Hello everyone,
Moving on, this week we will be finishing chapter four, Founders and Supporters. This section will cover the first ordained Buddhist founders in Japan and Korea and royal supporters of Buddhism. It is interesting to discover that the first ordained Buddhists in Japan were female-identifying people taught by Koreans.
Let us remain gentle to each other as we discuss:
Are you surprised to discover that the first ordained Buddhist in Japan was an eleven year-old female-identifying person named Shima, later named Zenshin? Without she and others' dedication to the practice, the Zen Buddhism we practice today might not have come about.
What kind of world do you feel we might have had today if there had been equality in the education of female-identifying people throughout the centuries, not only concerning Buddhism, but in all cultures? Schireson writes that male-identifying clergy gained more favor in Japan over time by being the only ones educated enough to read and teach Chinese language, and thus the scriptures.
Do you think that female-identifying people have only ever broken the norms and moved ahead by breaking the rules of their time? Queen Sondok was only able to save the life of a young female-identifying person by breaking the hard Confucian rules that dictated her culture, and was only able to do so because of her royal status.
Please feel free to bring up any other questions or thoughts you discover as you read.
Gassho
Sat today, lah
