Dear colleagues and friends,

I am thrilled to send out this email to all of you. My new book, The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women (Equinox 2023), is launched! The publisher's blurb about the book is quoted below:

"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, 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."

If you purchase the book via the equinox website, enter the code RELIGION and you will receive a 25% discount (see attached flyer). A link to the site is here: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/gathering-women/ (FYI - the website seems to be having some difficulty and is slow to connect all of a sudden).

With warm wishes to everyone,

Vanessa R. Sasson

Religious Studies

Marianopolis College