nts and
expositions are put into the mouths of nuns[544]. Indeed the objections
raised by the Buddha, though emphatic, are as arguments singularly vague
and the eight rules for nuns which he laid down and compared to an
embankment built to prevent a flood seem dictated not by the danger of
immorality but by the fear that women might aspire to the management of
the order and to be the equals or superiors of monks.

So far as we can tell, his fears were not realized. The female branch of
the order showed little vigour after its first institution but it does
not appear that it was a cause of weakness or corruption. Women were
influential in the infancy of Buddhism, but we hear little of the nuns
when this first ardour was over. We may surmise that it was partly due
to personal devotion to Gotama and also that there was a growing
tendency to curtail the independence allowed to women by earlier Aryan
usage. The daughters of Asoka play some part in the narratives of the
conversion of Ceylon and Nepal but after the early days of the Church
female names are not prominent: subsequently the succession became
interrupted and, as nuns can receive ordination only from other nuns and
not from monks, it could not be restored. The so-called nuns of the
present day are merely religious women corresponding to the sisters of
Protestant Churches, but are not ordained members of an order. But the
right of women to enjoy the same spiritual privileges as men is not
denied in theory and in practice Buddhism has done nothing to support or
commend the system of the harem or zenana. In some Buddhist countries
such as Burma and Siam women enjoy almost the same independence as in
Europe. In China and Japan their status is not so high, but one period
when Buddhism was powerful in Japan (800-1100 A.D.) was marked by the
number of female writers and among the Manchus and Tibetans women enjoy
considerable freedom and authority.

Those who follow the law of the Buddha but are not members of the Sangha
are called Upasakas[545], that is worshippers or adherents. The word may
be conveniently rendered by laymen although the distinction between
clergy and laity, as understood in most parts of Europe, does not quite
correspond to the distinction between Bhikkhus and Upasakas. European
clergy are often thought of as interpreters of the Deity, and whenever
they have had the power they have usually claimed the right to supervise
and control the moral or even th