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The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns
The Therigatha ("Verses of the Elder Nuns") is the oldest collection of known writings from Buddhist women and one of the earliest collections of women's literature in India. Composed during the life of the Buddha, the collection contains verses by early Buddhist nuns detailing everything from their disenchantment with their prescribed roles in society to their struggles on the path to enlightenment to their spiritual realizations. Among the nuns, a range of voices are represented, including former wives, women who lost children, women who gave up their wealth, and a former prostitute.
In The First Free Women, Matty Weingast revives this ancient collection with a contemporary and radical adaptation. In this poetic re-envisioning that remains true to the original essence of each poem, he infuses each verse with vivid language that is not found in other translations. Simple yet profound, the nuance of language highlights the beauty in each poem and resonates with modern readers exploring the struggles, grief, failures, doubts, and ultimately, moments of profound insight of each woman. Weingast breathes fresh life into this ancient collection of poetry, offering readers a rare glimpse of Buddhism through the spiritual literature and poetry of the first female disciples of the Buddha.
In The First Free Women, Matty Weingast revives this ancient collection with a contemporary and radical adaptation. In this poetic re-envisioning that remains true to the original essence of each poem, he infuses each verse with vivid language that is not found in other translations. Simple yet profound, the nuance of language highlights the beauty in each poem and resonates with modern readers exploring the struggles, grief, failures, doubts, and ultimately, moments of profound insight of each woman. Weingast breathes fresh life into this ancient collection of poetry, offering readers a rare glimpse of Buddhism through the spiritual literature and poetry of the first female disciples of the Buddha.
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2020
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519 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
January 12, 2021
Buddhist monk here. I have studied Pali for 25 years and have translated over a million words from Pali, including the Therigatha.
This book is not a translation, and it is not the "poems of early Buddhist nuns". It is a work of original poetry by Matty Weingast that bears no more than a passing resemblance to the Therigatha. Weingast and his publisher admit that they are not translations, but they nevertheless persist in marketing them as authentic.
This is a work of cultural and spiritual appropriation: a white American man is stealing the voices of brown-skinned Asian women. The reason that the poems sound "fresh" and "relevant" is because they were literally written a couple of years ago by a guy in California.
The Buddhist tradition has taken extraordinary care to preserve the words of the ancient nuns for 2,500 years. If you're interested in what they have to say, you can read an actual translation, of which there are several.
This book is not a translation, and it is not the "poems of early Buddhist nuns". It is a work of original poetry by Matty Weingast that bears no more than a passing resemblance to the Therigatha. Weingast and his publisher admit that they are not translations, but they nevertheless persist in marketing them as authentic.
This is a work of cultural and spiritual appropriation: a white American man is stealing the voices of brown-skinned Asian women. The reason that the poems sound "fresh" and "relevant" is because they were literally written a couple of years ago by a guy in California.
The Buddhist tradition has taken extraordinary care to preserve the words of the ancient nuns for 2,500 years. If you're interested in what they have to say, you can read an actual translation, of which there are several.
January 19, 2021
DON'T BUY if you're looking for the ancient Therigatha scripture of poetry crafted by nuns of India 25 centuries ago. THIS book is nothing but modern poetry written in 2019 by an American man.
The author meditated on each original poem then wrote a new poem in its place, giving it the name of the nun. He titled the book of his poetry as the early nuns' poems, and presented it to the world as a translation.
Shame on him, and shame on Shambala; they've both been confronted over the misrepresentation of modern poetry passing for ancient scripture, but refused to change anything, enjoying brisk sales from their fraud.
The author reduced the original powerful confident badass enlightened women's voices to words of brave shrewd little waifs.
I gave it 2 stars as there are some nice poems and turns of phrase.
The author meditated on each original poem then wrote a new poem in its place, giving it the name of the nun. He titled the book of his poetry as the early nuns' poems, and presented it to the world as a translation.
Shame on him, and shame on Shambala; they've both been confronted over the misrepresentation of modern poetry passing for ancient scripture, but refused to change anything, enjoying brisk sales from their fraud.
The author reduced the original powerful confident badass enlightened women's voices to words of brave shrewd little waifs.
I gave it 2 stars as there are some nice poems and turns of phrase.
January 15, 2021
This book is wrong on so many levels; it is written by a white American male purporting to speak for Asian brown skinned women from 2,600 years ago and their experience. Many of the reviewers have mistakenly quoted Matty Weingast as being a translator when the publisher has admitted that they are original poems inspired in part by the the poems of the early Buddhist nuns. Also Matty Weingast has no qualifications as a translator as that would mean he had read the original Pali and translated it; rather he has read the English translations and wrote his own, very loose, interpretations that do not convey the achievement of the early nuns. The poems reduces their insights into life, death, suffering and the release from suffering and their subsequent enlightenment to, at best, the role of stay-at-home mums. In no way does it communicate the messages of the original poems; it is a white man's fantasy.
