Buddhism, Sexism & Elitism
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the original Buddha. Gautama was once a prince who decided to go on a spiritual search to find answers to the cause of suffering and a way to stop it (World Religions). Buddhism is practiced in many countries including India, China, and Japan, Tibet as well as several other Asian countries. Buddhism has evolved into several variations, one of them being Mahayana Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into Japan by Korean refugees in the late sixth century. The focus of Mahayana Buddhism is to connect one to the present and to the future eternity (Moore 2008). The Confucian virtues were incorporated into this form of Buddhism, but Mahayana believed that humanity would be unified through spiritual enlightenment. Mahayana taught that the higher up on the sociopolitical aristocracy a person was, the closer to God they were and therefore the closer they were to getting into what we refer to as Heaven.
Mahayana Buddhism differs from other, more traditional forms, of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism, a more traditional form, places emphases on the philosophy of the Buddha where Mahayana hopes to teach the actions of Buddha. Mahayana also offers the chance to become a Buddha to everyone, but also has turned the traditional Buddha from a simpleton into more of a God. . Mahayana Buddhism had many beliefs that differ from other religions, one of them being their focus on women.
Buddhism in general teaches that women are of lesser moral worth than men. Mahayana Buddhism teaches that women are a product of an un-virtuous man reincarnated. A woman’s only salvation was to hope to live a virtuous enough life to be reborn as a man in the next life and then live that life virtuously enough to achieve salvation. While Buddhism tries to help those understand that each individual can achieve Nirvana or a complete state of happiness; it seems like that realm is only accessible to...