Criticism of Buddhism
The Buddha described a woman's body as a vessel of impure filth in an early text. He compared it to a rotten pit or a toilet with nine holes pouring out waste. Isaline Blew Horner and Diana Mary Paul expressed deep concern over the discrimination against almswomen and laywomen in Indian Buddhism. Kawahashi Noriko observed that the contemporary Buddhist community in Japan holds two damaging views about women. One view claims women are inherently incompetent while another insists they must depend on men for liberation. The Japanese Buddhist community has consistently ignored both women themselves and feminist critique regarding these issues.
Thai monk Kittivuddho asserted during a Cold War era interview that killing communists did not violate non-violence principles. Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist monks served as chaplains providing religious services to soldiers fighting Tamil Hindu insurgents during Sri Lanka's civil war. Monks who opposed this violence included Gananath Obeyesekere, Mahinda Deegalle, and P. D. Premasiri. They stated that violence is generally considered un-Buddhist and a distortion of the Buddha's teachings. Thai Buddhist monks have been photographed blessing school pillars during Exercise Cobra Gold humanitarian exercises in Thailand. These images show monks in saffron robes standing beside soldiers in green camouflage uniforms.
Paul Edwards argued that karma does not provide a guide to action for human beings. Whitley Kaufman wrote in his 2014 book that karma creates a taut relationship with free will. He suggested if karma existed then evil would not exist because all victims of evil just get what they deserve. Sallie B. King writes that karma often leads to stigmatization of people with disabilities and lower social status like Dalits in India. The Cūlakammavibhanga Sutta uses the Buddha's own words to justify this stigmatization. Whitley Kaufman offered five specific criticisms regarding the logic of karma including memory problems and infinite regress issues.
In imperial China bereaved families paid monks to chant at their homes offering alms to the monastic community. In Japan deceased individuals receive posthumous Buddhist names which exert direct positive influence on afterlife status. Posthumous names were conferred based on merits accumulated during lifetime alongside monetary contributions from surviving family members. Rui Han noted that Buddhism does not recognize a triune deity so individuals fall into Hell due to karma accumulation rather than divine punishment. Inoue Shinichi of the Foundation for the Restoration of Buddhism drew parallels between Buddhist names sold for cash and Catholic indulgences. This commodification of Buddhist names in Japan is facing increasing scrutiny today.
About a hundred years after the death of the Buddha the community began conducting gatherings called councils to resolve divisions. A series of schisms still occurred leading to the birth of many schools of Buddhism over time. Buddhists sometimes use very pejorative terms to characterize other schools that do not share their beliefs. The most common point of discontent involves the usage of the word Hinayana by adherents of Mahayana. This term refers to followers of Theravada Buddhism within the Vajrayana extension. Scholars use terms such as early Buddhism to describe Buddhism before these religious schisms emerged historically.
Chapter 8 verses 62 through 70 of Atmasiddhi Shastra articulate a Jain defense against Buddhist notions of impermanence. Shrimad Rajchandra wrote this text in the 19th century defending dualism of lifeless matter and everlasting soul. Since at least 166 Taoism propagated the idea that Laozi went to India to become the Buddha to subdue barbarians. These debates continued until the middle of the 9th century when Chinese Taoism and Buddhism accused each other of copying texts. Hirata Atsutane wrote a biography of the Buddha from a critical perspective which was subsequently banned by the shogunate. Hindu schools like Vedanta label Buddhism as a nastika school due to doctrines of sunyata and anatta.
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Common questions
What did the Buddha say about a woman's body in early texts?
The Buddha described a woman's body as a vessel of impure filth and compared it to a rotten pit or a toilet with nine holes pouring out waste. Isaline Blew Horner and Diana Mary Paul expressed deep concern over this discrimination against almswomen and laywomen in Indian Buddhism.
How do Thai monks justify violence during conflicts like the Cold War era interview?
Thai monk Kittivuddho asserted that killing communists did not violate non-violence principles during a Cold War era interview. Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist monks served as chaplains providing religious services to soldiers fighting Tamil Hindu insurgents during Sri Lanka's civil war.
Why does Whitley Kaufman argue that karma creates problems for free will?
Whitley Kaufman wrote in his 2014 book that karma creates a taut relationship with free will because if karma existed then evil would not exist since all victims of evil just get what they deserve. He offered five specific criticisms regarding the logic of karma including memory problems and infinite regress issues.
When did the first councils occur after the death of the Buddha?
About a hundred years after the death of the Buddha the community began conducting gatherings called councils to resolve divisions. A series of schisms still occurred leading to the birth of many schools of Buddhism over time.
What is the Jain defense against Buddhist notions of impermanence found in Atmasiddhi Shastra?
Chapter 8 verses 62 through 70 of Atmasiddhi Shastra articulate a Jain defense against Buddhist notions of impermanence written by Shrimad Rajchandra in the 19th century defending dualism of lifeless matter and everlasting soul.