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Wendy Garling

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Books by Wendy Garling

The Woman Who Raised the Buddha

The first full biography of Mahaprajapati Gautami, the woman who raised the Buddha—examining her life through stories and canonical records.

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Stars at Dawn

With storytelling and commentary that will both delight and surprise, Wendy Garling takes a contemporary, feminist approach to the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha's intimate circle. Focusing first on laywomen from the time before the Buddha's enlightenment--his birth mother and stepmother, his co-wives, and members of his harem when he was known as Prince Siddhartha--and then moving on to the Buddha's first female disciple, early nuns, and to female patrons, Garling invites us to open our minds to a new understanding of their role, one that is free from the misogyny of the monastic literary tradition.

For the first time, stories widely dispersed in several traditions, including both Pali and Mahayana canonical texts, are woven into a coherent narrative. These colorful tales are enriched by fresh interpretations that bring gender balance to the traditional accounts. Interspersed with original insights and bold challenges to the status quo, the stories are both entertaining and thought-provoking--and at times controversial. More than just a collection of tales, the book is an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the belief that Buddhism has been inherently patriarchal from the beginning. In reclaiming these ancient stories of the Buddha's personal relationships, the author seeks to revive a sense of his full humanity, as well as empower contemporary women to reclaim a shared Buddhist heritage.

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