本文剖陳筆者從提倡動物解放到提倡佛門女權的心路歷程、環境背景、策略考量、績效評估與運動瓶頸。 過往筆者即撰寫論文指出：將性別歧視予以法制化的「八敬法」並非佛制。本文更依佛門現況指出：八敬法業已扭曲了佛門健康的兩性關係，更扭曲了許多修道人的心性──自卑與自大交綜，嫉妒與驕慢滋長。它並且建構了無遠弗屆而且無可遁逃的「性別秩序」，導致佛教在各種禮儀與集會的形式上，成為極度歧視女性的落伍宗教。 但是光有論述是不夠的，必須要有行動！因此筆者認為：解構佛門男性沙文意識，一定要先從「推翻八敬法」下手。更進而研判：不能讓此一議題成為佛門「茶壺裡的風暴」，唯有讓佛教適度承受社會輿論的壓力，才能讓佛門大男人主義者迫於形勢而「心智成長」。於是在2001年3月底，達賴喇嘛來台訪問時，筆者趁勢發起了「廢除八敬法運動」，並呼籲達賴喇嘛恢復藏傳比丘尼制度。這使台灣的佛門女權運動一炮而紅，不但獲得輿論台普遍肯定，也達到了向佛門男性沙文主義者實施「震撼教育」的預期效果。

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze: (1) the author’s mental journey from advocating animal rights to female rights in Buddhism, (2) the situational background against which the movement was initiated, (3) strategic thinking about movement building, (4) the assessment of the strategy and action plan’s effectiveness, and (5) bottlenecks to the development of the movement. In my previous papers, I stated that “the Eight Special Rules” (Attha Garudhammā) legitimizing gender discrimination were not formulated by the Buddha. In this paper, based on the current situation in Buddhist communities, I would like to further point out the fact that not only have the rules twisted the healthy relationship between men and women in daily interactions and rituals, but also the minds of practitioners. That is, by enforcing the rules, a mixed sense of inferiority and superiority was elicited through them, and the emotions of jealousy and superciliousness also evolved. Additionally, the Eight Special Rules” also frame a far-reaching and inescapable so-called “gender order” that manifests in various forms of rituals and gatherings in Buddhism. This draws Buddhism towards becoming an obsolete religion that extremely discriminates against females. However, words alone are not enough. To effect change, we need to take action! Thus I weighed the entire situation and realized that, in order to deconstruct Buddhist male chauvinism, I must start at “the Abolishment of the Eight Special Rules”. Furthermore, I decided that I would not let this dispute develop into a tempest in a teapot engineered by Buddhists alone. I believed that if an appropriate amount of public pressure was brought to bear on the Buddhist community, then the mental state of the male chauvinists in the entire community could be pressed to transform and evolve. At the end of March 2001, I took advantage of an opportune situation, as the Dalai Lama visiting Taiwan, to initiate the movement of abolishing “the Eight Special Rules”, and appealed to him to restore the bhiksuni ordination lineage for Tibetan nuns. The Buddhist Feminist Movement turned out to be a hot topic in the media at that time. Not only did it receive strong support from public opinion, but also gave a great shock to the male chauvinists in the Buddhist community, which really taught them a good lesson as expected.