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Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life
In this retelling of the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha’s intimate circle, lesser-known stories from Sanskrit and Pali sources are for the first time woven into an illuminating, coherent narrative. Interspersed with original insights, fresh interpretations, and bold challenges to the status quo, these stories invite us to open our minds to a new understanding of women's roles in the Buddha's life and in early Buddhism.
329 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 28, 2020
As a long-time Buddhist practitioner, and as a woman, this book gave me reason to believe that a lot of what we have heard as the Buddha's biography, which has always been highly andro-centric and often misogynist, may have been the story as given to us by andro-centric monks, omitting or barely mentioning many of the women who played large parts in the Buddha's life. The author lets us know when she is putting a story together and her sources, and at other times, she cites Sanskrit and Pali sources originating contemporaneously with the scriptures, but not included in the scriptures, which were, of course, gathered together and eventually written down by men. We also learn more about the culture in which the Buddha lived and the role of women, especially royal women. You may need to know something about what we've been told is the Buddha's life; it's hard for me to say whether someone new to Buddhism or non-Buddhist could appreciate this work.
August 11, 2016
I just finished reading this amazing book by Wendy Garling called "Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life" Just look at the book cover, I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I really like artwork.
Now, before cracking this book open (or turning on my e-reader) I knew very little--to nothing about the life of the Buddha. My only real encounter with Gautama Buddha was with his beautiful and serene figurines and statues. This book is a feminist view of Buddha, the author on several occasions points out how in some variations of his life the roles of women are significantly downplayed and how some Buddhist monastic orders deny women, although Buddha respected women just as men. I read the book I realized the Buddha had many women impact all stages of his life, and he was very keen to include women into the religious practice.
Garling crafts a wonderful story, using varying Buddhist traditions to explore the importance of women in his life and how they helped shaped the course of his enlightenment and teachings. She explores the importance his mother, step-mother (aunt) and father's harem during his early years, how the relationships with his wives shaped his decisions to leave on his journey for enlightenment, and the varying women (and goddesses) that help during his years of wandering and ultimate enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
This book does not read like a textbook, there aren't specific dates, but flows more as a examination of specific events in chronological order. This isn't a book on the Buddha's teachings either, although they are discussed in the context of his life-events. There is a lot of information, and because of the different Buddhist traditions the author presents many different reiterations of the same incident, comparing the different interpretations.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was on a subject I knew next to nothing about. As a prominent religious figure, I can say I found it refreshing for the whole of Buddha's life to be considered, and not exactly from his point of view, but from the lives around him. If you like learning about different spiritual practices and how they influence peoples lives, I recommend. As a feminist (yikes) its refreshing to read a book where the female perspective is considered.
I received an advance copy of this for review, however the opinions are my own.
Now, before cracking this book open (or turning on my e-reader) I knew very little--to nothing about the life of the Buddha. My only real encounter with Gautama Buddha was with his beautiful and serene figurines and statues. This book is a feminist view of Buddha, the author on several occasions points out how in some variations of his life the roles of women are significantly downplayed and how some Buddhist monastic orders deny women, although Buddha respected women just as men. I read the book I realized the Buddha had many women impact all stages of his life, and he was very keen to include women into the religious practice.
Garling crafts a wonderful story, using varying Buddhist traditions to explore the importance of women in his life and how they helped shaped the course of his enlightenment and teachings. She explores the importance his mother, step-mother (aunt) and father's harem during his early years, how the relationships with his wives shaped his decisions to leave on his journey for enlightenment, and the varying women (and goddesses) that help during his years of wandering and ultimate enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
This book does not read like a textbook, there aren't specific dates, but flows more as a examination of specific events in chronological order. This isn't a book on the Buddha's teachings either, although they are discussed in the context of his life-events. There is a lot of information, and because of the different Buddhist traditions the author presents many different reiterations of the same incident, comparing the different interpretations.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was on a subject I knew next to nothing about. As a prominent religious figure, I can say I found it refreshing for the whole of Buddha's life to be considered, and not exactly from his point of view, but from the lives around him. If you like learning about different spiritual practices and how they influence peoples lives, I recommend. As a feminist (yikes) its refreshing to read a book where the female perspective is considered.
I received an advance copy of this for review, however the opinions are my own.
October 11, 2016
Enlightening.
In the sacred books of Christians and Moslems, the life stories of Jesus and Mohammed are fairly consistent. Not so the tale of Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. The many Pali and Sanskrit sources that make up the Buddhist canon tell his tale in many ways.
