Yasodhara and the Buddha
By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife.

Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved.

It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment.

Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, the book includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives.

1137073592
Yasodhara and the Buddha
By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife.

Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved.

It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment.

Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, the book includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives.

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Yasodhara and the Buddha

Yasodhara and the Buddha

by Vanessa R. Sasson
Yasodhara and the Buddha

Yasodhara and the Buddha

by Vanessa R. Sasson

Hardcover

$80.00 
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Overview

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife.

Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved.

It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment.

Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, the book includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350163157
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 01/14/2021
Pages: 304
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts Department of Marianopolis College, Canada. She is the author of The Birth of Moses and the Buddha: A Paradigm for the Comparative Study of Religions (2007), co-editor of Imagining the Fetus: The Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture (2009), and editor of Little Buddhas: Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and Traditions (2013).

Table of Contents

Introductory Note
Foreword, Wendy Doniger
Prologue
1: Beginnings
2: Monsoon Rain
3: Adjustments
4: Durga
5: Festival Day
6: Surpanakha
7: The Choosing
8: The Peacock Garden
9: The Competition
10: Wearing the Red Line
11: Soil and Suffering
12: News
13: The First Sights
14: The Fight
15: In the Arms of a Tree
16: Departure
17: Sadness
18: Tapestries
19: Holding on and Letting Go
20: Out the Gates
21: Devadatta
22: Splendour
23: The Returban
24: Overcoming Obstacles
25: Departures
Study Questions
Notes

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