A Critical Analysis of Langs View on Women in Buddhism - Essay Example

A Critical Analysis of Lang’s View on Women in Buddhism The view on Buddhism specifically the traditions and the norms related to the female members of the population is the main focus of the study undertaken by Karen Christina Lang with the research results published in 1982 entitled the. “Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism. The main focus of the author is the exploration of source of the connection of the female gender to the negative aspects of different religions specifically early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism. The specific points discussed are the images of a woman being “sexual, seductive and had a capability to entrap human race to a cycle of birth and death” and the opposite which is the capacity of the woman to be recognized as a “compassionate, wise and enlightening partners of the man” (Lang 96). Lang explored the topic through different views specifically about the fall of humanity, the attitudes of the bodies of the women, the transformation of the bodies of the women and the power or the influence of the women to influence others through feminine insight and wisdom. The topic explored by the author can be considered interesting and can arouse interest of the readers specifically the female members of the population since the inequality between the genders is one of the most prevalent social issues. The subject matter explored then can be considered relevant through the ages as supported by the fact that although the article was published in the 80’s the said topic can still provoke debates and discussions about the discriminating view of religion towards the female population. The paper then is focused on analyzing both the technical and the analytical aspects of the article by Lang through the exploration of the different parts of the research such as the sources, the coverage of the subject, the problem, the research question, the thesis, the claims, the evidences and the counter arguments, and lastly the conclusive result of the research. Sources The author used a variety of references which are mostly traditional. This is acceptable in this case since it is in line with the objective to determine the origin of the belief. Upon reading the book written by Diana Paul entitled “Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in Mahāyāna Tradition” it can be considered that Lang’s view largely depended in the view presented in the book. Paul’s book is an in depth presentation of the women’s position in the Buddhist religion, thus, on a positive note it can be classified as a supporting reference of Lang’s research. In general, it is the sensual representation of the woman that Lang absorbed greatly from Paul’s presentation. It can even be observed that Lang’s presentation is a rather fair representation of the reason why women were viewed as evil and temptress as what Paul wrote. In Lang’s article though she expressed that the possible reason for the negative connotation of women in religion is the need for the people to explain the reason for the godly beings to behave as they did or why there are human – mainly due to the fact that dualistic distinctions were able to explain and answer most of the questions in religion. The need of human to be logical when it comes to religion led to the concept that man being good has a contrast which is the woman who reproduce and thus the object of sexuality. With regards to the presentation of the sources in the research write up, the author used notes which made the study and search of the references more challenging since the complete information of the references specifically books and articles were not given. This issue though can be overlooked since the paper had been published in 1982, thus, there had been great developments with the manner by which research papers are written ever since. It is still important to present a complete bibliography or work cited for the research peers to review the article under study. Coverage of the Subject With regards to the coverage of the subject, it can be considered that the author lacked intensive research since only a few substantial references can be distinguished. Lang used numerous old documents. It is important to include peer study of the said issue to be able to increase the validity of the results even if the paper is qualitative and library based in nature. In addition, the most important point of the paper can be found in the first page where she discussed the concept of dualistic distinctions. The inclusion of some of the points that were specifically discussed can be considered vague. The categories of the research were divided into four namely the fall of humanity and three other specifically woman-related categories. In addition, upon reading the whole article, there are still questions that are needed to be answered such as are these categories the main answers to the question about the image of a woman or is it a presentation of the history of the views related the female population. Problem The author was able to identify a problem that led her to conduct a research. She saw not only the inequality of the genders in the context of religion but also the fact that man has a positive connotation and woman has a negative connotation. Research Question There are two recognizable points in the paper written by Lang. When the title is analyzed, it can be perceived that the main point of the article is to explore the similarity of the views of the two religions namely the early Buddhism and the Christian Gnosticism. Through the course of the paper though, the author focused on the negative connotation of a woman and the possible reasons for the said view. Thesis The paper has no identifiable thesis but the first paragraph is pointing to the view that although Buddhism and Christianity are two distinct religions, their negative views and connotations on women are similar despite the fact that women are active in religious participation. The thesis was not restated in the last part of paper thus there is a failure in concluding thought that can tie the whole paper together. Claims The author made claims divided into 4 categories but as what had been discussed earlier, this manner can be confusing for the readers. Even the manner by which citations were presented is problematic and can be challenging for the peers and the readers to have follow-up readings and research done. The narrative manner by which the points and thoughts are presented specifically within each category can also pose a challenge into understanding the thesis of the paper. Evidence The paper is lacking in evidence. It needs a more in depth exploration of the topic. But prior to the presentation of supporting evidences, it is important to clearly state the thesis and the main point of the paper. Another observation related to the paper is the need for more scholarly references which can increase the validity of the result. Analysis Based on the study of the paper written by Lang, there are certain points which can be considered important in relation to the question about the negative connotation of the women in religion regardless of the fact that there are as active as the men in terms of practicing their faith and religious beliefs. The second reference which is written by Willis indicated a scenario after Lang’s paper was published and the difference in the role and the connotation regarding femininity is very evident. For that matter, although there are limitations in the research conducted by Lang, she is on the right track in terms of the issue to explore. Willis presented the updated view on women of Buddhism that they are already recognized for their roles in the development and contributions in the religion namely as nuns and benefactresses (Willis 19). Works Cited Lang, Karen Christina. “Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism.” Buddhist-Christian Studies 2 (1982): 94-105. Print. Paul, Diana Y. Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in Mahāyāna Tradition. University of California Press, 1985. Willis, Janice D. “Nuns and Benefactresses: The Role of Women in the Development of Buddhism.” In Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Ellison Banks Findly. Women, Religion and Social Change. State University of New York Press, 1989. Read More