Hi everyone,

We will keep moving forward, please jump in and join the conversation even if you have not posted in previous threads!


The introduction to this chapter describes the convent, which is not a part of Zen Buddhism in the West. Would you like it to be? Why? How might practice in a convent provide nuns a chance to address issues more likely to be associated with a female identity?

In the next section, we hear from women who address a particularly female aspect of practice: becoming aware of and working with the attachment to physical self-image and seductive power, which even today may be the way ego and social position become elevated. Grace Schireson says, “Rarely do we witness the female self-image as an object of seduction so clearly described.” How do you feel about the writings of Nanduttara, Ambapali, and Vimala?

Feel free to use the above questions for discussion, or talk about whatever piqued your interest in these pages.

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH