@article{ART003332332},
author={Lee Hea Young},
title={A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -},
journal={불교학리뷰},
issn={1975-2660},
year={2026},
number={39},
pages={61-94},
doi={10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61}
TY - JOUR
AU - Lee Hea Young
TI - A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -
JO - 불교학리뷰
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 39
PB - Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
SP - 61
EP - 94
SN - 1975-2660
AB - This study reexamines the meaning of the Eight Garudhammas(八敬法) and the Buddhist view of female Buddhahood, focusing on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra(大愛道比丘尼經). Previous scholarship has often regarded the Eight Garudhammas as institutional symbols of gender discrimination and interpreted the denial of female Buddhahood and the doctrine of transformation into a male body as limitations on women’s capacity for practice. Through close textual analysis, this paper proposes an alternative reading, understanding these teachings not as contradictory doctrines but as elements within a coherent soteriological framework.
The theory of the Five Obstacles(五障說) is interpreted not as asserting women’s inherent inferiority, but as reflecting historical constraints on women occupying positions of supreme authority. By distinguishing between “becoming a Buddha” as religious leadership(作佛) and “attaining Buddhahood” as the realization of awakening(成佛), this study argues that enlightenment itself remains open to women. The concept of “zhangfu”(丈夫) is reinterpreted as a normative term denoting spiritual virtue rather than biological maleness. Likewise, transformation into a male body is understood symbolically, signifying the eradication of defilements and the completion of practice.
Furthermore, the Eight Garudhammas are reconsidered not as essential restrictions but as pragmatic measures securing institutional conditions for women’s ordination within their historical context. Through this analysis, this study demonstrates that the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra presents the principle of equality, affirming that women can also attain Buddhahood through practice.
KW - Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra;Eight Garudhammas;Female Buddhahood;Denial of Female Buddhahood;Transformation into a Male Body
DO - 10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
ER -
Lee Hea Young. (2026). A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -. 불교학리뷰, 39, 61-94.
Lee Hea Young. 2026, "A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -", 불교학리뷰, no.39, pp.61-94. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young "A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -" 불교학리뷰 39 pp.61-94 (2026) : 61.
Lee Hea Young. A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -. 2026; 39 : 61-94. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young. "A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -" 불교학리뷰 no.39(2026) : 61-94.doi: 10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young. A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -. 불교학리뷰, 39, 61-94. doi: 10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young. A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -. 불교학리뷰. 2026; 39 61-94. doi: 10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young. A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -. 2026; 39 : 61-94. Available from: doi:10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
Lee Hea Young. "A Study on the Eight Garudhammas and the Doctrine of Female Buddhahood - Centered on the Mahāprajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī Sūtra -" 불교학리뷰 no.39(2026) : 61-94.doi: 10.29213/crbs..39.202604.61
