Women in Buddhism Throughout history women have played a vital role in the preservation and presentation of Buddhism. The Buddha himself expressed deep respect for his mother and as several contemporary Buddhist scholars have pointed out, women have played a significant role in helping to shape and preserve Buddhism. That is certainly true for Buddhism [...]

Theravada and Insight Books in 2021 Read More We published many books of interest from the Pali tradition in 2021. Here is a recap. See our other 2021 Year in Review Guides: Theravada/Pali/Insight | Chan, Zen, Mahayana | Tibetan Buddhism Jump to:  Books | Books for Kids | Forthcoming Books | Audiobooks Receive a 30% [...]

Reunion of Mother and Son The following is an excerpt from The Woman Who Raised the Buddha By Wendy Garling Foreword by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama The Woman Who Raised the Buddha$18.95 - PaperbackBy: Wendy Garling Add to Cart Just as Mahaprajapati’s life was upended when Maya died, it was about to happen all over again. [...]

Maya’s Conversion An Excerpt from Stars at Dawn We return to the Buddha’s biography as he, too, has reached the end of his life. For forty-five years he roamed northeast India, teaching his disciples and converting an ever-growing number of women and men to the new Buddhist faith. At the core of his ministry’s purpose [...]

Sacred Are the Trees: A Retelling of Ancient Stories from Biographies of the Buddha by Wendy Garling, author of Stars at Dawn Why Trees? Those familiar with the Buddha’s biography know that all major events in his life took place under trees. He was born under a shala tree (shorea robusta), for example, as his [...]

One of the commonalities of the many traditions within Buddhism is the centrality of the messages in the Buddha’s very first teaching in Sarnath, shortly after attaining enlightenment in Bodhgaya. He held back from actually teaching the first people he met including the Burmese traders (who tradition tells us brought back some of his hair, [...]