The Position of Women in Buddhism
Dr. (Mrs.) L.S. Dewaraja
Publication No. 280
© 1981 Buddhist Publication Society
Buddhist Publication Society
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Kandy, Sri Lanka
This essay is chiefly based on a research paper presented in
August 1979 to the International Conference of Indian Ocean
Studies, held in the University of Western Australia. A talk
on the same subject was given by the author in 1978 at the London
Buddhist Vihara, reproduced in the Buddhist Quarterly,
vol. 11, Nos 2-3. A few sections from the latter have been incorporated
in the present version.
* * *
when the role of Women in Society is an issue of worldwide interest
it is opportune that we should pause to look at it from a Buddhist
perspective. In the recent past, a number of books have been
written on the changing status of women in Hindu and Islamic
societies, but with regard to women in Buddhism, ever since
the distinguished Pali scholar, Miss I.B. Horner, wrote her
book on Women under Primitive Buddhism, as far back as
1930, very little interest has been taken in the subject.
therefore, justified to raise again the question whether the
position of women in Buddhist societies was better than that
in non-Buddhist societies of Asia. We will look briefly into
the position in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and Tibet, at a time
before the impact of the West was ever felt.
who came as an envoy to the Kandyan Court in 1782 writes,
The Cingalese women exhibit a striking contrast to those of
all other Oriental Nations in some of the most prominent and
distinctive features of their character. Instead of that lazy
apathy, insipid modesty and sour austerity, which have characterized
the sex throughout the Asiatick world, in every period of its
history, in this island they possess that active sensibility,
winning bashfulness and amicable ease, for which the women of
modern Europe are peculiarly famed. The Cingalese women are
not merely the slaves and mistresses, but in many respects the
companions and friends of their husbands; for though the men
be authorized by law to hold their daughters in tyrannical subjection,
yet their sociable and placable dispositions, soften the rigor
of their domestic policy. And polygamy being unknown and divorce
permitted among the Cingalese, the men have none of that constitutional
jealousy, which has given birth to the voluptuous and unmanly
despotism that is practiced over the weaker sex in the most
enlightened nations, and sanctioned by the various religions
of Asia. The Cingalese neither keep their women in confinement
nor impose on them any humiliating restraints.
quotation is just one selected from a series of comments which
European observers have made on the women of Sri Lanka. Many
of these European visitors to our shores came during the 17th,
18th and early 19th centuries. There were among them, envoys,
missionaries, administrators, soldiers, physicians and ship-wrecked
mariners. They had first-hand knowledge of the women in Europe
and many of them came through India having observed the women
in Hindu and Islamic societies
evidence is all the more valuable. The recurring comments made
by these widely traveled visitors on the women of Sri Lanka
have evoked our curiosity to conduct this inquiry. The discussion
that follows will deal with condition that prevailed up to the
middle of the nineteenth century. Prior to this our sources
are so meager that we cannot detect any major social changes.
After this, due to the impact of Western imperialism, commercial
enterprise and Christian missionary activity, incipient changes
in the traditional structures become perceptible.
It is only
in European writings that one finds lengthy accounts of the
social conditions prevailing in the island. The indigenous literature,
being mainly religious, lacks information regarding mundane
topics like women. But from circumstantial evidence one could
surmise that the liberal attitude towards women in Sri Lanka
is a trend that has continued from the remote past. When one
thinks of women in the traditional East, the picture that comes
to our minds is that of the veiled women of Islamic societies,
the zenanas where high class Indian ladies lived in seclusion,
the harems of Imperial china where lived thousands of royal
concubines guarded by eunuchs, the devadasis who in the
name of God were forced into a life of religious prostitution;
all manifesting different aspects of the exploitation of women
in the East. It is little known that there were societies in
Asia where the position of women was a favorable one, judging
even from modern standards. Thailand and Burma too belong to
this category. In those instances also we have based our conclusions
mainly on the observations of Europeans who lived in these two
countries in various capacities in the 19th and 20th centuries.
R. Grant Brown, who was a revenue officer for 28 years in Burma
(1889-1917) has remarked,
writer on Burma has commented on the remarkable degree of independence
attained by the women. Their position is more surprising in
view of the subjection and seclusion of wives and daughters
in the neighboring countries of India and China..."
