Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life

by Wendy Garling

Overview

In this retelling of the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha’s intimate circle, lesser-known stories from Sanskrit and Pali sources are for the first time woven into an illuminating, coherent narrative. Interspersed with original insights, fresh interpretations, and bold challenges to the status quo, these stories invite us to open our minds to a new understanding of women's roles in the Buddha's life and in early Buddhism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780834840300
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Wendy Garling is a writer, mother, Buddhist practitioner, and independent scholar with a BA from Wellesley College and MA in Sanskrit language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is an authorized dharma teacher and has taught women’s spirituality with a focus on the sacred feminine and women’s stories for many years.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

1 Maya, Mother of the Buddha 17

A Shakya Girl 19

Maya's Wedding 24

A Queen in Kapilavastu 27

On Conceiving a Bodhisattva 31

The Bodhisattva in Utero: Maya's Pregnancy 39

The Journey to Lumbini's Grove 46

Buddha's Birth, Maya's Death 53

2 Mahaprajapati, Goddesses, and Growing Up in the Harem 62

Who Will Be My Mother? 63

The Voice of the Goddess 65

Childhood Stories 71

The Harem as Family 74

3 Yashodhara, Mrigi Gautami, and the Harem Wives 78

Courtship in Kapilavastu 79

Who Is Yashodhara? 83

Yashodhara and Siddhartha 84

Yashodhara in the Jataka Tales 90

Junior Wives 92

The Mysterious Kisa Gautami 95

Kisa Gautami as Mrigi in the Mahavastu 101

Mrigi Gautami: A Reconstructed and Imagined Biography 104

4 The Great Departure: A Family Affair 107

Tension in the Palace 109

Mahaprajapati Takes Charge 119

Brotherly Advice 122

The Harem as Muse 125

Yashodhara's Dreams 132

The Great Departure 135

Sadness in Kapilavastu 143

5 En Route to the Bodhi Tree 155

A Mendicant Begins His Journey 157

Gautama's Extreme Austerities 162

On Finding the Middle Way 167

Meetings with Sujata 169

Two Sisters and the Rice Milk 180

Further Symbols of the Sacred Feminine 182

Under the Bodhi Tree 185

6 Return to Kapilavastu 196

The First Female Disciples 196

Yashodhara's Pregnancy 201

The Rape of Yashodhara 210

Reunion of Suddhodana and His Son 212

Mahaprajapati's Tears 216

Rahula Meets His Father 220

7 Women during the Buddha's Ministry 229

Suddhodana's Death 230

Taking Ordination: Mahaprajapati, Yashodhara and the Five Hundred Women 232

Visakha, Chief among Lay women 243

The Deaths of Buddhism's First Nuns 254

Maya's Conversion, the Demise of the Shakyas, and Amrapali 264

Women at the Buddha's Parinirvana 270

Notes 276

Annotated Bibliography of the Ten Principal Primary Sources 294

General Bibliography 297

About the Author 303

Index 304

Editorial Reviews

A well-researched, intelligent, and sensitive retrieval of women’s lineage stories from the dawn of Buddhism.  Eloquently retold, with lush quotes from the canon, these accounts animate the poignant, intimate lives of the foremothers on their journey to enlightenment.  A welcome, much-needed addition to Buddhist literature!”—Judith Simmer-Brown, Naropa University, author of Dakini’s Warm Breath
 
“An extraordinary book, following the life span of the Buddha, as the great and brave women who brought equality to the dharma shine through rare and rich stories of their lives. This is a radical and wondrous book, shedding a new and bright light on Buddhism.”—Roshi Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center
 
“An epic tale about the luminous constellation of women who from conception to death surrounded the Buddha. Straddling dream and reality, this fresh and original rendering of these remarkable women’s stories weaves together strands of legend with verses from original texts. The colorful accounts express in contemporary language and colloquial style the deepest spiritual longings of an awakening cast of characters, at once humorous, heartwarming, and familiar.”—Karma Lekshe Tsomo, editor of Buddhism through American Women’s Eyes and a founder of Sakyadhita: International Association of Buddhist Women 

