The article is accompanied by translation of the Yasutane’s ganmon Among the Japanese texts about Kannon (Avalokiteśvara), this gammon is interesting by the sense in which the fate of a woman, in her life and after death, can be considered the realization of the Bodhisattva's merciful practice. The rite of commemoration, of which he speaks, is indicative from point of view of the selection of Buddhist sutras presented to the temple – those that were most popular in Japan and were considered especially useful for women. Like other compilers of gammon texts, Yasutane combines references to Buddhist scriptures with motifs from Chinese secular poetry. In this ganmon, a noble woman appears as the incarnation of bodhisattva: although in childhood and youth the princess was a priestess of Kamo shrine, then became the sovereign's wife and only became a nun shortly before her death, her life choice is described as moving along the path of the Buddha to the rebirth in Pure Land. The article describes one of the examples of the ganmon genre in Japanese Buddhist literature: the text of Yoshishige-no Yasutane (933–1002), compiled in 985 for the commemoration rite of Princess Sonshi (addressee of Sanbō ekotoba) and included into the Honchō Monzui collection. This groundbreaking book offers a fresh, comprehensive understanding of what Buddhism has to say about gender, and of what this really says about Buddhism, singular or plural. And, he suggests, unyielding in-depth examination can help revitalize Buddhism's deeper, more ancient egalitarianism and thus subvert its existing gender hierarchy. Ultimately, Faure concludes that while Buddhism is, in practice, relentlessly misogynist, as far as misogynist discourses go it is one of the most flexible and open to contradiction. Faure points to the central role not only of nuns and mothers (and wives) of monks but of female mediums and courtesans, whose colorful relations with Buddhist monks he considers in particular. But women were not always silent, passive victims. Examining Buddhist discourse on gender in traditions such as that of Japan, he shows that patriarchy-indeed, misogyny-has long been central to Buddhism. Faure challenges the conventional view that the history of women in Buddhism is a linear narrative of progress from oppression to liberation. Above all, he asserts, the study of Buddhism through the gender lens leads us to question what we uncritically call Buddhism, in the singular. Faure argues that Buddhism is neither as sexist nor as egalitarian as is usually thought. InThe Power of Denial, Bernard Faure takes an important step toward redressing this situation by boldly asking: does Buddhism offer women liberation or limitation? Continuing the innovative exploration of sexuality in Buddhism he began inThe Red Thread, here he moves from his earlier focus on male monastic sexuality to Buddhist conceptions of women and constructions of gender. The few such works on Buddhism have been quite limited in scope. Innumerable studies have appeared in recent decades about practically every aspect of women's lives in Western societies.
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