Thread by @EngagedPureLand

This is a Buddhist object. It might not look that way to you at first. Can you guess how it is Buddhist?

It doesn't LOOK Buddhist according to how we imagine Buddhist things should look. They should show some Asian aesthetic, such as Tibetan art styles. They should depict grand buddhas or wise monks, or be tools for meditation or mantra practice. They should be traditional (ancient)

But Buddhistness arises not from inherent properties in things themselves--it arises from use and context. What was the context and purpose of this object, therefore?

It's a quilt. It depicts the floral emblems of 12 Canadian provinces and territories. Perhaps we'd accept it as a Mennonite object, as quilts are common items in that religous community, and Mennonites are a known Canadian religion. Here's 1 example, with Canadian floral emblems:

So how is our quilt Buddhist? It looks like folk art of a different "religion." It has no "Buddhist" content. It has no clear use in Buddhist "practice." Its motifs are Canadian, not "Asian." It wasn't made nor used by monks. It isn't "traditional" or "ancient." What's going on?

The quilt was sewn by members of 19 chapters of the Buddhist Churches of Canada Women's Federation. It was the prize in a raffle drawing at the 9th World Women's Buddhist Federation Convention, held in Vancouver in 1990. The raffle raised $21,000 for Cuso and Save the Children.

Most of what we think of as "Buddhist" art is basically men's art; many of what we think of as "Buddhist" objects are institutional items (altars, mandalas, etc), which have mostly been from male spaces. There are few truly transgender/transsangha items: malas, prayer wheels, etc

And there are very few recognized Buddhist items that are fully female in origin/production. This quilt helps us notice that we have overlooked a whole realm of non-monastic, non-meditation/mantric materiality that Buddhists produce and employ AS Buddhists.

What work does this quilt do for the Jodo Shinshu Buddhists of the Federation? Sewing it provided opportunities to gather and work together. Sociality is an essential part of most Buddhists' lives. Sangha is stitched by shared time together.

Producing a quilt and raffling it for charity donations fulfilled the Buddhist impulse to practice generosity and compassion. The chosen relief organizations helped to provide health care, food, and education to children in "developing nations," a gendered choice of recipient.

The choice of a quilt drew on art techniques that are coded female in Canada, and the use of Canadian floral emblems asserted a sense of identity: we are Canadian, these are our flowers (provinces), we belong here and are of here.

That matters: the women who sewed it were former refugees, imprisoned by their own government in WWII concentration camps for having Japanese (i.e. non-white, non-Christian) backgrounds. The quilt asserts their right to be Canadian in direct yet mute and non-confrontational style

The use of floral designs is subtly feminine, as flowers have a gendered association in North America, and within the Jodo Shinshu temples ikebana (flower arrangement) is seen as a female art. And quilts are of the home: they warm and comfort us, rather than produce enlightenment

So, this quilt did a LOT of work. It bonded women, fed children, asserted identity, resisted racism, reinforced gender, warmed bodies, and provided the opportunity for older women to publicly demonstrate their contributions to the Buddhist community and the world.

Of course, this is just a way of speaking. The quilt didn't do that work: dozens of Canadian Buddhist women did, as women Buddhists have laboured (in often unvalorized ways) since Buddhism began. Here they are:

(For context, here are 3 previous threads that also explore the gendered work of women at the World Buddhist Women's Convention):
1.

https://twitter.com/EngagedPureLand/status/1437466727437279242

2.

https://twitter.com/EngagedPureLand/status/1437746737926520832

3.

https://twitter.com/EngagedPureLand/status/1438123111661150210

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