Women - saviors of Dharma in degenerate age

[DS Star]

"When the Dharma is about to disappear, women will become vigorous and will at all times do deeds of virtue. Men will grow lax and will no longer speak the Dharma. Those who are genuine shramanas will be looked upon as dung and no one will have faith in them."
~ 'The Buddha Speaks the Ultimate Extinction of the Dharma sutra', Shurangama Sutra.

In western countries especially,  we already can see this trend, of women becoming more active in spreading Dharma and taking ordination as nun more than men. No wonder spoke about the possibility of his next incarnation to take the woman form.

Seems the Dharma is really about to disappear... 

What do you think?

[diablo1974]

In my country, what i have observed so far is most dharma centres or when there is a buddhist event going on in the public are females devotees. This might be a sign of what DS Star has posted. I wonder why is this happening?

[Q]

I think it's just part of nature... the feminine energy in women are just so strong. Women has always had great inner strength compared to men. Imagine, the oppression that women had to go through, the difficulties that society has always placed stigmas on them... it's logical that women just has more strength for an age where it requires great sacrifice and great inner strength to practice the Dharma.

We don't even have to look too far... just look at our mothers, they are the strongest and most stable person in the household. In my family, my mother is the great, we all look up to her because she is the one that always comforts us and takes all our troubles away. Sometimes when work gets too stressful for my dad, he will talk to my mother, and she will talk logic and help him face the difficulties he feels.

[pgdharma]

Discrimination against women is a feature common in all societies and the prejudices and obstacles that women have had to encounter seem almost identical everywhere and women had to stay strong to endure all these discriminations.

In the past men have been considered the dominant sex, but women have evolved and becoming stronger, while men basically stayed the same.  Women are more adaptable to different situations and are more receptive to change while men prefer to stay in their comfort zone.  I totally agree with Q who mentioned “that women just have more strength for an age where it requires great sacrifice and great inner strength to practice the Dharma.”

[Big Uncle]

In Tantra, feminine energy is consider supreme because it is synonymous with wisdom. It general, women suffer much more than men and they are also expected to be more nurturing and compassionate because they are the mothers of the human race. Hence, in Tantra, the Buddha recognize this quality in women and harnessing this energy in the development to become a Buddha.

In reality, Buddha is not male nor female. It is about the awakened mind and that has no such worldly distinction. However, Buddhas appear in male and female forms depending upon our needs. In the course of developing compassion, we meditate on every sentient being as being female and our mothers at one lifetime or another. Hence, we owe it to every one of them to develop the deepest level of compassion because they had all been very kind to us. Female energy is hence, also about compassion.

[cookie]

By Big Uncle : "In reality, Buddha is not male nor female. It is about the awakened mind and that has no such worldly distinction. However, Buddhas appear in male and female forms depending upon our needs"

Based on the statement above, it does not matter if women or men become the "saviors of Dharma in degenerate age ". Most importantly, is we do not allow the Dharma to degenerate, disappear or become extinct !

[RedLantern]

Inequality within Buddhism doesn't bother Buddhist nuns as focusing on their Dharma and the want to suppress their ego is their main aim.
Tenzin Palmo has been a driving force for Buddhist nuns in spreading the word of her work in the nunneries, and expressing her feelings about the unequal opportunities available for nuns.
Women of strong mind and excellent intellectual and spiritual capabilities have been recorded as being devout followers in the early Sangha or Buddhist community.Thus even though parts of Buddhism history has excluded women,the vast spectrum of Buddhist through and practice has allowed for a strong positive infiltration of women in overwhelming patriarchal societies.

[samayakeeper]

I think most women sacrificed their job/career to manage the house after having kids while their husbands continue working and providing the finances. And after the kids have grown up most women may have more time on their hands which they could spend in spiritual and social activities. Most men still think they have to provide for their family hence they play the breadwinner's role. Hence men may claim to have 'less' time for dharma because they claim they have to spend 'more' time working. Of course the role may be reversed in some families.

[fruven]

Will it become an excuse, a justification for men to become lazy, again? "Oh, it is Dharma generate age where women have more advantages now to practice now compare to men." I doubt so. Dharma is for all sentient beings especially human beings who have the best chance for liberation. Men have always had many advantages in many things. Instead of being advantageous perhaps it became a hindrance?

It is up to the individual to walk the path. The increase of nuns in my opinion is an indication of more equality, more equal opportunity for both gender to pursue the spiritual path. The positive change is more women are inspired to pursue nun-hood instead of having a family life.

[psylotripitaka]

We are in the latter half the final 500 years of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings. Yes, the various predictions of this ending are all coming true.