The work appropriates gender, race and culture.
A reading of the Therigatha (Verses of the Elder Nuns) side by side with this work shows how greatly it diminishes and distorts the message of the Elder Nuns.
The work appropriates gender, race and culture.
A reading of the Therigatha (Verses of the Elder Nuns) side by side with this work shows how greatly it diminishes and distorts the message of the Elder Nuns.
January 24, 2021
I'm sad and disappointed that people cannot be honest.
The author LIES, starting from the very front cover! Those poems 'originally written by himself' are not 'poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns'.
What he should have done was to say that they were HIS OWN poems about nuns in his fantasy who belonged in his fantasy religion.
He should be SUED for belittling highly respected monastics of a major religion in Asia.
I'm also disappointed at the publisher. As a publisher of many Buddhist teachings, couldn't you try managing your marketing with facts and honesty?
Disappointed in you!
The author LIES, starting from the very front cover! Those poems 'originally written by himself' are not 'poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns'.
What he should have done was to say that they were HIS OWN poems about nuns in his fantasy who belonged in his fantasy religion.
He should be SUED for belittling highly respected monastics of a major religion in Asia.
I'm also disappointed at the publisher. As a publisher of many Buddhist teachings, couldn't you try managing your marketing with facts and honesty?
Disappointed in you!
January 15, 2021
I can see that many reviewers have been inspired and connected with this book. Undoubtedly, there is something to that, and credit goes to the writer.
But there also seems to be a common misunderstanding from reviewers that this is a translation of the verses of the Elder Nuns. It is not. Rather, it’s a work stemming from the imagination of the (male) writer, loosely based on the original verses. A huge amount has been modernized, secularised and, sorry to say, watered down.
In truth, I actually enjoyed the poetry in this book, but you can’t say it is the voices of the Elder Nuns, it just isn’t.
Anyway, the publisher needs to make this fact clearer (not hiding behind creative language like “rendering”, “re-envisioning” , “radical adaptation” and so on) because clearly people are still being misled.
But there also seems to be a common misunderstanding from reviewers that this is a translation of the verses of the Elder Nuns. It is not. Rather, it’s a work stemming from the imagination of the (male) writer, loosely based on the original verses. A huge amount has been modernized, secularised and, sorry to say, watered down.
In truth, I actually enjoyed the poetry in this book, but you can’t say it is the voices of the Elder Nuns, it just isn’t.
Anyway, the publisher needs to make this fact clearer (not hiding behind creative language like “rendering”, “re-envisioning” , “radical adaptation” and so on) because clearly people are still being misled.
January 18, 2021
This is NOT a translation of the Therigatha.
This is a collection of poems by Matty Weingast. These are not words of ancient Buddhist nuns. Most of the poems are loosely based on the Therigatha. But often, the meaning is completely lost. The poems are often so far removed from the originals, that this can not even be considered an adaptation or a revival of the ancient text.
The fact that many think it is a translation shows that the marketing of this book is not transparent. It is being presented as something it is not.
This is a collection of poems by Matty Weingast. These are not words of ancient Buddhist nuns. Most of the poems are loosely based on the Therigatha. But often, the meaning is completely lost. The poems are often so far removed from the originals, that this can not even be considered an adaptation or a revival of the ancient text.
The fact that many think it is a translation shows that the marketing of this book is not transparent. It is being presented as something it is not.
January 22, 2021
This book is often touted as a translation, yet it is definitely not. As a Pali scholar and teacher, I can assure you that these poems by Mr Weingast, a white American male, barely reflect the original voices of these highly advanced Indian women practitioners frm 2,500 years ago at all. Much of what is true in Buddhism is left out of the author's renderings, which at best one could say are occasionally loosely inspired by the original poems. This book should be withdrawn, or at the least re-labelled, by the publisher as it is unethical to misrepresent the true Buddhist teachings.
Currently reading
January 16, 2021I picked this book up and flicked to one of my favourite nuns to read a new translation of her verses. I was absolutely horrified to discover that it was not a translation of her poem at all.
This book is NOT A TRANSLATION.
The verses might be very pretty, but they are not a true reflection of what the nuns were saying and distort the teachings of the Buddha.
So disappointed I can't give it a single star.