A British envoy
to the Court of Ava was struck by the equal treatment accorded
even to royal ladies.
queen sat with the king on the throne to receive the embassy.
They are referred to as 'the two sovereign Lords'. It is not
extraordinary to the Burmans for with them, generally speaking,
woman are more nearly upon an equality with the stronger sex
than among any other Eastern people of consideration."
General Albert Fytche, Late Chief Commissioner of British Burma
and Agent to the Viceroy and Governor General of India, wrote
in 1878, "Unlike the distrustful and suspicious Hindus and Mohammedans,
woman holds among them a position of perfect freedom and independence.
She is, with them, not the mere slave of passion, but has equal
rights and is the recognized and duly honored helpmate of man,
and in fact bears a more prominent share in the transactions of
the more ordinary affairs of life than in the case perhaps with
any other people, either eastern or western."
inquiries have revealed that in Thailand too, though not to
the same extent, the women enjoyed considerable liberty. For
instance, J.G.D. Campbell, Educational
Adviser to the Government of Siam wrote in 1902,
Siam at any rate whatever be the causes, the position of women
in on the whole a healthy one, and contrasts favorably with
that among most other Oriental people. No one can have been
many days in Bangkok without being struck by the robust physique
and erect bearing of the ordinary woman... It can be said of
Buddhism that its influence has at least been all on the right
side; and when we remember the thousand arguments that have
been advanced in the name of both religion and morality to degrade
and debase the weaker sex, this is indeed saying much to its
Bell, British Political Representative in Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim,
writes in 1928, "When a traveler enters Tibet from the neighboring
nations of India and China few things impress him more vigorously
or more deeply than the position of the Tibetan woman. They are
not kept in seclusion as are Indian women. Accustomed to mix with
the other sex throughout their lives, they are at ease with men
and can hold their own as well as any women in the world." Bell
continues, "And the solid fact remains that in Buddhist countries
women hold a remarkably good position. Burma, Ceylon and Tibet
exhibit the same picture."
on the freedom and independence enjoyed by the women in certain
pre-industrialized and sometimes isolated Asian societies are
startling. It is not suggested that in any of these countries,
Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand, the women are on a par with the
men both in theory and practice. But they have been favorably
compared with the women of the neighboring countries of India
and China, where Hindu, Confucian and Islamic doctrines held
sway. This statement may appear contradictory for Burma and
Thailand were synthesis of Indic and Sinic civilizations. In
Sri Lanka too the impact of Hinduism was very strong. The question
arises as to how the situation with regard to women in those
three societies should be different from the major cultures
of Asia. The common feature predominating in those countries
is that they are intensely Buddhist. It is tempting therefore
to conclude that Buddhism has helped to better the position
of women in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.
would take us back to the question of the Buddhist attitude
towards women and how it differs from that of other religions.
Examining the position in ancient India it is clear from the
evidence in the Rigveda, the earliest literature of the Indo-Aryans,
that women held an honorable place in early Indian society.
There were a few Rigvedic hymns composed by women. Women had
access to the highest knowledge and could participate in all
religious ceremonies. In domestic life too she was respected
and there is no suggestion of seclusion of women and child marriage.
Later when the priestly Brahmans dominated society and religion
lost its spontaneity and became a mass of ritual, we see a downward
trend in the position accorded to women. The most relentless
of the Brahman law givers was Manu whose Code of Laws
is the most anti-feminist literature one could find. At the
outset Manu deprived woman of her religious rights and spiritual
life. "Sudras, slaves and women" were prohibited from reading
the Vedas. A woman could not attain heaven through any merit
of her own. She could not worship or perform a sacrifice by
herself. She could reach heaven only through implicit obedience
to her husband, be he debauched or devoid of all virtues. Having
thus denied her any kind of spiritual and intellectual nourishment,
Manu elaborated the myth that all women were sinful and prone
to evil. "Neither shame nor decorum, nor honesty, nor timidity",
says Manu, "is the cause of a woman's chastity, but the want
of a suitor alone". She should
therefore be kept under constant vigilance: and the best way
to do it was to keep her occupied in the tasks of motherhood
and domestic duties so that she has no time for mischief. Despite
this denigration there was always in Indian thought an idealization
of motherhood and a glorification of the feminine concept. But
in actual practice, it could be said by and large, Manu's reputed
Code of Laws did influence social attitudes towards women, at
least in the higher rungs of society.
