Alice Collett
Biographic Data
| ID | 5581554 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alice Collett |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alice |
| FAMILY NAME | Collett |
| SIGNATURE | COLLETT A |
| AFFILIATIONS | York St John University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Ikṣvāku Women
Happy 40th Birthday, Buddhist Studies Review
Although not everyone loves a birthday, celebration can be augmented or evanesced with occasion for reflection, and taking stock.I'm pleased to be writing this editorial for Buddhist Studies Review, 40.1, to celebrate forty years of the journal.At the time of writing, we continue on with the successes of the journal, and the organization that manages it, the UK Association for Buddhist Studies.This year, our UKABS conference will take place at th…
An Uneven Landscape: A Review of Cabezón’s Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism
José Ignacio Cabezón’s Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism is a book that caught people’s attention as soon as it was released. The book is, essentially, a work that concentrates on an analysis and assessment of views on sex, sexuality, and sexual deviance within South Asian Buddhist traditions. It is also marketed as a book on gender. While sections on gender do form part of the book (by necessity), this is less of a focus than the marke…
Nirv??a in Early Buddhist Inscriptions
Nirv??a is often considered the quintessential goal of the Buddhist path. In this article, I focus on one aspect of the conceptualization of nirv??a that becomes apparent through an analysis of its occurrence in early Indian epigraphy. Surveying pre-Gupta inscriptions, it becomes clear that the aspiration for nirv??a has one recurring feature attached to it; the aspiration of the donor for the attainment of nirv??a — whether for themselves or oth…
Nirvana in Early Buddhist Inscriptions
Nirvana is often considered the quintessential goal of the Buddhist path. In this article, I focus on one aspect of the conceptualization of nirvana that becomes apparent through an analysis of its occurrence in early Indian epigraphy. Surveying pre-Gupta inscriptions, it becomes clear that the aspiration for nirvana has one recurring feature attached to it; the aspiration of the donor for the attainment of nirvana — whether for themselves or oth…
Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns: Biographies As History
This title sheds light on the lives of early Buddhist women in India, seen through biographical accounts preserved within the Buddhist tradition for over a thousand years. The biographies reveal strong female characters, who overcame hardships to become exemplar practitioners, depicting inspirational women, born within traditional societies, whose stories can inspire generations of women to come.
Dhammadinnā
This chapter begins, as does each chapter in Part I, with a section on Pāli sources for the Buddhist nun Dhammadinnā, and then presents information on sources in other languages/other Buddhist traditions. Following this, the popular biography of Dhammadinnā is narrated, which recounts her importance as a teacher. The sources used for this are, first, the Therīgāthā verses, which are often the basis for Pāli biographies. The other accounts used ar…
Women as Teachers and Disciples in Early Buddhist Communities: The Evidence of Epigraphy
Inscriptions from ancient India reveal to us two related phenomena about early Buddhist nuns: firstly, that nuns were teachers of other women, and secondly that nuns considered themselves to be (or were recorded to be) direct disciples of male monastic teachers. The first of these is confirmed by the textual evidence, and sits as part of our picture of the lives of nuns at the time of the historical Buddha and subsequently. The second, however, c…
Beware the Crocodile: Female and Male Nature in Asvaghosa's Saundarananda
In chapter eight of his Saundarananda, Asvaghosa launches into one of the fiercest attacks on women that can be found in early Buddhist literature. He evokes animal imagery and symbolism to demonstrate a manipulative and (sexually) aggressive nature for women, which he juxtaposes with a comparably weak will for men. He utilizes similes of entrapment whereby violent, aggressive and poisonous animals, birds or reptiles (women) ensnare weaker creatu…
The Female Past in Early Indian Buddhism: The Shared Narrative of the Seven Sisters in the Theri-Apadana
The Apadana is a well-known but relatively little-studied text. The Theri-Apadana, the section of the text on women, tells of the lives of female disciples of Gotama Buddha. Alongside versified narrative accounts of the lives of these women during the time of Gotama Buddha, the text reveals the past lives of these women, under former buddhas. These past-life accounts of women as disciples of former buddhas add a new dimension to the notion of fem…
Soma the Learned Brahmin
