A New Zen for Women

by Perle Besserman

"Perle Besserman's adventures in a Japanese Zen monastery provide the groundwork for this narrative of a woman's life in Zen. Storytelling across the centuries with wandering nuns in India, China, and Japan, and engaging in dialogues with feminist radicals, rebels, and reformers in the West, Besserman enriches our understanding of women's roles in Zen. Exploring the significance of Zen Buddhism and meditation throughout history, she dispels the notion that women were absent from its founding and sustenance. She shows how women continue to transform traditional Zen in new and creative ways, integrating the practice of meditation into their lives. Insightful and entertaining, A New Zen for Women offers a fresh look at religion and women, as Besserman reclaims a legacy of female deities and teachers across the centuries."--book jacket.