It is against
this background that one has to view the impact of Buddhism
in the 5th century B.C. It is not suggested that the Buddha
inaugurated a campaign for the liberation of Indian womanhood.
But he did succeed in creating a minor stir against Brahman
dogma and superstition. He condemned the caste structure dominated
by the Brahman, excessive ritualism and sacrifice. He denied
the existence of a Godhead and emphasized emancipation by individual
effort. The basic doctrine of Buddhism, salvation by one's own
effort, presupposes the spiritual equality of all beings, male
and female. This should mitigate against the exclusive supremacy
of the male. It needed a man of considerable courage and a rebellious
spirit to pronounce a way of life that placed woman on a level
of near equality to man. The Buddha saw the spiritual potential
of both men and women and founded after considerable hesitation
the Order of Bhikkhunis or Nuns, one of the earliest organizations
for women. The Sasana or Church consisted of the Bhikkhus (Monks),
Bhikkhunis (Nuns), laymen and laywomen so that the women were
not left out of any sphere of religious activity. The highest
spiritual states were within the reach of both men and women
and the latter needed no masculine assistance or priestly intermediary
to achieve them. We could therefore agree with I.B. Horner when
she says Buddhism accorded to women a position approximating
from the sphere of philosophy to domestic life one notices a
change of attitude when we come to Buddhist times. In all patriarchal
societies the desire for male offspring is very strong for the
continuance of the patrilineage and, in the case of Hindus,
for the due performance of funeral rites. For only a son could
carry out the funeral rites of his father and thus ensure future
happiness of the deceased. This was so crucial to the Hindu
that the law allowed a sonless wife to be superseded by a second
or a third one or even turned out of the house.
It is said "through a son he conquers the world and though a
son's son he attains immortality."
As a result of this belief the birth of a daughter was the cause
for lamentation. In Buddhism future happiness does not depend
on funeral rites but on the actions of the deceased. The Buddhist
funeral ceremony is a very simple one which could be performed
by the widow, daughter or any one on the spot and the presence
of a son is not compulsory. There is no ritual or ceremonial
need for a son and the birth of a daughter need not be a cause
for grief. It is well known that the Buddha consoled king Pasenadi
who came to him grieving that his queen, Mallika, had given
birth to a daughter. "A female offspring, O king, may prove
even nobler than a male..."
a revolutionary statement for his time. Despite the spiritual
quality of the sexes and the fact that a son is not an absolute
necessity in securing happiness in the after life, yet even
in Buddhist societies there is a preference for male offspring
even today, so potent is the ideology of male superiority.
and family are basic institutions in all societies whether primitive
or modern and the position of woman in a particular society
is influence by and expressed in the status she holds within
these institutions. Has she got the same rights as her husband
to dissolve the marriage bond? Has she the right to remarry
or is this a man's privilege? The answers to these questions
will undoubtedly determine the position accorded to women in
any society. Let us examine the Buddhist attitude to the question.
In Buddhism, unlike Christianity and Hinduism, marriage is not
a sacrament. It is purely a secular affair and the monks do
not participate in it. In Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma there
is a good deal of ceremony, feasting and merry-making connected
with the event but these are not of a religious nature. Sometimes
monks are invited to partake of alms and they in turn bless
the couple. Although there are no vows or rituals involved in
the event of a marriage, the Buddha has laid down in the Sigalovada
Sutta the duties of a husband and wife:
five ways should a wife as Western quarter, be ministered to
by her husband: by respect, by courtesy, by faithfulness, by
handing over authority to her, by providing her with ornaments.