This book is NOT A TRANSLATION.
The verses might be very pretty, but they are not a true reflection of what the nuns were saying and distort the teachings of the Buddha.
So disappointed I can't give it a single star.
January 18, 2021
This is a terribly misleading publication. Most readers and reviewers believe that Matty Weingast has actually translated the Therigatha. I understand the confusion of other readers because the book is marketed in a way that strongly implies that Matty Weingast has produced a translation. However this book is NOT a translation. This work is a racist and sexist misappropriation, representing a significant and dangerous distortion of the original Therigatha. For these reasons many Buddhist scholars, monastic and lay community members are calling for this book to be pulled from publication.
January 22, 2021
This is not a translation, but a work of original poetry that is fraudulently being passed off as the voices of ancient women. There is not even any attempt to remain the least bit faithful to what it claims to be the source. In one instance, Weingast takes the poem of a MAN elsewhere in the canon of Pali scriptures, inserts it into this collection where it doesn't belong, and rewrites the poem in the voice of a woman.
The poem entitled, “Tissa the Third”, is actually not a poem of the Elder Nuns at all.
Here is Weingast’s version:
But there is no Tissa the Third in the Therigatha, and I find this to be the most troubling thing I’ve seen in this collection so far. There are two verses in the Therigatha named for a bhikkuni Tissa, both in the first book of single verses, one of which is actually a verse by the Buddha to Tissa.
Here is the first poem, attributed to the Buddha’s voice (I am using Charles Hallisey’s translations):
And here is the second verse, which according to Hallisey’s note is something of a refrain she composed to repeat to herself in response to the Buddha’s verse:
Clearly, neither of these two verses reflect the content of Weingast’s version, but this is not the most egregious part to me… because there is poem in the Pali canon titled “Tissa the Third.” Only, it is found in the Theragatha.
Bhikkhu Sujato’s translation of Thag 2.17, “Tissa (3rd)”, follows:
Looking back at Weingast’s, this is definitely the poem he based his off of, with similar themes of endangerment. But he changes the content, and adds lines to make render the speaker’s voice into that of a woman’s.
A lot of things would have to go wrong for this to have been just an accident, if this work had been intended to have been a scholastic translation. Someone proofing would have noticed earlier that not only is this poem not found in the original collection, but that the titled poem does exist in the collection of men’s verses.
This is a very steep and deliberate act of intellectual dishonesty, and it is appalling.
The poem entitled, “Tissa the Third”, is actually not a poem of the Elder Nuns at all.
Here is Weingast’s version:
Why stay here
in your little
dungeon?
If you really want
to be free,
make
every
thought
a thought of freedom.
Break your chains.
Tear down the walls.
Then walk the world a free woman.
But there is no Tissa the Third in the Therigatha, and I find this to be the most troubling thing I’ve seen in this collection so far. There are two verses in the Therigatha named for a bhikkuni Tissa, both in the first book of single verses, one of which is actually a verse by the Buddha to Tissa.
Here is the first poem, attributed to the Buddha’s voice (I am using Charles Hallisey’s translations):
Tissa, train yourself strictly, don’t let
what can hold you back overwhelm you.
When you are free from from everything that holds you back
you can live in the world
without the depravities that ooze out from within
And here is the second verse, which according to Hallisey’s note is something of a refrain she composed to repeat to herself in response to the Buddha’s verse:
Tissa, hold fast to good things, don’t let the moment escape.
Those who end up in hell cry over moments now past.
Clearly, neither of these two verses reflect the content of Weingast’s version, but this is not the most egregious part to me… because there is poem in the Pali canon titled “Tissa the Third.” Only, it is found in the Theragatha.
Bhikkhu Sujato’s translation of Thag 2.17, “Tissa (3rd)”, follows:
A shaven one wrapped in the outer robe
gets many enemies
when they receive food and drink,
clothes and lodgings.
Knowing this danger,
this great fear in honors,
a mendicant should go forth mindfully,
with few possessions, not full of desire.
Looking back at Weingast’s, this is definitely the poem he based his off of, with similar themes of endangerment. But he changes the content, and adds lines to make render the speaker’s voice into that of a woman’s.
A lot of things would have to go wrong for this to have been just an accident, if this work had been intended to have been a scholastic translation. Someone proofing would have noticed earlier that not only is this poem not found in the original collection, but that the titled poem does exist in the collection of men’s verses.
This is a very steep and deliberate act of intellectual dishonesty, and it is appalling.
