Bride of the Buddha

A Novel

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 26 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 29 Jan 2021
Barbara McHugh | Monkfish Book Publishing

Talking about this book? Use #BrideoftheBuddha #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

A page-turner about a woman’s struggle in an unapologetic religious patriarchy, Bride of the Buddha offers a penetrating perspective on the milieu of the Buddha, with a fanciful twist.

This is the story of Yasodhara, the abandoned wife of the Buddha. Facing society’s challenges, she transforms her rage into devotion to the path of liberation. Concealing her gender, she joins the monastic community and becomes the Buddha’s closest confidant, known in the scriptures as Ananda. She/he is the one who persuades the Buddha to allow women to join the order and attains awakening just in time to guide the council in preserving the Buddha’s teachings.

A page-turner about a woman’s struggle in an unapologetic religious patriarchy, Bride of the Buddha offers a penetrating perspective on the milieu of the Buddha, with a fanciful twist.

This is the...


Advance Praise

 "In this fine debut, McHugh combines scholarship with intriguing fictionalizations. This engrossing exploration of gender dynamics, identity, and the spiritual quest for meaning will appeal to Buddhists and general readers alike."
— Publishers Weekly 

 "McHugh deftly manages to vividly convey a moving drama with a message about female empowerment at its core without indulging in any heavy-handed, didactic sermonizing. This is an impressive tapestry of history, spiritual philosophy, and literary drama and an edifying look at the patriarchal limitations of Buddhism's genesis. An intelligently conceived and artistically executed reconsideration of religious history."
—Kirkus Reviews

"A luminous, imaginative story of love, courage, and devotion."
—Foreword Reviews

"Bride of the Buddha transports us to the years after Prince Siddhartha leaves his wife, Yasodhara, to seek his Dharma and become the Buddha. In this extraordinary imagining of Yasodhara's own journey to awakening, you'll feel you are with her every step of the way."
— James N. Frey, author of 9 novels and 7 bestselling books on the craft of writing

"A remarkable and riveting love story — I literally could not put this book down — Barbara McHugh's Bride of the Buddha is told in luminous and mindfully-crafted prose. By re-imagining the Buddha's disciple Ananda as Yasodhara, the wife Siddhartha abandoned in order to seek the Way, McHugh offers a story equally poised between transcendence and simple humanity. The reading became for me a meditation and an invitation to examine the Buddha's teaching in a new light. Highly recommended for anyone interested in living a more awakened life."
— Mobi Warren, translator of Thich Nhat Hanh's Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha


"In the tradition of alternate reality novels, Barbara McHugh spins a creative tale of intrigue and family drama as she reimagines aspects of the story of the Buddha. It is engaging and inventive, and very enjoyable."
—Phillip Moffitt, teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and author of Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the face of Suffering


"For the most part, the women who support and inspire great men remain anonymous. We have Barbara McHugh to thank for bringing Yasodhara out of the shadows. Making use of historical texts, oral traditions, and a vivid imagination, she has created a portrait of the bride of Buddha and the world in which he lived. Crisp, charming, and unforgettable."
— Sam Keen, author of To a Dancing God, Fire in the Belly, Your Mythic Journey, and many others


"In deft prose, Barbara McHugh creates the voice of Buddha's wife as a proto-feminist in a profoundly patriarchal culture. Yasodhara journeys from being the Buddha's profoundly sensual spouse to becoming his valued spiritual companion and attendant, Ananda, credibly disguised as a man. Bride of the Buddha is first a story, not a philosophical discourse, a re-imagining, not a re-telling of her story that even a non-Buddhist can appreciate."
— Carol L. Gloor, author of Gifting Death the Raspberries


"In prose that glides like poetry, McHugh weaves the bold story of a remarkable woman. Transported to a period when women were meant to be vessels only for breeding and serving, we follow her perilous spiritual journey to enlightenment. So much of women's truth has been lost to history, but McHugh lifts the veil to reveal Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife."
— Dorothy Edwards, author of Langston's Moon

"The wife of Siddhartha, the man who would be Buddha, Yasodhara sees her husband's heart and sacrifices her marriage to his quest for enlightenment, then has to face hard truths to pursue her own spiritual authenticity." Bride of the Buddha is a riveting tale of the nature of suffering and the journey to wisdom. Magically written, McHugh creates a world of mystic hope and earthly promise that leaves us looking more deeply into our own hearts."
— Tess Collins, author of Shadow Mountain