Wendy Garling assembles the legends of women surrounding the Buddha into a new narrative of his life, one that makes it much richer. Her book goes to familiar sources—the Mahavastu, the Lalitavistara, the Buddhacarita—for many of these legends and enhances them with further illustrations from less familiar (at least to me) works from the Pali and Sanskrit. They include: the Chinese Abhinishkramanasutra; the Tibetan Kangyur; Burmese Malamkaravatthu; as well as Thai and Sinhalese texts. (All this is to say that I found her bibliography almost as fascinating as the book itself.)
We learn how women, ordinary and divine, helped Siddhartha embark on his quest and aided him along his journey. In some legends it is Sakyan tutelary goddess Abhayadevi who casts the spell that allows the prince to escape, on others it is Verkala, a protective deity. (Abhayadevi also comforts Siddhartha's father Suddhodana after his son leaves, telling him that this journey was inevitable from the moment of Siddhartha's birth.) Garling also shows that while in the standard versions it is disgust with the images of dissipated harem women that helps Siddhartha make his decision to leave, these same women take pride in the sensual education they have given the prince, an essential step on his spiritual journey from luxurious life to severe asceticism to the middle way.
One of the most interesting portions of the book relates the two main stories around his wife Yasodhara: one in which Siddhartha leaves on the night their son Rahula is born, one in which Siddhartha makes love to his wife on the eve of his departure. I had come across the latter fascinating tale, as retold by John Strong in The Buddha: A Short Biography. It comes from the texts of an early breakaway sect, the Mulasarvastivardins. Garling enlarges on the basic framework, in which Yasodhara has a foreboding that her prince is leaving. Partly to reassure her, he makes love to her before he goes and she conceives. The connection is so strong between them that she undertakes the same austerities that he does on his path, and because this leaves her thin and weak, the pregnancy does not progress for six years (!!). At the point on his quest when Siddhartha realizes that extreme asceticism is not the way to enlightenment, Yasodhara also begins to follow the middle way, nourishing herself just as he does. The pregnancy begins to show, and this leads to suspicions that she was unfaithful, and she is reviled by the Sakyans. When her husband returns as the Buddha, he testifies to her purity.
A tale I had never come across until I read Garling’s book is that of Visakha, a wealthy young woman who meets the Buddha as a child. She shows an independent streak, choosing her own husband and arranging her own wedding, which King Prasenajit of the Kosalas attends. As a follower of the Buddha, she wants to support the mendicants who follow him, which her miserly father-in-law opposes. But she defies him and uses her own wealth to serve the Buddha’s sangha. She remains a laywoman, choosing not to become a nun, but becomes one of his most trusted advisors. In contrast to many women whose often tragic stories we encounter in the Terigatha, verses spoken by women who do join the nuns’ order, Visakha’s life offers a model for living according to the dharma while staying in the world.
I loved this book, and I’m sure I will return to it often.
In the sacred books of Christians and Moslems, the life stories of Jesus and Mohammed are fairly consistent. Not so the tale of Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. The many Pali and Sanskrit sources that make up the Buddhist canon tell his tale in many ways.
Wendy Garling assembles the legends of women surrounding the Buddha into a new narrative of his life, one that makes it much richer. Her book goes to familiar sources—the Mahavastu, the Lalitavistara, the Buddhacarita—for many of these legends and enhances them with further illustrations from less familiar (at least to me) works from the Pali and Sanskrit. They include: the Chinese Abhinishkramanasutra; the Tibetan Kangyur; Burmese Malamkaravatthu; as well as Thai and Sinhalese texts. (All this is to say that I found her bibliography almost as fascinating as the book itself.)
We learn how women, ordinary and divine, helped Siddhartha embark on his quest and aided him along his journey. In some legends it is Sakyan tutelary goddess Abhayadevi who casts the spell that allows the prince to escape, on others it is Verkala, a protective deity. (Abhayadevi also comforts Siddhartha's father Suddhodana after his son leaves, telling him that this journey was inevitable from the moment of Siddhartha's birth.) Garling also shows that while in the standard versions it is disgust with the images of dissipated harem women that helps Siddhartha make his decision to leave, these same women take pride in the sensual education they have given the prince, an essential step on his spiritual journey from luxurious life to severe asceticism to the middle way.