Read
January 17, 2021To be clear. This is Not a translation of the poems of early Buddhist nuns. The author meditated on his reading of them and wrote his own poem from how he felt. For more information see Suttacentral. Which is a site of translations of the suttas/sutras. Or look up the critique by Bhante Sujato, When is a sutta not a sutta?
January 17, 2021
Some truth to these warm poems, but don't be confused: this isn't a translation. These are original poems inspired by the ancient collection.
January 22, 2021
It's disrespectful ways to get money from bogus "translation" of "Early Bhikkhuni"... 😑
January 23, 2021
This is NOT a translation of the Therigatha.
This is a collection of poems by Matty Weingast. These are not words of ancient Buddhist nuns. Most of the poems are loosely based on the Therigatha. But often, the meaning is completely lost. The poems are often so far removed from the originals, that this can not even be considered an adaptation or a revival of the ancient text.
The fact that many think it is a translation shows that the marketing of this book is not transparent. It is being presented as something it is not.
This is a collection of poems by Matty Weingast. These are not words of ancient Buddhist nuns. Most of the poems are loosely based on the Therigatha. But often, the meaning is completely lost. The poems are often so far removed from the originals, that this can not even be considered an adaptation or a revival of the ancient text.
The fact that many think it is a translation shows that the marketing of this book is not transparent. It is being presented as something it is not.
January 30, 2021
Nope. Just no. This is presented as a translation but it is NOT. Some of the "translations" are completely, 100%, not one bit a translation of the poem he is pretending to translate: they are totally fabricated. They bear no resemblance to the original. Some of the "translations" actually present a teaching that is AT ODDS with the original. Representation matters, and it's clear this guy thinks he knows better what Buddhism is and should be than the women who actually studied with the Buddha. He diminishes their attainments. I am utterly astonished at his mansplaining to enlightened nuns what their stories should have been. Appropriation, sexist, offensive.
Read
January 23, 2021This book is NOT a translation of the Therigatha. The title "Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns" is misleading, implying that they were rendered by the Buddhist nuns themselves. The verses in the book written by the author bear little or no resemblance to the ancient Pali texts. This is an original work by the author, and he may have taken inspiration from the Therigatha, but in no way should this be represented or marketed as a translation. He should tell it as it is. His OWN poems, NOT poems of the Nuns.
January 23, 2021
The author Matty Weingast has been described as a very nice man, but what has happened with this book is not nice, at all. The Therīgāthā is a deeply treasured collection of poems of the earliest senior nuns of the Buddha's Sangha. It has been described this way: "Despite its small size, the Therigatha is a very significant document in the study of early Buddhism as well as the earliest-known collection of women's literature. The Therigatha contains a passages reaffirming the view that women are the equal of men in terms of spiritual attainment, as well as verses that address issues of particular interest to women in ancient South Asian society." "The First Free Women" evicerates the magnificence and heartfelt meaning from the Therīgāthā, and substitutes the modern mishmash poetic stomping of a western male in its place. If robbing a bank is a crime, this book is kind of a crime, because it steals the beauty of the words of the ancient noble nuns. Readers that buy this book with the hopes of getting something to treasure will learn that what they got is a NSF check.
January 26, 2021
This book is NOT a translation, it is a book of poems made up by the author, an American man. For anyone who respects Buddhism and its traditions this is a clearly a breach of Buddhist ethics, as both the author and the publisher Shambhala are passing it off as the authentic voices of Buddhist nuns. Please do not be taken in. If you want to authenticity, there are plenty of actual translations of Buddhist texts out there. This is not one of them.
January 23, 2021
Really disappointed to discover these poems are not translations of the original poems by the early
Buddhist nuns at all. The writer has found his inspiration in the poems of the Therigatha, but in no way could they be considered a faithful renditions of them.
Buddhist nuns at all. The writer has found his inspiration in the poems of the Therigatha, but in no way could they be considered a faithful renditions of them.
January 27, 2021
I am a college student taking a Buddhism Class and we discussed the many issues with this book. Weingast, a white American man, is writing from the perspective of a brown-skinned Asian woman, giving advice to other women. Despite what the book's publication has stated, this book is only loosely based on the Therīgāthā. It is NOT a translation of the Therīgāthā, and it should not be treated as such. Weingast's collection of poetry is blatantly spiritual and cultural appropriation. It is racist, orientalist, and sexist. If you are looking for a Buddhist text written BY women and FOR women, please look elsewhere.
