11/16/2024, Paula Arai, dharma talk at City Center. This dharma talk was given at Beginner’s Mind Temple by visiting teacher Paula Arai. Professor Arai writes: “With the intention to see the Buddhist tradition from a woman’s perspective and illuminate how women, or anyone, can wield liberating power, I explore the creative expedient of storytelling, a favored method in sutras. To do so, I followed principles I developed to help me navigate this rich terrain. I began with breathing space for not knowing. That involved assuming what evidence I did have was incomplete. It also involved doing as much rigorous research into socio-historical materials and Buddhist teachings as I could muster and turning to experts to assess the plausibility of my findings. Approaching my findings from an embodied perspective opened up insights into what women might have seen, tasted, smelled, heard, touched, and thought. It helped me humanize them. As Buddhist women, they likely lived with a sense of our interdependence and sought ways to respond to suffering with compassion. I deliberately sought out Buddhist sutras, teachings, and practices that are not heralded for the way they might support women or are known to have generated suffering for women. I wanted to probe possibilities for engaging in a liberating interpretation of such material. Today I will share two stories: "Queen Shrimala: Philosopher Queen" (3rd-century CE India) and "Bowing With the Dharma" (7th-century CE China). They are part of my larger book project, tentatively titled ‘Of Lotuses and Mud: Women Liberating Dharma’.”