Buddhism and Gender In Ancient India

Women’s Role In Traditional Ancient Indian Society

• Generally looked upon as being inferior to men

• At times treated the same as Sudras, the lowest of the four castes

• Only small amounts of power & responsibility

• Limited freedom concerning education and religious rituals • Traditionally under constant control & protection

Under control of the Parents in childhood

Under control of the Husband in marriage

Under control of the son in their old age

Wife’s Role In the Traditional Ancient Indian Family

• Life is dedicated to the future of her husband and son(s)

• Her main role is a housewife and the management of affairs according to the wishes of her husband

• Giving birth to a son ensures continuation of hereditary line and improves her status within the Husband’s family

• Giving birth to a daughter was considered a sign of misfortune for the family • Widow’s were not usually allowed to remarry and would often kill themselves by jumping into their husband’s funeral fire

BUDDHIST IDEOLIGIES:

• Basic Philosophy: How to Live The Good Life

• Basis of Core Buddhist Values: Dharma (One’s moral obligations) Karma (One’s deeds and actions) Reincarnation (The cycle of suffering and rebirth)

• The Four Noble Truths Life leads to suffering Suffering is caused by one’s cravings Enlightenment occurs when cravings end Liberation occurs by following Buddha’s Eight Fold Path to reaching Nirvana

The Impact of Buddhist Thought In the Traditional Indian Society

BUDDHIST IDEOLIGIES (Continued):

• The Eight Fold Path Wisdom that purifies the mind through:

Viewing reality as it is, not as it seems to be Renunciation , freedom and harmlessness

Ethics and abstention from immoral deeds Speaking truthfully but un-hurtful Acting in a non-harmful way Living a non-harmful livelihood

Development of mastery over one’s mind Making an effort to improve one’s life Being aware of one’s self without cravings Correct meditation and concentration

• The Middle Way: Taking a path of moderation to avoid the extremes of self-indulgence in order to reach Nirvana

The Impact of Buddhist Thought In the Traditional Indian Society

BUDDHIST INFLUENCES:

• Concerned with spiritual emancipation of the individual (regardless of gender)

• Matters of marriage, divorce, property, politics are to be regulated by society

• Recommended that social practices should be compatible to each individual’s Dharma

• Emphasized principles of reciprocity between husband and wife (and visa-versa)

• identified qualities of women (beauty, wealth, virtue, kinship, and sons) generally accepted by society

• However, true Monastic Buddhists had greater restrictions concerning family, society and sex

The Impact of Buddhist Thought In the Traditional Indian Society

Confucianism, Kinship and Gender In Ancient China

• Followed the Ancient Rules of Kinship and Descent • Descent was Patrilineal through the extended family • Sons stayed with the extended family, while Daughter’s were forced to marry & leave their parents family. • Daughter-in-law’s were not full members of the family until they had a son. • Ancestor worship was a key foundation of the Chinese tradition. • Confucian ideologies would promote filial piety.

The Traditional Chinese Family

The Role of Kinship In the Traditional Chinese Family

• The Patrilineal family is an entity that takes precedence over its individual members • The Relationship between members of a family is not horizontal—based on mutual love — but vertical — characterized by the attributes of obedience and authority • The Traditional Family is Patrilineal, Patrilocal and Patriarchy • Husband/Father has power and authority over everyone in Family • Obedience is owed the Father/Husband by all family members • Importance placed on male relationships and descent traced through a male line

• The Father/Husband maintains power over family members and resources • The Family is an hierarchical patriarchic pyramid steeped in the male role • Kin family roles are embedded with established norms governing how people should act and behave in relation to people in other kin roles • There is a proper “right relationship” way one should act toward one’s father, one’s grandfather, one’s uncles, one’s mother and Sister • Kinship terms such as grandparents, parents, husband or elder brother represent authority and superiority • Kinship terms such as wife, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter or even younger brother and younger sister suggest inferiority and obedience • Inferior is not allowed to call superior by name

Relationships between Members In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family

CONFUCIAN IDEOLIGIES: • Basic Philosophy: How to Live The Good Life • Basis of Core Confucian Values:

Honor, Respect and Obedience to Father and Aged Relative Importance of Family as Corporate Group Honor to Ancestors

• “Right Relationship”— The guiding principles for thought and action within the family and society • Wise Family Structure: Both Hierarchical and Patriarchical

The Impact of Confucian Thought In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family

Portrait of Confucius, by Wu Daozi (680–740).

FOUNDATIONS OF CONFUCIAN FILIAL PIETY: • Focuses on correct behavior to parents and other elder family members • Devotion to Aged Parents (Father retains power no matter how old he may be) • If Father dies, eldest son become head of the household and cares for obedient mother • Devotion, Dedication and Honor to dead Ancestors is paramount

The Impact of Confucian Thought In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family

Traditional Chinese Portrait of Confucius

THREE CONFUCIAN OBSERVANCES:

• Father/Husband: Is like the Ruler or King of his family

• Obedience to the Father/Husband: Ensures Harmony

• Harmony: Is Maintained through observing Filial Piety

The Impact of Confucian Thought In the Traditional Chinese Patriarchal Family

FIVE HIERARCHICAL RELATIONSHIPS:

• Ruler / Subject

• Husband / Wife

• Father / Son

• Brother / Brother

• Friend / Friend (Only among equals)

Women’s Role In the Traditional Chinese Family

• Given little thought and even less power

• Seen as Reproducers of male line and aid in home/farm labor

• Only small amounts of power & responsibility

• Patriarchy demands that a wife’s only connection with her husband’s family be through the husband himself

• Women must Practice the Five Virtues

Womanly work (House and Farm) Womanly deportment (Well Behaved) Obedience (To all Male Relatives) Womanly speech (Respectful) Filial Observance (To Husband’s Family)

Wife’s Role In the Traditional Chinese Family

• Life is dedicated to the future of her husband and son(s)

• Her husband’s needs are paramount

• Acceptance into husband’s family based on her ability to produce son(s)

• Giving birth to a son ensures continuation of hereditary line and improves her status within the Husband’s family

• The ideal wife sacrifices herself completely to serve her husband and family • Women are required to obey their Father, then their Husband, and finally their Son • All husbands are considered righteous and all important to the wife’s existence

Daughter’s Role In the Traditional Chinese Family

• Considered unimportant to father’s family

• Never really a member of her father’s family

• Married off by her father at earliest convenience

• Expensive due to traditional dowry requirements

• Often a victim of female infantcide

Daughter-in-Law’s Role

• Occupies the lowest position in her Father-in-laws Family

• All Patrilineal relatives, including small children, have the power to reprimand her

• Always an outsider since she is not related by blood

• Status may only improve through birth of a son

Examples of Women’s Status In the Traditional Chinese Family and Society

Within ancient Chinese society, young girls and women were expected to “Cow Tow”. Cow Towing was a series of bows in the presence of a superior, male, elder, that would show their obedience and respect.

If a husband’s wife and mother did not get along within the same household, filial piety dictated that the husband get rid of his wife in order to please his mother.

After all, the husband could always find another wife, but he would only have one mother.

In the case of a farmer’s negligence to protect his crops from flood or drought, his punishment was to be 100 lashes with a bamboo pole. However, instead of allowing her husband to be punished, the wife was expected to take the blame and the hundred lashes that came with it.