Daughters of the Buddha: Teachings by Ancient Indian Women

In this enlightening corrective to male-dominated histories of Buddhism, Anālayo (Mindfulness of Breathing), a member of the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, explores the lives and teachings of “women who were direct disciples of the Buddha.” Among the women profiled is Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, an aunt of the Buddha, who helped found the order of Buddhist nuns, as well as Dhammadinnā, who some say joined a Buddhist monastery after her husband swore off “sensual desires” in his own practice and effectively ended their marriage. Anālayo discusses the limits of historical sources and notes that some of the nuns are barely discussed in the written record, which he attributes to confusions stemming from decades of oral transmission in multiple languages. The scholarship is first-rate, but advanced Buddhist practitioners will get the most out of the meticulous technical breakdowns of translation quirks and scriptural discrepancies, as when Anālayo delves into how various texts attribute to different minor nuns the same teaching on subjectivity’s relationship to the self. Academics will welcome the rigorous interrogation of the historical record. (Dec.)