Finally yesterday the book I’ve been awaiting for months and months arrived. When the postman knocked and rang at my door, I was sure he had what I wanted: « The Hidden Lamp. Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women. »
My delight did not meet with disappointment. What a treasure this is! The book is a collection of 100 stories and koans involving women, with commentaries by 100 contemporary Buddhist women teachers. But, as the American male Zen master Norman Fischer writes in the foreword, the book includes « not only the long-missing stories of women, but, along with them, a spirit and attitude of open-handed teaching that the commentators and the text as a whole reflect. »
Perhaps I am biased: I am, I admit, a contributor to the book, as is my own teacher and other women from my lineage. But as I dip into the book again and again, I keep discovering an unfathomably rich trove of precious wisdom for the ages and for right here and now.
But of course, as always, don’t take my word for it; check it out for yourself.