In the monasteries where I trained in Taiwan and S.Korea, the respectful-affectionate title "brother" was used in a gender-neutral, all-inclusive sense. In high school, I recall reading that all children were called "girls" at some point. When did things become so differentiated?
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I see. As in britherly, sisterly comrades yes? May I ask what lineage were said monasteries? Some although light years ahead of other "religious" institutions still remain highly sexist amidst their camaraderie.
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Yes, comrades. These monasteries were Chan and Seon (Chinese and Korean "Zen") by lineage. Women far outnumbered men, so I was initially puzzled. I later came to see the term was being used in a non-gendered way, even if it implicitly assumed male to be the default.
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