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Buddhist Women Masters

Edited by
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, University of San Diego, USA

Buddhism has produced realized beings, both female and male, for over 2,500 years. Many accounts of the lives and achievements of countless Buddhist women masters have been lost in the shoals of time, however, for lack of acknowledgment and appreciation. This collection attempts to redress this history of neglect by documenting the lived experience of remarkable women from a variety of cultural milieu, who mastered both the Buddhist teachings and their own lives and also triumphed over social expectations of women. The papers recount the enlightening stories of highly accomplished women – lay and ordained, recorded in texts, oral histories, and personal memories – and their unheralded contributions to world culture.

  1. The aim of this paper is to two fold—first, to set forth a definition of "mastery" as it is understood across diverse Buddhist traditions. Secondly, using verses from the Therigatha, I argue that the first female...

    Authors: Nona Olivia
    Citation: International Journal of Dharma Studies 2017 5:8
  2. Tenzin Chodron (b. 1951) is a scholar nun who has opened up new pathways for Buddhist women in the Republic of Buryatia. The paper describes how, at a critical juncture in the political and religious transitio...

    Authors: Zhargal Aiakova
    Citation: International Journal of Dharma Studies 2016 4:9
  3. Takatsukasa Seigyoku (b. 1929) is the current abbess of Daihongan convent, which is one of the two administrative heads of the popular Japanese pilgrimage temple Zenkōji. In this paper, I analyze Takatsukasa’s...

    Authors: Matthew S. Mitchell
    Citation: International Journal of Dharma Studies 2016 4:1