This is a picture taken after a grueling and intensive two-week meditation retreat. The three nuns are of different schools. From left to right: Won Buddhism, Pure Land, and Medicant. I think the nuns wanted to take this pic and four Theravada monks just decided to "pop" into the picture (including me!).
The Buddha did not just create a new religion, he created a whole ontology of existence, complete with metaphysical details of the duality of consciousness and its objects, as well as explanations of mundane and ultimate realities. The Buddha created a complete ethical structure in which to judge wholesome and unwholesome deeds within this ontology along with lessons in morality that can lead one down a path to liberation. To say it is a sophisticated philosophy is an understatement, however, as brilliant as the Buddha's mind was for conceptual constructs of actuality, he also broke down cultural barriers of segregation and ancient traditions of the caste system within his Sangha.
A brief history of the caste system is in order. Before Buddhism, and Hinduism itself, was a cultural identity known as Brahmanism (we will call it a religion for the sake of clarity with the understanding that it was an ancient social phenomenon first). The first scripture of Brahmanism was the great ancient texts of the Veda's (the Vedic tradition is the understructure for many beliefs in Asia. It is paramount to the teachings of several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism). The first text of the Veda's was the Rigveda, which discussed the creation of the universe.
This explanation is from the Rigveda, however, there are literally 1000's of explanations of how the universe was created from the Vedic tradition. I am not supporting one over the other, nor in any way claiming to be a Vedic scholar. This particular explanation appears to be the first one, as far as the Vedas are concerned and gives an account as to why the universe is structured the way it is, establishing a point of reference that fits the context of this post.
The Rigveda tells of Purusha, the first god of the Vedas, existing in a void, alone and cold. Purusha then created lesser deities in order to worship him. These deities loved Purusha dearly and wanted to give a sacrifice to him (as was the norm for showing devotion in the Vedic tradition). There was nothing that existed except for Purush and the lesser deities, so the deities did the most reasonable thing they could think of, they sacrificed Purusha to Purusha.
This sacrifice IS the universe, the eye is the sun, the breath the wind, the soles of his feet the ground. It was not just the material make up the universe that was created, but man as well. From Purusha came the varnas (the ancient Vedic caste system). From the head came the Brahmin varna, the priests who rule over all and teach the people all things spiritual and academic. From Purusha's arms came the Kshatriya varna, the kings and warriors who protect the people and keep the peace. The legs of Purusha became the Vaishya varna, the farmers and merchants who keep the people supplied with the necessities of life. From Purusha's feet came the lowly Shudra varna, the workers, and slaves, which provided the manpower to run the whole society. This was a division of the male section of the population, the women were either not considered a part of it or as the Shudra varna; even the women of the higher castes were considered lesser pieces to the whole of society.
The Buddha broke these chains, several times declaring that the Brahmins were no better, nor the Shudra no worse than anyone based on birth, lineage or family. One important thing to note here is that in a male dominated society, that was also a caste society, where structure of culture and rigidness of position was the norm, the Buddha openly rejected the thought that one man, or women, was somehow inferior to another in terms of their ability to be liberated.
Many people see the place of nuns within the Buddha's Sangha and think that they were considered lesser to the monks. This is not exactly true. Within the early Sangha, the power structure was monk dominated, however, at no time did the Buddha, or the early Sangha as a whole, say men have a better chance at salvation than a woman does. Many times, in fact, a nun was revered for her progress
and attainment. The Buddha even praised a woman for being amongst his four most spiritually powerful disciples, his cousin and former wife, Bhadda Kaccana; This story is found in the Anguttara Nikaya commentary which is referenced in the wonderful introductory to Theravada Buddhism, The Buddha and his Teachings by Narada Thera.
The Buddha's proclamation that all have an equal chance at liberation was revolutionary. He welcomed slaves to leave their master and join the Sangha, he considered women not only able to be liberated, but most certainly worthy of it and led many down the path of attainment. This was a remarkable change from the social conditions of Brahmanic society. As powerful as the Buddha's teachings were, as brilliant as his insight into consciousness was, his determination to judge people based on their actions, and not on their birth, was not only paramount, it was centuries ahead of its time. The greatest gift the Buddha gave to the world was the teachings of the Dhamma, but let us never forget that within those teachings, lies a remarkable outlook on the worth of a person, one that was in the face of a strict caste system in male dominated society. As the Buddha once said in the Sonadanda Sutta:
It is not one's birth that makes a person great, but their morality and wisdom.
Excellent.
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