#Florence Caplow

[true-person-of-no-rank]

[luciferianbuddhism]

The Nuns’ Verses is the earliest anthology we have of these women writing their own stories. Its inclusion in the Buddhist canon, its preservation, and the commentaries written on it attest to its influence in ancient Buddhist communities. It is possible that monks who compiled and redacted canonical texts may have obscured or even failed to preserve other women’s achievements. We will never know. Work is underway on translations of the Narratives about Nuns, and with more people involved in the translation of numerous untranslated Buddhist texts, we will likely have access to more information about women’s lives. But what about the texts we do have? The multifaceted images of women in these ancient Indian works reflect their unknown creators’ differing views on gender and class as well as societal changes that took place over a thousand or more years. As Appleton points out, the Theravāda exclusion of women from the bodhisattva path, which belongs to a later commentarial strata, reinforced the idea that changing into a man overcomes both the social and spiritual limitations of being female. Early Mahāyāna scriptures allow women to progress along the bodhisattva path only up to a certain point, where they change into men. No commentaries or treatises composed by women that might have presented an alternative view survive. Skilling speculates that women’s writings might never have been written down or that they were not preserved by monks who controlled the redaction of scriptures. But Buddhism has never represented itself as resistant to inevitable change. Living in the twenty-first century, we might need to re-evaluate some of these texts. Does the text present a message that transcends particular cultures? Is it tied to a particular stance on gender and class more appropriate to a past time and not to the present? Narrative innovation in medieval Theravāda commentaries inserted female past lives into the Buddha’s biography; and in Mahāyāna scriptures women assume the role of spiritual guides on the path to Buddhahood. These narratives can inspire contemporary Buddhists to action. Inspired by Paṭācārā’s story, Polly Trout, a layperson with nonsectarian Dharma practice, founded Patacara Community Services, a nonsectarian Buddhist community whose mission is “help people overwhelmed by grief and despair as she has once been.”84 Innovative commentaries that reinterpret and reimagine the lives of some of these ancient Indian women’s stories have already been written. In The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, Florence Caplow and Susan Moon have compiled and edited stories of Sujāta, Mahāprajāpatī, Bhaddā Kuṇḍalakesā, Kisagotamī, Uppalavaṇṇā, Somā, Vasumitrā, Śāriputra and the goddess, and many others, and coupled them with commentaries and reflections by contemporary Buddhist women, both lay and monastic. We need to reclaim these long-dead women as part of our own human history, even Thullanandā and her gang of six.

“Buddhist Feminisms and Femininities” by Karma Lekshe Tsomo

[encoded-wisdom]

Reading Zen: Sixteen Zen Teachers Each Recommend Five Books

Josh Bartok:

Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts), Ezra Bayda (Dogen) Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Shohaku Okumura Ending the Pursuit of Happiness: A Zen Guide, Barry Magid Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own stupidity, Soko Morinaga Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts, Shohaku Okumura

Mitra Bishop:

Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen’s Most Important Koan, (ed by James Ishmael Ford & Melissa Blacker) Nothing is Hidden: the Psychology of Zen Koans, Barry Magid Ordinary Mind: Exploring the Common Ground of Zen and Psychoanalysis, Barry Magid Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Undying Lamp of Zen: The Testament of Zen Master Torei (trs by Thomas Cleary)

Domyo Burk:

The Wings to Awakening: An Anthology of the Pali Canon, (ed by Bhikku Thanissaro) (Dogen) Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen’s Shobogenzo, Shohaku Okumura (Dogen) How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, Kosho Uchiyama Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction. Richard Robinson, Willard L. Johnson, and Thanissaro Bhikku. Seeds of Virtue, Seeds of Change: A Collection of Zen Teachings, (ed by Jikyo Wolfer & Eido Carney)

Anita Feng:

Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi (trs by Taigen Leighton) Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui (trs by J. C. Cleary) Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry (ed by Stephen Mitchell) Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Blue Cliff Record (various translations)

Norman Fischer:

Everyday Zen, Joko Beck Living by Vow, Shohaku Okamura Not Always So, Shunryu Suzuki Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Refining Your Life, Kosho Uchiyama

