Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

55 Ruth

Filzputrick

Tara‘s

wrathwas

discussedand

performed

severaltimes

inthefocus

groups.

As

Lisanotes:

Ilikethat

sortofwrathful

expression

where

she

stamps

herfeet

boom

(stamps

her

fcclt.7

you

do

thatasaMother

when

you’ve

donethe

nice

thing

three

limesandthenit

hasn'tworked

andthen

you

said‘l‘m

tellingyou'

that

tough

lovesortofstul‘f

got

tobe

wrathfultoteachattimes but

without

harming

it'snot

wrathfullike

belting

the

bejeezus

outofthem

type

of

thing.

The

appeal

ofTara’s

multiplicity.

for

thelast three

groups

panicularly.

was

strongly

linked to the

importancethey

attributed to

being

engaged

withand

helping

others. Ina

conversationwithin

the

Sakya

focus

group,

themanner

in

which

Tara

is seento

useawralhful

methodology

witha

nurturing

intention

emerges

in

asubtle

way:

MICHELLF: To

me.that's

really

thefeminine

part

ofher.

LiSA: That

nurturingpart

ofher.

MICHELLE!

Yeah.shc

gets

outand

nurtures she

gets

outanddoes

things

and

that‘sthe

thingl

like

aboutit.

JOAN:

Shetakes

care.

doesn‘t

she?

MICHELLE: Careof

people.

JOAN:

[with

fists

raised]

Shetakescare

ofthings.

[Alllaugh

|oud|y.|

The

laughter

is

perhaps

a

response

tothe

irony

that.within adiscussion about

Tara's

nurturing,

feminine

part.‘taking

careof

things'

comestobeusedinacollo-

quial

sense

of

sorting

situationsout

aggressively

or

heavyhandedly.

amethod

usually

associatedwithmen.

Soin

Tara.

the

essentializedfeminine

quality

of

nurtureis

morphed

and

grafted

withatraitthatwould

heconsidered.inessential

terms,

as

masculine:

forceful,

dominating, taking

careof

things.

The

irony

of

seeing

these

dualistic

qualities

inlermingling

intheone

beingappears

to

trigger

the

laughter

andreveals

that.

whiletheir

constructionofTara

incorporates

essentialist

notionsofthe

feminine.

it

also.

attimes.

dismpts

them.

l’articipants

highly

valuedTara's

compassionatenature.

while

simultaneously

being

appealed

by

the

dynamic.

efi‘ectivenessofher

engagement,

In

traditional

Tibetan

accounts.Tarais

particularly

known

forherswifl

readinessto

engage

with

the

worldtorelieve

sulfering

andthis

quality

was

highlighted

in

theinterviews.As

Diane.fromthe

Gelug

group.says:‘[S]he:r

not

sitting

around

knitting

baby

socks.

She's

very

dynamic.

She‘sa

femaleBodhisattvaso

affectingchange

inthe

world

byverydynamic

means. 50

compassionate,

but

very

activeaswell.‘

Michelle.

from
the

Sakyagroup,

givesparticularemphasis

toTara's

hands-on

approach:

If

people

are

suffering.

she

actuallygets

outthere

anddoes

things

Ifind

thatIlike

thefactthatshe'sa

deer.She

gets

inthere

and

helpspeople

and

GreenTuminAttx/ralia

57

that‘sthe

thing

1 likeabout

her.I feelin

doing

the

practice

insome

way

that

thatI‘m

doing

thattoo.

Recognition

of‘thesecond shift‘

may

also

help

itstounderstand

why

Tara's

multiplicity

and

engagement

was

appealing

tothewomen

interviewed.

Although

second-wavefeminism

granted

women moreaccessto

paid

employment,

their

domestic

responsibilities

and

dutiesofcare

generally

continued.

Asa

result,

in

many

instanceswomen

adopted

a‘second

shift'.

fulfilling

themodern

responsi»

bililies

ofpaid

workaswellas

traditionalfemalerolesas

dutifulwifeandmother

(Woodhead

2007b:

HQ).

The

complexities

involved

in

maintaining

both

roles,

onerewardedfor

competitive

dedicationandanother

rewarded foremotional

care.creates

challenging

contradictions

forwomen

(Woodhead

2007b).

Insuch

an

environment.

the

appeal

of

Tara‘s

skilful,

yetcompassionate

engagement,

enabled

by

her

multiple

and

contradictoryqualities,

makes

alotofsense.The

appeal

of

Tara’s

multiplicity,

inclusive

of

wrath.

suggests

that

she

provided

anew

way

to

handlethe

complexities

of‘the

secondshift'andthe

changing

natureoflraditional

rolesandidentities.

In

Tara.

thewomen

interviewedhadaresource

wherebythey

could

challenge

thedichotomiesof

being

eithera

sofi.

passive.

carer

ofothersora

strong.

assertive.

dynamic

woman.As

the

grip

oftradilionalsources

ofmeaning

and

identity

erode.

womeninlate

modernity

are

granted

the

'precarious

freedom‘of

being

ableto

invent

andconstruct

identitiesfromnewsources

(Houtman

and

Aupers

2008:

109).

[n

such

a

context,

engagement

withTara

becomes

part

ofa

‘post-traditional

identity-exploration

(Woodhead

2007b:

l3).

Conclusion

Theaimofthis

chapter

wasto

convey

someofthe

prominent

characteristics

present

intheconstructionofGreenTara

by

femaleAustralianTibetan

Buddhist

practitioners

andtounderstandthe

significance

of

gender.

feminism

andthus

cultureinthatconstruction. Theresearch

shoned thatculturedocs

impact

on

the

meaning

and

usage

of

religious

doctrinesand

practices.

In

regards

toTara.

feminismin

particular

influencedhow

Tarawasunderstood.

Tara’s

gender

andher

vow.

her

multiplicity

andher

engagement

were

themost

prominent

featuresinherreconstruction

by

Australianwomen.Tara‘s

appeal

was

duetobothher

caring.compassionate

natureandhowshe

challenged

essential

notionsofhowwomencare.

Although

Taraminorsessentia|i7cdfemale

gender

roles.whichhavetendedtobe

organized

aroundsacrificialcarefortheother.

she

also

disnipts

them

byembodying

a

dynamicstrength

and

multiplicity,

inclusiveof

math.

ln

presenting

new

poss'

'lities for

identity

and

engagement.

Tara

practice

appears.

likeFoucault's

practices

ofthe

self.

as‘a

treasury

ofdevices.

techniques.

ideas

and

procedures‘

(Foucault

1984a:

349)

thatbecomes an

experiment

in

‘going

beyond'

limited

notionsofwomanhood.

Byreshapinggendered

identities.

Australian

women

useTibetanBuddhism ina

way

thatcanalter

micro-power