No" 82.

-tg2g1 woMnN uNDER pRrnrrrrvE BUDDHTsM 42r

WOMEN UNDER PRIMITIVE BUDDHISM

Miss

ISALINE B. HORNER,

(RouTLDDGE

&

SoNs,

,d_oyen

'l-lLis book is a trull Iascinating sludy oI how much was clonc hw gu.tldhism 'for the uplift ot \voma"n in Incria and rrow ,'".r,-*.tli {lld, ln therr tutn, as.plol)s and stays oI the religion tlrat had soelt such.a. cha.ngc in rlrcir livos. Miss l. B. Horner"is n"s"rr.ill."-'liJ* and Librarian of Newnham.College, Cambridge. Mrs. nfrys n""ias, tfre

LoNnou, .r;sh.)

b"i"g,'tl; author has discussed such controversial matters as chilcl-mar?iase. infanticidc, rlivorcc and widor-burning in rhc lighf .I t;;.;;i;';,"rli -},._".'e#, litcrature with wlrich she has made hirself so ,riuclr happily for all lovers o{ India, she has shown in regard to ^t oi thcse that India has been,more sinned.against than iinning."o"t, ih";; is, indeed, no aspect of the life oJ an Indiai woman of tfr" a.f tfr"f fr.! bcen left out of conside.ra.tion. Nor is it a reconstructioi of m"ie ,co.jecture, for nearly a1l the books of the pali Caron anJ ;;"h';; thc commentarial litera.ture have bcen brought under contribution.
orearires. rtte mrnrsterlng care o{ the mother, the sacrificial devotion of the wi{e, filia1 afiection_and. in a word, all that goes to make a home bappy- are all here. Trulv_.has_ Miss llorner, in this part;i h";;;;;; tlone for the women rvho'Iivecr uncler primitir" B'.i,lhi.'o *rr"i1*.i g_enerations back and more was clone in such charming f""fri"" it, iirJ Women of Ancient In<tia by X{11e. Bader. Part z of the book is devotecl to the consideration of ,.BucIrihist Order of Almswomen. , One note of protert h".". the choice The of the rvord " almswoman', to clenote tnebaU.Lninnhrr;i;: ;;- r;; the least,. not happy. For,in.this portion of lhe bo;t;hi;'"i;;;i. its equally uncouth brother, is met with repeatedty, i" q;i;il ]]."j^1:yllh H._i1.1^"il:i,r.:""t]I cvery-page tiII it almost becomes an eyesore. j;."*1fi:j1-:,*:th"*ly 11 onI1, temp_eramentat, but one h"tp .. Rh]-: Davids "aorrot :r_rlyl.g,.jr.t lulrs.jjut this cloeshad shown a better way in her psalmi or tne S1sters." not of course detracfin anv measure {ron the general excellence o{ the work, first.Chapter of the zncl Irart discusses the question of the ,,.-,-T-1: :ll]l-9"i..,hcsitancy to admit women into the orclei_a hesitancy u'lijclr vleide'l under the.weight of the importunity of Nlahapajapaii ancl the warm-heartccl solicitirde ol tfr" lhat foliows givcs the eight chief,rf"i ttrt e"."a.. The Chapter "oif" Or.der and Ircrc, as throughout, thc Vinaya Texts lta e";ernea tneinlormation ie yielt_lecl rnat \\'as scar-cely suspected to be there. It is scen that the bupcrlorrty ol man exprcssed in the puritan poet,s ,, Man to traditional command. to obey, " had even in '1,1_1 l.ii" drder raised its proucl head. rut, rn the rvords of the author the New u.hilc ., procautions such as herself, thcse were for the satety oflne irJaf.d- sex......there is never any _necessary hint or suggestion thaf r-oman rvas too frail to run the
has ",succceded

religion_was born, rn'here it ]ived and moveci ancl

characteristically full of suggestions. _ rn the first part of her book Miss lro'ner has described the varied role of woman as mother, w-ife, wi<low and worker. In clrau.ins fo; us a picture o{ the times eLnd ilre sociar conclitions into wni-ctr i;;";;

of modern Pali studics, writes an' illurninating l.;;*.i

hrd it;

