A contemporary and provocative examination of the life of the Buddha highlighting the influence of women from his journey to awakening through his teaching career - based on overlooked or neglected stories from ancient source material.
In this retelling of the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha's intimate circle, lesser-known stories from Sanskrit and Pali sources are for the first time woven into an illuminating, coherent narrative that follows his life from his birth to his parinirvana or death. Interspersed with original insights, fresh interpretations, and bold challenges to the status quo, the stories are both entertaining and thought-provoking - some may even appear controversial. 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 - then moving on to the Buddha's first female disciples, early nuns, and to female patrons, Wendy Garling invites us to open our minds to a new understanding of their roles.
Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life, Wendy Garling, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 328 Pages, 2016, $18.95
Wendy Garling is a writer, mother, Buddhist practitioner, and independent scholar with a BA from Wellesley College and MA in Sanskrit language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is an authorized dharma teacher and has taught women's spirituality with a focus on the sacred feminine and women's stories for many years.
CONTENTS: Stars at Dawn
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Acknowledgments
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xi
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Introduction
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1
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1.
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Maya, Mother of the Buddha
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17
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A Shakya Girl
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19
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Maya's Wedding
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24
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A Queen in Kapilavastu
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27
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On Conceiving a Bodhisattva
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31
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The Bodhisattva in Utero: Maya's Pregnancy
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39
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The Journey to Lumbini's Grove
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46
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Buddha's Birth, Maya's Death
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53
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2.
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Mahaprajapatti, Goddesses, and Growing Up in the Harem
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62
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Who Will Be My Mother?
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63
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The Voice of the Goddess
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65
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Childhood Stories
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71
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The Harem as Family
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74
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3.
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Yasodhara, Mrigi Guatami, and the Harem Wives
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78
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Courtship in Kapilavastu
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79
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Who Is Yashodhara?
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83
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Yashodhara and Siddhartha
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84
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Yashodhara in the
Jataka Tales
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90
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Junior Wives
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92
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The Mysterious Kisa Gautami
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95
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Kisa Gautami as Mrigi in the
Mahavastu
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101
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Mrigi Gautami: A Reconstructed and Imagined Biography
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104
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4.
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The Great Departure: A Family Affair
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107
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Tension in the Palace
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109
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Mahaprajapati Takes Charge
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119
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Brotherly Advice
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122
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The Harem as Muse
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125
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Yashodhara's Dream
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132
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The Great Departure
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135
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Sadness in Kapilavastu
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143
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5.
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En Route to the Bodhi Tree
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155
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A Mendicant Begins His Journey
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157
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Gautama's Extreme Austerities
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162
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On Finding the Middle Way
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167
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Meetings with Sujata
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169
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Two Sisters and the Rice Milk
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180
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Further Symbols of the Sacred Feminine
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182
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Under the Bodhi Tree
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185
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6.
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Return to Kapilavastu
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196
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The First Female Disciples
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196
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Yasodhara's Pregnancy
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201
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The Rape of Yasodhara
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210
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Reunion of Suddhodana and His Son
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212
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Mahaprajapati's Tears
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216
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Rahula Meets His Father
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220
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7.
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Women during the Buddha's Ministry
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229
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Suddhodana's Death
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230
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Taking Ordination: Mahaprajapati, Yashodhara and the Five Hundred Women
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232
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Visakha, Chief among Laywomen
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243
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The Deaths of Buddhism's First Nuns
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254
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Maya's Conversion, the Demise of the Shakyas, and Amrapali
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264
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Women at the Buddha's Parinirvana
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270
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Notes
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276
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Annotated Bibliography of the Ten Principal Primary Sources
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294
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General Bibliography
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297
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About the Author
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303
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Index
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304
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