Joyous Effort: The Women Who Were Also There

By Kellie Schorr

Holidays in the Moment is a six-part series examining the paramitas, also known as the six perfections or the six transcendent actions, through the lens of the holiday season and beyond. These attributes help us to open our awakened heart and reduce suffering for ourselves and others. They are: generosity, discipline, patience, effort, wisdom and concentration.

A long, long, time ago in a religion far, far (well, not that far) away, I officiated communion every Sunday as an ordained minister and pastor of a Christian church.

Each week at the designated time I would stand behind the altar and begin with this sentence: “On the night he was betrayed, Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples and the women who were also there. He took the bread…”

Wait. Women? What?

“Who were those women?” It’s the number one question I got from church visitors, some not even waiting until the service was over. They would just lean over as they took the bread from my hand and ask, “what women?” I would smile and encourage them to stop by my office after church for a lesson on “the women who were also there.”

It’s ridiculous to think 13 men cooked, sat, talked and ate a ceremonial meal without women present just because they didn’t make it into the painting.

For one thing, it was supposed to be a Passover meal, and Passover meals have distinct roles for women, including lighting the candles and reciting prayers of blessing. The story of Moses, born by a midwife, saved by his sister, raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, is impossible to celebrate without women. Likewise, the story of Jesus, born of a woman, sheltered by women, had his message carried by women, appeared after his resurrection to women, would also not exist in a male-only world. So, I took the effort each Sunday to honor the women who were also there.

Time went on. I practiced and studied Christianity and Buddhism simultaneously for years, then I hit a point where I shed my Christian skin for good, and took refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. I grew busy developing meditation schedules, reading dharma books, and learning all the lists (Four Noble Truths, Six Perfections, Four Immeasurables, 21 Taras, on and on. Buddhism: if it exists, there’s a list for it).

I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the women who were also there in Buddhism, until I noticed they were missing.

Somewhere between the story of the Buddha, and the histories of great teachers, Zen Masters, Buddhist battles over the ordination of women and obvious misogyny (“if you want to be awakened, pray to be reborn as a man”) the women who were always there have faded into the walls of the temple. It’s time for them to have their day. That’s going to take some effort.

The fourth paramita is “joyous effort.” It is often communicated as “give it your all” or “be happy at what you do” but there is so much more to this perfection. The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines effort as “strenuous physical or mental exertion.” In other words, effort means you need to apply resistance, muscle building and intentional thinking in order to give something joyous effort.

In the moment, joyous effort means, “filling the moment to its fullest potential.” It means when you see a moment in your life, your practice, or your work that you know can be more or can do more than you’re letting it, you open more of yourself to it.

If your writing can be more powerful, edit and sharpen it. If your meditation can be more consistent, schedule it. If you see something that can be better, make it as better as you can in that moment. You don’t have to pretend to be happy while you do it. Just like watching a child learn to read, when you see a moment become everything it can be, the joy comes automatically.

Buddhism has always had the capability to express, and at some points the stated belief, that men and women are equal. But the Buddha’s teachings were designed to challenge, not change. The Buddha always understood that he couldn’t create a difference by telling a culture “You have to change.” Change comes, individually and culturally, from within. So his teachings challenge us to look within our heart to the merit of all beings, and the compassionate equanimity (the word “equal” is a part of that phrase) that is immeasurable.

When we rise to that challenge, equality is never far behind.

The status of women in Buddhism varies between type, lineage, country of origin and current leader. The history of Zen patriarchs, the titles of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapas, the difference in temple service and attitude toward monks as opposed to nuns, and the revealed history of sexual harassment and assault all show us this moment can be much better. It will take our intention, our endurance, and our effort to bring this change about. One way to start is to remember, and uplift, the women that were also there.

Unseen, just like the ones in the painting of the last supper, there are so many women we can take the effort to mention.

• Mothers who prayed their beads down to small seedlings as the world grew up through their care.
• Nuns who keep lamps lit, temples fed, studies flowing, and practices passed from one generation to another.
• Scholars who study what they can, and demand to study more.
• Matriarchs who funded the journey and life work of great teachers.
• Women who overcame terrible abuse and courageously spoke out, spoke up, spoke until someone heard them.
• Female lamas and teachers who swam with strengthening arms through waves of derision and resistance.
• Dakinis who declare the necessary presence and power of the feminine every time they appear.

When you tell the story of the Buddha, tell also of his stepmother (the first nun, most histories declare). When you give to support a temple, make it clear a certain portion must be used to directly benefit nuns. When you speak of the glory of a famous male teacher, speak also of the women who funded his studies or who spoke up to reveal the price and pain they went through at the hands of leaders who harmed them sexually. When you teach about Padmasambhava, never fail to mention Yeshe Tsogyal. When you meditate on Vajrasattva, don’t forget about Vajratopa.

Whatever your practice, take a moment of effort and intention to remember the women who were also there. This moment can be a great moment for change.

In the Moment

Generosity is giving what you have to the moment.
Discipline is doing what the moment requires.
Patience is letting the moment be exactly what it is.
Effort is filling the moment to its fullest potential.

Whatever your practice, take a moment of effort and intention to remember the women who were also there. This moment can be a great moment for change. ~Kellie Schorr Click To Tweet

Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall

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