On 5 March 2010 23:06, ashinpan <ashinpan@...> wrote:

>
>
>
> Dear Bankei,
>
>
> You wrote:
>
> > But the rules clearly favour men.
> > There is a gurudhamma rule that a woman ordained for 100 years has to bow
> > down to a monk ordained for 1 day. The determining factor is gender, so
> how
> > can this not be gender bias? ie favouring one gender over another.
>
> I think it is possible to explain this garudhamma rule without treating it
> as gender bias. But my explanation is only hypothetical and I will not claim
> that what I am going to say is really the Buddha's intent.
>
> Let us look at a very different organization---the military. In almost all
> armed forces in the world, soldiers of a lower rank have to salute when they
> see an officer of a higher rank. In some armies, different ranks have
> different mess halls, different clubs, and usually there are many rules to
> limit the socializing between soldiers of different ranks. Does all this
> mean that lower rank soldiers are inferior soldiers?
>
> I don't think so. We all know that there are many excellent private
> soldiers as well as foolish and cowardly officers; so this universal custom
> of discrimination cannot reflect the reality. Then why has it stood
> universally? Probably because it works, because it has a functional value
> for the overall organization. But I don't know what it is; I request those
> more knowledgeable to enlighten me in this regard.
>
> In the same manner, the first garudhamma may also have a functional value,
> even though it may appear unfair to the eyes of an outsider. But I cannot
> answer yet what its value exactly is.
>
> Just food for thought.
>
> with metta
>
> Ven. Pandita
>
>
>

Hi Ven Pandita

Thats a good comparison.

But it doesn't really fit as in the Military a salute does not depend on
gender. It depends on rank. So a junior male officer would have to salute a
senior female officer.

Bankei


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