From the information {ound scattered

ir these ancient pages, in piecing together a picture that ilm"osithe authoi 1i;; ;;;

+22

JoURN-{L,

R.A.s. (cDyr-oN) l\rol . XXXI

the Blethren, by saying " it w:Ls because in mctlitation thev concentrate more intcnselv than mcn ancl shut awal' al1 clistracting sights and souncls bv an cffort of the x'i11." It is u'ith tiifficulty that wc tear ourselves auiar-v from this part o{ the book lvhere we rvoulcl wi1lingly linger

gaze a noble band oJ women, young ancl olcl, lr-ho had left the ple:rsures. of horne tor the morc austere jovs of the life of homelcssncss. What thing irresistiblc lured thcsc heroic ladics to treacl the lone heights ? \Mhat rvere the compelling rnotivcs that dror.e them from the shelter o{ their homcs ? From ancl into rvhat did the-v thus sech escape To thcsc ancl other cluestions of a hindred nature the ansrver is found in thcse pages. \Are rvjll not quarrel with our author u'hen with, perhaps, more instinctive synpathy *'ith thosc of hcr sex than approximation to tmth, she trics to cxplain au.ay " the apparent insensibility to nature " seen in the 'lhcrigatha as compared v'ith the l'salms o{
?

gauntlet of thc world's attractions ancl temptations, or that tlie purity o{ her reputation coulcl only be prescrved i{ she rvere not allos'ed t-o go out of thc Vihara preoincts " Theirs, then, rvas no cloistered virtuc, but the strength of a life livcd in tlte open air" This is verl' clearly brought out in the trvo \-ery refreshing chapters dealing with thc 'L-herigatha- Flere rve see passing before our reverent

long, but in taking leave of thesc clear presences, u'e sti11 rnust turn again to look a.t Soma r-ho, lil<e the Princess o{ a later day, sounded tire clarion of u'oman's emancipation in words tirat burn-. " itthibJrd,t.,o no hint hul,ivii1 " (How should the u-oman's naturc hindcl us ?) The pagcs that fol1ow are devoterl to the consideration of the life ol u'omen as it rvas 1ivecl in the Order the trials ancl temptations that beset thenr, their lapses, thcir moral victories and thc inter-

communication with thc Theras. The concluding Chaptcr gives the relationship between the laity and the Order, and thc account of the the life of Visnkha brings out the attitu<le o{ nutual help{ulness in which the one stoocl to the otJrer. Thc rr'hole is a. verv human

higher sphere. 'Ihe copious notes and referenccs givcn at the foot o{ every page
ractcrised also
anc1, above

not of it

document u'here u'e see wofren n-ho, whilc they n-ere in the v'orld, u'ere a"nd who seem, rvhile tirey tread on ealth, to touch upon a

that must have precetlerl the composition o{ this worh-a I'ork

are alone an indcx to the paticnt industry and careful si{ting of material cha-

all, by that imaginative sympathy at rvhose touch alone the past rcnders up its jealously guarded treasures.

by sober good

sense, sound juclgment ancl learning

under thc regcnerating influence of the l3ucldha's \4'ay o{ LiJc, wom,an hacl, centuries before the birth of Christ, rid herself of her shakcles and risen to the fu11 statul:e o{ her distinctive g'omanhood antl shorvn that she was " not undevclopetl man, but only diverse." To adapt

It is commonly helcl th:rt until Christianitv hacl leavcned the lifc o{ the nations the lot o{ t'ornan sras all unenviable one. But the supreme lesson o{ \[iss llorner's book is that in India at least,

the iines

to the vitiatecl taste that could produce a book such as l,'Iiss Horner has 1aicl all lovers of India's grcet heritage ancl the Buclclhist t'orld in particular, under e deep debt-ol G.P.M' gra.ritu;le.
corrective

western u'indorvs onll', rvhcn davlight Comes, comes in the light But ea.stwarcl 1ook, the land is briglrt." In conclusion it rnay be saicl that the rvork administers the needed

o:f

" Not {rom

the

.poet,

" Mothcr Inclia."