‘Resolutely striving, not lazy by day or night, urged on by my mother, I realized supreme peace.’ –Vaddha |
This major work combines scrupulous research with creative imagination to investigate the diverse and sometimes problematic roles that women have played in Buddhist stories.
This essay focusses on saṅkhāra, the use of will. In spiritual circles, relinquishing will is often touted as the route to enlightenment, whereas in fact it is an essential part of healthy human development.
Exploration of issues confronting fully ordained nuns (bhikkhunis) in modern Buddhism. Includes detailed textual analysis based on comparison of the original Vinaya texts.
While discussion on women’s role in the Sangha proceeds, those who most need to take part in the discussion — the monks — are conspicuously absent. The issue is not so much a dialogue as a call to the darkness, for a sympathetic hearing that is just not there.
The depiction of women in Buddhist texts is deeply ambiguous. We are told that women can become fully awakened; and then in the next breath, that they will destroy Buddhism. This ambiguity is deeply revealing. Even though we traditionally see our texts as the products of pure awakened beings, the reality is far more complex, and hence, far more interesting.
