Rights, happiness and sacrifice: a reflection upon Western political philosophy, feminism, and women in Theravada Buddhism

Justine McGill (La Trobe University)

ABSTRACT:

In the contemporary debate over full ordination for women in Theravada Buddhism, concepts from contemporary Western political and feminist thought have come into uneasy contact with Buddhist values and the principles informing monastic practice. In particular, some Buddhists are reluctant to associate the cause of women’s ordination with feminism. Liberal feminism’s association with rights discourse and the value of equality are seen as problematic, insofar as Buddhist teachings imply that an ideological fixation on equality is a form of delusion. The central Buddhist doctrine of non-self is also in tension with the idea of a fixed, individual self to whom rights could attach. More generally, Western feminism is seen as an aggressive, worldly, modern movement out of keeping with Buddhist concerns with communal harmony, monastic practices of renunciation and the ancient sources of authority which define the practice of bhikkhuni ordination and Buddhist monastic ways of life.

This raises the question of whether it is possible to reconcile or combine Buddhist and Western feminist values in the context of thinking through the issues surrounding women’s ordination today. Is there a legitimate place or need for talk of women’s rights in this movement? Is utilitarian philosophy more compatible with Buddhism than rights discourse? Conversely, does this engagement with Buddhist values yield insights into the structures and blind-spots of Western ways of thinking about how to promote social justice? In this paper, I will focus on selected aspects of this debate as a stimulus for reflecting upon rights discourse, utilitarianism and secular Western attitudes to sacrifice.