Michaela Haas

Michaela Haas, PhD, is a reporter, lecturer, and consultant. She is the founder of Haas live! Communication Coaching Consulting, an international coaching company that specializes in media and mindfulness training for business leadersand media professionals. She is also a TV host, interviewer, and documentary filmmaker who has hosted numerous successful live talk shows and political broadcasts in Germany. She has been studying and practicing Buddhism for twenty years, has a PhD in Asian Studies, and is a visiting scholar in Religious Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Haas divides her time between Malibu, California, and Munich, Germany.

"The twelve women profiled in Michaela Haas’s book form a circle that radiates in countless ways. Taken as a whole, their lives document both the continuing emergence of Tibetan Buddhism in the West and the concurrent work towards women’s inclusion in arenas of practice and leadership where they have historically been marginalized and excluded. Dakini Power is an inspiring contribution to the ongoing conversation." —Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

"What a moving and powerful book! With passion and verve, these remarkable women bear witness to the fact that the buddhadharma has put down firm roots in the West. Michaela Haas has done a superb job of presenting their struggles and their realization in a way that makes them an inspiration to men and women alike." —B. Alan Wallace, author of Boundless Heart and Choosing Reality

"Apart from a few rare hagiographies of ancient Tibetan yoginis, there is a dearth of information about accomplished Buddhist women practitioners. Michaela Haas’s Dakini Power addresses this historical oversight by profiling the lives of twelve dynamic contemporary female pioneers—from Tibet and the West—who, in spite of few role models, have overcome challenging gender-based situations, become internationally respected teachers, and set new standards for actualizing compassion in the twenty-first century. Beautifully written, pertinent to the times, Dakini Power is a study in courage and perseverance and a much-needed contribution to modern Buddhist literature." —Mikel Dunham, author of Buddha's Warriors and Caught in Nepal

"Dakini Power is a pilgrimage into the exemplary lives of twelve women. The journey throughout the book is like the dakinis themselves, spacious and wise, caressing and sometimes wrathful. Michaela Haas has skillfully amplified these women’s voices, bringing to us their penetrating insights about the spiritual path, as well as their timely considerations on sexuality and sexism. Spiritual biographies are meant to inspire practitioners, and Dakini Power does just that!" —Matteo Pistono, author of In the Shadow of the Buddha

"Despite pronounced male dominance in both Buddhism in general and Tibetan Buddhism, many women find Buddhist teachings liberating and confirming. With Buddhism coming to the West, the situation for women is changing significantly as women become Buddhist teachers and leaders. This book provides vivid portraits of twelve women teachers, some Tibetan and some Western, who are fostering this change. A welcome addition to the literature on women and Buddhism." —Rita M. Gross, author of Buddhism After Patriarchy and Soaring and Settling

"For centuries, women have been a major contributor to the development and progress of both the mundane and spiritual communities. In fact, they make up fifty percent of the world’s population, yet they receive very little recognition. For a long time, we have only heard the male voice in a choir, it is now time to have the female voice too. Dr. Michaela Haas’s impressive presentation on the struggles and achievements of female practitioners is a wonderful encouragement for anyone facing challenges on the spiritual path, and for the advocates of gender equality." —The Gyalwang Drukpa