Buddhist Women and Social Justice: Ideals, Challenges, and Achievements

by Tsomo, Karma Lekshe

• ISBN13: 9780791462546
• ISBN10: 0791462544
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-07
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

This book on engaged Buddhism focuses on women working for social justice in a wide range of Buddhist tradition and societies. Contributors document attempts to actualize Buddhism's liberating ideas of personal growth and social transformation. Dealing with issues such as human rights, gender-based violence, prostitution, and the role of Buddhist nuns, the work illuminates the possibilities for positive change that are available to those with limited power and resources. Integrating social realities and theoretical perspectives, the work utilizes feminist interpretations of Buddhist values and looks at culturally appropriate means of instigating change.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Family, Monastery, and Gender Justice: Reenvisioning Buddhist Institutions
Karma Lekshe Tsomo	1	(22)
PART ONE Theoretical Foundations for Buddhist Social Action
1. Buddhist Understandings of Subjectivity
Anne Carolyn Klein	23	(12)
2. Reflections on Buddhism, Gender, and Human Rights
Lin Chew	35	(10)
3. Is the Bhiksuni Vinaya Sexist?
Karma Lekshe Tsomo	45	(28)
4. Transforming Conflict, Transforming Ourselves: Buddhism and Social Liberation
Paula Green	73	(16)
5. Redefining and Expanding the Self in Conflict Resolution
Meenakshi Chhabra	89	(12)
6. Integrating Feminist Theory and Engaged Buddhism: Counseling Women Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
Kathryn L. Norsworthy	101	(18)
PART TWO Women Transforming Buddhist Societies
7. Reclaiming the Robe: Reviving the Bhikkhunt Order in Sri Lanka
Ranjani de Silva	119	(18)
8. Dharma Education for Women in the Theravada Buddhist Community of Nepal
Sarah LeVine	137	(18)
9. Buddhism, Women, and Caste: The Case of the Newar Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley
David N. Gellner	155	(10)
10. Trafficking in Buddhist Girls: Empowerment through Prevention
Khandu Lama	165	(8)
11. Khunying Kanitha: Thailand's Advocate for Women
Karma Lekshe Tsomo	173	(20)
12. Crisis as Opportunity: Nuns and Cultural Change in the Spiti Valley
Margaret Coberly	193	(12)
13. Spiritual Piety, Social Activism, and Economic Realities: The Nuns of Mantokuji
Diana E. Wright	205	(14)
14. The Infinite Worlds of Taiwan's Buddhist Nuns
Elise Anne DeVido	219	(14)
15. Resistance without Borders: An Exploration of Buddhist Nuns across Cultures
Caren I. Ohlson	233	(20)
Bibliography	253	(12)
List of Contributors	265	(4)
Index	269