pure land tradition & women

[Cypress]

Is it true that women cannot enter the pure land of Amitaba without chancing into men?
Why not?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I'm not at all familiar with pure land, but it wouldn't surprise me. The misogyny present in many sects of Buddhism is at times ridiculous.

 

[Cypress]

It would be interesting to know if there is also a pure land where entrance is granted in female form only.
But I think if ever such tradition existed, it has been lost...

 

[Engyo]

One must also understand that the entire point of a Pure Land, is that it is much easier to attain enlightenment when practicing in a Pure Land than it is when practicing in Samsara (our world). Pure Land is not a destination in and of itself, the way the Christian Heaven is. Having a female body is supposed to present additional hindrances to the attainment of enlightenment, so there are no females in the Pure Land. No one has ever mentioned whether that means that all the males there are gay or not..............

Personally I agree with Mystic, that it is most often justification of misogyny.

 

[Andal]

In Sukhavati (Amitabha's pure land) there is no female birth. One could make the argument that there are no males either because gender is transitory and an illusion plus what is male without female. It is in one of Amitabha's 48 vows however that there is no female birth. Female birth is traditionally associated with hardship and suffering neither of which exist in Sukhavati.

With that said there are other pure lands where women are born. Mahavairocana's pure land comes to mind but it never really took off in popularity like Amitabha's did. Sukhavati is considered the easiest of pure lands to enter because it relies only faith, vows, and Amitabha's name.

In terms of sexuality in Sukhavati, it is a non issue. According to tradition there are no sexual based relationships because they are not needed and one should be separating one's self from such desires. Birth in the pure land isn't from the consummation of a relationship. Beings are born from lotus flowers according to the Sukhavativyuha Sutra.

 

[Cypress]

What about female Budhas/Bodhisattvas such as Tara, Vajravarahi, etc.: Do they have pure lands too?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

What about female Budhas/Bodhisattvas such as Tara, Vajravarahi, etc.: Do they have pure lands too?

Doesn't exactly answer your question, but have you looked into the teachings of the Dakinis?

Those are inherently gynocentric.

 

[Cypress]

Doesn't exactly answer your question, but have you looked into the teachings of the Dakinis?

Those are inherently gynocentric.

Do you mean this book?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Do you mean this book?

That's one of them. There are several publications that delve into the subject, but I've often times walked away after reading them feeling empowered to practice the Dharma in a uniquely feminine way. A lot of the time, Dharma discussion and teachings kinda speak to the male part of my brain, and I ache for woman-Buddha. LOL

Oooooh, here's a good story - Tenzin Palmo who went on a looooonnnngggg retreat in the mountains and came to the conclusion that it is of the highest vow to aim to be reborn as a female, and to show to beings in this era that enlightenment as a woman is not just idyllic, but pragmatic.

It's a great great GREAT book. :yes:

 

[Cypress]

You know, I'm about to move into another flat, and have to sort out all things that I need to give away.
Giving me hints on must-have-books is not such a good idea, as I already have far too many books...

 

[MysticSang'ha]

You know, I'm about to move into another flat, and have to sort out all things that I need to give away.
Giving me hints on must-have-books is not such a good idea, as I already have far too many books...

Hahaaaa! I understand. It's fascinating just how many books I'll accumulate in a short period of time, too. :yes:

Here is an intro to an interview with Miranda Shaw, writer of Passionate Enlightenment (my favorite book, hands down, on women in Tantric Buddhism):

When Professor Miranda Shaw looks at women in Tibetan paintings, she does not see colorful two-dimensional figures born of an artist's mind. She sees "numinous, sky-borne women," "revelers in freedom," "enchantresses of passion, ecstasy and ferocious intensity"—radiant reflections of the powerful, enlightened women who helped to shape the world of Buddhist tantra.

She writes: "One can almost hear the soft clacking of their intricate bone jewelry and feel the wind stirred by their rainbow-colored scarves as they soar through the tantric Buddhist landscape." It was her encounter with these images at an art exhibit during her sophomore year in college that first captured her imagination and inspired the curiosity that fueled her life's first major work—a research quest that carried her from the Harvard Divinity School to the remote reaches of the Tibetan plateau in search of an authentic firsthand understanding of the theory and practice of tantra.

Raised by Methodist parents in a small town in Ohio, Shaw first became interested in Eastern religions at the age of fourteen when a family friend showed her a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. Despite having been raised with little exposure to religious thought, she found herself mesmerized, unable to put the book down. It was the beginning of a love affair with religious literature, the tokens of which still line the hallways and rooms of her small apartment near the University of Richmond, where she is now Assistant Professor of Religion. Her zeal for religious study eventually propelled her into the doctoral program at Harvard, where working on her Ph.D. dissertation, she found her way to the forefront of research into tantric Buddhism.