November 19, 2020
Psalms of the Sisters – A celebration of the writings of Buddhist nuns in ancient India
This is the English translation of the verses of Elder Nuns (bhikkhunis) also known as the Therigatha in Buddhist literature. Some of these writings of Buddhist women were composed during the life of Buddha in 6th century B.C.E. They detail everything from their disenchantment with their roles in society to their struggles for spiritual freedom. Numerous voices are heard from; a mother whose child has died (Therigatha VI.1 and VI.2); a former sex worker who became a nun (Therigatha V.2); a wealthy heiress who abandoned her life of pleasure (Therigatha VI.5); and verses of Buddha's aunt Pajapati Gotami (Therigatha VI.6). These verses reaffirm the view that women are equal to men for spiritual attainment. They focus on status of women in ancient India, and these stories are told with heart-breaking honesty and beauty revealing the deeply human side of the nuns. This is the fullest expression of theological and spiritual aesthetics in a woman’s relationship in earthly realities.
Therigatha was first composed orally in Magadhi, an ancient Indian language. The verses were passed on orally until about 80 B.C.E., when they were written down in the Buddhist language of Pali. A poetical expression of life is not only an assemblage of words that is pleasing to the intellect, but it also consists of beauty that is ideally structured causing delight in the beholder. The beauty is produced by the unification of a multiple of symmetrical constructions into a whole. A sixth-century Buddhist scholar named Dhammapala called them Udanas or inspired utterances. The English translation must reflect the beauty contained in these verses and capture the mind and heart of the poetess. There are several English translations of Therigatha in literature and a collation of one of the poems is given below:
Translated by Caroline Rhys Davids, from Psalms of the Sisters (1909)
The Elephant by Bhikkhuni Dantika
Coming from noonday-rest on Vulture's Peak,
I saw an elephant, his bathe performed,
Forth from the river issue. And a man.
Taking his goad, bade the great creature stretch
His foot: 'Give me thy foot!' The elephant
Obeyed, and to his neck the driver sprang.
I saw the untamed tamed, I saw him bent
To master's will; and marking inwardly,
I passed into the forest depths and there
I' faith I trained and ordered all my heart.
-----
Translated by Thanisaro Bhikkhu (1995)
Coming out from my day's abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain,
I saw on the bank of a river
an elephant emerged from its plunge.
A man holding a hook requested:
"Give me your foot." The elephant
extended its foot.
The man got up on the elephant.
Seeing what was untrained now tamed
brought under human control,
with that I centered my mind —
why I'd gone to the woods in the first place.
-------
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato (2019)
Leaving my day’s meditation
on Vulture’s Peak Mountain,
I saw an elephant on the riverbank
having just come up from his bath.
A man, taking a pole with a hook,
asked the elephant, “Give me your foot.”
The elephant presented his foot,
and the man mounted him.
Seeing a wild beast so tamed,
submitting to human control,
my mind became serene:
*that* is why I’ve gone to the forest!
-------
Translated by Matty Weingast (2020), Author of this book
While walking along the river
After a long day meditating on Vulture Peak,
I watched an elephant splashing its way
out of the water and up the bank.
Hello, my friend, a man waiting there said,
scratching the elephant behind its ear.
Did you have a good bath?
The elephant stretched out its leg,
the man climbed up,
and the two rode off like that together.
Seeing what had once been so wild
now a friend and companion to this
good man,
I took a seat under the nearest tree
and reached out a gentle hand
to my own mind.
Truly, I thought, this is why
I came to the woods.
-----
I recommend this book to readers interested in Buddhism, Buddhist nuns, and early feminist literature.
This is the English translation of the verses of Elder Nuns (bhikkhunis) also known as the Therigatha in Buddhist literature. Some of these writings of Buddhist women were composed during the life of Buddha in 6th century B.C.E. They detail everything from their disenchantment with their roles in society to their struggles for spiritual freedom. Numerous voices are heard from; a mother whose child has died (Therigatha VI.1 and VI.2); a former sex worker who became a nun (Therigatha V.2); a wealthy heiress who abandoned her life of pleasure (Therigatha VI.5); and verses of Buddha's aunt Pajapati Gotami (Therigatha VI.6). These verses reaffirm the view that women are equal to men for spiritual attainment. They focus on status of women in ancient India, and these stories are told with heart-breaking honesty and beauty revealing the deeply human side of the nuns. This is the fullest expression of theological and spiritual aesthetics in a woman’s relationship in earthly realities.