One of the most interesting portions of the book relates the two main stories around his wife Yasodhara: one in which Siddhartha leaves on the night their son Rahula is born, one in which Siddhartha makes love to his wife on the eve of his departure. I had come across the latter fascinating tale, as retold by John Strong in The Buddha: A Short Biography. It comes from the texts of an early breakaway sect, the Mulasarvastivardins. Garling enlarges on the basic framework, in which Yasodhara has a foreboding that her prince is leaving. Partly to reassure her, he makes love to her before he goes and she conceives. The connection is so strong between them that she undertakes the same austerities that he does on his path, and because this leaves her thin and weak, the pregnancy does not progress for six years (!!). At the point on his quest when Siddhartha realizes that extreme asceticism is not the way to enlightenment, Yasodhara also begins to follow the middle way, nourishing herself just as he does. The pregnancy begins to show, and this leads to suspicions that she was unfaithful, and she is reviled by the Sakyans. When her husband returns as the Buddha, he testifies to her purity.
A tale I had never come across until I read Garling’s book is that of Visakha, a wealthy young woman who meets the Buddha as a child. She shows an independent streak, choosing her own husband and arranging her own wedding, which King Prasenajit of the Kosalas attends. As a follower of the Buddha, she wants to support the mendicants who follow him, which her miserly father-in-law opposes. But she defies him and uses her own wealth to serve the Buddha’s sangha. She remains a laywoman, choosing not to become a nun, but becomes one of his most trusted advisors. In contrast to many women whose often tragic stories we encounter in the Terigatha, verses spoken by women who do join the nuns’ order, Visakha’s life offers a model for living according to the dharma while staying in the world.
I loved this book, and I’m sure I will return to it often.
April 26, 2020
Due to jealousy of a junior Shakyan queen(1), four princes were banished from Benares. They make their way north and arrive at the hermitage of Rishi Kapila. Sage Kapila showed the brothers a place to build for their town and marked the border with golden-sand mixed with water. The town thus gets named Kapilavastu, for the vastu(soil of the place) is marked by Kapila.
Overtime, population grew here and a deva(god) showed the brothers a new spot across the river to build a second town. This one was named Devadaha or "shown by a deva". A variation of the story tells that 32 sons of a sage name Kola and his wife gave rise to another branch of the Shakya clan known as Koliyans.
King Suprabuddha with Queen Amrita(2) are the rulers of Devadaha.
Queen Amrita, elsewhere called Lumbini, gets an orchard as a gift from her husband Suprabuddha. In time, the place called Lumbini's Grove would mark the birthplace of a lenged.
The Koliyan couple begets two(seven according to MV) daughters - Maya(3) and Mahaprajapati(4)(also called Gautami sometimes), whereas their contemporary in Kapilavastu - King Simhahanu begets a son, Sudhhodana.
In time, both the daughters are given in marriage to Suddhodana.
While Maya begets Siddhartha, her sister Mahaprajapati begets twins - Nanda and Suparinanda(5) by their shared husband.
By now, it is evident that we are talking about parents of Shakyan prince "Siddhartha Gautama". We haven't yet started tracing the life of the the founder of Buddhism, and yet his story gets attached to five women, at one or other point. How popular are the women stories in his tale?
The book "Stars at Dawn" brings forth a detailed re-constructed telling of the women in Buddha's life. In doing so, we get to characters : both men and women - mostly human and how they helped Siddhartha in birth, growing up, claiming Buddhahood, and in spreading the middle-path in his lifetime.
Popular Buddhisht lores are filled with mainly following four women -
i. His mother Maya mainly, and her shadow of a sister whose name people generally do not remember.
ii. His wife Yashodhara, refered to as Gopa or Rahulamata, mostly in terms of Siddhartha getting away from her and their domestic life.
iii. The rice-milk serving girl - Sujata, because it is her offering that retains Siddhartha from the brink of near-death and helps him to get back on the path to enlightenment.
iv. The mango-grove girl - Ambapali, for rejecting the upper-caste Vajji princes on their faces, as well as for reclaiming her own status, to take on Buddha and give him obligeance to prove that Buddhism indeed have no barriers.
This book, re-traces the lesser heard tales of co-wives - Utpalvarna and Mrigi Gautami (who supposedly is also mother of Ananda - Buddha's favourtie disciple).
Citing and comparing sources from Abhinishkramanasutra (ABN), Lalitvistara(LV), Mahavastu(MV), Buddhacharita(BC), Kangyur(kan), Nidankatha(NK), Sanghabhedavastu(SV), Bodhisattvacharyavatara(BCY), Mahaparinibbanasutra(MPNS), and other Thai/Sanskrit/Tibetian/Burmese/Sri-Lankan/Pali cannons, this book throws a list of female characters who with their tiniest mention and appearances, turns the usual story of Buddha, on its head and brings it out from the shadows of general andocentric and misogynist portrayals that are generally attributed to it over centuries..
