IMAGE OF WOMEN THROUGH SPEECH ACTS IN BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES

Abstract

Ponte Academic JournalMar 2021, Volume 77, Issue 3 IMAGE OF WOMEN THROUGH SPEECH ACTS IN BUDDHIST SCRIPTURESAuthor(s): Yoon-Cheol ParkJ. Ponte - Mar 2021 - Volume 77 - Issue 3 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2021.3.11 Abstract:In Buddhist scriptures about women, the Suj?ta Sutra and the ?r?m?l? Sutra are unique until now. Previous studies have mainly explored them in the religious and social perspectives. However, the speech acts in the text of the two sutras, which are written in the style of a spoken language, have been overlooked. The purpose of this research is to examine the image of women portrayed through speech acts. The sample of the research focuses on utterances of speech acts in the Suj?ta Sutra and the ?r?m?l? Sutra. A literature review and a descriptive approach are utilized to analyse the sample. The research scope is limited to the following two categories: utterances of speech acts; and contents of Five Good Deeds, Three Evils, Ten Evil Deeds in the Suj?ta Sutra, and Ten Great Vows in the ?r?m?l? Sutra. The findings indicate that illocutionary acts of directives and representatives are present in the dialogues in the Suj?ta Sutra, where Suj?ta as a wife and a woman is treated as inferior to her husband; and commissive acts are contained in the utterances in the ?r?m?l? Sutra, where Queen ?r?m?l? swears to Buddha to become Tathagata, thus achieving equal status with men. These speech acts ultimately connote that women had a passive, obedient social image in ancient times and that Buddhism pursues gender equality in a religious dimension. Thus, this research suggests that speech acts can be a useful tool in examining the image of women in the sutras. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password