Tantric Buddhims is known in the West primarily for the sexual practices of its adherents, who strive to transform erotic passion into spiritual ecstasy. Historians of religion have long held that the enlightenment thus attempted was for men only and that women were at best marginal and subordinated and at worst degraded and exploited. This book argues to the contrary, presenting evidence of the outspoken and independent female founders of the Tantric movement and their creative role in shaping its vision of gender relations and sacred sexuality. This book won the American Historical Assocation's 1994 James Henry Breasted Prize and the 1994 "Tricycle" Prize for Buddhist Scholarship.