“Wendy Garling’s Stars at Dawn  retells the ancient stories of the lives of the women who were essential players in the Buddha's life in a way that supports connection and understanding. Reading Garling’s account of the women whose lives were interwoven with the Buddha’s, I often felt deeply inspired by everyone involved.”—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

"Wendy Garling's Stars at Dawn is a beautiful telling of the moving stories of the many important women in the life of Siddhartha Gautama who became the Shakyamuni Buddha. Of course, human beings live totally interwoven with each other, and of course every man only can exist in dependence on many important women, grandmothers, mothers, sisters, lovers, wives, daughters, etc. Their bodies come from women, they are nurtured, protected, taught, and challenged by women, and their personalities are formed, and their insights and achievements are born from the usually more advanced realism of women. So finally, Garling shows us from mostly original sources how women had determining agency in creating the Buddhist movement on this planet in this era, skillfully helping us extricate ourselves from the patriarchal version where a lone man supposedly produced perfect enlightenment on his own and started a major transformation in history all alone. She has rendered us all, Buddhists and others, a great service; her book should be a must read in courses on Buddhism and by anyone who wants to understand the Buddha. All will benefit who wake up to recognize that human life and history have always been made by all too invisible women right along with the men we usually hear about! "—Robert Thurman, Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University

"Wendy Garling, in her book Stars at Dawn, has made an invaluable contribution to research in early Buddhism by collecting together a vast repository of stories from various early, and some late sources, and organizing them to argue for the significance and centrality of women in the life of the Buddha. In engaging in the painstaking work of tracking down these stories she has created a resource for future scholars who may well be spurred into inquiring into the deeper significance of this seemingly ‘hidden’ but certainly under researched textual tradition. What is offered is a significant and persuasive corrective to the dominant patriarchal story of the Buddha’s life, where women have been radically excised from that story and included only where they are deemed absolutely necessary, such as his ‘miraculous’ birth. This book is highly intelligent and extremely well researched and is one of those rare books that actually provokes thought, both agreement and disagreement. This is an absolute pleasure to read. "—Dr. John Peacock, Codirector of Masters in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, University of Oxford

"It is always good to reread old texts through new lenses. By focusing on often neglected stories about laywomen that have been sidelined in various traditions about the Buddha, Wendy Garling has produced a suggestive and insightful book. Instead of studying the biographical texts in the usual manner, from a philological, philosophical, or historical point of view, she seeks to knit together the forgotten threads of “women’s stories” within them, in ways that will be relevant to the concerns of present day readers and that will bring new insights to male-bound traditional narratives about the Buddha. Engagingly written, this is a work by someone who is herself a masterful storyteller. "—John Strong, Charles A. Dana Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Bates College

"Buddhist storytelling embodies a vast and complicated web of narratives, and Wendy Garling’s book, Stars at Dawn, does a wonderful job of bringing some of it to life. She pulls together narratives from a number of early sources and presents fresh retellings of the most important female characters in the Buddha’s life. It is a wonderful accomplishment. "—Vanessa R. Sasson, Marianopolis College

“Stars at Dawn is consistently compelling, impressively informative, and thoroughly ’reader friendly’ in organization and presentation. . . . Very highly recommended for community and academic library Buddhist Studies collections.”—Midwest Book Review
 
“This excellent storytelling book makes a strong case for forgotten women [in the Buddha’s life], delivering accessible and well-conceived arguments that rightly re-center them in Buddhist discourse. . . . An accessible and well-researched book of [Buddhism’s early] women’s stories.”—Buddhistdoor
 
“[Garling] first unravels the androcentric and misogynistic knots in the fabric of the Buddha’s life story, and then reweaves a new narrative that highlights and honors the many roles women played in the early days of Buddhism. [Her] efforts to integrate these and other strong female characters add both tenderness and power to what has mainly been an all-male cast. If we follow Garling’s example and embrace these stories, we will inevitably create a more equal sangha.”—Tricycle
 
“Garling weaves often overlooked stories from all [Buddhist] traditions into a narrative that challenges readers to rethink gender equality in Buddhism and empowers women to reclaim their shared Buddhist heritage.”—Lion’s Roar
 
“A delightful experience to be immersed in the women’s half of the fourfold sangha.”—Alliance for Bhikkunis

From the Publisher