Therigatha was first composed orally in Magadhi, an ancient Indian language. The verses were passed on orally until about 80 B.C.E., when they were written down in the Buddhist language of Pali. A poetical expression of life is not only an assemblage of words that is pleasing to the intellect, but it also consists of beauty that is ideally structured causing delight in the beholder. The beauty is produced by the unification of a multiple of symmetrical constructions into a whole. A sixth-century Buddhist scholar named Dhammapala called them Udanas or inspired utterances. The English translation must reflect the beauty contained in these verses and capture the mind and heart of the poetess. There are several English translations of Therigatha in literature and a collation of one of the poems is given below:
Translated by Caroline Rhys Davids, from Psalms of the Sisters (1909)
The Elephant by Bhikkhuni Dantika
Coming from noonday-rest on Vulture's Peak,
I saw an elephant, his bathe performed,
Forth from the river issue. And a man.
Taking his goad, bade the great creature stretch
His foot: 'Give me thy foot!' The elephant
Obeyed, and to his neck the driver sprang.
I saw the untamed tamed, I saw him bent
To master's will; and marking inwardly,
I passed into the forest depths and there
I' faith I trained and ordered all my heart.
-----
Translated by Thanisaro Bhikkhu (1995)
Coming out from my day's abiding
on Vulture Peak Mountain,
I saw on the bank of a river
an elephant emerged from its plunge.
A man holding a hook requested:
"Give me your foot." The elephant
extended its foot.
The man got up on the elephant.
Seeing what was untrained now tamed
brought under human control,
with that I centered my mind —
why I'd gone to the woods in the first place.
-------
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato (2019)
Leaving my day’s meditation
on Vulture’s Peak Mountain,
I saw an elephant on the riverbank
having just come up from his bath.
A man, taking a pole with a hook,
asked the elephant, “Give me your foot.”
The elephant presented his foot,
and the man mounted him.
Seeing a wild beast so tamed,
submitting to human control,
my mind became serene:
*that* is why I’ve gone to the forest!
-------
Translated by Matty Weingast (2020), Author of this book
While walking along the river
After a long day meditating on Vulture Peak,
I watched an elephant splashing its way
out of the water and up the bank.
Hello, my friend, a man waiting there said,
scratching the elephant behind its ear.
Did you have a good bath?
The elephant stretched out its leg,
the man climbed up,
and the two rode off like that together.
Seeing what had once been so wild
now a friend and companion to this
good man,
I took a seat under the nearest tree
and reached out a gentle hand
to my own mind.
Truly, I thought, this is why
I came to the woods.
-----
I recommend this book to readers interested in Buddhism, Buddhist nuns, and early feminist literature.
Read
January 28, 2021While this is sweet and maybe encouraging, it does a great disservice when presented as Buddhas teachings or even the reports of Buddhist disciples. Having studied the Suttas for many years and also having read this book, it is blatantly misleading in so many ways. It actually makes believe that by being a good mother one can fulfill the Buddhist path, an obvious wrong view. The incredible accomplishments of historical women of India, the authors of the Therigatha, are completely simplified by this book which is most unacceptable to those who believe that the Buddhas teachings are a valid and applicable guide to lasting happiness, freedom from dukkah and enlightenment. For those who see Buddhism as a feel good philosophy, and consider themselves “spiritual”, this book may serve them well but for any true disciple who’s heart is set on liberation, one would be better served by reading literal translations. 🙏😁❤️
December 21, 2021
Beautiful is the awakened heart. This is a lovely translation of the poetry of the early Buddhist nuns. ( published in 2020)
Read it again and slowly again in 2021. It was just as fresh and inspiring as the first time. A favorite
Read it again and slowly again in 2021. It was just as fresh and inspiring as the first time. A favorite
January 9, 2023
UPDATE. It seems that over the last few months a bunch of traditionalists have gotten bent out of shape over this book. Note that many of them have listed only one book, this one, in their libraries.
Here are several problems with their critique
1. Although I read the book a year ago,as I recall the author is clear about his project. These are not translations. They are interpretations. They are grounded in deep practice and contemplation. Anyone claiming the author thinks otherwise did not read the whole book
2. Anyone who is upset by the idea that these aren’t traditional translations needs to study the question of translation and transmission of Buddhist texts. There are several articles in the BCBS Insight Journal and Tricycle that address this question.
3. This is not unheard of in textual study. Some of the poorest translations of the Dhammapada are considered among the most lyrical or inspiring.
4. What are the original words we are to adhere to? From what tradition, what country, what time? Which translation? Is this perhaps a debate between fundamentalist orthodoxy and a more progressive approach?
5. One of the complaints is the reviewers gave it five stars. Since when do we blame an author for the reviewers’ perspective?
