Philosophy of the Mind

The Life and Song Academic Research Paper

Lady Yeshe Tsogyel was a faithful and studious pupil of the Buddha guru Rinpoche. She went through many trials and tribulations trying to overcome her fleshly desires and her lustful pains to become a renouncer. She went through a painful of asceticism to completely rid herself of toxic poisons that Buddhist monks call ignorance to reach enlightenment, and yet Buddhist scholars consider her full of disgrace and fifth. I take the stand on the topic that one's gender should not hinder one from becoming a Buddha whether they are female or male, nor should one have to become another sex in order to reach enlightenment.

According to Lucinda Joy Peach states that the most significant message from the Lotus Sutra is that because "all persons possess Buddha-nature, and not only those of a certain birth, gender, aptitude, and so forth, the possibility of Enlightenment is available to all beings. (p. xix; Niwano 1976, pp. 153, 159, 161-162)" (Peach 51). So, if all persons possess the Buddha-nature and since the Buddha-nature is not constricted to any person, sex, gender, or birth then there should be opposition to recognize that Yeshe Tsogyel indeed has the Buddha-nature and Enlightenment, or at least you know close to it. The way it seems to be presented to the public is that the Buddha agrees with the Lotus Sutra saying that "one should not make distinctions by saying, "This is a woman", "This is a man"" (Peach 51). Mrs. Peach goes on to say that "The universality of this message suggests that women have the capacity to attain full Enlightenment." So, if women can attain full Enlightenment wouldn't that also put them closer to attaining Buddhahood and ultimately being a Buddha, I mean if one was to say, "no it would not" then they would be going against what the policy and belief of the Lotus Sutra that obviously declares that "Buddhahood, Buddha-nature, and Enlightenment is not restricted to any certain gender, person, sex, birth, or aptitude."

According to "the Secret Life and Song" Yeshe Tsogyel was born from miraculous power, and once she came into the world she automatically sat in the lotus position and recited and chanted the alphabet to the point that her own father declared "Surely this child is superior to other. Either she will become a mahasiddha of the Bonpo or Buddhists, or she will be a queen of the Emperor.... (Dowman 12-14). According to the Mrs. Peach she quotes Nancy Schuster saying that according to the story of the dragon girls transformation from a girl to a boy in order to attain Buddha Enlightenment "disqualifies her from Buddhahood is wrong, for here is a Buddha to be (the Dragon princess) who was born female ... Bodhisattva-hood is not inconsistent with having a female body, in fact, once can be reborn as a woman one can be reborn a woman as she Dragon princess was, after having progressed very far on the path of Buddhahood..." (Schuster 1981, p. 143)" (Peach 56) basically what Mrs. Peach is getting at by quoting Mrs. Schuster is that it should not have mattered what gender the princess Dragon was, nor should it have forced her to completely morph into a male body or disqualified her because she wasn't born a boy just for her to have entered into enlightenment when she had proven it right in front of the entire royal audience. Likewise, the "Life and Song of Yeshe Tsogyel" relates to Mrs. Schuster's claim in the fact that just because Yeshe Tsogyel is a woman who completely renounced all her worldly possessions, was taught under a Buddhist guru, and completely walked in the path and completed the necessary requirements to become a rightly acknowledged Buddha should not disqualify her unless she transforms into a man. Once again to quote the Lotus Sutra and the Great Buddha... "Buddhahood and Enlightenment are attainable to all sentient beings", and if that is the case then there should be no opposition from the board of Buddhas let alone any woman or female that wishes to go higher in Buddhahood.

To women the power of gender conformity is powerless against them, and yet it hinders them. According to Mrs. Peach she quotes Mrs. Schuster's thoughts stating that "Women of today, may feel dissatisfied that the dragon's daughter was suddenly transformed into a male and then a buddha.... The sudden transformation of a woman into a male means nothing but the transcendence of the difference between male and female... (Niwano 1796, pp. 159)" (Peach 57). This is the main meaning of this quote from Mrs. Schuster...just because a woman is a female she cannot attain Buddhahood and enlightenment because she is the incarnation of evil (samsara), yet the complete transfiguration of female into a male body for one to become a Buddha is completely pointless and does nothing. Yet here is the rebuttal of that, the Buddha according to Mrs. Peach prophesied to the women nuns that they would be teachers and leaders of the Law, and bring other men and women to the understanding of enlightenment and bodhisattva hood. (Peach 58), so if the Great Buddha himself prophetically declared to his female disciples that they will be great teachers of the Buddha Dharma Law and Enlightenment as women without having to go through any requirements why is it that Lady Tsogyel is considered filth and disgusting? Yet Lady Tsogyel completely battled and conquered all her lustful desires just like the Great Buddha himself. The same way the Great Buddha dealt with being tempted to give up his strive of the Dharma of enlightenment and was tempted with sexual temptations and worldly temptations so too was the Lady Tsogyel. In her autobiographical story "The Life and Song of Yeshe Tsogyel" Lady Yeshe she recounts the experience that she had while trying to obtain enlightenment. She says that she was tempted sexually with men of nakedness, big penises, food of all kinds of sweets and tasteful delights, and yet she did not give into these temptations, and overcome this trial by causing her samadhi to turn those trials into images of disgust just like that of the Buddha himself when he was tempted by the dark spirit Mara (Dowman 78).