"In this unique and gripping novel of a historical figure relegated to the shadows by her famous husband, Yasodhara forges her own path, sacrificing position and privilege to undertake a perilous quest for enlightenment." Bride of the Buddha educates, illuminates, and captivates as it brings us into a legendary world.
— Max Tomlinson, award-winning author of Sendero and five other novels


"In an ambitious and brilliantly conceived historical novel that is both spiritually inspirational and heart-stopping entertainment, McHugh, a lifelong student of Buddhism and accomplished teacher of poetry, brings these gifts together in a novel with characters so well-realized that readers will be drawn into their quest and make it their own."
— John Martel, author of The Alternate and other bestselling novels


"A daring reimagining of the life of Yasodhara, the wife and mother of the infant Rahula that were left by Siddhartha to pursue enlightenment. As a young girl, Yasodhara is determined to engage a spiritual quest in the midst of a suffocating patriarchal culture in which men wielded power and upheld rigidly defined gender and class roles. It is all the more shocking, therefore, when Yasodhara infiltrates the Buddha's Sangha as the young monk Ananda and plays the pivotal role that he played in the life of the Buddha. At the heart of Yasodhara's spiritual seeking is an unshakable love that fiercely defends her husband and son, women and young seekers, and eventually expands to include the entire Sangha and the preservation of what the Buddha taught. I finished this novel with a yearning for this story to be true."
—Wendy Egyoku Nakao, Abbot Emeritus of Zen Center of Los Angeles, and co-author of The Book of Householder Koans


"From the first page to the last, the tale of this feisty bride and seeker held my heart. Yasi/Ananda repeatedly risks the hell realms out of love for others and a passion for justice. In her scrupulous honesty with herself about her faults, she is often blind to her own goodness, but her sometime husband aka the Buddha sees her more clearly and tenderly. As someone who has found Buddhism baffling, I was deeply informed and moved by Barbara McHugh's brilliant imagining of Yasodhara's life."
— Elizabeth Cunningham, author of The Passion of Mary Magdalen

"In this fine debut, McHugh combines scholarship with intriguing fictionalizations. This engrossing exploration of gender dynamics, identity, and the spiritual quest for meaning will appeal to...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781948626231
PRICE US$17.95 (USD)
PAGES 360

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

Book Review 🇮🇳📚

Book- Bride of the Buddha
Author- Barbara McHugh
Genre- Mythological fiction
To be Published- in Jan 2021

🧕🏻As the title suggests this is the story of Bride of Buddha, meaning the story of Yasodhara, the wife of Gautam Buddha ( who was called King Siddhartha in his earlier years). This is a fictional interpretation of the hardships faced by her as her husband leaves her with a 2 day old son to try and attain enlightenment.

🧕🏻As we all know He did achieve great heights Spiritually but the sadness which Yashodhara faces because of having to fulfill family obligations and herself unable to take the path of self realization is dis heartening.The plight of women in those days, specifically those whose husband's were not with them due to whatever reasons is portrayed in a heart wrenching way.

🧕🏻The author herself follows Buddhism and has done her PhD in religion so her research and presentation of various facts is very precise. She has taken pains to try and clarify various misconceptions and rumors associated with the couple. She also has weaved the story beautifully adjusting the ages to make facts relevant.
🧕🏻One thing that I really liked was the way she portrayed and tried to combine Yasodharas inner struggle and her taking desperate measures for trying to attain enlightenment. She took cover up as a male monk ( as females were not allowed in the Sangha) became the famous Ananda, who struggled to get women ordained on this path. The parallelism is beautifully portrayed.
A must read for someone who likes a well researched book with justification of the fictional parts towards the end.

Thank u @netgalley and @Barbara McHugh for the copy.. the synopsis was so intriguing thaT I couldn't resist picking it up immediately. And true to it the book is a masterpiece

Was this review helpful?

This book was fantastic! I absolutley loved the main character, and the way that McHugh allowed the reader to really understand all of her thoughts and feelings. From childhood to old age, we saw how she grew as a person and battled her demons throughout her life. Rarely have I come accross a character that is so well illustrated throughout a book, that you feel like you know them at the end.
This book tacked a lot of key themes, including gender steriotypes and religion, in a sensitive and compelling way. It was well paced and had just the right amount of beautiful descriptive writting balanced with a plot that kept you engaged until the end.
My only critisism of this book is that it wasn't long enough. I found myself wanting more from nearly every scene, particularly the section of the book which looked at our protagonists relationship with stick woman. I could easily have read another 200 pages and loved every second.
I would highly recommend this book, and would also encourage people to read the authors note. I know very little about the history of the Buddha, and it was enlightening to see how much of the book was based in fact. I will certainly be looking out for more by this author.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: