ABSTRACT
The Buddhist goal of awakening – from a deluded, obscured state of awareness to an awakened, enlightened state – is said to be gender inclusive. In an unawakened state, human beings are beset by greed, hatred, and ignorance, desire, anger, attachment, pride, confusion, jealousy, and all the other afflictive emotions (kleśa) that cause unhappiness and dissatisfaction. In an awakened state, by contrast, beings are spontaneously kind, compassionate, selfless, and wise. The premise of all the Buddhist philosophical systems is that it is possible for sentient beings of all descriptions to overcome ignorance and achieve a clear, awakened state of consciousness with intuitive insight into the true nature of things. Consciousness per se – pure knowing and awareness, as distinct from thoughts – has no gender. How does this fundamentally nongendered path translate in the lived experiences of ordinary women and men in Buddhist societies?