Do go through the book for below fascinating churnings.
1. Siddhartha's first meals after leaving Kapilavastu were taken in homes of Brahmin women - Shaki and Padma. It is noticeable that we find no traces of their husbands or any male relatives in their introductions, and as if they were just being named for acknowledging only, neither do we find their mentions anywhere in Siddhartha/Buddha's story hereafter. Why so?(LV)
2. Siddhartha leaves his house in his royal clothes, and travels a distance say X "in one night" with Chandaka and his horse - Kanthaka.
Yet, why it took Chandaka over 8 days to return back the same X distance?
Even after returning, Siddhartha's royal robes could not be lifted by three able Shakyan princes, for being heavy! How come then the Chandaka alone brought them back?
What made the Shakyan's throw these robes into a pond and venerate it?
3. Born and brought up amidst royalties and luxury till 29 years of age, Siddhartha could not get through his first mouthful from the beggar bowl of mixed gruel. His first mouthful he throws out of his mouth in utter disgust. How does he overcome this fallacy for his lifetime?
4. Siddhartha took his first mendicant robes from a washerwoman by the name - Gava (MV). Somewhere she is named Radha(LV), former servant of Sujata, whose hempen shroud Siddhartha decides to adopt as his garment. Why a woman's clothing?
5. Sujata's tale is replaced with tale of two sisters - Nanda and Bela in ABN. Yet how do they differ or are similar to each other?
6. Siddhartha after having Sujata's offering of a golden bowl of rice porridge, discards it on the river Nairanjana. The bowl swims upriver, against the streams, and finally tumbles into Patala, where it strikes loudly with the bowls of the three previous Bodhisattvas. It sets a cataclysmic earthquake that awakens Kalanagaraja - The Snake King, who presents himself before mendicant Siddhartha to tell him about his three predecessors - Krakucchanda, Konaka and Kasyapa. Who were these 3 Bodhisattvas? (MV)
7. Earth appears as a goddess to witness for him when Siddhartha on becoming Buddha, defeats Mara by Bhumisparshamudra. Her curls are covered in droplets of water, each water drop is the consolidated merit of a lifetime that the Bodhisattva has acquired in his previous life. An ocean of water flows from her tresses and torrents of floodwaters gush across the world destroying Mara and his army. (Thai)
8. LV mentions that Buddha's first disciple is Sachi, Indra's wife. How?
9. Yashodhara, gets ordained for an agnipariksha, much like Ramayana's Sita. Why and How?
10. Why nuns have to follow eight more misogynistic rules in Buddhism than the monks?
11. Visakha - One of the main laywomen, who placed the earliest foundation for women in Buddhism, and yet is not known more widely. What made her to oversee the completion of first monastery - Pubbarnavihara?
12. What about Utpalvarna - the nun who was raped?
13. How were Seventyseven thousand of Shakyan citizens were massacred, a tale mirroring the demise of Krishna's Yaduvamsa!
14. Ambapali and her own terms of empowerment that gave Buddhism its much needed common grounds to spread among masses, regardless of any categorisation. Or was it so?
15. Buddha's last meal of being pork, served by a metalworker named Chunda, while the last garment in which he was cremated, was provided by a female named Mallika. Are these stories specifically created or have their myths in some feudal grounds of Hinduism vs Buddhism?
16. Bonus - find out about the Stree-Jataka, one of the rare re-births of the Bodhisattva where he is born in a female-body named Rupavati. This story is not mentioned in this book, but go ahead, dig your own hands to get dirty!
Go find out!
Overtime, population grew here and a deva(god) showed the brothers a new spot across the river to build a second town. This one was named Devadaha or "shown by a deva". A variation of the story tells that 32 sons of a sage name Kola and his wife gave rise to another branch of the Shakya clan known as Koliyans.
King Suprabuddha with Queen Amrita(2) are the rulers of Devadaha.
Queen Amrita, elsewhere called Lumbini, gets an orchard as a gift from her husband Suprabuddha. In time, the place called Lumbini's Grove would mark the birthplace of a lenged.
The Koliyan couple begets two(seven according to MV) daughters - Maya(3) and Mahaprajapati(4)(also called Gautami sometimes), whereas their contemporary in Kapilavastu - King Simhahanu begets a son, Sudhhodana.