In these five ways does the wife minister to by her husband
as the Western quarter, love him: her duties are well-performed
by hospitality to kin of both, by faithfulness, by watching
over the goods he brings and by skill and industry in discharging
point here is that the Buddha's injunctions are bilateral; the
marital relationship is a reciprocal one with mutual rights and
obligations. This was a momentous departure from ideas prevailing
at the time. For instance Manu says, "Offspring, the due performance
of happiness and heavenly bliss for one's ancestors and oneself
depends on one's wife alone."
Confucius, an older contemporary of the Buddha, spoke in the same
tone: "in this way when the deferential obedience of the wife
was complete, the internal harmony was secured, and a long continuance
of the family could be reckoned with."
Confucius gives in detail the duties of the son to the father,
the wife to the husband and the daughter-in-law to the mother-in-law
but never vice-versa; so that the wife had only duties and obligations
and the husband only rights and privileges. According to the injunctions
of the Buddha given in the Sigalovada Sutta, which deals with
domestic duties, every relationship was a reciprocal one whether
it be between husband and wife, parent and child, or master and
servant. Ideally, therefore, among Buddhists, marriage is a contract
it does not necessarily follow that social practice conforms
to theory. The egalitarian ideals of Buddhism appear to have
been impotent against the universal ideology of masculine superiority.
The doctrine of Karma and Rebirth, one of the fundamental tenets
of Buddhism, has been interpreted to prove the inherent superiority
of the male. According to the law of Karma, one's actions in
the past will determine one's position of wealth, power, talent
and even sex in future births. One is reborn a woman because
of one's bad Karma. Thus the subordination of women is given
a religious sanction. It is not unusual even in Sri Lanka for
women, after doing a meritorious deed, to aspire to be redeemed
from womanhood and be reborn as a man in future. Despite the
remarkable degree of sexual equality in Burman society, all
women recite as a part of their Buddhist devotions the following
prayer: "I pray that I may be reborn as a male in a future existence."
In Thailand in 1399 A.D., the Queen Mother founded a monastery
and commemorated the event in an inscription in which she requested,
"By the power of my merit, may I be reborn as a male...".
Several examples could be quoted from the popular parlance of
all three societies to show that even women, whatever their
station, have accepted the idea of female inferiority and this
has influenced the husband-wife relationship in varying degrees
in the societies concerned. In Sri Lanka where this idea is
least perceptible, it is considered becoming even in modern
times to maintain a facade of husband domination. The wifely
control is unobtrusive and subtle. This ambivalent attitude
is more pronounced in Burma where women are a specially privileged
lot. They control the family economy; socially, politically
and legally they are on a par with men. But the wife makes a
show of deference to the husband which in itself is no measure
of male dominance but an adaptation to a cultural norm. On the
other hand, the fact that men could have multiple spouses whereas
the women were restricted to one, placed the husband in a privileged
position. The reverse was true in Sri Lanka where polygamy was
unknown except in the royal family, polyandry was practiced
(though not widespread) till recent times. In traditional Thailand
the subordination of the wife in the family hierarchy was sanctioned
by law. Till 1935 polygyny was legally recognized.
to the family law in the Law Code of 1805 was the conjugal power
of the husband, which meant that he managed the property held
jointly by the spouses, that he could sell his wife of give
her away and that he could administer bodily punishment to her,
provided the degree of punishment was in proportion to the misdeed."
From the nature
of the marriage contract one passes on to the question whether
both parties had the same facilities for terminating the contract.
It is seen that in most cultures the woman is irretrievably bound
by the chains of matrimony while the man can shed his shackles
with ease. The Confucian code of discipline provides the husband
with several grounds for divorce. Not only leprosy and sterility,
even disobedience and garrulity were valid reasons to get rid
of a wife. Among the Hindus marriage was an indissoluble sacrament
for the woman, while the man had the right to remarry even when
the first wife was alive. Says Manu, "A barren wife may be superseded
in the 8th year. She whose children all die in the 10th, she who
bears only daughters in the 11th, but she who is quarrelsome without
delay." In addition a man could
abandon a blemished, diseased or deflowered wife.
Under Islamic law the contract may be dissolved by the husband
at his will without the intervention of a court and without assigning
any cause. But a wife cannot divorce herself from her husband
without his consent except under a contract made before or after
marriage. If the conditions of the contract are not opposed to
Muslim law then the divorce will take effect.
marriage received no religious sanction and in the absence of
a Buddhist legal code comparable to the Laws of Manu or the
Sharia Law of the Muslims, the dissolution the marriage contract
was settled by the individuals concerned or their families.
