Returning to the Mother: Buddhism's Story Retold
Role of the Feminine is Revealed and Restored
As a sangha that cherishes the feminine Shangpa lineage, this course about Mahaprajapati Gautami, sister of the mother of the Buddha, was a compelling examination of the essential role of women in Buddhism from the very beginning of the Buddha’s birth that continued throughout the formative years of Buddhism itself. It is also offered a telling reminder of how women have been removed from or minimized over the centuries in the way the story of Buddhism is told. As the title of the class states – this was not just a story about the sister who stepped in to raise the Buddha from infancy and stayed closely connected to him throughout his and her lives, it is also an essential retelling of the story of Buddhism itself. The role of the feminine is revealed and restored. Mahaprajapati is not only the adoptive mother to the Buddha, she is also mother to early Buddhist women, and ultimately mother to the Buddhist faith.
The entire arc of Mahaprajapati ‘s life story is presented for the first time in this book.
The course, taught by author Wendy Garling, followed the chapters of her book, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha, as it chronicles the extraordinary life and inspiring stories of this remarkable woman whose presence was virtually erased from Buddhist records. Wendy’s extensive research for the book is impressive. She found images and stories in early Pali records of Majaprajapati’s selection by the king and father of the Buddha to become his adoptive mother. She was the only mother the Buddha ever knew. After his birth mother, Maya, died shortly after childbirth, her sister took the infant to her breast, nurturing and raising him into adulthood. The entire arc of Mahaprajapati ‘s life story is presented for the first time in this book, with attention to her early years as sister, queen, matriarch, and mother, as well as her later years in which she facilitated the opportunity for women to receive dharma teachings as well as men and asked Buddha Shakyamuni to ordain her and 500 Sakya women to become the first nuns. Drawing from story fragments and canonical records, Garling reveals just how exceptional Mahaprajapati's role was as leader of the first generation of Buddhist women, helping the Buddha establish an equal community of lay and monastic women and men.
The level of research and scholarship, and power of the stories shared in the book is impressive. So much so that the Dalai Lama wrote the opening Forward. Some key points made in the book:
The Buddha did not walk away from his family and desert them. When he left on his search, he always said he would return, saying, “I will return when I know how to free everyone from suffering.” And when he returned 12 years later, his first teaching was to his mother and a community of women. He returned when he had the answer.
The Buddha treated women equally – even when men complained that only men should receive the dharma. His intention was to help all awaken – men and women, lay individuals and monastics. In doing this, he created a four-fold sangha.
The Buddha received and was nurtured by a mother’s love. He was raised with love. This was essential to his well-being and awakening.
Mahaprajapati's journey is finally presented as one interwoven with the founding of Buddhism. Garling reminds us that human love as well as human suffering lie embedded together at the very core of Buddhist teaching and life.
– Charles Hallisey, Harvard Divinity School
Watch for recordings of this course to be added to the Sukhasiddhi website.
Watch the video interview with Wendy Garling from Shambala publishers.
ABOUT WENDY GARLING
Wendy Garling is a writer, mother, gardener, independent scholar, and authorized dharma teacher with a BA from Wellesley College and MA in Sanskrit language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life (2016, Shambhala Publications) and more recently, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha, The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati (2021 Shambhala Publications). For many years Wendy has taught women's spirituality focusing on Buddhist traditions, while also pursuing original research into women's stories from ancient Sanskrit and Pali literature.
A Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, Wendy has studied with teachers of different schools and lineages, foremost her refuge lama His Holiness the 16th Karmapa (who gave her the name Karma Dhonden Lhamo), her kind root lama, the late Sera Je Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama whom she first met in India in 1979.
Pilgrimage has played an important role in Wendy's life: in 2007 she journeyed to the sites of women saints in Tibet, and in 2012 and 2018 to sacred sites of the Buddha in India. Her dream is to bring back the stories of Buddhism's first women, reawaken their voices, and ensure that they are not just remembered, but valorized as integral to the roots of Buddhism. Wendy lives in Concord, Massachusetts and can be reached at wendy.garling@yahoo.com.