Femininity and Sexuality in Vajrayana Buddhism
Bridging Eastern and Western Perspectives
By (author) Lyudmila Klasanova
Hardback (Forthcoming)
(June 2026)
ISBN: 9781800508217
6.15 x 9.2 inches
Price: $100.00
On back order
This book offers a comprehensive study of femininity and sexuality in Vajrayāna Buddhism, integrating Eastern and Western perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of these concepts, especially in relation to phenomena such as religious sexual abuse.
This book offers a comprehensive study of femininity and sexuality in Vajrayana Buddhism, integrating Eastern and Western perspectives to provide a thorough understanding of these concepts, especially in relation to phenomena such as religious sexual abuse. It aims to critically examine the religious significance of Vajrayana symbols of femininity, particularly dakinis (Tib. mkha’ ‘gro ma), as embodiments of wisdom and enlightenment. It also seeks to analyse how the incongruent relationship between female deities and actual women affects their lives and contributes to religious sexual abuse, a significant issue within transnational Buddhism in the twenty first century. The central focus is to explore how understanding femininity and sexuality in Vajrayana Buddhism can contribute to the prevention of such abuse. The subject of the book is part of the broader study of women and sexuality in religious studies, focusing on the role of women in the history of religion and their participation in religious practices. It is widely recognised that world religions have historically been patriarchal. While female religious symbols and images have the potential to empower women’s spiritual identities, they can also be exploited as tools for sustaining male dominance. Additionally, the attitude towards women is often infused with sacredness and secrecy, intersecting with issues of authority, hierarchy, and moral ambivalence in religious contexts.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Context and Research Questions/State of Scholarship/Theoretical Framework/Research Methodology and Sources/Structure of the Book
Chapter I: Femininity and Sexuality in Religions
Sacredness and Secrecy in the Study of Religions/Sacred and Secret Femininity in Religions/Sacred and Secret Sexuality in Religions
Chapter II: Femininity and Sexuality in Buddhism
The Sacred Feminine in Theravāda and Mahāyāna/Secrecy, Sacredness and Sexuality in Vajrayāna/Female Deities and Women in Vajrayāna
Chapter III: The Sacred and Secret Nature of Ḍākinīs in Vajrayāna
Ḍākinīs in Divine Forms/Ḍākinīs in Human Forms
Chapter IV: The Sacred and Secret Nature of Ḍākinīs in the West
Ḍākinīs and the Transmission of Vajrayāna to the West/Ḍākinīs in the Western Context: Definitions and Interpretive Models/Ḍākinīs as Archetypes: A Psychological Perspective/Silencing the Ḍākinīs: A Feminist Perspective/Emerging Voices of the Ḍākinīs
Chapter V: Femininity and Sexuality in the Context of Religious Sexual Abuse
Monastic Celibacy vs. Tantric Sexuality/Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour in Vajrayāna/ Religious Sexual Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism
Conclusion
General Overview /Answers to Secondary Research Questions /Answers to Primary Research Questions
End Matter
List of Illustrations
Appendix I: Categorization of Buddhist Tantric Scriptures in Vajrayāna
Appendix II: Categorization of the Objects of Refuge in Vajrayāna
Appendix III: Categorization of Ḍākinīs
Appendix IV: List of Tibetan Buddhist Teachers Accused of Sexual Abuse
Bibliography
Index
- By (author) Lyudmila Klasanova
Other Titles in this Series
Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka’s Civil War
Ethnoreligious Nationalism of the Sinhala Sangha and Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, 1995-2010
Chinese Buddhism Today
Conservatism, Modernism, Syncretism and Enjoying Life on the Buddha's Light Mountain
Dudjom Rinpoche’s Vajrakīlaya Works
A Study in Authoring, Compiling, and Editing Texts in the Tibetan Revelatory Tradition
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