[psylotripitaka]

For example, I have heard that the great Yogi Geshe Kelsang Gyatso said it does not mean that the scriptures will disappear, but the deep stable inner realizations that are the actual Dharma will. This relates to the prediction that tantra will become very popular and tainted right before it disappears, where we see that tantra is being used to increase worldly pleasure rather than realize the highest potential of our psychic nervous system through mastering completion stage. This also relates to the prediction that the Dharma will be from the mouth rather than the heart.
In such times it becomes harder and harder to gain authentic realizations. We can do our utmost to train and gain some experience, but how many of us are actually gaining stable masterful realizations such as tranquil abiding, spontaneous renunciation, bodhichitta, generation stage or completion stage?

It is said that as times become more degenerate the blessing of Heruka and Vajrayogini also increase, however, if we do not access those blessings, we will not access the actual experience. It is enough to train and create the conditions for deep realization to come, but when speaking of the number of deeply realized yogis it is acknowledged that the number has greatly decreased.

There is definitely a huge increase in the number of women training vigorously in the Dharma due to the globalization of Dharma and the generation of equal rights. From that point of view, for sure the prediction you mention has manifested itself, and we can see plenty of examples where senior male representatives are not seen in a favorable light.

[yontenjamyang]

In Tantra, feminine energy is consider supreme because it is synonymous with wisdom. It general, women suffer much more than men and they are also expected to be more nurturing and compassionate because they are the mothers of the human race. Hence, in Tantra, the Buddha recognize this quality in women and harnessing this energy in the development to become a Buddha.

In reality, Buddha is not male nor female. It is about the awakened mind and that has no such worldly distinction. However, Buddhas appear in male and female forms depending upon our needs. In the course of developing compassion, we meditate on every sentient being as being female and our mothers at one lifetime or another. Hence, we owe it to every one of them to develop the deepest level of compassion because they had all been very kind to us. Female energy is hence, also about compassion.

I agree with Big Uncle. From the mundane perspective, I suppose the more degenerate the times are the more the male gender degenerate because of various reasons. From the society point of view, still until today, men are more exposed to the downfalls and distractions of the worlds because generally more men go out to work as the bread winners of the family (there are exceptions to this of course). Also, women do the child bearing and the rearing, men are free to indulge in the pleasures of the world more because they have the freedom of not being the child bearing one. During the wives pregnancy (and I suspect, even when not), men tend to have adulterous tendency. In certain society, men can also have more than one wife, thus contributing to their breadwinning role and hence less time for spiritual development.

[brian]

I think it's just part of nature... the feminine energy in women are just so strong. Women has always had great inner strength compared to men. Imagine, the oppression that women had to go through, the difficulties that society has always placed stigmas on them... it's logical that women just has more strength for an age where it requires great sacrifice and great inner strength to practice the Dharma.

We don't even have to look too far... just look at our mothers, they are the strongest and most stable person in the household. In my family, my mother is the great, we all look up to her because she is the one that always comforts us and takes all our troubles away. Sometimes when work gets too stressful for my dad, he will talk to my mother, and she will talk logic and help him face the difficulties he feels.

I agree with your point Q. Generally women are stronger in the 'inner strength' catergory. Probably way stronger than most men do. Women are more spiritual as i frequent most centres in Asia and Europe. I feel there are a lot to admire in a woman's determination and inner strength. A tribute to my mother too for she never gave up on me and my brother when she could have chosed to leave us alone and went on to pursue her happiness after a bitter divorce process with my father long long time ago. She took up the responsibility even though she knows she can hardly muster a lot of income because of her illiteracy. I am sure a lot of other ladies in this world are just like my mother who broke through her limitation barriers to become one of the most respected lady in her own right.

[Rihanna]

I hope this will not be an excuse for men to start to lax in their contribution towards Dharma simply because of the sentiment that female are more 'gung ho' in pursuing spirituality compared to men. The trend could also be caused by the fact that women are the most suffered lot. What happened in most of the countries that i  visited is that female get harsh treatments, are often put down and have to endure more hardship compared to male. Perhaps this is why i feel most practitioners are females as they seek spirituality to ease the pain they have to go through. Perhaps one of the many reasons.

[Pilgrim]

I agree with Cookie. It doesn't matter whether Women or Men are the saviors of Dharma. We should all do what we can to keep Dharma strong and present.

However, the sad development of modern society calls for the "softer" and more harmonious approach that Women naturally adopt, the feminine touch, especially when we're calling upon the weakening humanity of Mankind to be less "Man" and more "Kind".

It's incredible that we've advanced so much in so many things but we've not moved away from our old roles of Man being aggressive and confrontational (to hunt and to protect) and Women being accommodative and embracing (to care, to share and to nurture). Then again, if we can accept that Women's role hasn't changed, are we being unfair to ask for "too much" from Men?

Perhaps indeed, the only way to get to Men without causing further World Wars is through the subtle ways of Women. A man not faced with a threat is, after all, butter in a warm and gentle hand. And we know that soft butter spreads easier.

So, are Women the saviors of Dharma? Maybe. But so are Men.