Vanessa R. Sasson's Books

Yasodhara and the Buddha

By: Vanessa R. Sasson

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By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, the book includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives.

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353

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

135016318X

ISBN 13

9781350163188

Imagining the Fetus the Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture

By: Vanessa R Sasson,Jane Marie Law

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Imagining the Fetus the Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture

By: Vanessa R Sasson,Jane Marie Law

In contemporary Western culture, the word "fetus" introduces either a political subject or a literal, medicalized entity. Neither of these frameworks does justice to the vast array of religious literature and oral traditions from cultures around the world in which the fetus emerges as a powerful symbol or metaphor. This volume presents essays that explore the depiction of the fetus in the world's major religious traditions, finding some striking commonalities as well as intriguing differences. Among the themes that emerge is the tendency to conceive of the fetus as somehow independent of the mother's body -- as in the case of the Buddha, who is described as inhabiting a palace while gestating in the womb. On the other hand, the fetus can also symbolically represent profound human needs and emotions, such as the universal experience of vulnerability. The authors note how the advent of the fetal sonogram has transformed how people everywhere imagine the unborn today, giving rise to a narrow range of decidedly literal questions about personhood, gender, and disability.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190452250

ISBN 13

9780190452254

Yasodhara and the Buddha

By: Vanessa R. Sasson

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Yasodhara and the Buddha

By: Vanessa R. Sasson

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304

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Bloomsbury Publishing

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ISBN 10

1350163171

ISBN 13

9781350163171

Yasodhara

A Novel about the Buddha's Wife

By: Vanessa R. Sasson

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Yasodhara

A Novel about the Buddha's Wife

By: Vanessa R. Sasson

A long time ago, in a far-off kingdom, a boy and a girl, born on the same day, were destined to be together--and then painfully wrenched apart. The boy was Siddhattha, heir to the Sakya kingdom and the future Buddha; the girl was the beautiful and precocious Yasodhara, his friend who became his loving wife. In this exquisitely crafted narrative, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Resurrecting a forgotten woman from the origin stories of the Buddha, Vanessa R. Sasson combines the spirit of fiction and the fabulism of Indian mythology with impeccable scholarship, to tell the evocative and deeply moving story of an extraordinary life.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

Speaking Tiger Books

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ISBN 10

9387693716

ISBN 13

9789387693715

Book's by Vanessa R. Sasson

Yasodhara and the Buddha

Yasodhara and the Buddha

Imagining the Fetus the Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture

Imagining the Fetus the Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture

Yasodhara and the Buddha

Yasodhara and the Buddha

Yasodhara

Yasodhara

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