Daughters of Emptiness: Poems of Chinese Buddhist Nuns

by Beata Grant and Cleo Qian

Women played major roles in the history of Buddhist China, but given the paucity of the remaining records, their voices have all but faded. In Daughters of Emptiness , Beata Grant renders a great service by recovering and translating the enchanting verse - by turns assertive, observant, devout - of forty-eight nuns from sixteen centuries of imperial China. This selection of poems, along with the brief biographical accounts that accompany them, affords...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0861713621
• ISBN13: 9780861713622
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Important Female History of Buddhism Documented Here

Unfortunately, Buddhism throughout the ages has been mostly a Patriarchy. Where there were Buddhist nuns , it was a rarity to see their names and teachings preserved. This particular book by Beata Grant deals with some of the loveliest poems that were written by female Buddhist nuns. The reasons why Buddhist nuns have received little attention is partly due to the fact that men were the one's throughout Chinese history documenting the histories and collections of sayings. Lately many lineages in the west have become much more inclusive and all embracing in respect to this. In Kwan Um Zen (Korean), there are some female Zen masters teaching. Slowly but surely we are becoming more democratic in the way we conduct our affairs in our Buddhist circles. But make no mistake about it, we still have many hurdles to overcome. Here I will leave you with a poem in this book:FLOWER-GAZINGBy Chaoyi"Using the soil to irrigate them, Using water to plant them in:This tipsy-turvy way of workingAllows me to do as I please.In the garden full of spring breezes,The flowers chatter to themselves;They do not feel the need to showOff their colors to anyone!"Order this book today, it's a must read.