Synopses & Reviews
The crowning cultural achievement of medieval India, Tantric Buddhism is known in the West primarily for the sexual practices of its adherents, who strive to transform erotic passion into spiritual ecstasy. Historians of religion have long held that the enlightenment thus attempted was for men only, and that women in the movement were at best marginal and subordinated and at worst degraded and exploited. Miranda Shaw argues to the contrary, presenting extensive new evidence of the outspoken and independent female founders of the Tantric movement and their creative role in shaping its distinctive vision of gender relations and sacred sexuality.
Review
"This book is a welcome and wonderful addition to feminist scholarship on Buddhism, a rapidly growing endeavor. . . . Miranda Shaw's discussion of passion and intimacy as a path of practice is exemplary in its demonstration that such practices can only be undertaken by equals who share the same vision, the same aspiration for enlightenment, and the same training and meditative skills."--Rita Gross, Shambhala Sun
Review
"A feminist critique of a male (and Western) view of the Tantric tradition [and also] a balanced reassessment of a tradition too long misunderstood."--James George, Parabola
Review
This book is a welcome and wonderful addition to feminist scholarship on Buddhism, a rapidly growing endeavor. . . . Miranda Shaw's discussion of passion and intimacy as a path of practice is exemplary in its demonstration that such practices can only be undertaken by equals who share the same vision, the same aspiration for enlightenment, and the same training and meditative skills. Rita Gross
Review
A feminist critique of a male (and Western) view of the Tantric tradition [and also] a balanced reassessment of a tradition too long misunderstood. Shambhala Sun
Review
Winner of the 1994 James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association
Winner of the 1994 Tricycle Prize for Excellence in Buddhist Scholarship
Synopsis
The crowning cultural achievement of medieval India, Tantric Buddhism is known in the West primarily for the sexual practices of its adherents, who strive to transform erotic passion into spiritual ecstasy. Historians of religion have long held that the enlightenment thus attempted was for men only, and that women in the movement were at best marginal and subordinated and at worst degraded and exploited. Miranda Shaw argues to the contrary, presenting extensive new evidence of the outspoken and independent female founders of the Tantric movement and their creative role in shaping its distinctive vision of gender relations and sacred sexuality.
Table of Contents
| List of Illustrations | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| Guide to Transliteration | |
Ch. 1 | Seeking the Traces of Sky-Dancers | 3 |
Ch. 2 | Tantric Buddhism in India: Religious and Historical Introduction | 20 |
Ch. 3 | Women in Tantric Theory: Powerful and Auspicious | 35 |
Ch. 4 | Women in Tantric Circles: Adepts and Experts | 74 |
Ch. 5 | Women in Tantric History: Founders and Pioneers | 101 |
Ch. 6 | Women in Tantric Relationships: Intimacy as a Path to Enlightenment | 140 |
Ch. 7 | Spontaneous Jewellike Yogini on Passion and Enlightenment | 179 |
Ch. 8 | Conclusions | 195 |
| Notes | 207 |
| Bibliography | 265 |
| Index | 283 |