The Feminist Buddha: Revisiting the Role of Gender within Buddhist Communities in Sichuan Province, China

This project will be researching gender inequality in Buddhist communities within Sichuan province, China. I will be conducting interviews with both monastic and lay practitioners to get firsthand accounts of the role of gender in Buddhist institutions. Previous scholarly work concludes there is significant gender inequality within Buddhist institutions. This project will revisit the issue of gender inequality in Buddhism to provide updated research on the perceptions of gender by Buddhist practitioners, how gender roles function within Buddhist communities and whether any actions have been taken by these communities towards creating greater gender equality. The goal of this project is to connect previous literature and proposed resolutions for gender inequality to the current functionality of Buddhist communities in Sichuan province. Furthermore, I hope to develop a more thorough understanding of how gender plays a role in contemporary Buddhism.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jinhua Chen

Student:

Partner:

Sichuan University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: