Kate Wheeler, "Bowing, Not Scraping"

Summary by Alexandra Peyton-Levine

In this article, Wheeler questions the limitations set for female Buddhists, encouraging progression toward equality between nuns and monks who practice Buddhism. She acknowledges that many teachings portraying women as impure and inferior to men come from the historical Buddha himself, yet suggests that such teachings are outdated and should be subject to change, even if Buddha himself set different standards.

Wheeler comments on the projection of lust onto women, wondering how a tradition "…betrays its own deepest truths of wisdom and compassion"(58), by eliminating the idea, or even the possibility, that women can be pure and equally respected. As a practicing Buddhist herself, she has experienced such inequalities, and questions her own motives for continuing her practices. She acknowledges the respect of countless male worldly figures, even though "more females lived in the divine realms"(62), and wonders if such male-female inequality carries over into other realms of life.

With Dharma far surpassing Buddha's predictions of termination due to inducting females into the practice, Wheeler examines the idea of whether or not Buddha was using skillful means in his denial of female equality; whether Buddha's partial acceptance of women was in appropriate proportion to the times in which he lived, being that his ideas were already considered extreme, or if he actually didn't regard women as equal to men.

Despite experiences with men who "..still seem to be hanging on to a position at the center of the center-less universe,"(64) , Wheeler continues on her path, hoping that equality will eventually be a part of all female Buddhists' lives. She comments briefly on Tibetan Vajrayana teachings that include female Buddhas and a vow against viewing women as inferior; happy that such teachings exist, yet questioning the character of the vow.

In summary, Wheeler continues as a practicing Buddhist with strong intentions to include women in all of the aspects of Buddhist practices. She directly disagrees with Buddha's views on women, claiming that "…the Buddha was wrong &endash; and [women] have to have the courage to say so"(67).