Hi Dan,
You are very optimistic! However, I am not so sure I would consider polyandry a sign of a more feminist society. Regardless, I studied women and Buddhism for a few years as an undergrad and my first year as a grad student before falling into my current focus- more of a mixture of communications/cultural/religious studies. Anyhow, here are a few book suggestions for you:
"Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism" by Judith Simmer-Brown.
"Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender" edited by Jose Cabezon
"Methodology in Religious Studies: The Interface with Women's Studies" edited by Arvind Sharma (very good for anyone embarking into the study of women and religion)
"Buddhism After Patriarchy" by Rita Gross
and "Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in the Mahayana Tradition" by Diana Paul
You've probably also read "Lady of the Lotus Born" about Yeshe Tsogyal and "The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava"- both, I believe are from the treasure text tradition. There is also an interesting article on tibetan treasure texts and authentication and authority by Janet Gyatso: "The Logic of Legitimation in the Tibetan Treasure Tradition" from the journal History of Religion 33:2 (1993), p. 97-134.
Anyway, I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies!
On Sat, 4 Dec 2004, Dan wrote:
> hi,
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> i am an under-graduate student studying at soas in the uk and am currently examining feminism in the study of religions. i have enjoyed studying sex and gender from both sociological and psychological perspectives in the past. i am a practicing buddhist and my area of interest at the current time is the history of buddhism, particularly of tibet and the himalayas.
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> i am aware that this area of history has almost completely excluded women from the historical record and i am interested in trying to do something to redress the balance, although it is early days yet! i am studying classical tibetan and hope to be able to go to primary sources in the future and attempt to 'recover' a more accurate picture of the history of buddhism in this region.
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> i think the history of buddhism in tibet may prove a fruitful area of research as there are a thousands of un-translated texts out there to be analysed and we already have accounts of a number of key female spiritual adepts, such as machig labdron. my first guess is that this may be an area of study where womens involvement has gone un-recorded, as opposed to finding themselves completely excluded from participation in the first place. i suspect that this will be found mostly in the non-monastic forms of buddhism found in this region. i have also heard that polyandry was quite common in the tibet of the past, so perhaps we can deduce from this that women may have had more power in other aspects of life as well?
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> okay, just wanted to introduce myself and say hi,
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> i look forward to being an active member of the list,
>
> dan :)
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