會議地點：越南胡志明市；時間：2009.12.18 - 2010.01.03；大會主題：傑出的女性修行者與典範=Eminent Buddhist Women
摘要
When we think of “notable” Buddhist women, we tend to think of famous or outstanding women, women who stand out or are unusual for their accomplishments and have been remembered by later generations. When we think about it, we realize that most women have no chance of becoming such “notable” women, of doing something so outstanding or extraordinary that they will be remembered for generations to come. And yet, throughout the current Buddhist women’s movement, there has been a longing for female “role models,” for stories of women practitioners that would stand beside all the stories of all the great male practitioners who have been remembered throughout Buddhist history. We want these stories, because they reassure us that this practice tradition is not just for men – that it is truly relevant for women who are not content to play subsidiary roles as adjuncts in the enterprise of Buddhist practice, for women who want to be more than donors and supporters, for women who want to have some input into the unfolding of Buddhist practice and tradition. We also want these stories simply to assure ourselves that Buddhism’s promised fruition of enlightenment is possible for women. We need those stories because so many texts and so many threads of the tradition have told us that women have an “unfortunate rebirth,” that the best we can do in our lives as women is to accrue the karma to attain a future, more fortunate rebirth as a male. But what self-respecting woman who appreciates her “precious birth as a human being,” as we have been encouraged to do, would give her life energy to such a religious system?
Is there some contradiction between our longing for stories of notable Buddhist women and female role models, on the one hand, and the reality of our own ordinary lives and the fact that very few of us have the capability to achieve such eminence, on the other? I have long joined the quest for female role models and have written about Yeshe Tsogyel and Machig Labdron, great heroines of Tibetan Buddhism, as role models who could encourage us on our own paths. But how realistic is the goal of achieving such heroic stature? These exceptional role models may have been women, but they were also outstanding practitioners whose accomplishments are far above the expectations most of us could have for ourselves. What about us? Are there role models for us? Or does Buddhist tradition only provide a few stories about women who are so outstanding that they are not realistic role models for most of us? Is there a record of women who, while not as outstanding as Yeshe Tsogyel or Milarepa, nevertheless are counted as worthy practitioners who became enlightened and contributed to the development of their lineages? It seems that such stories are few. Whether or not such exceptional women are fewer is an open question, but there are definitely fewer such stories. Androcentric record keeping practices often erase all but the most outstanding women, women who are not only exceed the accomplishments of most other women, but also of most men.
Recently, while teaching workshops on female role models in Tibetan Buddhism, I have begun to highlight the life of Orgyen Chokyi, who lived in the area of present day Nepal from 1675 to 1729. Though several manuscripts of her life story survived in Himalayan libraries and she was somewhat known in her home region, she was completely unknown to Westerners until the recent translation of her autobiography Himalayan Hermitess by Kurtis Schaeffer. Setting her story side-by-side with that of Yeshe Tsogyel, I have begun to feel that she presents a more realistic role model. She was not blessed with a miraculous conception and birth and she did not enjoy a privileged childhood. She was the daughter of parents who wanted a son and subsequently abused her severely. She spent her youth herding goats, dzomo¸ and horses, grieving bitterly when their young were devoured by eagles or wolves. She joined a local reli