With regard to Sri Lanka, there is a document dated 1769 which
gives an orthodox and official view on the subject. The Dutch
who were ruling the maritime provinces of Sri Lanka wished to
codify the laws and customs of the island. The Dutch Governor
I.W. Falck sent a series of questions to the eminent monks of
Kandy and the answers to these are given in the document known
as the Lakrajalosirita. The governor raised the question
whether divorce was permitted among the Sinhalese. The reply
man and a woman who have been united in marriage with the knowledge
of their parents and relations and according to the Sinhala
custom cannot become separated at their own pleasure. If a man
wishes to obtain a divorce it must be by proving that his wife,
failing in the reverence and respect due to a husband, has spoken
to him in an unbecoming manner; or that she has lavished her
affection on another and spends his earning on him, and if her
improper conduct is proved before a court of justice he will
be permitted to abandon her."
The next question
is for what faults on the part of the husband may the wife sue
for and obtain a divorce from him. The Bhikkhus reply,
being destitute of love and affection for his wife, he withholds
from her the wearing apparel and ornaments suitable to her rank;
if he does not provide her with food of such a quality as she
has a right to; if he neglects to acquire money by agriculture,
commerce and other honorable means; if associating with other
women, he squanders his property upon them; if he makes a practice
of committing other improper and degrading acts such as stealing,
lying or drinking intoxicating liquors, if he treats his wife
as a slave and at the same times behaves respectfully to other
women, on proof of his delinquency before the above mentioned
court, the wife may obtain a divorce."
point is that even in theory the Sinhala laws were equally applicable
and binding to both husband and wife. One clearly sees the influence
of the injunctions of the Sigalovada Sutta in the development
of these institutions.
litigation being a tedious process then as now, it is unlikely
that the average Sinhalese of the 19th century resorted to this
lengthy judicial procedure. The Lakrajalosirita was written
by Buddhist monks for the information of a foreigner, and judging
from the rest of the document they tried to depict ideal conditions.
Only the very well-to-do could afford the luxury of a court
case. A more realistic account has been left by Robert Knox
who spent 19 years in the company of poor peasants:
their marriages are but of little force and validity for if
they disagree and mislike one another they part without disgrace.
Yet it stands firmer for the Man than for the Woman: howbeit
they do leave on the other at their pleasure."
Sinhala laws of the 18th century the wife was treated very liberally
at the time of divorce. She got back all the wealth that her parents
gave her at the time of marriage and half of all the property
acquired by the couple after marriage. Also she was given a sum
of money sufficient to cover her expenses for the next six months.
It is worthy of note that in Sri Lanka prior to European occupation
both sexes had equal facilities for divorce, both in theory and
in practice. The situation changed, however, with the impact of
Christianity and the introduction of Roman Dutch Law by the Hollanders
in the areas under their control.
Burma too a code of divorce provided for ill assorted unions.
Where there was a mutual desire for separation due to incompatibility
or other causes, parties can divorce each other by an equal
division of property. If one is unwilling the other is free
to go provided all property is left behind. A woman can demand
a divorce if her husband ill-treats her or if he cannot maintain
her; and a man in case of sterility or infidelity of the wife.
Another method, not uncommon, is for the aggrieved party to
seek refuge in monastic life; for this would at once dissolve
the marriage bond. This easy availability of divorce in Burma
has been condemned by Father Bigandet, the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Rangoon as "damnable laxity". Despite this censure, it is
said that this easy and equal facility for divorce has rendered
the Burman spouses more forbearing and that serious connubial
quarrels are rare among them.
although women had legal disabilities, they could initiate divorce
proceedings which enabled them to escape from a tyrannous husband.
