Women in the Footsteps of the Buddha

Kathryn Blackstone coaxes the reader into a detailed exploration of the quest for liberation on the part of the early bhikkhunis. She considers this issue not only on the basis of previous historical studies, informed by the complicated symbolism of the text, but also in order to unearth the attitudes and assumptions inherent in the text, and to examine the terms, images, events, and situations insofar as they reveal the feminine perspective of the bhikkhunisangha. Her careful analysis of the language and imagery of the texts allows her to postulate some bold new conclusions about the text. As a study of the only text in the Buddhist tradition of known female authorship, it will be of much importance to anyone investigating women’s own perspective on their religion, and also provides a clear statement about how renunciants understand the nature of nibbana.