Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists and the Art of Self.

• Author: KLOSTERMAIER, DORIS
• Position: Review

Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists and the Art of Self. By ANN CAROLYN KLEIN. Boston: BEACON PRESS, 1995. Pp. 336, index, preface, notes, bibliography, and glossary. $25.

Numerous books have been written about Buddhism, its philosophy and practices, its tradition and doctrine, yet investigations into its attitude toward women and gender-specific concerns are still extremely rare.

Rita Gross' pioneering feminist investigation, Buddhism after Patriarchy, demonstrates that the religion has a "usable past." While Buddhist texts are often ambivalent in regard to women, its dharma and ethics are basically egalitarian, holding that women, as well as men, are capable of spiritual development and ultimate liberation.

Ann Carolyn Klein's work, Meeting the Great Bliss Queen, is another attempt at creating a post-patriarchal vision of Buddhism in accord with the feminist notion of a society free from gender roles and oppressive dualism.

Focusing on Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, the author tries to increase understanding between Buddhists and Western feminists by exploring their doctrinal commonalities and differences. She comes to the conclusion that the two movements may benefit from each other through dialogue. Western feminism maybe enriched by tantric Buddhism's concepts of mindfulness, compassion, and non-duality and its much deeper sense of self. Buddhism--Vajrayana included--may gain from the Western sense of relationship and individuality.

But, as Klein convincingly argues, Buddhist concepts and practices should not simply be emulated by Westerners. Openness, understanding, and awareness of the differences between Asia and Western countries must prevail. Yeshe Tsogyel, the Great Bliss Queen, symbol of a person's potential and...