Status of Women Ascetics in Jaina and Buddhist (Sramana) Traditions

In the context of Indian thought, freedom is primarily taken to mean freedom from suffering or duhkha arising out of ignorance. The common view held by all Indian thinkers is that ignorance of reality is the cause of our bondage and suffering. Moksha is regarded as the highest purushartha or goal of life. Jain and Buddhist religion have made a major impact on society through the path which leads to the cessation of suffering or which leads towards the liberation. There is a problem of the relation between women and spiritual liberation. This work examines the assumptions and the implications of this problem in detail. Hence, this work compares the similarities and differences between Jaina and Buddhist traditions with respect to women ascetics. This work also explores why both traditions did not want to give equality to women in the religious realm and thought from the women’s perspective. A related question is whether this can be regarded as either a philosophical or a social problem. The spirit guiding this work is: “What if we just happen to be women? Gender is no obstacle to attaining sainthood.” This work will helpful for those people who are interested in gender studies