Stars at Dawn
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Shambhala Publications08/01/2016Pages: 328Size: 6 x 9ISBN: 9781611802658DetailsIn 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.RelatedCheck items to add to the cart orAuthor BioWendy Garling is a writer, mother, gardener, independent scholar, and authorized dharma teacher with a BA from Wellesley College and MA in Sanskrit language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha’s Life (2016, Shambhala Publications), a groundbreaking new biography of the Buddha that relates his journey to awakening through the stories of Buddhism’s first women. For many years Wendy has taught women’s spirituality focusing on Buddhist traditions, while also pursuing original research into women’s stories from ancient Sanskrit and Pali literature. As a freelance writer and editor, Wendy was on the editorial team at the Boston Women's Health Collective for the 2005 edition of Our Bodies Ourselves and several subsequent BWHC publications. She also wrote business articles for The Palladium Group, published through Harvard Business Publishing.
A Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, Wendy has studied with teachers of different schools and lineages, foremost her refuge lama His Holiness the 16th Karmapa (who gave her the name Karma Dhonden Lhamo), her kind root lama, the late Sera Je Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama whom she first met in 1979. From 1991-92 she coordinated the Georgia chapter of the International Year of Tibet, helping to bring many Tibetan cultural and religious events to Atlanta and Emory University. Pilgrimage has played an important role in Wendy’s life: in 2007 she journeyed to the sites of women saints in Tibet, and in 2012 and 2018 to sacred sites of the Buddha in India. Her dream is to bring back the stories of Buddhism’s first women, reawaken their voices, and ensure that they are not just remembered, but valorized as integral to the roots of Buddhism. Wendy lives in Concord, Massachusetts and can be reached at [email protected].Praise"A well-researched, intelligent, and sensitive retrieval of women’s lineage stories from the dawn of Buddhism. 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
"The great and brave women who brought equality to the dharma shine through in these 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, a founder of Sakyadhita: International Association of Buddhist Women
"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 can only 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, 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
Selected Reader Reviews