Gyan Prakash

Paper: Early Buddhist Attitude towards Female Body and Mysticism

Abstract

Consciousness, according to the early Buddhist texts, is a stream of becoming and maintains an uninterrupted continuity between two lives. It exists in a state of flux, and the chain of cognition is not eternal. Further, the stream of consciousness characterizes one’s existence and is completely conditioned by the kamma of previous lives. Thus, male or female body is regarded as the effect of kamma of past life. Early Buddhist texts reflect an understanding that female body is the effect of bad kamma of one’s previous life. The present paper re-examines this early Buddhist attitude towards female body and argues that, in the early Buddhist philosophy, there is little or no room for a negative attitude towards the female body. In the first section, the different types - male, female and eunuch - bodies and their qualities are discussed. The paper argues that the body cannot be the material or contributory cause of subjective consciousness. The second section looks into the concept of body and indriyas because, according to Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu, the quality of an Arhat can be obtained only with the help of eleven indriyas. This section also analyses as to whether the quality of Arhat can be attained through the female body or not. Finally, the paper examines the early Buddhist attitude towards female body and mysticism.

Gyan Prakash, Assistant Professor (Philosophy) in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, ISM, Dhanbad, has four years of research and teaching experience. His main areas of research are Buddhist Philosophy, Metaphysics and Religion. He did his Ph. D. in philosophy from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, Mumbai