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Introduction
What does the Lotus Sutra have to teach us about social responsibility? The immense influence and popularity of this Buddhist scripture throughout many parts of Asia (e.g., Watson 1993, p. ix) is reason enough to investigate its relation to social responsibility. In addition, the text of the Lotus Sutra itself suggests a reason for examining its teachings on social responsibility by proclaiming itself to be the "one vehicle," the unifying law or truth, what Tamura Yoshiro describes as "the great unifying law of the universe that animates everyone and everything equally" (Tamura 1989, p. 41). More specifically, if we think of social responsibility in the contemporary world as encompassing "gender justice"-that is, fairness and equitable treatment for all persons, regardless of their gender-what is the Lotus Sutra's message?
Does the Lotus Sutra promote or deny gender justice, or is it simply indifferent on this issue? The continuing popularity and influence of the Lotus Sutra throughout many parts of Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan, during a period in which traditional understandings of patriarchal and male-dominated social relations are being challenged as unjust, provides a motivation for examining the Lotus' relationship to gender justice. In particular, as Buddhism seeks "to justify itself as a religion suitable for modern Japan" (Tanabe 1989, p. 191), a nation currently struggling with changing gender roles and relationships between men and women, what role do or could the Lotus Sutra's teachings about gender play in relation to gender justice?
Gender is an important category of analysis in the Lotus Sutra. It provides a means for differentiating and hierarchalizing the status of males and females, both human and nonhuman. It symbolizes differences in temperament, capabilities, and virtues. Perhaps most importantly, it provides a basis for evaluating people's capacity for realizing the Mahayana ideal of full Buddhahood-anuttara-samyaksambodhi-- as opposed to the "lesser" Hinayana Buddhist goal of arhatship. Before embarking on an analysis of the Lotus' teachings about gender, some qualifications are in order. First, although it has unquestionably had a significant influence in shaping attitudes about gender (e.g., Schuster 1985b, p. 91),1 the specific influence of the Lotus Sutra in shaping understandings of gender among its hearers and readers has varied significantly. The way its statements have been received, especially concerning normative...