EARLY BUDDHIST ATTITUDE
Female Body and Arhatship
Keywords:
Arhat, Early Buddhism, Consciousness, Female Body, IndriyaAbstract
Consciousness is a stream of becoming and it maintains an uninterrupted continuity between two lives according to the early Buddhist texts. It exists in a state of flux or chain of cognition, which is not eternal. Further, the stream of consciousness characterizes one’s existence and is completely conditioned by the kamma of previous lives. As a result, the male or female body is regarded as the effect of kamma of past life. Early Buddhist texts reflect an understanding that female body is the effect of bad kamma of one’s previous life. The present paper re-examines this early Buddhist attitude towards the female body and argues that, in the early Buddhist philosophy, female body is worthy of Arhatship. The paper begins with examining the Buddhist concept of Self and body to show that the body cannot be the material or contributory cause of subjective consciousness. The concept of indriyas and female body is analysed then because, according to Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu, the quality of an Arhat can be obtained only with the help of eleven indriyas. The sexual nature of the body is immaterial with regard to attaining Arhatship.
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