Feminism has shown us that there must be fundamental changes in our lives and ways of thinking in order to overcome a patriarchical system which both oppresses women and makes the spiritual world of both men and women incomplete. The current interest of modern feminism in emphasizing introspection and reflection has provided a foundation for connecting Buddhist cultivation practices with feminist theories and visions. The first scholar to comment on the mutually beneficial relationship between Buddhism and femininism was Rita M. Gross. In her pioneering work, Gross however, did not apply feminist criticism to Buddhist cultivation practices. In this dissertation, I address Buddhist cultivation practices not simply from the perspective of Buddhist cultivation methodology. Rather I show that theories and explanations of Buddhist cultivation practice are far from being gender neutral. I argue that this system is a product of centuries of androcentric interpretations. I conclude that the prospects for more inclusive and effective Buddhist cultivation practices will increase greatly if theories of Buddhist cultivation are transformed to become post-patriarchal. This dissertation points out the necessity of revising theories of Buddhist cultivation and searches for a post-patriarchal vision for Buddhist cultivation practices through a feminist approach.
To explore the differences between the diverse theories of femininism in a Buddhist context and to reformulate theories of Buddhist cultivation practice from a feminist perspective, I have chosen the Buddhist terms prajna (the perfection of wisdom) and upaya (skillfull means) as keywords for this dissertation. In Mahayana Buddhism, prajna and upaya are thought to be virtues of the Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva who has achieved the state of no-regression, must be equipped with both prajna, the knowledge that this world is a mere dream, and upaya, the power to extinguish the flame inside the dream. If the concept of prajna emphasizes the importance of perceiving sunyata or emptiness without any fixed essence then the concept of upaya can be seen as emphasizing the importance of the experience of truth in the visible world. For a Bodhisattva who is helping sentient beings on the path to enlightenment, prajna and upaya are of equal importance.
When prajna and upaya have been seen as conflicting concepts, modern feminist theories have also experienced conflict. For example, the theories of feminists who deconstruct the concept of "woman" as a category created from an androcentric view and the theories of feminists who seek women's liberation by bring the idea of "feminity" to the forefront can conflict. If feminist theory which deconstructs the concept of "woman" can be taken as prajna and theory which celebrates "feminity" or "womanhood" can be seen from the perspective of upaya perhaps both positions can become well balanced and thus lead to a clearer vision of women's liberation. (Chapter1) Prajna and upaya can play an important role in transforming patriarchal Buddhist theories of cultivation. Prajna provides the penetrating wisdom to cut through patriarchal views of women and androcentric discourses surrounding women's cultivation practices. Upaya provides the conceptual means to revive the voice of women and women's experiences which are often obscured or silenced by androcentric interpretations.
The texts which will be the object of analysis in this dissertation can be divided into three main categories. The first group of texts consists of explanations of cultivation practices found in the Buddhist sutras (see Chapter 2). The second group is comprised of historical records related to Korean Buddhism (see Chapter 3). The third and final group of texts consists of personal testimonials written by modern Korean Buddhist women reflecting on their experiences while engaging in Buddhist practice (see Chapter 4).
First I will explore the contradictory image of women as being both "equal" and "an object of hatred" found in the theories of cultivation in the Buddhist sutras. Such contradictions are a basic structure found starting in early Buddhism on up to the Mahayana tradition. In Mahayana Buddhism, the equality of women is part of the debate over sunyata or emptiness. The chauvinistic idea that a woman must first transform herself into a man to achieve enlightenment was common. However, passages showing women's resistance to such androcentrism, while not common, can be found in the Buddhist sutras. For example, in early Buddhist texts, suffering is illustrated in the Bhiksuni Kisagotami's life and, in the perfection of wisdom sutras, the presence of women's voice of resistance can be heard criticizing the traditional view of women through the laywoman Hanggajeva.
The dualism of found in cultivation theories can be linked to women's oppression. For example, theories of Buddhist cultivation often insist that emotions must be controlled by wisdom. Furthermore, the idea that 'everything is the mind' subsumes the body into the mind, obliterating any independent domain of the body. Also in expressing ultimate truth, the role of language is seen as inferior to silence. The idea that emotion must be controlled, that the body is simply contained in the mind, and that language is more limited than silence, can be linked to concepts that women must be controlled and androcentric ideology. This dissertation also looks into the meaning of Zen Buddhism as a tradition which dissolves such dualist theories of self-cultivation. Zen Buddhism, however, has a culture of emphasizing spiritual genealogies and hierarchical relations between people. Such attributes show the limits of Zen in dismantling patriarchal discourse. A truly post-patriarchal theory of self-cultivation, would require that emotion, the body and language be restored. Such a theory would transform the previous paradigms of traditional Buddhist cultivation practices.
