Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2013
Disciplines
Buddhist Studies | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Abstract
Throughout Buddhist history, women practitioners have been models of leadership in virtuous conduct, meditation, discipline, teaching, spiritual experience, and other religious achievements. The roles women have played were not necessarily in line with contemporary expectations of religious leadership, however. Most did not hold official office, give public teachings, lead religious ceremonies, or publish extensively. Most were not prominent in temple building, institutional administration, or educational leadership. Almost none of them held positions in religious institutions and only a few were recognized for their achievements. In fact, women’s most visible religious activities often centered around supporting the religious practice of other practitioners, mostly male. In doing so, these women followed the model of Visakha, a prominent Buddhist laywomen during the Buddha’s time who was renowned and highly respected for her honesty and her generosity toward the monastic community. By putting into practice some of the key values the Buddha taught – generosity, loving kindness, compassion, honesty, diligence, and humility – these women followed the Buddha’s own model of religious leadership (Tsomo 2010).
Digital USD Citation
Tsomo, Karma Lekshe PhD, "Buddhist Women and Religious Leadership" (2013). Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship. 15.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/thrs-faculty/15
Included in
Buddhist Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Notes
Table of Contents
Chapter PART I:
Chapter 1: The U.S. Mainline Protestant Context
Chapter 2: The African American Context
Chapter 3: Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Megachurch Movements
Chapter 4: The Jewish Context: American Jewish Leadership
Chapter 5: Roman Catholic Trends
Chapter 6: Emerging Paradigms of Catholic Leadership
Chapter 7: Catholic Multicultural Trends
Chapter 8: Islamic Leadership in America
Chapter 9: The Asian Religious Context: Focus on Hinduism
Chapter 10: Religious Leadership in the Latino/Latina Community: Leadership as Service
Chapter PART II:
Chapter 11: Pastoral Leadership in Mainline Protestant Churches
Chapter 12: Innovations in Mainline Protestant Leadership
Chapter 13: The Evangelical Leader
Chapter 14: The Pentecostal Leader
Chapter 15: Missional Leadership
Chapter 16: The Roman Catholic Lay Leader
Chapter 17: Roman Catholic Ordained Leadership
Chapter 18: Christian Biblical Understandings of Leadership
Chapter 19: Understanding Jewish Biblical Leadership
Chapter 20: Qur’anic Leadership Bases: Prophets as Visionary Leaders in Challenging Times
Chapter 21: African American Islamic Leadership
Chapter 22: Muslim Leadership in the U.S. Context
Chapter 23: Rabbinic Leadership and the Future of the American Jewish Community
Chapter 24: Leadership Language for the Reform Rabbinate
Chapter 25: Leadership Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Chapter 26: Leading Historically Black Church Congregations
Chapter 27: Leading Black Baptist Churches
Chapter 28: Native American Leadership
Chapter 29: Latin American Congregational Leadership
Chapter 30: Hawaiian Religious Leadership
Chapter 31: Leadership in a New Church
Chapter 32: Buddhist Leadership in the United States
Chapter 33: Women Leaders in Evangelical Congregations
Chapter 34: Pentecostal Female Pastors
Chapter 35: Women Leaders in Mainline Protestant Churches
Chapter 36: Women Leaders in Asian American Protestant Churches
Chapter 37: Buddhist Women and Religious Leadership
Chapter 38: Modern and Contemporary Trends in Muslim Women’s Leadership
Chapter 39: African American Women Leaders
Chapter 40: Women Leaders in Judaism
Chapter 41: Roman Catholic Women Leaders: “By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them”
Chapter PART III:
Chapter 42: The Common Good
Chapter 43: Spirit-Inspired Leadership and the Common Good Worldview
Chapter 44: Catholic Leadership for Global Citizenship
Chapter 45: Women Religious for Social Justice
Chapter 46: Religious Leaders Who Have Advocated and Engaged in Violence
Chapter PART IV:
Chapter 47: Christian Leadership for Multicultural Inclusion
Chapter 48: Leadership for Reconciliation
Chapter 49: Religious Leadership for Social Change
Chapter 50: Gender, Identity, and Inclusive Leadership
Chapter 51: Jewish Leadership for Interreligious Dialogue
Chapter 52: Asian Participation in Interreligious Dialogue
Chapter 53: Muslim Leadership for Social Action
Chapter 54: American Jewish World Service
Chapter 55: Sojourners
Chapter 56: Leading Evangelicals for Social Action
Chapter 57: Building Peace: Religious Leadership in Divided Communities
Chapter 58: The Salvation Army
Chapter 59: Religious Leadership in the Catholic Peace Movement
Chapter 60: World Vision
Chapter 61: Catholic Relief Services: Fostering Integral Human Development Through Charity in Truth
Chapter 62: Islamic Relief
Chapter 63: Leadership by the Deaf Community for Social Change
Chapter 64: Christian Leadership Toward Sustainable Earth-Human Relations
Chapter 65: The Jewish Response to Environmental Action
Chapter 66: Islamic Leadership for Sustainability
Chapter 67: Zen Buddhist Ecological Leadership: Just Teach the Withered Trees to Bloom
Chapter 68: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Chapter 69: Archbishop Oscar Romero: The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep
Chapter 70: Howard Thurman: Intercultural and Interreligious Leader
Chapter 71: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Chapter 72: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: Prophetic Leadership Confronts the 20th Century
Chapter 73: Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
Chapter 74: Rabbi Stephen S. Wise
Chapter 75: The Orthodox Rabbinate and Interfaith Dialogue
Chapter 76: Dalai Lama
Chapter 77: Thich Nhat Hanh
Chapter 78: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Model for Religious Leadership in the 21st Century
Chapter 79: Very Reverend Sang Chul Lee: A Legacy of Justice and Hospitality
Chapter 80: Fethullah Gülen and the Gülen Movement
Chapter 81: Elijah Muhammad
Chapter 82: Dorothy Day: Leader of the Catholic Worker Movement
Chapter 83: Karen Armstrong: A Journey Toward God
Chapter 84: Imam Warith Deen Mohammed
Chapter 85: Mary Baker Eddy: Leadership and Spiritual Practice
Chapter PART V:
Chapter 86: General Trends and Emerging Models Across Christian Denominations
Chapter 87: Forming Interreligious and Intercultural Leaders
Chapter 88: Formation of Christian Leaders: Forming Faithful and Just Actions for the Sake of the World
Chapter 89: Leadership Development in the American Jewish Community
Chapter 90: Formation and Education of Muslim Leaders
Chapter 91: Educating and Forming Latino/Latina Populations for Leadership in the Christian Church
Chapter 92: Forming Asian Leaders for North American Churches
Chapter PART VI:
Chapter 93: Mystics as Reformers
Chapter 94: New Forms of Evangelical Leadership
Chapter 95: Postcolonial Insights for Religious Leadership
Chapter 96: Islamic Reformers in North America
Chapter 97: Roman Catholic Reformers
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Originally published in Religious Leadership: A Reference Handbook, Edited by Sharon Callahan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2013, pp. 302–308.