 Becoming Male 99 Interpretative Divergences 103 Amida's Vow and Its Implications 106 A Feminine Topos 116 CHAPTER FOUR The Rhetoric of Equality 119 Gender Equality in Mahayana 120 Gender Equality in Vajrayana 122 Chan/Zen Egalitarianism 127 PART TWO: IMAGINING BUDDHIST WOMEN 143 CHAPTER FIVE Monks, Mothers, and Motherhood 145 Bad Mothers 146 The Ambivalent Mother 148Mater Dolorosa 148 The Forsaken Mother 152 The Changing Image of Motherhood 160 Varieties of Motherly Experience 163 Mad Mothers 167 The Law of Alliance 168 CHAPTER SIX Conflicting Images 181 Women in the Life of the Buddha 182 Queens, Empresses, and Other Impressive Ladies 188 Eminent Nuns 198 Femmes Fatales 204 Of Women and Jewels 205 PART THREE: WOMEN AGAINST BUDDHISM 217 CHAPTER SEVEN Crossing the Line 219 The Utopian Topos 222 Stopped in Their Tracks 224 Kukai's Mother 228 The Kekkai Stone 233 Conflicting Interpretations 235 The Symbolic Reading of Transgression 238 The Kekkai and the Logic of Muen 243 CHAPTER EIGHT Women on the Move 250 The "Nuns of Kumano" 250 What's in a Name 254 Down by the River 261 The Monk and the Bayadere 262 The Discourteous Courtesan 267 Paradigms 269 CHAPTER NINE The Power of Women 287 The Myth of Tamayorihime 290 The Miko and the Monk 304 Women on the Edge 310 Women, Dragons, and Snakes 316 AFTERTHOUGHTS 325 NOTES 341 BIBLIOGRAPHY 401 INDEX 459
"The questions Faure raises are important ones: Is Buddhism a tool of liberation or oppression for women? What might a more egalitarian Buddhist practice consist of? Faure approaches his subject in his usual thorough manner. The wealth of historical, sociological, and cultural references may be daunting to some readers, but those who persevere will be rewarded."--Martine Batchelor, Tricycle