I don’t understand the vitriol. Saying Matty should be sued? Shameless? Appropriation of female brown bodies? A scandal? I suspect it is suspicion and contempt for a man who devoted himself so deeply to the words of women. I also suspect that these folks couldn’t deal with the challenging content that reveals the dark core of patriarchy. In many ways it’s a question of Author/ity. Who has the right to interpret scripture?
Yes. If you are looking for a more literal translation, there are other versions to read. Go read them.
According to Wikipedia, what constitutes the Therigatha and how it came to be is uncertain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therīgāthā
******** original review*****
This is a short but powerful collection of poems about awakening by Buddhist nuns. It is a loose interpretive translation which is quite engaging. It really gave me a sense of the lived experiences of these women of long ago, in a culture that seems to be different from my own. Of course in many ways the cultures are sadly similarly patriarchal. The poems are sometimes terse, sometimes earthy, always compelling and inspirational. I felt connected across time and space.
Here are several problems with their critique
1. Although I read the book a year ago,as I recall the author is clear about his project. These are not translations. They are interpretations. They are grounded in deep practice and contemplation. Anyone claiming the author thinks otherwise did not read the whole book
2. Anyone who is upset by the idea that these aren’t traditional translations needs to study the question of translation and transmission of Buddhist texts. There are several articles in the BCBS Insight Journal and Tricycle that address this question.
3. This is not unheard of in textual study. Some of the poorest translations of the Dhammapada are considered among the most lyrical or inspiring.
4. What are the original words we are to adhere to? From what tradition, what country, what time? Which translation? Is this perhaps a debate between fundamentalist orthodoxy and a more progressive approach?
5. One of the complaints is the reviewers gave it five stars. Since when do we blame an author for the reviewers’ perspective?
I don’t understand the vitriol. Saying Matty should be sued? Shameless? Appropriation of female brown bodies? A scandal? I suspect it is suspicion and contempt for a man who devoted himself so deeply to the words of women. I also suspect that these folks couldn’t deal with the challenging content that reveals the dark core of patriarchy. In many ways it’s a question of Author/ity. Who has the right to interpret scripture?
Yes. If you are looking for a more literal translation, there are other versions to read. Go read them.
According to Wikipedia, what constitutes the Therigatha and how it came to be is uncertain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therīgāthā
******** original review*****
This is a short but powerful collection of poems about awakening by Buddhist nuns. It is a loose interpretive translation which is quite engaging. It really gave me a sense of the lived experiences of these women of long ago, in a culture that seems to be different from my own. Of course in many ways the cultures are sadly similarly patriarchal. The poems are sometimes terse, sometimes earthy, always compelling and inspirational. I felt connected across time and space.
May 27, 2021
After doing the bare minimum of rebranding, Shambhala and Weingast are still promoting this. Make no mistake, this is not a translation of any sort, but is Weingast's poetry, which achieved notoriety as a Buddhist literary scandal when they marketed the work as being as translation of the Therigatha. The promotional materials are still full of misleading and inaccurate claims. A disturbing number of prominent American Buddhist teachers are still blithely treating this as if it were a translation. It boggles the mind, really.
It's a sad affair, and particularly distressing to those of us who work to translate and promote the actual teachings of the Buddha and his disciples.
It's a sad affair, and particularly distressing to those of us who work to translate and promote the actual teachings of the Buddha and his disciples.
January 29, 2021
This book was so enthusiastically quoted at my online meditation group as the new translation of the Therigatha that I decided to find out more about this ancient text. Lo and behold, what I found was beautiful, awe-inspiring and radically different from the poems I had heard. I bought a copy of "The First Free Women", and I was astonished and disappointed by what I read. "The First Free Women" is NOT a translation, but rather a series of poems loosely inspired by the Therigatha. The author, a man, makes no mention of the achievements attained by the first nuns and instead dwells on the characteristics so often linked with the female gender: the freedom from marital burdens and abuse. Do not be confused: this is original poetry by a white man supposedly channelling ancient sages and imagining them as New-Age prophets.
April 10, 2021
I am neither scholar nor practitioner enough to judge how accurate this translation of the Therigatha (Verses of the Elder Nuns), composed by women on the Path some 2,600 years ago, is. I am keeping an open heart about the fact that they are translated by a man, and I am woman and seeker enough though to report that these poems are wholehearted, honest, courageous, wise, and often quite witty. They are pithy and poignant, revealing and inspiring; and I intend to make them part of my daily practice, to honor their voices and voices of all the women on the Buddhist Path... who nevertheless persisted.
October 22, 2020
The Therigatha is the world's oldest religious text credited to female authorship. It is a collection of poems attributed to the first Buddhist nuns. Although it has undoubtedly been changed by years of oral transmission and heavily edited by male Buddhists, one catches glimpses of authentic female experience like the sun breaking through the clouds.
