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Localising the Universal: Women, Motherhood and the Appeal of Early Theravāda Buddhism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2002

Barbara Watson Andaya
Barbara Watson Andaya
Affiliation:
Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawaii, 2444 Dole St., Honolulu HI 96822 USA. bandaya@hawaii.edu
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Abstract

This essay suggests that one reason for the success of Theravāda Buddhism in early Southeast Asia was its appeal to women. The maternal metaphor, a prominent theme in Buddhist texts, was both familiar and relevant to the lives of all females, regardless of their social standing. Translated into a local environment, the interaction between motherhood and merit-making provided new opportunities for lay women to display their piety and strengthened their links with the monkhood.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , February 2002 , pp. 1 - 30
Copyright
© 2002 The National University of Singapore

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