Dhammamata: Buddhadasa Bhikkhu's notion of motherhood in Buddhist women practitioners

摘要

The notion of dhammamata is one of the last items of the legacy of the late Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. In order to accord women practitioners better social status and provide them with opportunities for spiritual training, Buddhadasa avoided committing himself to the reintroduction of bhikkunl ordination. Instead, he proposed the notion of dhammamata, which literally means 'dhamma mother'. This article postulates that by using the metaphor of the mother, Buddhadasa invited less conflict, appealing to the high respect which Thai people generally held for women. Moreover, the article argues that with dhammamata Buddhadasa challenged the common notion of motherhood which usually regards women as nurturers of the Sangha. Dhammamata nurture people's spirituality through their teaching and virtues. Whilst the social impact of dhammamata cannot be compared to that of bhikkuni, whose yellow robes visually suggest a status equivalent to that of male bhikkhu, the concept of dhammamata was a new creation revolving around the image of the female religious teacher, a role that Buddhist women had wanted.