Women in Buddhist Literature

Buddhism in spite of its catholic ideas did not at first place women on a level with men.  Nevertheless women played not an inconspicuous part in the early history of Buddhism.  And we quite agree with Mrs. Rhys Davids that through and in Buddhism the Indian women secured a real advance.  But the advance was the work of the women themselves.  “Women fought their own battle along the line all the time and forced the hand of the good but reluctant saviours of women.” It was women who made men and their churches recognize them (Women).  It is true that the nuns by the rules of their order rank lower than monks.  A nun of even a hundred years standing was to rise and respectfully salute even the youngest monk; she must submit to receive admonition from him.  Further a nun may not keep vassa in a district in which no monk is resident.  It is probable that the ordination of women as bhikkhunis and the establishment of nunneries are in reality due to a later age than that of the founder of Buddhism.  The institution has never become popular or gained a strong hold in any Buddhist country and the number of the nuns has always been small relatively to the number of monks.  Buddha was never tired of describing the defects and vices of women and warning the monks to guard against them.  Recently our attention has been drawn to an articles in the Buddhist Chronicle on “Women in Buddhism” which seems to be a popular rather than a learned treatise on the subject.  In the following pages we have attempted for the first time a systematic and comprehensive treatment of the subject.