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Nuns in Indian Buddhism and their Stories in the Avadānaśataka
Barát, Denis ; Holba, Jiří (advisor) ; Hlubina, Miloš (referee)
This thesis is concerned with nuns in Indian Buddhism of the early to middle period, roughly up to the first half of the first millennium CE, with a focus on non-Mahāyāna sources. The textual sources on the subject are few, and the views found in them are not uniform. The thesis first presents the traditional story of the founding of the order of nuns in its various versions, which is ambivalent towards nuns. This story is discussed in detail and the views on it from contemporary scholars are presented. Attention then turns to other sources of information about nuns. The possible historical facts of their lives and the way in which they are portrayed in Buddhist canonical literature are discussed. From this overview, it will be seen that nuns are portrayed in a predominantly positive light, as conscientious and diligent disciples of the Buddha. Texts expressing doubtful or misogynistic views of them, such as the story of the founding of the nuns' order, are considerably fewer. However, not all sources dealing with Buddhist women are sufficiently explored. One of these is the Avadānaśataka, a collection of avadānas, i.e., stories illustrating the effects of actions throughout lives, dating from the first centuries CE. Its eight chapter is devoted to ten stories of nuns who attained liberation. These...
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