It was originally written in Pali and has been translated into English several times. Previous translators strove to be as true to the original text as possible, resulting in scholarly and thus somewhat dry books. Matty Weingast embraced artistic freedom. I find it a lovely paradox that a translation by a man has come closest to capturing the essence of women's experience and spirituality.
The Therigatha is a short collection, yet it contains a wide spectrum of emotions.
Humor:
"So this is what it feels like - to be free.
Forever free from playing the mortar
to my husband's crooked little pestle.
Enough.
For my mother.
For my daughter.
And for all the daughters I might have had.
The cycle ends here."
The vulnerability implicit in being a female body in world where men are physically stronger:
(Would-be rapist): "'Tell me, my little flower.
Aren't you afraid?'
...I looked into his eyes
and saw the billion lifetimes
that he and I had been running around the same circle together.
Then I walked all the way down
to the darkest parts
of my own mind -
and stood in front of the blazing roar
as countless lifetimes of fear and revenge
threw themselves
into the furnace...
We have all wounded and been wounded.
We have all been made to feel weak.
Yes.
There is great strength in darkness."
Pain:
"Over the years,
this round heart
has been pounded flat.
Sometimes it doesn't feel safe
to feel anything at all."
Healing and freedom:
"I held my grief
and gently rocked it.
Shhh, I said.
There, there...
People sometimes ask,
'Wasn't it painful?
Weren't you afraid?'
Yes, it was painful.
So is giving birth.
Oh, my heart,
you mustn't fear the pain."
It was originally written in Pali and has been translated into English several times. Previous translators strove to be as true to the original text as possible, resulting in scholarly and thus somewhat dry books. Matty Weingast embraced artistic freedom. I find it a lovely paradox that a translation by a man has come closest to capturing the essence of women's experience and spirituality.
The Therigatha is a short collection, yet it contains a wide spectrum of emotions.
Humor:
"So this is what it feels like - to be free.
Forever free from playing the mortar
to my husband's crooked little pestle.
Enough.
For my mother.
For my daughter.
And for all the daughters I might have had.
The cycle ends here."
The vulnerability implicit in being a female body in world where men are physically stronger:
(Would-be rapist): "'Tell me, my little flower.
Aren't you afraid?'
...I looked into his eyes
and saw the billion lifetimes
that he and I had been running around the same circle together.
Then I walked all the way down
to the darkest parts
of my own mind -
and stood in front of the blazing roar
as countless lifetimes of fear and revenge
threw themselves
into the furnace...
We have all wounded and been wounded.
We have all been made to feel weak.
Yes.
There is great strength in darkness."
Pain:
"Over the years,
this round heart
has been pounded flat.
Sometimes it doesn't feel safe
to feel anything at all."
Healing and freedom:
"I held my grief
and gently rocked it.
Shhh, I said.
There, there...
People sometimes ask,
'Wasn't it painful?
Weren't you afraid?'
Yes, it was painful.
So is giving birth.
Oh, my heart,
you mustn't fear the pain."
February 12, 2020
This translated collection proves to me that poetry is the universal language. I fully expected these poems to feel distant, to be dry and esoteric, or perhaps quirky with their Buddhist lens and historical distance, but instead I found myself in tears.
The truths in this work struck me hard. Weingast managed to preserve the piercing clarity of these nuns despite the poems being over 2000 years old. I felt seen. I felt as if each one of these poems were a tender hand reaching forward from the past to guide me through shadow-work and the anxieties of the modern world.
In an age of IG poets, this book is immensely quotable.
“How could this world possibly give you what you’re looking for when it’s so busy falling apart – just like you?”
I kept bookmarking phrases and stanzas to return to later. Despite receiving this e-book in exchange for an honest review, I will be buying a paper copy to carry with me and write in. Each poem is its own journal prompt and meditative focus. I loved it, and only wish it had been longer.
The truths in this work struck me hard. Weingast managed to preserve the piercing clarity of these nuns despite the poems being over 2000 years old. I felt seen. I felt as if each one of these poems were a tender hand reaching forward from the past to guide me through shadow-work and the anxieties of the modern world.
In an age of IG poets, this book is immensely quotable.
“How could this world possibly give you what you’re looking for when it’s so busy falling apart – just like you?”
I kept bookmarking phrases and stanzas to return to later. Despite receiving this e-book in exchange for an honest review, I will be buying a paper copy to carry with me and write in. Each poem is its own journal prompt and meditative focus. I loved it, and only wish it had been longer.
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