Rights as Recognition of Shared Buddha-Nature

Sor Juana's defense of women's intellectual rights was not based on claiming women possess some special essence that entitles them to knowledge; rather, she argued that the capacity for reason, truth-seeking, and dignity is universal. This argument resonates with Buddhist recognition of Buddha-nature: the potential for awakening exists equally in all beings, independent of gender, class, or social position. The Buddha taught that anyone—regardless of caste, gender, or status—could achieve enlightenment through practice. Sor Juana similarly insisted that intellectual capability transcends the arbitrary boundaries society constructs. The concept of universal rights, when grounded in Buddhist understanding, becomes not a assertion of individual ego but a recognition of shared fundamental nature. This paradoxically combines Buddhist non-self with advocacy for dignity: all beings deserve rights not because they possess an autonomous self with inherent worth, but because all beings possess the same capacity for awakening, understanding, and flourishing. For activists and practitioners, this offers a foundation for justice work that is simultaneously rooted in emptiness and interdependence rather than competitive individualism.