Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women -- Tradition, Revision, Renewal
In 1998, Trinity College provided the venue for Buddhist nuns to bring to the West the meditative art of making sand mandalas and the sacred techniques of painting thangkas. Both arts have long been the exclusive domains of monks. The project closed with a conference that generated this excellent, thematically arranged collection of essays that tests the hypothesis that "women are playing a significant and even decisive role in the...way Buddhism is changing to meet the needs and demands of life" today. Ranging from the scholarly to the intensely personal, these illuminating papers explore history, ethnography, artistic expression, healing and medical practices, and even the decision to bear children. The coverage is worldwide, with an emphasis on southern Asia. Highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries supporting collections on Buddhism or women's studies.DJames R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina Lib., AshevilleCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.