Female Agency in Buddhism and Hinduism: Methodological Reflections and Collective Commitments

During the workshop in Heidelberg in July 2018, the assembled researchers reflected on and discussed their own position and attitude “in the field,” and how their political stances would, should, or could impact their research. These discussions were continued by the author after the workshop with some of the participants. This chapter reflects these critical self-reflective conversations of the authors featured in this collection about method and methodology in the study of women’s agency in Buddhism and Hinduism. In most settings dealt with in the chapters of this volume, one encounters a strong resistance to “feminism” or to what is seen as a “feminist agenda.” Yet on this and other central issues one detects a multiplicity of voices and outlooks within the communities under investigation. More often than not, the researcher’s own approach is “challenged and changed in the process of the research,” the author finds.