Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self [Hardcover]

Anne Carolyn Klein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 1995

Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite their formidable differences, Buddhism and feminism share common ground, according to Klein, who has studied with refugee Tibetan lamas in India, Nepal and the U.S. and is an associate professor of religious studies at Rice University. In this erudite tome, she suggests that the open boundary between self and cosmos in Tibetan Buddhism can offer inspiration to Western women seeking to redefine interdependent selfhood in a male-centered world dominated by individualism. Klein describes Buddhist meditation techniques for cultivating compassion, then links these practices to feminists' quests to overcome dualisms (active/passive, reason/emotion) that tend to marginalize women in the West. Eighth-century Tibetan queen Teshel Tsogyel encouraged the spread of Buddhism and is identified today with the largely mystical Great Bliss Queen of wisdom and compassion. Klein sifts the literature on the blissful red queen for her relevance to women seeking connectedness, self-empowerment and active engagement with the world.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The paradox of identity-self with others-is examined by a Buddhist feminist and author who has studied under Tibetan lamas. After joining a women's studies program at Harvard Divinity School in 1982, Klein hoped to reshape dialog between the essentialist and postmodern feminists by encouraging selected Buddhist practices. Mindfulness, for instance, can foster a sense of uniqueness in women's caretaking roles. Visualizing Tibetan Queen Yeshey Tsogyel (eighth century) for meditation, women can be empowered by the "unconditioned self" to surpass personhood and transcend linguistic constraints. Recognizing that some feminists, especially postmodern constructivists, will find an "ungendered essence" distasteful, Klein uses Yeshey Tsogyel, the Great Bliss Queen, as an emblem of the clear mind sphere, beyond dualities and available to all. Rather difficult reading, this treatise is recommended for academic libraries.
Dara Eklund, Los Angeles P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (January 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807073067
• ISBN-13: 978-0807073063
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,662,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and Enlightening, September 7, 2000

By 

Barnaby A Thieme - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self (Paperback)

Of the dozens of books that I have read on Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism in particular, this book touched me personally in a way that few others can match. While the book does display Professor Klein's impressive scholarship and mastery of Geluk and Nyingma material as well as feminist theory, this is not a work for intellectuals, but rather for those who embrace the challenge of using the Buddhist path to open their hearts with courage and strength to others. In a highly personal narrative, this book gracefully brings Buddhist practice into dialogue with feminist theory in the belief that each may illuminate the other. As a Buddhist, I was grateful for the reflections on how Buddhism must be acculturated to uniquely western concerns regarding identity and autonomy. I also very much welcomed the exploration of which issues Buddhism does and does not address. As a feminist, I was delighted to explore strategies for helping western women regain a sense of wholeness and a compassionate identity without sacrificing strength or autonomy. I would highly reccommend this book for anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, who is looking for a way to accomplish these things in themselves or who wishes to help bring them out in others.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult reading, but contains wonderful observations, June 17, 2005

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self (Paperback)

A Western feminist analysis of Tibetan Geluk & Nyingma Buddhism emphasizing selfhood & with Yeshey Tsogyal as focus, this book is difficult reading-having obtuse, expressionistic language, subtle philosophical points, occasional moot reasoning, & explicit feminist orientation. As the author states: pp. 191-2: "Cixous' work, like much of feminism, is directed at healing various kinds of internal divisions, especially those that separate women from their bodies, feelings, and female selves." But, the author argues convincingly for cultural/psychological differences between Tibetans & Westerners, even in childhood: p. 37: "In modern cultures, unlike traditional ones, the chasm between childhood & adulthood roles is enormous. The road to adulthood & personhood is marked by a range of choices unknown in traditional societies, & the individual's responsibility for those choices is great," p. 40: "Although karmic theory emphasizes that actions and their effects accrue to particular persons, traditional Tibetans do not understand themselves as "individuals" in the contemporary Western social, economic, or psychological sense,"& p. 192: "for all their personal independence, traditional Buddhist practitioners are culturally, socially, and linguistically embedded in ways Westerners are not."
In addition to such quotable statements, she addresses sociological/cultural issues: p. 195: "Buddhist traditions are famous for their ability both to change the cultures they visit and to be altered by them. Yet when Buddhist thought and practices moved to Southeast Asia, or to China & then Korea & Japan, or to Tibet, they were part of a larger process of cultural exchange that extended over centuries. Never until today has such a wealth and variety of Buddhist resources-texts, practices, & living teachers-been made available in so short a period of time to populations who are at the same time so ignorant of the cultures from which these traditions have come." Many of her observations are fresh & very discerning, & she uses story effectively; p. 196: "modern constructions of personhood are unique; they did not occur in the cultures that gave rise to Buddhism. The Japanese girl unable to name her favorite color-not trained in playing the individual's game of personal choices-reminds us of these differences." She has fine comparisons of Geluk Lamrim gradualism vs. Dzogchen immediacy/view, notes significant differences between Tibetan & Western practitioners (especially regarding Gurus)--p. 197: "personal and emotional expressions are vital to Westerners in ways they are not for traditional Buddhists...Buddhist theory & practice in the West must take account of the need for individuality, personal stories, & clear connectedness & support the expression of these" & describes Great Bliss Queen practice-though she seems unaware of Nathan Katz' work comparing dakinis & Jung's anima (e.g. in Meckel & Moore's "Self & Liberation: the Jung-Buddhist Dialogue"). Perhaps her finest contribution is toward balance & future collaboration: p. 193: "Among the most stimulating challenges for Western Buddhists is to find a way to integrate personal narratives historical specificity into the nonconceptual universals considered the goals of much of Buddhist practice. In the midst of negotiating this delicate intersection of uniqueness & connectedness, it is crucial that an engagement with "traditions" such as those of Tibetan Buddhism does not tip the balance by obstructing personal creativity and inspiration. Conversely, particularity is crucial, but it is important not to get lost in one's particulars, or to overidentify with them."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a start, but more than I've found elsewhere, July 12, 2005

By 

Mikhail Lewis (Missoula, MT, USofA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self (Hardcover)

I would not recommend Klein's examination of the overlap and discrepancies between Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions and feminist and pomo feminist traditions to those looking for an introduction to any of those topics. However, I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the topics of self and emptiness in Buddhism or constructionism and essentialism in postmodern theory and/or feminism. This book should help fill in little but crucial gaps in what those discussions and their terms mean, and how they can be applied to areas other than in which they originated. Many books will go on and on about the necessity of eliminating dualism, perhaps mentioning only the seeming impossibility of that goal, while 'Meeting the Great Bliss Queen' stresses its cognitive, ontological, and developmental possibility. With only that priority in mind, the book was at least twice as long as need be, but I would love a sequel.