As far back as 1687 the French envoy to the Siamese court observed,
Husband is naturally the Master of Divorce but he never refuseth
it to his wife when she absolutely desires it. He restores her
portion to her and their children are divided among them in
conjugal power of the husband was fundamental to the 1805 Code,
yet the wife's right to divorce was preserved and she was treated
generously when the marriage was annulled.
on to the question of the remarriage of widows and divorcees,
one notices that in certain societies the wives were regarded
as the personal property of their husbands. As such the custom
of slaying, sacrificing or burying women alive to accompany
their deceased husbands along with their belongings has been
found in many lands as far removed as America, Africa and India.
The best known example is the soti puja or self immolation
of high-caste Hindu widows. This custom which was unknown in
the Rigveda, developed later: it was never very widespread but
there were isolated instances continuing even up to early British
times. The British had to introduce legislation to prevent it.
Among the Hindus a widow was expected to lead a life of severe
austerity and strict celibacy for she was bonded to her dead
husband. Further she lost her social and religious status and
was considered an unlucky person. The question of the remarriage
of divorcees did not arise because a Hindu wife could not repudiate
her husband; even if she was rejected by the latter she had
to remain celibate.
death is considered a natural and inevitable end. As a result
a woman suffers no moral degradation on account of her widowhood.
Her social status is not altered in any way. In Buddhist societies
she does not have to advertise her widowhood by shaving her
head and relinquishing her ornaments. She is not forced to fast
on specific days and sleep on hard floors for self-mortification
has no place in Buddhism. Nor does she have to absent herself
from ceremonies and auspicious events. Above all there is no
religious barrier to her remarriage.
The remarriage of rejected wives is also known in Buddhist literature.
marriages break up were free to remarry with no stigma attached,..."But
if they chance to mislike one another and part asunder... then
she is fit for another man, being as they account never the
worse for wearing." Even the
Lakrajalosirita, which gives an orthodox Buddhist view,
permits the remarriage of women after separation from their
spouses. It was common even in the highest rungs of society.
In Burma and Thailand too women had the right to remarry after
divorce. As far back as 1687 La Loubere the French envoy noticed
that in Thailand, "After the Divorce both can remarry and the
woman can remarry on the very day of the Divorce."
It is clear,
therefore, that Buddhism has saved the daughter from indignity,
elevated the wife to a position approximating to equality and
retrieved the widow from abject misery.
freedom that women enjoyed in Buddhist societies, above everything
else, has evoked from Western observers the comments that we
have quoted earlier in this paper. It is not so much the equality
of status but the complete desegregation of the sexes, that
has distinguished the women in Buddhist societies from those
of the Middle East, the Far East and the Indian subcontinent.
Segregation of the sexes only leads to the seclusion and confinement
of women behind veils and walls. The Confucian code lays down
detailed rules on how men and women should behave in each other's
presence. Manu went to the furthest extreme of segregation by
warning that one should not remain in a lonely palace even with
one's own mother and sister. Sexual segregation pervades all
aspects of life in Islamic society.
Buddhist literature one sees a free intermingling of the sexes.
The celibate monks and nuns had separate quarters, yet the cloister
was not cut off from the rest of the world. It is recorded that
the Buddha had long conversations with his female disciples.
The devout benefactress Visakha frequented the monastery decked
in all her finery, and accompanied by a maid servant she attended
to the needs of the monks. Her clothes and ornaments were the
talk of the town, yet neither the Buddha nor the monks dissuaded
her from wearing them. It was after she developed in insight
and asceticism that she voluntarily relinquished her ornaments.
and liberal attitude certainly had its impact on the behavior
of both men and women in Buddhist societies. In Sri Lanka in
the 17th century, "the Men are not Jealous of their Wives for
the greatest Ladies in the land will frequently talk and discourse
with any Men they please, although their Husbands be in presence."
It has been remarked that the women visited places of worship
always dressed in their best attire. This is quite a contrast
to the stand taken by Manu according to whom the love of ornamentation
was an evil attribute of women; and the Koranic injunction that
the pious woman should hide all beauty and ornamentation behind
the veil. Burmese women of all ranks went unveiled and ornamented
and added color to all occasions, though flanked by India and
China, where customs such as purdah and foot binding prevailed.
