Is one sentence meant to position him within the discourse on the dragon Dogen’s girl story widespread in his day? Let us review briefly what we know of that discourse, or of the array of discourses, that we know had developed by time, the key point Dogen’s of which is that women are especially burdened with sin. The idea that women are burdened with sin and bear the five hindrances did not immediately arrive in Japan from the continent with Buddhism. Yoshida Kazuhiko points out that in the Nara period in Japan (710-194) the idea that women were especially burdened with sin had yet to be conceived. Saicho used the story to support the idea of Buddhahood in this very body. But in Heian Japan (794-1185) the story of the dragon daughter became widely known, and mention of the five hindrances or barriers to king’s salvation entered aristocratic as well as monastic literature. In some poems by women’s aristocratic ladies reference to the dragon princess serves to illustrate that even though women carry the five obstructions—now interpreted as intrinsic sinfulness, five flaws inherent in women--women can achieve buddhahood, or be saved. Others stress heavy burden of sinfulness, their inferiority. Texts by monks in the Heian women’s period also stressed, based on the or vows, that, though Lotus Sutra Amida’s women’s nature is deeply sinful, thanks to the power of the teachings they too can attain Buddha’s buddhahood or be reborn in paradise. It is not at all clear that all texts by women, even those most exposed to Buddhist texts and preaching, bought so completely into the trope of the deep sinfulness of women or the need for birth in a male body. As Meeks writes, have argued that court “Many women, especially those poised to patronize large-scale artistic projects, tended to read
Is Dogen’s one sentence meant to position him within the discourse on the dragon girl story widespread in his day? Let us review briefly what we know of that discourse, or of the array of discourses, that we know had developed by Dogen’s time, the key point of which is that women are especially burdened with sin. The idea that women are burdened with sin and bear the five hindrances did not immediately arrive in Japan from the continent with Buddhism. Yoshida Kazuhiko points out that in the Nara period in Japan (710-194) the idea that women were especially burdened with sin had yet to be conceived. Saicho used the story to support the idea of Buddhahood in this very body. But in Heian Japan (794-1185) the story of the dragon king’s daughter became widely known, and mention of the five hindrances or barriers to women’s salvation entered aristocratic as well as monastic literature. In some poems by aristocratic ladies reference to the dragon princess serves to illustrate that even though women carry the five obstructions—now interpreted as intrinsic sinfulness, five flaws inherent in women--women can achieve buddhahood, or be saved. Others stress women’s heavy burden of sinfulness, their inferiority. Texts by monks in the Heian period also stressed, based on the Lotus Sutra or Amida’s vows, that, though women’s nature is deeply sinful, thanks to the power of the Buddha’s teachings they too can attain buddhahood or be reborn in paradise. It is not at all clear that all texts by women, even those most exposed to Buddhist texts and preaching, bought so completely into the trope of the deep sinfulness of women or the need for birth in a male body. As Meeks writes, “Many have argued that court women, especially those poised to patronize large-scale artistic projects, tended to read