The Buddha’s teaching marks a profound turning point in the recognition of women’s spiritual capacity. At the heart of his message is the principle of soteriological inclusiveness — the view that the path to liberation is equally open to all, regardless of gender. According to scholar Alan Sponberg, this inclusiveness is one of the most distinctive and revolutionary aspects of Buddhist thought. It asserts that sex and gender differences are spiritually insignificant: what matters is the cultivation of wisdom, ethics, and concentration .
In early Buddhist texts, this view is not only philosophical but also practical. The Buddha explicitly said he would not pass away until there were fully capable monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who could preserve and teach the Dhamma. He taught women directly and sometimes went out of his way to do so. A famous example is his honoring of the courtesan Ambapālī’s invitation to a meal over a later offer from wealthy young men. Ambapālī was later ordained and became an Arahat .
The Pali Canon records that women can become Arahats, just as men can. In fact, the Buddha listed more than 500 nuns who had reached this highest spiritual goal. These included exemplary women like:
- Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the Buddha’s aunt and foster-mother;
- Khemā, known for her wisdom;
- Uppalavaṇṇā, noted for her psychic powers;
- Dhammadinnā, recognized for her skill in Dhamma teaching;
- and Patachārā, revered for her mastery of monastic discipline .
While early Buddhism supported the idea that women could attain full spiritual liberation, it did so within a context of institutional male dominance. Sponberg calls this pattern “institutional androcentrism.” Later developments sometimes reflected “ascetic misogyny” — suspicion or fear of female sexuality — but these were not rooted in the original teachings of the Buddha himself .
Despite such social constraints, the recognition of women’s spiritual potential was radical for its time. Laywomen were also respected in the texts. For example, faithful laywomen were encouraged to raise their daughters to emulate the best laywomen or nuns, just as sons should emulate great monks or laymen.
The Mahāyāna tradition later built upon this foundation. It presented female Bodhisattvas such as Guanyin (Kuan-yin), revered not only as spiritually advanced but also as deeply compassionate and protective. Some texts even recognize female Buddhas, though most schools held that the final Buddha status was reserved for men. Nonetheless, the recognition of female enlightenment remained strong, particularly in Chinese Ch’an and Japanese Zen, where the emphasis was on inner realization rather than social identity.
The spiritual path in Buddhism, then, is not gendered. As one Zen master declared, “For mastering the truth, it does not matter whether one is male or female… One moment of insight and one is shoulder to shoulder with the Buddha”