Opening the Lotus: A Woman's Guide to Buddhism

by Sandy Boucher

Part primer, part personal history, part guide to spiritual practice, this book opens the door to an understanding of Buddhist spirituality, which engages more and more Westerners as the millennium approaches. Through personal anecdotes, lively explanations, and thoughtful discussions, Sandy Boucher presents a female perspective on fundamental Buddhist teachings such as compassion, detachment, and enlightenment.

Includes a directory of women teachers in the United States, Canada, and abroad.

Genres: Nonfiction, Buddhism, Spirituality, Feminism, Womens, Womens Studies, Religion

204 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 1997

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first saw this book at my favorite used bookstore in Boulder Colorado (the Bookworm) I was intrigued. The inside jacket begins the summary of the book by asking the question… “Do women take a unique approach to spirituality?” I read the question closed the book and thought…”Well sure… don’t they?” Wanting to explore the topic of female spirituality more I picked it up and finally after months of having the book in my possession I read it last weekend.

Boucher’s book is set up as a general guidebook and a personal journal. Inserted into the chapters are Boucher’s own experiences that lead her to the theories and ideas she often writes about in her books. Many of the stories are of her first experience with Buddhism and her female spiritual teacher. Mixed throughout is feminist theory and insight. From history to a guide on Buddhist practices Boucher’s book generally covers a large scope.

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 because there are a lot of history and description of Buddhist practices and temples that I found intriguing, but to the unwilling reader it will be boring. The personal narratives are not compelling enough to appeal to any reader and the feminist theory is dated and somewhat biased (the book was first published in 1997).

Now if you have an interest in Buddhist history or practice you may consider this book. It is written as a general outline and for those who are unfamiliar, yet interested it is written clearly and concisely. I personally enjoyed the chapter on Buddhist meditation halls. As a Zen Buddhist I was unfamiliar with the Theravada and Varayana practices. Boucher offers a nice overview of the meditation hall differences.

Because of the nice overview of the different types of Buddhism I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. As I mentioned the personal narrative is not compelling and the question that intrigued me in the first place, was never really answered.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has sat on my shelf for a very long time, so I decided that a new year where I'm trying to look more into myself and what I want to do/where I want to go, would be a good time to read this.

I went into this book with an open mind and a hope that it would provide some insight into the originality of Buddhism from a female perspective. It ended up being a bit too feminist for my taste, but did provide a very nice background of Buddhism and the various branches that are practiced. The author came upon Buddhism during her own personal journey and shared some of her experiences throughout the narrative. Those were the points I enjoyed the most, where I was able to more easily visualize the Buddhist perspective through her journey. I found it interesting to read where the various Buddhist disciplines arose, but would then get disturbed at the overly negative thoughts underlying the author's description of them. Many times, it was pointed out how male-centered Buddhism tends to be.

Now, there's a good chance this is all based on her personal experiences with various places the author visited and there's an even higher chance that the practice in 1996 is very different from the practices in 2011/2012, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

There are a couple good meditation exercises, but nothing truly earth-shattering or requiring one to read this whole book. Most is easily found online, most likely with guided imagery narrated by another, so one can focus on their meditation and not have to continually peek at the book.

If you're wanting something that will provide a background on Buddhism, a brief synopsis of the various area/methods of practice, this is a helpful, easy-to-read version.

[Clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Opening the Lotus showed a lot of promise, but didn't deliver on it. A chapter describing the primary Buddhist female deities and a (selected) list of women meditation teachers in the U.S. hardly qualifies the book as "a woman's guide to Buddhism." The author, Sandy Boucher, tells us a lot about herself, including how she came to be a feminist activist and how she came to Buddhism, but her personal story seemed unconnected to the narrative about Buddhism. I recently finished a book by Sharon Salzberg, a Buddhist meditation teacher, and I couldn't help but contrast the masterful way in which Salzberg integrated her personal experiences into her narrative with Boucher's strikingly less successful effort.

The back cover calls Opening the Lotus "part primer, part personal history, part guide to spiritual practice," and that may be the problem with the book: It's not a "whole" anything. It's certainly not a useful primer on Buddhism, and the few meditation-practice suggestions Boucher includes felt to me as if they'd been added at the last minute to give the book a little more heft. I found the book deeply unsatisfying.

[Mamafeelgood]

I own but have not read.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A personal introduction to Buddhism.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, definitely a valuable resource for beginners. It's primarily about western Buddhism though

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated but interesting beginner introduction to buddhism from a feminine and feminist perspective.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read and covers many 'basics'