With the passage of time, however, the concern for gender equality seems to have faded, but was never entirely lost. The Buddhist community began to increasingly focus on the difficulty of women achieving self-enlightenment because of their procreative functions. Later sutras appear to suggest that a woman might have to be reborn as a man before being able to attain Nirvana. Yet, at no time did Buddhism come to deny the potential of women, even as women, to reach enlightenment. It never entirely lost sight of its original premise that the nature of Buddha was equally a part of both genders. Even in Japan, where the native Shintoism precluded women from the priesthood because of their natural impurity, the Buddhist priesthood was never entirely closed to women. Neither should we overlook the fact that it was Buddhism that shook the religious community of early Japan with its acceptance of married priests, nor forget that it was Buddhist temples that first provided a refuge for battered Japanese women.

 

Given the relative equality accorded women in Buddhism, its contact with Confucianism and later Shintoism was less than congenial. Whereas the latter two clearly set men above women in all walks of life and emphasized the duties of the women in the family to the eldest male, be that her husband, son, or brother, Buddhism did not. Within the family, the responsibilities of the male members to the female members received special attention in Buddhism. Husbands were reminded, for example, that their wives were to be considered their best friends. This friendship depended on, among other things, the man being faithful and abandoning the notion of being the supreme authority. Outside the family, a Buddhist was to treat women with the same respect and kindness that one would show to a member of one's own family.

 

Today, as in the past, the issue of gender equality often focuses on the question of reproductive freedom and a woman's right to an abortion. Prior to the Occupation, abortion was illegal and the state, at times, actively called upon the patriotic women of Japan to bear more children. The present policy of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is not much different from that of pre-occupation Japan. The LDP has long opposed most forms of female contraception, sought to impose additional restrictions on abortion, and continues to decry the declining size of the Japanese family.

 

Buddhism has historically taken a relatively liberal position on the question of reproductive freedom, in general, and abortion in particular. Buddhists recognize that as the size of the family increases so does the prospect of a deterioration in the quality of life for all members of the family. In other words, there would be a significant reduction in the opportunity of each of the family members to achieve Nirvana. Accordingly, Buddhists tend to view abortion as a "necessary 'safety valve' to endure familial, societal, and national strength." 24 They would not favor a return to a legal system that deprived women of what little control they now have over their reproductive functions.

 

The above emphasis on gender equality and reciprocity in male-female relationships suggests a general congruence between Buddhism and modern day feminism. 25 Both the Buddhist and the feminist desire an evolution away from attitudes and structures based on the presumption of fundamental differences between men and women. Both reject that this evolution should be in the direction of the masculine model. Both argue that the new model should include the trait of compassion and that it should not be associated with weakness. The only significant difference between Buddhism and feminism appears in the emphasis of the former on self-enlightenment and the latter on structural transformation.

 

VII. BUDDHISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS As we have seen, the quest for Nirvana is by its very nature a highly individualized process. No two individuals will travel the same path to self-enlightenment. Yet, we have also seen that certain conditions are much more conducive to the attainment of Nirvana than others. These conditions that we have emphasized deal directly with the interrelationships among the individual's inner self, the rest of humanity, and nature, rather than the individual's relationship with some deity.

 

In the total absence of divine intervention, it is imperative that each individual, in cooperation with others, assumes full responsibility for creating and maintaining those conditions that maximize the prospects for reaching Nirvana. This cooperation will take innumerable forms. Among the most encompassing and formal forms of cooperation will be the political system. In carrying out its functions, this political system must avoid, at all costs, deteriorating into a secular or religious tyranny of the majority. Theoretically, Buddhism's aversion to dogma and its recognition of no higher good than the enlightenment of a single individual would check such tendencies. Practically speaking, however, there would be a need to provide each individual with officially recognized trumps against potential abuses of power, in short, a bill of rights.