Suwanna Satha-anand
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
This paper offers an analysis of crucial moments in the lives of two great Buddhist women, namely, Madsi and Mahapajapati. The former shows great strength and determination to maintain the traditional role of woman as wife by insisting on following her husband, Prince Vessantara into the forest. The latter shows great determination to seek an alternative spiritual life for women by seeking full ordination for women. Both women continue to serve as role models for women in the contemporary Buddhist world as they represent two major choices in the life of Buddhist women, one the traditional supportive role within the family, and the other, the possibility of ordination or the spiritual path for women themselves.
(Presented in the 2013 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: The Emergence and Heritage of Asian Women Intellectuals, 10-11 September 2013, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Indian Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University)