In Search of Buddha’s Daughters

In this personal travelogue and investigative report, Toomey, a foreign affairs journalist, seeks out and interviews Buddhist nuns to examine the question of women’s status in and relationship to Buddhism. The women Toomey interviews in Nepal, Japan, and California are inspirational in their devotion, endurance through hardships, and bravery in fighting patriarchal norms to earn respect for their spiritual callings. The topic is fascinating, but the book sometimes reads more like scattered anecdotes than a cohesive narrative, jumping from place to place to showcase new subjects and short vignettes without a strong thesis or conclusions. Toomey attempts to provide an underlying narrative by musing on her own life and reasons for exploring the subject, but at times this threatens to eclipse the focus on her interviewees. Nonetheless, the book’s perspective on Buddhism is rarely found in other sources, revealing room for invention and ingenuity within the tradition, as well as a great variety in women’s experiences as devotees. This is a worthwhile read for those seeking accounts on the intersection of feminism and Buddhism. (Mar.)