Buddhist feminism

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Buddhist feminism is a movement to improve the status of women within Buddhism. It aims for equality between men and women in moral, social, spiritual, and leadership roles, from a Buddhist point of view. Rita Gross, a Buddhist feminist, calls this the radical practice of the co-humanity of women and men.

Buddhist nuns have worked to connect across regions and languages in recent decades. The Skyadhita, or “Daughters of the Buddha,” aims to link ordained nuns around the world. This effort brings together Asian and Western ideas, but also shows tensions between community-focused Asian values and more individual Western ones.

Some feminists push for the full ordination of women in Buddhism. In East Asia ordination has a long history, and it is being revived in places like Malaysia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and spreading to Western countries such as the United States. In Burma and Laos, acceptance has been slower.

Monastic nuns shave their heads, wear robes, and take vows of celibacy. Some Buddhist feminists see these practices as challenging traditional ideas about womanhood. In Sri Lanka, nuns have gained official ordination, but many still feel they are kept separate from the main Buddhist order. Lay nuns practice Buddhism while continuing their roles as wives and mothers.

In Nepal, the fully ordained Theravada bhikkhunis began in 1988, with help from Fo Guang Shan nuns in Los Angeles. Female Theravada communities in Nepal follow Burmese traditions of renunciation. Some nuns withdraw from everyday life to meditate and study the Buddha’s teachings, sometimes to avoid traditional marriage and motherhood.

Among Tibetan nuns, some scholars see feminist ideas in the push for full ordination. Their writings emphasize gender equality as part of Buddhist practice, focusing on actions that show equality rather than just saying it.

There are debates about Buddhist feminism. Some critics argue that Buddhism is not always fully egalitarian in practice, such as how bhikkhunis bow to male junior monks. Postcolonial critics also call for more than one version of Buddhist feminism and for including voices from non-white feminists.

Ecofeminism brings in the idea that gender, environment, and class are connected. Some Buddhist feminists welcome this view, while others worry about essentialist ideas about women. Rita Gross and others say ecofeminism helps explore how oppression based on gender, class, and nature intersect.

Sexuality in Buddhism is also discussed. Traditional teachings see desire as a source of suffering, and monks and nuns are celibate, while laypeople can marry. Modern perspectives ask how sexuality fits with Buddhist ethics and gender equality.

Dakinis and yoginis are female tantric practitioners in Vajrayana Buddhism. Miranda Shaw’s work, Wild Wise, Passionate: Dakinis in America, describes these women who lived boldly and often outside mainstream practice. Western readers once labeled them as “exuberant” or “unconventional,” but Shaw argues they show a woman’s ability to blend sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality in a powerful way.