In Thailand it has been noticed that the women of the upper
classes, though by no means confined to lives of strict seclusion,
did not appear much in public.
we could say that the secular nature of the marriage contract,
the facility to divorce, the right to remarry, the desegregation
of the sexes and above all else the right to inherit, own and
dispose of property without let or hindrance from the husband,
have all contributed to the alleviation of the lot of women
in Buddhist societies. Conflicting with the Buddhist ethos and
negating its effects in varying degrees is the universal ideology
of masculine superiority. So that in all three societies __
Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma -- there is an ambivalence in the
attitudes towards women. Yet their position is certainly better
than in any of the major cultures of Asia.
The Miscellaneous Works of Hugh Boyd, with an account of
his Life and Writings by L.D. Campbell (London 1800), 54-56.
Boyd was sent in 1782 as an envoy to the Kandyan court by the
British Governor at Madras.
R. Grant Brown, Burma as I saw it 1889-1917 (London 1926).
Grant, who was a member of the Indian Civil Service, was a magistrate
and revenue officer in Burma for 28 years.
Journal of an Embassy from the Governor General of India
to the Court of Ava by John Crawfurd, 2nd ed. in 2 vols.
(London 1824), I, 243.
Burma Past and Present, Lt. General Albert Fytche, 2
vols. Vol. II London 1878.
Siam in the Twentieth Century, Being the Experiences and
Impressions of a British Officer, by J.G.D. Campbell (London
1902) 112-113. Campbell was Inspector of Schools and later Educational
Adviser to the Siamese Government.
The People of Tibet, Charles Bell, Oxford 1928, p. 147.
Laws of Manu, trans. G. Buhler, Sacred Books of the
East, Vol. XXV (Oxford 1866).
Ibid., IX, 10.
I.B. Horner, Women under Primitive Buddhism: Laywomen and
Alsmwomen (London 1930), XXIV.
Laws of Manu, IX, 81.
Ibid., IX, 137.
Quoted by I.B. Horner in Women in Early Buddhist Literature,
The Wheel Publication, No. 30 (Colombo 1961), 8-9.
Dialogues of the Buddha, trans. C.A.F Rhys Davids, part
Laws of Manu, IX, 28.
The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism,
trans. James Legge (Oxford 1879) Sacred Books of the East, Vol.
Quoted by Melford E. Sprio in, Kinship and Marriage in Burma:
A cultural and Psychodynamic Analysis (London 1977), 260.
Quoted by C.J. Reynolds in "A Nineteenth Century Thai Buddhist
Defence of Polygamy and some Remarks on the Social History of
Women in Thailand", a Paper prepared for the Seventh Conference
International Association of Historians of Asia, Bangkok, 22-26
Laws of Manu, IX, 81.
Laws of Manu, IX, 72.
D.F. Mulla, Principles of Muhammedan Law (Calcutta 1955).
Lakrajalosirita, ed. and trans. Bishop Edmund Pieris,
Published by the Ceylon Historical Manuscripts Commission, 10
Robert Knox, An Historical Relation of Ceylon (Glasgow
1911), 149. Knox was a ship-wrecked British sailor who spent
19 years from 1660 to 1679 as a prisoner in the Kandyan Kingdom.
Fytche, Vol. II, 75.
Simon de la Loubere, The Kingdom of Siam, With an Introduction
by David K. Wyatt (London 1968) 53. De la Loubere was an
envoy sent to Siam by Louis XIV of France in 1687. He was in
Siam for four months only.
I.B. Horner, Women Under Primitive Buddhism, 72 sqq.
De la Loubere, 53.
Buddhist Publication Society
Buddhist Publication Society is an approved charity dedicated
to making known the Teaching of the Buddha, which has a vital
message for people of all creeds.
in 1958, the BPS has published a wide variety of books and booklets
covering a great range of topics. Its publications include accurate
annotated translations of the Buddha's discourses, standard
reference works, as well as original contemporary expositions
of Buddhist thought and practice. These works present Buddhism
as it truly is -- a dynamic force which has influenced receptive
minds for the past 2500 years and is still as relevant today
as it was when it first arose.
full list of our publications will be sent free of charge upon
request. Write to:
The Hony. Secretary
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
149 Lockwood Road
Barre, MA 01005 USA
Mon 10 September 2001