Vanessa R. Sasson, "The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women" (Equinox, 2023)

About this episode

Vanessa R. Sasson discusses her book on the first Buddhist women's request for ordination and the complexities surrounding it.

Vanessa R. Sasson's book The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women (Equinox, 2023) is a retelling of the story of the first Buddhist women's request for ordination. Inspired by the Therigatha and building on years of research and experience in the field, Sasson follows Vimala, Patachara, Bhadda Kundalakesa, and many others as they walk through the forest to request full access to the tradition. The Buddha's response to this request is famously complicated; he eventually accepts women into the Order, but specific and controversial conditions are attached. Sasson invites us to think about who these first Buddhist women might have been, what they might have hoped to achieve, and what these conditions might have meant to them thereafter. By shaping her research into a story, Sasson invites readers to imagine a world that continues to inspire and complicate Buddhist narrative to this day. Dr. Victoria Montrose is an Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Furman University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Vanessa R. Sasson

Topics covered

• Buddhist women
• ordination
• Buddhist narrative
• Therigatha
• historical retelling
• gender in Buddhism

Keywords

• Buddhism
• women's ordination
• Buddhist history
• Vimala
• Patachara
• Bhadda Kundalakesa
• Therigatha
• gender
• religion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Equinox

Books & works: The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women, Therigatha

More episodes of New Books in Buddhist Studies

• Bruno Shirley, "Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri Lanka: The Reconstruction of Buddhist Kingship, ca. 1070-1215" (ARC Humanities Press, 2026) · June 5, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Jue Liang, "Conceiving the Mother of Tibet: The Early Literary Lives of the Buddhist Saint Yeshe Tsogyel" (Oxford UP, 2026) · May 14, 2026 · 1h 18m
• Extraordinary, Mysterious, and Impossible Experiences, with Jeffrey Kriple · May 8, 2026 · 1h 7m
• Gautamiputra Kamble, "The Seekers" (Blaft Publication, 2025) · April 18, 2026 · 1h 18m
• Just Stare at the Damn Wall! · April 7, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Kristina Jonutytė, "Between the Buddha and the New Tsar: Urban Religion and Minority Politics at the Asian Borderlands of Russia" (Cornell UP, 2026) · April 1, 2026 · 1h 2m