In time, both the daughters are given in marriage to Suddhodana.
While Maya begets Siddhartha, her sister Mahaprajapati begets twins - Nanda and Suparinanda(5) by their shared husband.
By now, it is evident that we are talking about parents of Shakyan prince "Siddhartha Gautama". We haven't yet started tracing the life of the the founder of Buddhism, and yet his story gets attached to five women, at one or other point. How popular are the women stories in his tale?
The book "Stars at Dawn" brings forth a detailed re-constructed telling of the women in Buddha's life. In doing so, we get to characters : both men and women - mostly human and how they helped Siddhartha in birth, growing up, claiming Buddhahood, and in spreading the middle-path in his lifetime.
Popular Buddhisht lores are filled with mainly following four women -
i. His mother Maya mainly, and her shadow of a sister whose name people generally do not remember.
ii. His wife Yashodhara, refered to as Gopa or Rahulamata, mostly in terms of Siddhartha getting away from her and their domestic life.
iii. The rice-milk serving girl - Sujata, because it is her offering that retains Siddhartha from the brink of near-death and helps him to get back on the path to enlightenment.
iv. The mango-grove girl - Ambapali, for rejecting the upper-caste Vajji princes on their faces, as well as for reclaiming her own status, to take on Buddha and give him obligeance to prove that Buddhism indeed have no barriers.
This book, re-traces the lesser heard tales of co-wives - Utpalvarna and Mrigi Gautami (who supposedly is also mother of Ananda - Buddha's favourtie disciple).
Citing and comparing sources from Abhinishkramanasutra (ABN), Lalitvistara(LV), Mahavastu(MV), Buddhacharita(BC), Kangyur(kan), Nidankatha(NK), Sanghabhedavastu(SV), Bodhisattvacharyavatara(BCY), Mahaparinibbanasutra(MPNS), and other Thai/Sanskrit/Tibetian/Burmese/Sri-Lankan/Pali cannons, this book throws a list of female characters who with their tiniest mention and appearances, turns the usual story of Buddha, on its head and brings it out from the shadows of general andocentric and misogynist portrayals that are generally attributed to it over centuries..
Do go through the book for below fascinating churnings.
1. Siddhartha's first meals after leaving Kapilavastu were taken in homes of Brahmin women - Shaki and Padma. It is noticeable that we find no traces of their husbands or any male relatives in their introductions, and as if they were just being named for acknowledging only, neither do we find their mentions anywhere in Siddhartha/Buddha's story hereafter. Why so?(LV)
2. Siddhartha leaves his house in his royal clothes, and travels a distance say X "in one night" with Chandaka and his horse - Kanthaka.
Yet, why it took Chandaka over 8 days to return back the same X distance?
Even after returning, Siddhartha's royal robes could not be lifted by three able Shakyan princes, for being heavy! How come then the Chandaka alone brought them back?
What made the Shakyan's throw these robes into a pond and venerate it?
3. Born and brought up amidst royalties and luxury till 29 years of age, Siddhartha could not get through his first mouthful from the beggar bowl of mixed gruel. His first mouthful he throws out of his mouth in utter disgust. How does he overcome this fallacy for his lifetime?
4. Siddhartha took his first mendicant robes from a washerwoman by the name - Gava (MV). Somewhere she is named Radha(LV), former servant of Sujata, whose hempen shroud Siddhartha decides to adopt as his garment. Why a woman's clothing?
5. Sujata's tale is replaced with tale of two sisters - Nanda and Bela in ABN. Yet how do they differ or are similar to each other?
6. Siddhartha after having Sujata's offering of a golden bowl of rice porridge, discards it on the river Nairanjana. The bowl swims upriver, against the streams, and finally tumbles into Patala, where it strikes loudly with the bowls of the three previous Bodhisattvas. It sets a cataclysmic earthquake that awakens Kalanagaraja - The Snake King, who presents himself before mendicant Siddhartha to tell him about his three predecessors - Krakucchanda, Konaka and Kasyapa. Who were these 3 Bodhisattvas? (MV)
7. Earth appears as a goddess to witness for him when Siddhartha on becoming Buddha, defeats Mara by Bhumisparshamudra. Her curls are covered in droplets of water, each water drop is the consolidated merit of a lifetime that the Bodhisattva has acquired in his previous life. An ocean of water flows from her tresses and torrents of floodwaters gush across the world destroying Mara and his army. (Thai)
8. LV mentions that Buddha's first disciple is Sachi, Indra's wife. How?
9. Yashodhara, gets ordained for an agnipariksha, much like Ramayana's Sita. Why and How?
10. Why nuns have to follow eight more misogynistic rules in Buddhism than the monks?
11. Visakha - One of the main laywomen, who placed the earliest foundation for women in Buddhism, and yet is not known more widely. What made her to oversee the completion of first monastery - Pubbarnavihara?
