Female Magic: Performing Sexual Convertibility in Early Mahāyāna Buddhist Narratives

How are gender representations, especially those of females, configured, performed, or reconciled in Buddhist worldview? This inquiry has been approached from different angles, including Indic understandings of gender and sexuality in Buddhist sūtra literature, as well as bodily practices in tantric experiences. However, the exploration of sexuality, particularly its differentiation from gender and its embodiment and interpretation in early Chinese Mahāyāna writings, remains incomplete. With this in mind, this paper aims to examine how sexuality, distinct from gender, contributes to the construction and reinforcement of gender hierarchies and the performative nature of narratives in early Mahāyāna Sūtra literature.

The study delves into the theme of sexual convertibility in Chapter 6 of Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra and the attainment of the Taintless Light girl in Sūtra on Transforming the Female Form (佛說轉女身經), juxtaposed with biological categorizations of sexuality such as paṇḍaka, ṣaṇḍha, and ubhaya-vyañjanaka in the Brahmajāla-sūtra. The paper argues sexuality, distinct from gender, plays a role in constructing and reinforcing gender hierarchies, while its superimposition with gendered bodily forms results in inconsistent narratives that persist as gender dilemmas within the sūtras. Female-to-male transformation in narratives is conditioned by 1) desexualized appearances as a result of an implicit distinction between gender and sexuality, and 2) a gender hierarchical structure determined by sexual functions and reproductive anatomy. The study underscores that a pre-existed sexual dichotomy and gender hierarchy in early Buddhist narratives (e.g., Madhyama-āgama) give rise to the emphasis on the convertibility of gender/sex displayed in a performative mode, tending to reconcile gender dilemmas. Through the lens of Buddhist sūtra in Medieval Chinese contexts, the study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the historical construction of gender in premodern society, while introducing a new perspective on narrative modes arising from the unresolved tensions between Buddhist soteriological agenda and the underlying gender/sexual biases.

In line with the panel's theme, this paper will explore two gender dilemmas, as a inter-religious confliects, in Buddhist sūtras: firstly, the inconsistency between the illusory nature of forms and the gender hierarchy conditioning female-to-male transformation; the second is about the tension between static biological categories of sexual body with the gender fluidity that implies a transcendence of physical divisions. These dilemmas are not isolated; rather, they intersect within a systematic discourse, revealing the complexity of how gender and sexuality are depicted in  narrative modes and rhetorics in sūtras, both in alignment with and in contradiction to Buddhist universal salvation purposes. 

The particular rhetoric refers to the extent of performality inherent in different modes of sūtra narratives in relation to an unconscious differentiation between gender and sexuality. Alan Sponberg (1992) outlines attitudes toward women in Buddhist literature, wherein soteriological inclusiveness pertains to initial notion of soteriological significance of gender, and dialectical androgyny focuses on reconciling gender ideals in the later development of Mahāyāna Buddhism. He suggests that multivocality, as an explanation for contradictory ideas in Buddhism, reflects the diverse interests of different groups within the monastic order. Expanding on multivocal social dynamics, Stephanie Balkwill (2016, 2021), by exploring reception history of female-to-male narratives, suggests marginalized female voices as one of the reasons for the contriditive narratives in sūtra transmission in Medieval Chinese contexts. Similarly, Megha Yadav (2022) argues that despite the potential for gender transformation, gender biases and hierarchies persist. However, the existing scholarly discourse on gender transformation has not addressed the intricacies of the concept of gender, which encompasses both gendered appearance and its role as a marker of sexual identity. Through close reading, the study aims to explore how sexuality is manifested in various sūtras through a performative mode of narrative to reconsile inconsistencies conditioning a female body’s transformation. The modern differentiation between gender and sexuality questions whether it is a socially conceptualized construction or a biological category. While it is risky to apply modern categorizations to premodern contexts, it is essential to consider whether there are alternatives to explain inconsistent narratives that convey nuanced differences between the biological features associated with female sex and their gender appearance. 

With this in mind, the study explores three sets of sūtra narratives: Chapter 6 of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra, detailing the conversation between Śāriputra and the goddess; the statement of the Taintless Light Girl in the Sūtra on Transforming the Female Form; and the biological categories presented in the Brahmajāla-sūtra. On one hand, the textual analysis of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra focuses on the goddess's magical ability to transform Sariputra sexually, illustrating a male-to-female convertibility rooted in equally illusory forms of the body regardless of gender. Through comparison of Sanskrit texts, the study can uncover: 1) the pretexts conditioning the mutual transformation between two divine beings, 2) the de-sexualized narratives compared to the Dragon girl’s transformation in Chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra, and 3) the different depictions of sexuality between the Chinese translation and Sanskrit discourse. On the other hand, the analysis of the Taintless Light Girl focuses on her portrayal concerning the existential defilements of the female body, providing insight into Buddhist doctrinal attitudes towards the female body from a narrative perspective. This exploration, coupled with a comparison to the biological categorization in the Brahmajāla-sūtra, not only illustrates two narrative modes about sexuality with varying levels of performativity but also reveals inconsistent views regarding the female body and its forms.

This examination can demonstrate that de-sexualized female representations, like the goddess and the Taintless Light Girl, may appear in narratives of gender transformation. However, the portrayal of sexualized female bodies, defined by their sexual functionality and reproductive anatomy, forges the perception of the inefficacy of female bodies as a hindrance in achieving Buddhahood. In light of this, the study aims to illustrate how the gender hierarchy, influenced by biased sexuality, superimposes gender narratives about bodily transformation, thereby resulting in literary inconsistencies. The performative nature of narratives concerning gender transformation serves as a skillful means to reconcile the inconsistencies associated with gender dilemmas. From a literary analysis perspective, the study offers a novel angle on understanding the complexity of sexuality's role in shaping female representations within the Buddhist worldview.

Work cited: 

Balkwill, Stephanie. “Disappearing and Disappeared Daughters in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Sūtras on Sex Transformation and an Intervention into Their Transmission History.” History of Religions 60, no. 4 (May 2021): 255–86. https://doi.org/10.1086/713587.

Balkwill, Stephanie. “The Sūtra on Transforming the Female Form: Unpacking an Early Medieval Chinese Buddhist Text.” Journal of Chinese Religions 44, no. 2 (July 2, 2016): 127–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/0737769X.2016.1157428.

Sponberg, Alan. “Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early Buddhism.” Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender, 1999.

Yadav, Megha. “Transforming the Female Body: Gender Dialectics in Early Buddhism.” Studies in History 38, no. 2 (2022): 111–32.