Jan Nattier to speak on "Gender and Awakening: Sexual Transformation in Mahayana Sutras," April 27
The Center for Asian Studies is hosting Jan Nattier of Soka University (Japan) for a lecture on "Gender & Awakening: Sexual Transformation in Mah膩y膩na S奴tras" on Thursday, April 27, 5:30-7 pm, in Humanities 250.
Gender & Awakening: Sexual Transformation in Mah膩y膩na S奴tras
It is commonly held that the rise of the Mah膩y膩na opened new spiritual horizons for Buddhist women. Many modern writers, especially those inspired by feminist theory, have seen the non-dualistic language that abounds in many Mah膩y膩na scriptures as evidence that dualities of any sort鈥攊ncluding dualities based on gender鈥攚ere not important in Mah膩y膩na circles, thus creating a more egalitarian atmosphere for female practitioners. Just as a previous generation of scholars, inspired above all by the work of Hirakawa Akira, saw the Mah膩y膩na as having increased the status of lay people, so in more recent times the Mah膩y膩na has often been portrayed as eradicating previously existing barriers to the spiritual attainments of women.
A close look at the Mah膩y膩na scriptures that have come down to us, however, paints a significantly different picture. In this paper I will examine one subset of narratives featuring female characters: those recounting sexual transformation, in which women either suddenly (within a single lifetime) or gradually (at some point during the course of rebirth) turn into men. In contrast to the view that gender differences were not important in Mah膩y膩na circles, I will argue that these tales encode a decidedly non-egalitarian vision of what women can (and cannot) achieve.