The culmination of that research is her 1994 book, Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism. Now in its fourth printing, Passionate Enlightenment has been hailed as a groundbreaking contribution to the study of tantric history. Drawing on her exhaustive study of the central tantric texts in their original languages, as well as two and a half years of field research in India and Nepal, Shaw's book presents a revolutionary reexamination of the nature of tantric practice, revolving around one simple point: In addition to serving the spiritual progress of men, tantra was also for the enlightenment of women. While there has been a great deal of scholarship on both Buddhism and tantra over the past quarter century, prior to Shaw's work, the assumption underlying that research had always been that women were included in tantric practice only to the extent that they could support men in their pursuit of enlightenment. By setting that assumption aside and taking a fresh, in-depth look at both written and living sources, Shaw discovered a world in which women not only lived and practiced on an equal footing with men in their own pursuit of spiritual transformation, but in many cases even led the way. In fact, Shaw learned that for the serious male tantric practitioner, women were to be worshipped, honored and revered as the bringers of enlightened energy into the world. Through this revolutionary reinterpretation of the tantric texts, Shaw was finally able to make sense of many of the seemingly disparate strands of this complex tradition and, in so doing, to create a foundation for a new chapter in the study of tantric theory and practice.

While this issue of What Is Enlightenment? is not directly concerned with the topic of gender in relation to spiritual practice, we knew as soon as we read Miranda Shaw's book that we wanted to speak with her. As a pioneering thinker in her field and a researcher with firsthand experience among traditional teachers, she appeared to be in a better position than almost anyone to help us sort through the confusing message of contemporary tantra. And, in a manner uncharacteristic of the writing of many scholars, her adventurous prose revealed a dynamic and seemingly personal interest in her subject. What intrigued us most of all, however, were the apparent ease and confidence with which she was able to shift from subtle and insightful explications of esoteric Buddhist teachings to detailed descriptions of the more graphic dimensions of tantric sexual practice without missing a beat. Miranda Shaw, we thought, must be an unusual professor.

But despite having read her work and having spoken with her a few times on the phone, the day Miranda Shaw picked me up at the Richmond airport, I think I was still expecting someone more closely resembling a librarian than the attractive, spirited woman who greeted me. "I didn't expect you to be so young!" she said, shaking my hand and smiling warmly. And as we sped into town from the airport, tires screeching around at least one corner, I began to get a sense of the Miranda Shaw who had found so much inspiration in the images of the sky-dancing tantric heroines. Later, sitting lotus-style in the living room of her apartment, surrounded by erotic imagery from both classical and contemporary art, she shared both her understanding of the views and practices of Buddhist tantra and the personal passion for her subject that had taken her to the far corners of the earth.

The rest of the interview can be read here.

The scholarship is fantastic.

 

[Sweetvoice]

Is it true that women cannot enter the pure land of Amitaba without chancing into men?
Why not?

Because if you are born of Chinese parents in China, can you still be a non-chinese?

So, if you still wish to be a woman, you can't go to Amitabha Pureland. Try other purelands.

 

[agorman]

Cypress, I think you should ask for a revelation to Amitabha himself. Put him on an altar, repeat his mantra a few times to call him and ask him to tell you whether gender is important. Maybe you'll get an answer somehow; by synchronicity, dreams, signals, telepathy, etc.

Personally I don't think someone who's born in a Pure Land can be called "human" or "woman" anymore. Female or male must be surely just appearances of someone who has already acquired the ability to shapeshift at will.

 

[Urban Dharmic Warrior]

Cypress, I think you should ask for a revelation to Amitabha himself. Put him on an altar, repeat his mantra a few times to call him and ask him to tell you whether gender is important. Maybe you'll get an answer somehow; by synchronicity, dreams, signals, telepathy, etc.

Personally I don't think someone who's born in a Pure Land can be called "human" or "woman" anymore. Female or male must be surely just appearances of someone who has already acquired the ability to shapeshift at will.

Agree.

Also, it's important to underline the fact that women, in this present realm are not in any way excluded from rebirth into Amida's Pure Land. Any soul can be born into the Pure Land if they practice the Nembutsu. With regards to which form they will be born into within the Amida's Pure Land, well as said above, the birth into Pure Land transcends gender in my opinion.

 

[crossfire]

Thanks for bumping this thread, UDW.

Here's an article from Shambhala Sun talking about how American Buddhism is revolutionizing Buddhism and bring women teachers in. Athough this article emphasizes Zen, it also includes other traditions.

Shambhala Sun - How American Women Are Changing Buddhism

 

[Urban Dharmic Warrior]

Thanks for bumping this thread, UDW.

Here's an article from Shambhala Sun talking about how American Buddhism is revolutionizing Buddhism and bring women teachers in. Athough this article emphasizes Zen, it also includes other traditions.

Shambhala Sun - How American Women Are Changing Buddhism

Good article, Crossfire.

It's interesting to note that th Pure Land Sangha that I have joined in the UK has women as a majority in the senior roles of both the Order and the -Shu.

Some people I have spoken with even consider Pure Land as "the feminine Buddhism". I was interested to hear this view. It can be taken negatively (generalisms about women perhpaps) but also it could be seen to be reflecting the fact that women are generally more in touch with their feelings and are arguably more inclined to compassion than men).

Generalisms, all of 'em! .... but still, sometimes there is some truth is some generalisms.