ABSTRACT
GAUTAMA BUDDHA'S supposedly 'enlightened' attitude towards women was in fact anything but enlightened. Briefly, his 'right view' was "can't do with them or without them!" The Buddha treated women like dirt (mala) when he declared "Itthi malam brahmacariyassa" or "women are dirt for the Brahmacarya (those who follow the chaste life)". His well-known advice for one of his greatest disciples, Ananda, was:2
Ananda: "How should we behave to women?" Lord: "Not see them!" Ananda: "And if we should have to see them?" Lord: "Not speak to them!" Ananda: "And if we should have to speak to them1" Lord: "Keep your thoughts strictly controlled!"
