Susan Moon

The relationship between body and mind has always been a topic of speculation and spirited discussion. The authors of the pieces contained in this anthology address the problem from the unique dual perspective of being women and being students of Buddhism.

Although Buddhism emphasizes that attachment to the body causes suffering, the body can be seen as a vehicle leading to enlightenment. Lenore Friedman and Susan Moon have collected 33 essays on this paradox. In chapters on suffering, nature, gender, devotional practices, and self, female students of Buddhism explore the paradox of embodiment through examinations of sickness, disability, pain, suffering, childbirth, menopause, addiction, aging, th… (mehr)

The Hidden Lamp is a collection of one hundred koans and stories of Buddhist women from the time of the Buddha to the present day. This revolutionary book brings together many teaching stories that were hidden for centuries, unknown until this volume. These stories are extraordinary expressions of freedom and fearlessness, relevant for men and women of any time or place. In these pages we meet nuns, laywomen practicing with their families, famous teachers honored by emperors, and old women selling tea on the side of the road.

Each story is accompanied by a reflection by a contemporary woman teacher—personal responses that help bring the old stories alive for readers today—and concluded by a final meditation for the reader, a question from the editors meant to spark further rumination and inquiry. These are the voices of the women ancestors of every contemporary Buddhist.… (mehr)