First Buddhist Women: Stories of Awakening

Susan Murcott (Parallax Press, MIT), 2022; Dhr. Seven, Jen Bradford (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why would anyone leave the world? Nuns have no fun! Women can be as free as men.

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First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening (2nd ed.)

(Susan Murcott, MIT D-Lab) This book has 4.7 stars out of 5 with 40 ratings.

First Buddhist Women is a readable, contemporary translation of and commentary on the "enlightenment verses" of the first female disciples of the historical Buddha.

It explores Buddhism’s relatively liberal attitude towards women since its founding nearly 2,600 years ago, through the study of the Therigatham, the earliest known collection of women’s spiritual poetry.

Through commentary and storytelling, author Susan Murcott traces the journey of the

• wanderers,
• wives,
• mothers,
• teachers,
• courtesans, and
• prostitutes

who became leaders in the Buddhist community, roles that even today are rarely filled by women in other often patriarchal religions.

Their poetic verses beautifully express their search for enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual attainments, peace, and their struggles in society. More