Enlightened Women
Why aren’t there any? Or why are there so few? Perhaps the answer isn’t exactly what we think.
Maybe it was access. One thing that comes to mind right away is that men could go into monasteries. They were much more likely to do that and become enlightened. Women were always having babies and stuck doing that.
So they just didn’t have access.
Another way to look at it is that the enlightened women simply weren’t paid attention to. They aren’t seen. Don’t think that misogyny is something that just started now. You and I know it’s way more difficult for a woman to be heard through the noise than a guy.
After all, it’s the guys making all the noise!
Maybe there is another reason, and this is just my own little deal.
Maybe it’s because women would tell a different story than enlightened men have told. What if it wasn’t a story that would be very popular in society? What if it didn’t fit in the romance and hierarchy of the typical spiritual traditions? That wouldn’t be a good marketing ploy by the women.
In other words: Everything that has come to us from the past has been passed down and written within a certain context. They say that history is written by the victors. Right? You never hear the stories of all the people that lost the wars because then, they were gone. So throughout history you’re not going to hear the stories and ideas of women who aren’t or weren’t in a position to be heard. It also wouldn’t pass down if it couldn’t easily be marketed by others.
What if women don’t tell the story of what all seekers have to gain in enlightenment and instead only told of the necessary sacrifice and how you become ordinary. What if it was more about taking out the trash and less about bliss?
I don’t know. But it could certainly be that the reason we don’t hear of enlightened women is totally different than what we might think.
Curious?