• ISBN13: 9788186268889
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Religion and Philosophy
• Publisher: Maya Publisher
• Publisher Imprint: Maya Publisher
• Publication Date: January 1, 2024
• Pages: 288
• Original Price: INR 1495.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 800 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): N/A

THE GATHERING is a retelling of the story of the women's request for ordination. Inspired by the Therigatha and building on years of research and experience in the field, Sasson follows Vimala, Patachara, BhaddaKundalakesa, 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. The Gathering for the first time portrays the lives of the early Buddhist women in such a way that they come alive. It is a novel, first of its kind, to break through the barrier of male voices, and it is told vividly in such a moving and engaging way. The reader will not be able to stop once they start reading, but will have to continue to the very last page, and yet still they will want more.