A Painful Ambiguity
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...
View ArticleDark Matter
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...
View ArticleThe Tyranny of Transcendence
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...
View ArticleBhikkhuni Vinaya Studies
Although historically marginalized, Buddhist nuns are taking their place in modern Buddhism. Like the monks, Buddhist nuns live by an ancient system of monastic law, the Vinaya. This work investigates...
View ArticleWhite Bones Red Rot Black Snakes
Enchanting, powerful, horrific, beautiful, wise, deadly, compassionate, seductive. Women in Buddhist story and image are all these things and more. She takes the signs of the ancient goddess – the...
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