Chinese Bhiksunis in the Ch'an Tradition

The spirit of essential Mahayana Buddhist doctrines assumes equality between male and female, although in the mundane world the position of Buddhist women is lower than that of Buddhist men. The Chinese Ch'an Buddhist tradition, following the egalitarian teaching of One-Mind of enlightenment, advocates non-discriminating, universal Buddhahood accessible to every sentient being, whether male or female. Nevertheless, women's status and spiritual capacities have not been upheld as highly in Buddhist history as they have by the Chinese Ch'an School.