First Buddhist Women is a readable, contemporary translation of and commentary on the enlightenment verses of the first female disciples of the Buddha. The book explores Buddhism’s relatively liberal attitude towards women since its founding nearly 2,600 years ago, through the study of the Therigatham, the earliest know collection of women’s religious poetry. Through commentary and storytelling, author Susan Murcott traces the journey of the wives, mothers, teachers, courtesan, prostitutes, and wanderers who became leaders in the Buddhist community, roles that even today are rarely filled by women in other patriarchal religions. Their poetry beautifully expresses their search for spiritual attainment and their struggles in society.
Susan Murcott was draw to Buddhism as a peace activist in Boston in the late 1960’s. She traveled to Japan, Australia, and Hawaii to study Zen and Buddhist philosophy, and spent more than 10 years researching and translating this text. She was a co-founder and editor of Kahawai: Journal of Women and Zen for many years, and taught meditation at Wellesley College while completing her graduate studies in environmental engineering at M.I.T. Today, Susan Murcott is a world expert in safe drinking water technologies for developing countries.
Hermitage Among the Clouds tells the story of the fourteenth century Princess Amazing Jewel, the daughter of one of Vietnam’s greatest historical Zen master kings. This beautifully written story expresses the suffering caused by war and conflict, the transformative potential of a commitment to practicing peace and building reconciliation, and the simple beauty of a...
With poems from spiritual teachers to jazz musicians, from the monastery to the street, What Book!? brings together a broad range of verse, expressions of living in an awakened way. A poet once located poetry as somewhere before or after words take place. Mindfulness is the practice of finding that realm, dwelling there, and cultivating...
Engaged Buddhist Reader offers a comprehensive glimpse of the range of perspectives and insights on socially engaged Buddhism, a Buddhism that is not just in meditation halls but which pervades our everyday lives and concerns.
The Path of Emancipation transcribes Thich Nhat Hanh’s first twenty-one day retreat in North America in 1998, when more than four hundred practitioners from around the world joined him to experience mindfulness. This book deliberately preserves the tone and style of a retreat, including soundings of the bell, meditation breaks, and the question-and-answer sessions. This...
“The clear, still mind of this meditation teacher gives rise to piercing images time and time again. Nhat Hanh seems an inherently skilled poet.It is these poetic works,more than his essays or lectures, that show Thich Nhat Hanh clearly to be a Zen mystic”. San Francisco Chronicle, “Thich Nhat Hanh’s poems have an almost uncanny...
Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. – Thich Nhat Hanh This compendium of the core teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, based on a talk given at a prison, shows how mindfulness practice can cultivate freedom no matter where you are.
Mindfulness in the Marketplace suggests a reorientation of consumers from passive purchasers to aware, responsible citizens who see the dynamic connection between their purchases and their values. The Middle Path of Buddhism is not to avoid all consumption, but to consume mindfully in a manner that protects ourselves and all living systems. This anthology outlines...
Joyfully Together contains a wealth of ideas, thoughts, and practical suggestions on how to live happily with other people. The wisdom in this book draws from ancient Buddhist traditions to solve conflicts large and small. Thich Nhat Hanh explores the spiritual, emotional, and practical aspects of developing a community for life. He shows how using...
In the Footsteps of Gandhi is a collection of original and soul-searching interviews with contemporary spiritual social activists. Whether discussing AIDS, apartheid, or the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, they embody the understanding that violence is not stopped by violence; violence is only ended by love. This revised edition features a new foreword by Arun Gandhi, grandson of...
A timeless introduction to Thich Nhat Hanh’s most important teachings, this spiritual classic reveals the connection between peace in oneself and peace in the world. Being Peace was one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s first books published in the United States. Intended for peace activists and as a commentary on the peace movement of the time,...
In this highly anticipated Buddhist perspective on resolving conflict, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh demonstrates how a real peace process is based on spiritual,not political strength. Inspired by an ongoing Buddhist retreat project for Israelis and Palestinians, this book offers practical ways to handle our strong emotions and misperceptions and provides a possible...
In a time of terrorism and uncertainty, how can any of us feel truly safe? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh looks at the real roots of terrorism and fear and offers the way out: a path of compassion and open-heartedness. In this unique book, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that we will only be safe when...
The teachings contained in this The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness are fundamental to the practice of meditation, and constitute the foundation of all mindfulness practice. The Sutra has been studied, practiced and handed down with special care from generation to generation for 2,500 years. In his commentaries Thich Nhat Hanh guides the...
This Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Book is a most valuable resource for anyone interested in liturgy and everyone who just wants to celebrate life and practice the art of mindful living. It contains chants and recitations for daily spiritual practice and for such occasions as blessing a meal, celebrating a wedding, comforting the sick...
In January of 2005, after nearly 40 years in exile, Sister Chân Không was able to return on a 3-month visit to Vietnam. In this fully revised edition of Learning True Love she movingly describes the return to her homeland, the reunions with many old friends and fellow activists, and shares her impression of the...
Two Treasures contains two sutras: The Sutra On The Eight Realizations Of Great Beings and The Discourse on Happiness. They explain in practical detail how to progress step-by-step towards realization of the Buddhist ideals of simplicity, generosity, compassion, and ultimately enlightenment. Entirely in accord with both the Mahayana and Theravada tradition, The Sutra On The...
The Dragon Prince is a collection of 15 stories and legends from Vietnam retold by Zen master poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. As in many of his teachings, Nhat Hanh emphasizes themes of cooperation and reconciliation, while providing a rich introduction to the mythical elements of Vietnamese culture. The stories range from creation...
Thich Nhat Hanh explores the connection between psychology, neuroscience, and meditation. He discuss the importance of creativity and visualization in a successful meditation practice, presents basic Buddhist practices (in particular walking meditation and sitting meditation), and writes about the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood in finding love, happiness, and living harmoniously with others. Buddha Mind,...
Eco-philosopher and best-selling author Joanna Macy, Ph.D., shares five stories from her more than thirty years of studying and practicing Buddhism and deep ecology. Gathered on her travels to India, Russia, Australia, and Tibet, these stories give testament to Joanna Macy’s belief that either humankind awakens to a new and deeper understanding of our interconnectedness...
According to the Buddha’s teaching in the Anapanasati Sutra, maintaining awareness of our breathing is a means of awakening to the true nature of all things and arriving at spiritual liberation. Breathe, You Are Alive outlines 16 exercises of conscious breathing that were taught by the Buddha, together with commentaries and further exercises for practicing...
Though the original edition of Touching the Earth is deeply embraced by those already practicing mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, the revised edition seeks to make the exercises contained within more accessible for those new to Buddhist or mindfulness practice. Based on the loving kindness and compassion meditation of the Lotus Sutra,...
This extraordinary story takes the reader from the rice fields of Vietnam to the peaceful surrounding of Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in Plum Village where Sister Dang Nghiem took refuge. There she gained a deep understanding of the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness forged in the fire of her own life experience. Ordained as a nun...
Based on four retreats that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh led specifically for people of color, this book is for people of all colors, backgrounds, and experiences who have ever felt excluded or alienated, or anyone concerned with issues of social justice. Although Together We Are One is based on teachings given to Buddhist practitioners...
The Diamond Sutra, a mainstay of the Mahayana tradition, has fascinated Buddhists for centuries because of its insights into dualism and illusion: the “diamond” can cut through any obstacle on the road to enlightenment. In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha responds to a disciple’s question about how to become a Buddha. The Diamond that Cuts...
This easily accessible translation and commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh on the Sutra on Knowing the Better Way To Live Alone, is the earliest teaching of the Buddha on living fully in the present moment. “To live alone” doesn’t mean to isolate oneself from society. It means to live in mindfulness: to let go of...
Solid Ground: Buddhist Wisdom for Difficult Times is a lively and topical book that offers guidance on how to respond to the individual crises that inevitably arise in all of our lives as well as to the political, economic, and social challenges society is currently facing. The issue of difficulty in life is at the...
Awakening of the Heart is a comprehensive, single volume collection of the Buddha’s key sutras, translated with contemporary commentary by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It is an essential complement to Happiness, the bestselling collection of meditation and mindful practices released in 2009. Awakening of the Heart captures the heart of Buddhist wisdom and Thich...
Path of Compassion is a collection of key stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic Old Path White Clouds, a book celebrating its 20th publishing anniversary this year. It tells the fascinating life story of Prince Siddhartha, who left his family and renounced his carefully guarded life, and after many years of spiritual seeking became the Buddha, the...
Published here for the first time, these fifty poems, explore his journey from young boy in Vietnam to being a leader in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community. The early poems reflect childhood memories of war and destruction yet are also full of romantic and poetic imagery. His later poems convey a profound wisdom and spaciousness...
One of the key tenets of the Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism is that each one of us is already a Buddha—our enlightenment is inherent within us, and the practice of mindfulness is the tool to bring this truth to our full awareness. While it can bring much relief, this simple statement does not preclude...
To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses in Zooburbia: Meditations On The Wild Animals Among Us. Urban and suburban residents share their environment with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more...
