Buddhist Feminisms and Femininities

Contents
Preface
Introduction Conceptualizing Buddhist Feminisms and Images of the Feminine
	Questioning the Constructs
	Buddhism and Gender Identity: Texts, Theory, and Social Realities
	Buddhist Images and Representations of Women
	Buddhist Feminism(s): Texts and Communities
	Buddhist Femininities: Demystifying the Essential Feminine
	The Questions Raised and Remaining
	Notes
Part I: Buddhist Feminisms: Texts and Communities
	Chapter 1 Reimagining Buddhist Women in India
		The First Buddhist Women
		Going Forth from Home to Homelessness
		Thullananda and the Formation of Monastic Rules for Nuns
		Exemplary Laywomen and Nuns
		The Voices of Enlightened Women
			Women’s Motivations for Entering the Nuns’ Community
			Escaping Mara and the Snare of Sexuality
		Gender and the Bodhisattva Path
		When the Buddha was a Woman
		Sex Changes in Early Mahayana Scriptures
		Women as Good Friends and Dharma Teachers
		Conclusion
		Notes
	Chapter 2 The Religious Life of Buddhist Women in Choson Korea
		The Women Who Did Not Follow the Rules
		Buddhist Women: The Hated and Reviled
		The Bhik?u?i: Straddling the Boundaries of a Woman of Virtue
		“How Could I Stop Her?”
		Royal Temples: Prayers for the Prosperity of the Choson Royal Family
		Chongopwon: The Existence of Royal Nunneries
		Buddhist Faith Framed as Filial Piety
		Conclusion
		Notes
	Chapter 3 Raicho Hiratsuka and Socially Engaged Buddhism
		Buddhist Historical Texts and Views of Women
		Raicho’s Buddhist Affiliations
		Raicho Hiratsuka in Buddhist Practice and Reactions to Her Sexuality
		Seito Years
		Raicho’s Continuing Influence and Socially Engaged Buddhism
		Notes
	Chapter 4 A “Great Man” Is No Longer Gendered: The Gender Identity and Practice of Chan Nuns in Contemporary Taiwan
		Gender and Chan Buddhism
		Is a Da Zhangfu a Man? A Feminist Critique
		The Nondualistic Gender Identity of Chan Nuns in Taiwan
		Conclusion: Some Methodological Reflections
		Notes
	Chapter 5 Sikkhamats: The Aesthetics of Asoke Ascetics
		Mae Chees, Sikkihamats, and Bhikkhunis
		Introduction to Asoke
		Physiomorality, Identity, and the Buddhist Women’s Robes
		Asoke Aesthetics and Politics
		Art, Morality, and Embodiment in Asoke
		Lives and Aesthetics of Sikkhamats
		Conclusion
		Notes
	Chapter 6 New Buddhist Women Across Borders: Buddhist Influences and Interactions in Alternative Histories of Global Feminisms
		The Question of a Gendered Buddhist Modernism
		The Absence of Women in Global Buddhist Modernist Networks
		Global Buddhisms, Local Collaborators: Scholars, Translators, Explorers, and Students
		The Women Behind the Movements: Gender, Associations, and Patronage
		Obscured Genealogies: Buddhism as an Inspiration to Feminist Groups
		Complicating Feminist Utopias
		Conclusion
		Notes
Part II: Buddhist Femininities: Demystifying the Essential Feminine
	Chapter 7 Only Skin Deep? Female Embodiment and the Paradox of Beauty in Indian Buddhism
		Suffering for Beauty
		The Idealized Female Form
		Buddhaful: The Beautiful Buddha
		Queen Maya
		Visakha
		Kumaradevi
		Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Reflecting on Buddhist Beauties
		Conclusion: Does Buddhist Feminism Need a Makeover?
		Notes
	Chapter 8 Conflicts and Compromises: The Relationship between the Nuns of Daihongan and the Monks of Daikanjin within the Zenkoji Temple Complex
		Daihongan within Zenkoji
		Meiji Era Conflicts and Compromises
		Seeking to Solidify Power and Challenging the Status Quo
		Learning to Coexist
		Conclusion
		Notes
	Chapter 9 Gendered Hagiography in Tibet: Comparing Clerical Representations of the Female Visionary, Khandro Tare Lhamo
		Tare Lhamo and Her Hagiographers
		A Tantric Heroine: The Official Story
		Consort of the Great Tertön: A Derivative Account
		Emanation of Tara: The Local Rendition
		Conclusion: Framing Gender?
		Notes
	Chapter 10 Feminine Identities in Buddhist Chöd
		Buddhist Problems of Female Embodiment
		Gender and Chöd
		Tsok Effigies and Women’s Bodies
		Supramundane Femininities and Women Practitioners
		Notes
	Chapter 11 Mindfully Feminine? The Role of Meditation in the Production and Marketing of Gendered Lifestyles
		Getting a Grip on Mindfulness
		Mindfulness as Postfeminist Lifestyle Enhancement
		Mindful Mothering: Mindfulness at Middle-Age
		Mindful Crones
		Conclusion
		Notes
Insights and Imaginations: An Epilogue
Bibliography
Contributors
Index