Morny Joy

Eva K. Neumaier-Dargyay

Many feminists today are challenging the outmoded aspects of both the conventions and the study of religion in radical ways. Canadian feminists are no exception. Gender, Genre and Religion is the outcome of a research network of leading women scholars organized to survey the contribution of Canadian women working in the field of religious studies and, further, to “plot the path forward.” This collection of their essays covers most of the major religious traditions and offers exciting suggestions as to how religious traditions will change as women take on more central roles. Feminist theories have been used by all contributors as a springboard to show that the assumptions of unified monolithic religions and their respective canons is a fabrication created by a scholarship based on male privilege. Using gender and genre as analytical tools, the essays reflect a diversity of approaches and open up new ways of reading sacred texts. Superb essays by Pamela Dickey Young, Winnie Tomm, Morny Joy and Marsha Hewitt, among others, honour the first generation of feminist theologians and situate the current generation, showing how they have learned from and gone beyond their predecessors. The sensitive and original essays in Gender, Genre and Religion will be of interest to feminist scholars and to anyone teaching women and religion courses.

Feminist Reflections

Gender, Genre and Religion

What distinguishes this Buddhist text from so many others is the timelessness of its ideas. It constitutes a radical attempt toward deconstructing Buddhist philosophy, and presents a feminist perspective on Buddhist spirituality. The text holds that being is the center and depth of existence, and is therefore accessible in everyday experience. The fleeting existence (samsara) is in its depth being, i.e. a state of complete integration (nirvana) which may well be described as divine reality of a feminine dimension This book presents the first English translation of an eighth century Tibetan Buddhist text. Despite its centuries-old origin, the kun byed rgyal po'i mdo addresses themes of great concern to the present, including how to achieve a holistic world-view that integrates the peripheral nature of existence with the ground of being; and the interrelatedness of periphery and center, of individual and universe. From a contemporary viewpoint this can be seen to engender a feminist understanding of the ground of being. Unlike other Buddhist texts, the kun byed rgyal po'i mdo invites the reader to rejoice in this world as beautified and intelligible, and thus the innate purity of the intelligent potency, the motherly Buddha, will be experienced. In addition to the translation, the book also includes a discussion of the conceptual and historical contexts of the text, an examination of its leading ideas, and an assessment of the challenges related to the translation.

A Translation of the Kun byed rgyal po'i mdo

The Sovereign All-Creating Mind - The Motherly Buddha

Harold Coward

Harold G. Coward

Ronald Neufeldt

Originally developed for use in introductory courses on Eastern religious traditions, this popular anthology offers a selection of readings from primary texts of India, China, and Japan. For the second edition, the editors have added excerpts and have written introductions that provide a more comprehensive context for the readings. A section on Chan / Zen and excerpts from the writings of Ge Hong, representing the central concerns of Daoism, are included. A section on modern China includes a poem written by Mao, exhibiting his Daoist sensibilities. A revised chapter on Buddhism presents the voices of modern Buddhist writers, including the Dalai Lama. Throughtout the volume, reflections on the role of women in Eastern religions, as well as womens voices themselves, are added.

Eva K. Neumaier-Dargyay

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