This beautifully designed book will be cherished for generations. Written in the summer of 2013, Inside the Now contains the most recent, never before published commentaries and reflections of Thich Nhat Hanh on living in stillness and timelessness. The book begins with an autobiographical reflection in which we hear the voice of the young monk, poet, and...
Before she became a Buddhist nun in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Dang Nghiem was a doctor. She’d traveled far in her 43 years. Born during the Tet Offensive and part of the amnesty for Amerasian children of the late 1970s, Dang Nghiem arrived in this country virtually penniless and with no home....
This new translation of the Buddha’s most important, most studied teaching offers a radical new interpretation. In September, 2014 Thich Nhat Hanh completed a profound and beautiful new English translation of the Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra, one of the most important and well-known sutras in Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is recited daily in Mahayana temples and...
This guide for adults working with adolescent girls will help them explore and develop their emotional, social, and spiritual selves. Young people are hungry and capable of engaging in meaningful explorations of themselves and the world around them. Adolescent girls especially have a deep desire and capacity to know themselves and explore their own spirituality....
Heather Lyn Mann was a battle-weary environmental advocate in Madison, Wisconsin, struggling over what to do about climate change when she and her husband decided to explore the Atlantic on a small sloop. This memoir of six years living afloat is a chronological unfolding of disasters and discoveries—life–threatening storms, the boredom of isolation, societies on...
The Idealist’s Survival Kit is a series of 75 short reflections on mindfulness in action designed to support humanitarian professionals and volunteers in addressing the specific themes and issues that they are likely to encounter in their work. The Idealist’s Survival Kit is built on the premises that changing the world starts from within and that personal development and global...
Heather Lyn Mann was a weary environmental activist who decided that a change of scenery was in order. Over the next six years, Heather made the Atlantic Ocean her home as she sailed through a series of life-threatening storms, pirates, near-collisions, and societies nearing extinction. Come aboard for this discussion with Heather Lyn Mann as...
Known to many as "the Matisse of Japan," Oda combines traditional Japanese and Buddhist iconography with her own unique sense of color, line, and movement.
Buddhist teachings and meditation offer a roadmap to help college students and others in early adulthood incorporate mindfulness into their lives as a means of facing the myriad struggles unique to this stage of life.
A finalist for the 2001 Nautilus award, Transformation at the Base is a profound look at Buddhist psychology with insights into how these ancient teachings apply to the modern world. Thich Nhat Hanh focuses on the direct experience of recognizing, embracing, and looking deeply into the nature of our feelings and perceptions. Presenting the basic...
Meet the faces and voices behind the conversations around immigration. These portraits and stories of teenagers who are recent immigrants to the US from all over the world show the diversity, beauty, and potential of the people who now call the United States home. Sixty full-page portraits of students at Oakland International High School, photographed...
Quotes from the Buddha are everywhere: on Facebook, Instagram, coffee mugs, posters. There’s only one problem: the Buddha didn’t actually say most of them. This humorous and informative book takes these fake Buddha quotes as a launching point for a discussion on what the Buddha really did say, and is a great entry point for...
Regarded by many as Thich Nhat Hanh’s most personally revealing and endearing book, these collected journals chronicle the first-hand experiences of the Zen Master as a young man in both the United States and Vietnam, just as his home country is plunged into war and turmoil. “It isn’t likely that this collection of journal entries,...
ISBN: 9781888375541
Trade Pbk, 230 pages
Trim size: 0.000″ x 0.000″
First Buddhist Women
Poems and Stories of Awakening
Susan Murcott
$27.95
In stock
First Buddhist Women is a readable, contemporary translation of and commentary on the enlightenment verses of the first female disciples of the Buddha. The book explores Buddhism’s relatively liberal attitude towards women since its founding nearly 2,600 years ago, through the study of the Therigatham, the earliest know collection of women’s religious poetry. Through commentary and storytelling, author Susan Murcott traces the journey of the wives, mothers, teachers, courtesan, prostitutes, and wanderers who became leaders in the Buddhist community, roles that even today are rarely filled by women in other patriarchal religions. Their poetry beautifully expresses their search for spiritual attainment and their struggles in society.
Susan Murcott
Susan Murcott was draw to Buddhism as a peace activist in Boston in the late 1960’s. She traveled to Japan, Australia, and Hawaii to study Zen and Buddhist philosophy, and spent more than 10 years researching and translating this text. She was a co-founder and editor of Kahawai: Journal of Women and Zen for many years, and taught meditation at Wellesley College while completing her graduate studies in environmental engineering at M.I.T. Today, Susan Murcott is a world expert in safe drinking water technologies for developing countries.
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