Overview

For young women in early South Asia, marriage was probably the most important event in their lives, as it largely determined their socioeconomic and religious future. Yet there has been little in the way of systematic examinations of the evidence on marriage customs among Buddhists of this time, and our understanding of the lives of early Buddhist women is still quite limited. This study uses ten stories from the Avadānaśataka, the collection of Buddhist narratives compiled from the second to fifth centuries CE, to examine the social landscape of early India. The author analyzes marital customs and the development of nuns’ hagiographies, while revealing regional variations of Buddhism in South Asia during this period.

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9781498511452

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Reviews

Karen Muldoon-Hules provides a thought-provoking study of classical Indian marital customs and Buddhist nuns' somewhat surprising spousal choices: the Buddha himself. This book is an important and welcome addition to the scholarship on the history of female Buddhist monasticism and Buddhist narrative literature. -- Shayne Clarke, McMaster University This timely volume speaks to a growing interest in Buddhist narrative, the relationship between Buddhists and Hindus in early northwest India, and the role of women in Buddhism. Taking ten stories of early Buddhist nuns as her starting point, the author explores the ways in which marriage features not only as a narrative motif, but also as a lens through which we can come to appreciate the situation of female Buddhists in early northwest India. As such, the volume is not only a thorough analysis of an intriguing and hitherto underappreciated textual source, it is also an important contribution to our understanding of early Buddhism in its broader Indian context. The author deals with a wealth of complex ideas with skill and clarity, making the work suitable for scholars and students, as well as others with an interest in Buddhism. -- Naomi Appleton, University of Edinburgh From the eighth chapter of the Avadanasataka emerges a complex social world, and Karen Muldoon-Hules brings to life these stories of exemplary Buddhist women, situating them in a broader literary and historical context and drawing out the myriad ways in which they in turn illuminate that context. Brides of the Buddha highlights the significant regional differences in the historical circumstances and literary representation of Buddhist nuns' communities. In the process, it reveals the ways in which these normative representations of women's lives reflect the specific challenges they may have faced in negotiating the complex religious landscape of ancient north India. Scholars will appreciate its rigor; students will find it lively and accessible. -- Natalie Gummer, Beloit College Karen Muldoon-Hules's wonderfully researched book on an understudied collection of stories about women from the Avadanasataka is a unique contribution to the scholarship on early Buddhist nuns and gender in Indian Buddhism. Muldoon-Hules's well-placed focus on the trope of marriage illuminates tensions between widely accepted ideals of female virtue and female renunciation, attempts by monastic redactors to negotiate those tensions in order to promote female monasticism, and the interpenetration of Buddhist and Vedic-Hindu legal and ritual traditions. Muldoon-Hules's book is an exciting addition to a growing literature on the particular ethical challenges of female renunciation and the place of nuns in the social landscape of Indian Buddhism. -- Amy Langenberg, Eckerd College

Karen Muldoon-Hules provides a thought-provoking study of classical Indian marital customs and Buddhist nuns' somewhat surprising spousal choices: the Buddha himself. This book is an important and welcome addition to the scholarship on the history of female Buddhist monasticism and Buddhist narrative literature. -- Shayne Clarke, McMaster University This timely volume speaks to a growing interest in Buddhist narrative, the relationship between Buddhists and Hindus in early northwest India, and the role of women in Buddhism. Taking ten stories of early Buddhist nuns as her starting point, the author explores the ways in which marriage features not only as a narrative motif, but also as a lens through which we can come to appreciate the situation of female Buddhists in early northwest India. As such, the volume is not only a thorough analysis of an intriguing and hitherto underappreciated textual source, it is also an important contribution to our understanding of early Buddhism in its broader Indian context. The author deals with a wealth of complex ideas with skill and clarity, making the work suitable for scholars and students, as well as others with an interest in Buddhism. -- Naomi Appleton, University of Edinburgh From the eighth chapter of the Avadanasataka emerges a complex social world: Karen Muldoon-Hules brings to life these stories of exemplary Buddhist women, situating them in a broader literary and historical context and drawing out the myriad ways in which they in turn illuminate that context. Brides of the Buddha highlights the significant regional differences in the historical circumstances and literary representation of Buddhist nuns' communities. In the process, it reveals the ways in which these normative representations of women's lives reflect the specific challenges they may have faced in negotiating the complex religious landscape of ancient north India. Scholars will appreciate its rigor; students will find it lively and accessible. -- Natalie Gummer, Beloit College

Author Information

Karen Muldoon-Hules is lecturer in the Asian Languages and Cultures Department and the Center for the Study of Religion at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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