James Ishmael Ford:

Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics, Robert Aitken Taking the Path of Zen, Robert Aitken Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor Chan Whip Anthology: A Companion to Zen Practice, trs by Jeffrey Broughton & Elise Watanabe Light Inside the Dark: Zen, Soul, and the Spiritual Life, John Tarrant

Gesshin Greenwood:

Bossy Pants, Tina Fey Being Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh Opening the Hand of Thought, Kosho Uchiyama (Dogen) Bendowa: Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way by Eihei Dogen, Kosho Uchiyama The Dhammapada, Gautama Siddhartha (various translations)

Joan Halifax:

(Dogen) Moon in a Dewdrop, (trs Kazuaki Tanahashi, et al) Transmission of Light, Jokin Keizan (trs Francis Cook) Zen’s Chinese Heritage, Andy Ferguson Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Opening the Hand of Thought, Kosho Uchiyama

Mushim Patricia Ikeda:

Zen Monastic Experience, Robert Buswell Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center, Michael Downing Cave of Poison Grass: Essays on the Hannya Sutra, Seikan Hasegawa Zen at War, Brian Daizen Victoria

Barry Magid:

Greek Buddha, Christopher Beckwith Living & Dying and Zazen, Arthur Braverman Fathering Your Father, Alan Cole Patriarchs on Paper, Alan Cole Living by Vow, Shohaku Okamura

Rafe Martin:

The Gateless Barrier (trs by Robert Aitken) (Dogen) Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, (ed. Kazuaki Takahashi) The Three Pillars of Zen, ed by Philip Kapleau The Ox and His Herdsman: A Chinese Zen Text, ( trs by M.H. Trevor) Vimalakirti Sutra.(trans. Burton Watson) Poison Blossoms from A Thicket of Thorn, Hakuin Ekaku (trs Norman Waddell)

Wendy Egyoku Nakai:

The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, (Florence Caplow, Susan Moon, eds) Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen, Bernie Glassman Liberating Intimacy: Enlightenment and Social Virtuosity in Ch’an Buddhism, Peter Hershock Zen Talks: More than Anyone Can Do, Ton Lathouwers Art of the Lotus Sutra: Japanese Masterpieces, Tamura Kurata

Dosho Port:

Narrow Road to the Interior, Bassho (trs Hammil) Dogen’s Extensive Record (trs Leighton and Okumura) Dogen on Meditation and Thinking, by Hee-Jin Kim Poison Blossoms from a Thicket of Thorn, Ekaku Hakuin (trs Waddell) Moon by the Window, by Shodo Harada

Judy Roitman:

(five for beginners)

What the Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula Compass of Zen, Seung Sahn Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Hardcore Zen, Brad Warner Sit Down and Shut Up, Brad Warner

(and for more mature practitioners)

Gateless Barrier (trs by Robert Aitken Elegant Failure, Richard Shrobe Don’t Know Mind, Richard Shrobe Diamond Sutra (various translations) Vimalakirti Sutra (trs by Burton Watson) Lotus Sutra (trs by either Burton Watson or Gene Reeves) Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor (various translations) Mirror of Zen: The Classic Guide to Buddhist Practice by Zen Master So Sahn (ZM Roitman adds: (credited to Boep Jeong Sunim who is actually the monk who translated the Chinese text into contemporary Korean from which it was translated into English by Hyon Gak Sunim and why Shambhala made such a mess of the attribution I don’t know)

(and for people who want a little feminist perspective)

First Buddhist Women, Susan Murcott Zen Women: Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho Masters, Grace Schireson

(And just for fun)

Buddha, Karen Armstrong

Grace Schireson:

Nothing Special, Joko Beck Living Zen, Joko Beck Living by Vow, Shohaku Okamura Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki

Daniel Terragno:

Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, Hee-Jin Kim Dogen on Meditation and Thinking: A Reflection on His View of Zen Hee-Jin Kim Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life, Guo Gu Record of Linji (trs Ruth Fuller Sasaki) Art of Just Sitting (ed Daido Loori) Sitting With Koans (ed Daido Loori)

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2017/07/fourteen-zen-teachers-recommend-five-books-zen-buddhism.html