Poems of the First Buddhist Women: A Translation of the Therigatha

by Charles Hallisey (Translator)

A stunning modern translation of a Buddhist classic that is also one of the oldest literary texts in the world written by women.

The Therīgāthā is one of the oldest surviving literatures by women, composed more than two millennia ago and originally collected as part of the Pali canon of Buddhist scripture. These poems were written by some of the first Buddhist women― therīs ―honored for their religious achievements. Through imaginative verses about truth and freedom, the women recount their lives before ordination and their joy at attaining liberation from samsara. Poems of the First Buddhist Women offers startling insights into the experiences of women in ancient times that continue to resonate with modern readers. With a spare and elegant style, this powerful translation introduces us to a classic of world literature.

Genres: Poetry, Buddhism, Feminism

192 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 2021

About the author

Charles Hallisey is Yehan Numata Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures at Harvard University.

Reviews

[Richard Derus]

April is National Poetry Month! Isn't that just the most *me* holiday of them all?! And what should today's email deliver unto me but Harvard University Press's delightful offer of a free sample from Poems of the First Buddhist Women: A Translation of the Therigatha? Well, I mean! Could any reasonable poetry person turn this down?

There's an extremely long introduction, about five hundred pages or so, and then the first gem of lyrical perfection floats ineffably before one's wondering eyes:

    Therika
    spoken by the Buddha to her

Now that you live among theris, Therika,
the name you were given as a child finally becomes you.

So sleep well, covered by cloth you have made,
your passion for sex shriveled away
like a herb dried up in a pot.

Yes, there is nothing like poetry to celebrate the threads that bind us together across cultures, is there? Who here has not had these very feelings? The sheer delight of making one's own shroud, the joy of losing interest in sex, the reminder that one's parents thought ahead and named an unlucky girl a double-meaninged word that is both "sudden, shocking stroke of good luck" and "old, dried-up crone"!

And thank the goddesses I live in the time of Google or I'd have literally *NO* idea what any of these words meant, what cultural context to put them in, and why the hell I should care about them anyway.

Truth is: I don't.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, readable translation for Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Good introduction but not too much background for those who purchase the book for the poetry itself. Helpful notes and not overly technical, to the point. Historically informative. Poetry through the eyes of women living in a patriarchal world highlighting the gender inclusive nature of Buddhism in that time and place, yet, yes, still mainly patriarchal.

The ascetic tendency Buddhism inherited infuses these poems: to escape samsara - the cycle of birth-and-death in varied realms - is escape the body now. My rating is not based on agreement with such austere denial and its disparaging of body and sex, which is prominent in these poems. Still, asceticism has a wisdom to teach - one is that emotional dependency to body, sex, and pleasure generally leads to suffering. Such clinging is one of the three poisons taught in Buddhism as leading to suffering.

Strict asceticism is the instructive shadow of an impulsive, gluttonous culture. Thankfully, later Buddhism manifests a more reasonable, middle way on this matter while still retaining the wisdom of detachment from pleasure: one can enjoy pleasure, therefore, without emotionally clinging to pleasure. Otherwise, asceticism creates its own shadow excess: emotional attachment to its denial posture. Hence, Buddhism teaches: don't be too pure, or don't be too sharp. Attachment to purity is its own trap.

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mit „Poems of the First Buddhist Women“ legt Charles Hallisey eine beeindruckende moderne Übersetzung des „Therigatha“ vor – eines der ältesten von Frauen verfassten Literaturdenkmäler der Welt. Vor über zweitausend Jahren besangen diese Pionierinnen, die theris, in eleganter, karger Sprache ihre Suche nach Wahrheit und die Befreiung vom Kreislauf des Leidens (Samsara). Die Gedichte sind weit mehr als religiöse Zeugnisse; sie sind seltene Fenster in die Lebensrealität antiker Frauen und bestechen als ästhetische Meisterwerke. Hallisey bewahrt die spirituelle Wucht und literarische Klarheit dieser Stimmen für die Gegenwart. Ein unverzichtbarer Klassiker der Weltliteratur, der zeigt, dass der Drang nach Freiheit und Erkenntnis zeitlos ist.
Während Lisa M. P. Munoz in „Women in Science Now“ die modernen Hürden für Frauen analysiert, zeigt das „Therigatha“, dass Frauen bereits vor zwei Jahrtausenden Räume der intellektuellen und spirituellen Exzellenz beansprucht haben.
Es schlägt auch eine Brücke zu W. E. B. Du Bois („Democracy and Beauty“): Die Schönheit dieser Gedichte ist nicht nur dekorativ, sondern ein Akt der Befreiung. Für die buddhistischen Nonnen war die Poesie das Medium, um ihre Unabhängigkeit von gesellschaftlichen Zwängen (Ehe, Haushalt, Kaste) zu artikulieren.
Geopolitisch erinnert uns dieses Buch daran, dass die Wurzeln der Aufklärung und der Emanzipation nicht allein im Westen liegen, sondern tief in der indischen Antike verankert sind – ein notwendiges Korrektiv zu Habermas’ Fokus auf die „okzidentale Konstellation“.

[Mayu Arimoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

繰り返しの詩が多いので五つ星はつけられないが、魂が少し軽くなる本。生きてる苦しみから解放されること、女性にとっての解脱が比喩や物語を交えつつ優しく、時に叫びのように声高に伝わってくる。

[Queer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting collection of early buddhist women’s poetry. There is so much to learn from and witness here.

[Isa Pollack · Rating 4 out of 5]

good stuff no fluff:)