In order to challenge androcentric images of women's spiritual practices and reclaim the experiences of women, I examined the historical records of Korean Buddhism. As seen in the fact that our view of Shilla women's spiritual practices is made possible only through the writings of the male Koryo monk Ilyeon, the writing of history is often androcentric. As seen in Ilyeon's writings, Shilla women often appear as a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Kwanum whose primary role is to assist men in their practice.
Discrimination against women can be seen in the interest of Koryo women in rebirth in the Pure Land and the fact that a Koryo Bhiksuni temple was dubbed "the place for purifying bad karma." Often the spiritual practices of women were interpreted only in terms of women's roles as wife and mother. The fact that Korean women were only able to began to participate in Zen practice towards the end of Koryo Period through the auspices and guidance of a few monks shows the limitations women faced. However, with the transmission of this new Buddhist culture, women were allowed to participate in new kinds of self-cultivation.
Although Buddhist women of the Choson Dynasty were subject to more social control and oppression than Korean women of other historical periods, Choson women also became the main supporters of Buddhism. Choson women's desire to be active and autonomous beings was expressed through their religious aspirations and their performance of duties watching out for the spiritual welfare of the family. When women supported Buddhist temple construction projects or participated in religious events they acted under the justification of performing their duty as wife and mother for their family while at the same time creating and participating in their own separate sphere of activity, experience, and subjectivity. In other words, by performing religious activities for the sake of their family, women also "recovered" their own subjectivity. Women also used the indigenous Korean writing system (Hangul) to communicate with each other and resist male-dominated culture.
In the modern era, male Korean Buddhist leaders criticized Choson women's Buddhist culture as premodern, superstitious "praying-for-fortune faith" and thought of the modernization of Buddhism as doing away with such practices. With the coming of modernity to Korea, laywomen began to participate in Zen mediation thanks to a Zen monk lead movement aimed at popularizing Zen practice. In the 1930s, an atmosphere encouraging women's Zen practice developed where laywomen's Zen mediation groups were even spoken of as equal to monks' meditation organizations. However, this Zen meditation boom also set the discourse about women's Buddhist practice into a hierarchical framework with a dualistic conception of high-level practice (Zen meditation) and low-level practice ("praying for fortune faith"). In the 1940s, laywomen's Zen meditation organizations lost their status, power, and size in the reorganization of a more monk-centered Buddhist order. The history and strength of laywomen's Zen meditation organizations slipped into the forgotten past. This clearly shows the limit of women's organizations which rely on male leadership.
In the next chapter, I examine meditation and other Buddhist practices through the testimonials of women. In the current debate in Korean Buddhism over "praying-for-fortune-faith," the experience of women is often ignored. Although published testimonials written by women have already undergone a process of selection and thus do not represent the experiences of all Buddhist women, they nevertheless give us a chance to rediscover the oft hidden voices of women speaking in their own words. By praying for their families, Korean Buddhist women experience religious practice as an act of caring for others. Women also often play the central spiritual role in the family. The model of faith for Korean women is often the mother. By passing down the experience of the mother, the power of women's spiritual traditions was maintained. Women's testimonials reveal their experiences of maturity and wholeness through faith. The testimonials also resist, sometimes directly, competing discourses which ignore and criticize women's religious experiences and practice.
Meditation practice often comes to signify a search for self-identity for women. However, meditation is often led by monks and when women are only receive guidance from the androcentric tradition of self-cultivation theories they begin to feel a sense of discord between their practice and their lives as women or they come into conflict with their male teachers patriarchal views. In women's testimonials, women's tendency to turn anger into self-criticism could be seen when women practiced meditation as well as other kinds of spiritual practice. The testimonials also reveal that women have very diverse experiences of motherhood. Women's words show that they place much weight on the physical and emotional changes which occur during the meditation process and tend to speak of the sincerity and depth of words which come to their minds during meditation rather than focusing on transcending language.
Finally, in Chapter 5, I consider the prospects for a post-patriarchal theory of cultivation based on the previously discussed possibilities of deconstructing the androcentric view of women and rediscovering women's voices. By employing the penetrating power of prajna, it becomes clear that previous theories of cultivation practice are focused primarily on male-oriented achievement. The development of what could be called a "mature theory of cultivation practice" would need to reflect the experiences of women, be inclusive of the body, emotions and language which have previously been ignored or suppressed. By doing this, a mature theory would employ the power of upaya. A mature theory of cultivation practice would also balance out a more achievement oriented view of practice and suggest a new and innovative paradigm for practice. I have suggested several steps which can be taken to bring us closer to post patriarchal Buddhist practice. First we must make "care-taking" part of a community effort and recognize its importance as cultivating practice. Secondly we must have theories of cultivation practice expressed in ordinary language and develope mediums for the expression of women's experience. Lastly we must implement a system which insures the presence of female meditation teachers and make developing female leaders an issue. In Korea, where laywomen have recently participated widely in Buddhist meditation, we must work on developing a new culture of Buddhist cultivation to achieve a truly post-patriarchal society.