12. What about Utpalvarna - the nun who was raped?
13. How were Seventyseven thousand of Shakyan citizens were massacred, a tale mirroring the demise of Krishna's Yaduvamsa!
14. Ambapali and her own terms of empowerment that gave Buddhism its much needed common grounds to spread among masses, regardless of any categorisation. Or was it so?
15. Buddha's last meal of being pork, served by a metalworker named Chunda, while the last garment in which he was cremated, was provided by a female named Mallika. Are these stories specifically created or have their myths in some feudal grounds of Hinduism vs Buddhism?
16. Bonus - find out about the Stree-Jataka, one of the rare re-births of the Bodhisattva where he is born in a female-body named Rupavati. This story is not mentioned in this book, but go ahead, dig your own hands to get dirty!
Go find out!
Want to read
November 27, 2016Audio interview with the author Nov. 27, 2016 (23:26 mins.):
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/a-ne...
See also: Lives of Mohammed's wives by the same author
Hagiography of Siddhartha's stepmother/aunt
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/a-ne...
See also: Lives of Mohammed's wives by the same author
Hagiography of Siddhartha's stepmother/aunt
May 20, 2017
Amazing. Really deepened my faith.
December 10, 2020
I read this for a Buddhism book club and I just didn't know enough about Buddhism for this to be a good choice for me. The author seeks out all the women that appear in various Buddhist canons, and explains their stories. It's definitely a feminist work. The main goal is to empower Buddhist women. The book is interesting because it is pretty thoroughly researched, but it also starts with all the positive assumptions about the Buddha that a Buddhist would be likely to make. For example, Wendy Garling assumes that all the misogyny that shows up in the religion is the result of later male misinterpretation, since the Buddha could not possibly have supported such a thing. This faith based feminist academia is fascinating as an outsider, but the accounts in the book are very granular, and assume a pretty high degree of familiarity with the Buddha's life.
I don't even really know how to review this. I did not enjoy the book, but that's just because I should have started with a more introductory text. It was interesting to see higher level analysis of a religion I'm unfamiliar with, but I certainly would not recommend this to anyone who isn't well versed in Buddhism.
I don't even really know how to review this. I did not enjoy the book, but that's just because I should have started with a more introductory text. It was interesting to see higher level analysis of a religion I'm unfamiliar with, but I certainly would not recommend this to anyone who isn't well versed in Buddhism.
September 14, 2020
What a fascinating book. As someone who's been interested in Buddhism for a long time the misogyny has always been an issue for me, so this felt like the book for me.
That being said, while I understand why Garling wrote the book in the chronological way she did, detailing each of the major women in the Buddha's life, I wish that had been a shorter first section and that Garling would get into more theoretical work about women and nuns in the practice through the modern day i.e. what they have accomplished, why they are important, and why the Buddhism the Buddha taught not only welcomed them but encouraged them. I just wanted a little bit more from this book than just the stories.
That being said, while I understand why Garling wrote the book in the chronological way she did, detailing each of the major women in the Buddha's life, I wish that had been a shorter first section and that Garling would get into more theoretical work about women and nuns in the practice through the modern day i.e. what they have accomplished, why they are important, and why the Buddhism the Buddha taught not only welcomed them but encouraged them. I just wanted a little bit more from this book than just the stories.
July 15, 2022
I read this for a Sutrayana class. I found it a quick read, really enlightening (pun intended) and marvelous to see someone pull out the threads of how women really were involved in the life of the Buddha and the importance of the feminine in the life of the Buddha. I would recommend this especially to any Western woman who is seeking to reconcile the Buddhism she is experiencing with the cultural overlays that have obscured the path for women for so long.
September 8, 2020
This book was clearly painstakingly researched and carefully synthesized, no easy task given the lack and often contradictory information available regarding the role and influence of women on the Buddha's life and development as a spiritual leader. A fascinating, refreshing and timely book that gives women their rightful place. A must-read.
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November 5, 2017I may not go back and finish reading this until someday later. Hard read for me.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews