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.
目次
Introduction: "Soaring and settling" : too soon? The cultural approach Gender revisited Gendering Buddhism
pt. 1 Buddhism and women. The second order. The evolution of the female sangha The female order in Japan The issue of ordination Sociological context(s) Sorely missed Nunhood and feminism The rhetoric of subordination. A theodicy of disprivilege The five obstacles and the three dependences A case of blood poisoning Drinking from the blood bowl The "facts" of life The red and the white The rhetoric of salvation. The legend of the naga-girl --Becoming male Interpretative divergences Amida's vow and its implications A feminine topos The rhetoric of equality. Gender equality in Mahayana Gender equality in Vajrayana Chan/Zen egalitarianism
pt. 2 Imagining Buddhist women. Monks, mothers, and motherhood. Bad mothers The ambivalent mother Mater dolorosa The forsaken mother The changing image of motherhood Varieties of motherly experience Mad mothers The law of alliance Conflicting images. Women in the life of the Buddha Queens, empresses, and other impressive ladies Eminent nuns Femmes fatales Of women and jewels
pt. 3 Women against Buddhism. Crossing the line. The utopian topos Stopped in their tracks Kukai's mother The Kekkai stone Conflicting interpretations The symbolic reading of transgression The kekkai and the logic of muen Women on the move. The "nuns of Kumano" What's in a name Down by the river The monk and the bayadere The discourteous courtesan Paradigms The power of women. The myth of Tamayorihime The Miko and the monk Women on the edge Women, dragons, and snakes