Soma is a female disciple of Gotama Buddha known from various early Indian Buddhist sources. In the story of Soma in the Avadanasataka, prior to her conversion to Buddhism she gains access to the three Vedas and becomes a learned Brahmin in her region. In this article, as well as providing an English translation of Soma's story in the Avadanasataka, I discuss this account of Soma the learned Brahmin and attempt to discern the basis for a Buddhist…
Historio-Critical Hermeneutics in the Study of Women in Early Indian Buddhism
Modern scholarly study of women in early Indian Buddhism began over a hundred years ago, towards the end of the nineteenth century. In this article, I assess strategies that have been prominent in scholarly engagement with the texts from the period that are pertinent to this debate. The article is focused around discussion of four historical-critical hermeneutic strategies which either have figured within the debate or, as is the case in the fina…
List-based Formulae in the Avadanasataka
This article is a study of formulaic passages in the Sanskrit Avadanasataka. Alongside a preliminary discussion of work on oral studies within Buddhism, and some recourse to wider oral studies on Indian texts, the focus of this article is a two-part study of formulae and constituents of formulae. The first part of the article details formulaic sections from the Avadanasataka, from short formulae about wealthy merchants to lengthy counterparts tha…
Buddhism and Gender: Reframing and Refocusing the Debate
Within the Buddhism and gender debate in Western scholarship, various approaches to the study of Buddhist literature—Orientalist, Protestant Buddhism, and a doctrinal approach—have led to a taxonomy of value being accorded various texts such that some are overvalued and others either wholly or largely ignored. The first women scholars of Buddhist studies in the West—Caroline Rhys Davids, Mabel Bode, and I. B. Horner—labored under the Orientalist …
Women as Teachers and Disciples in Early Buddhist Communities: The Evidence of Epigraphy
Inscriptions from ancient India reveal to us two related phenomena about early Buddhist nuns: firstly, that nuns were teachers of other women, and secondly that nuns considered themselves to be (or were recorded to be) direct disciples of male monastic teachers. The first of these is confirmed by the textual evidence, and sits as part of our picture of the lives of nuns at the time of the historical Buddha and subsequently. The second, however, c…
Historio-Critical Hermeneutics in the Study of Women in Early Indian Buddhism
Modern scholarly study of women in early Indian Buddhism began over a hundred years ago, towards the end of the nineteenth century. In this article, I assess strategies that have been prominent in scholarly engagement with the texts from the period that are pertinent to this debate. The article is focused around discussion of four historical-critical hermeneutic strategies which either have figured within the debate or, as is the case in the fina…
Buddhism and Gender: Reframing and Refocusing the Debate
Within the Buddhism and gender debate in Western scholarship, various approaches to the study of Buddhist literature—Orientalist, Protestant Buddhism, and a doctrinal approach—have led to a taxonomy of value being accorded various texts such that some are overvalued and others either wholly or largely ignored. The first women scholars of Buddhist studies in the West—Caroline Rhys Davids, Mabel Bode, and I. B. Horner—labored under the Orientalist …
List-based Formulae in the Avadanasataka
This article is a study of formulaic passages in the Sanskrit Avadanasataka. Alongside a preliminary discussion of work on oral studies within Buddhism, and some recourse to wider oral studies on Indian texts, the focus of this article is a two-part study of formulae and constituents of formulae. The first part of the article details formulaic sections from the Avadanasataka, from short formulae about wealthy merchants to lengthy counterparts tha…
Historio-Critical Hermeneutics in the Study of Women in Early Indian Buddhism
Modern scholarly study of women in early Indian Buddhism began over a hundred years ago, towards the end of the nineteenth century. In this article, I assess strategies that have been prominent in scholarly engagement with the texts from the period that are pertinent to this debate. The article is focused around discussion of four historical-critical hermeneutic strategies which either have figured within the debate or, as is the case in the fina…
Soma the Learned Brahmin
Soma is a female disciple of Gotama Buddha known from various early Indian Buddhist sources. In the story of Soma in the Avadanasataka, prior to her conversion to Buddhism she gains access to the three Vedas and becomes a learned Brahmin in her region. In this article, as well as providing an English translation of Soma's story in the Avadanasataka, I discuss this account of Soma the learned Brahmin and attempt to discern the basis for a Buddhist…
The Female Past in Early Indian Buddhism: The Shared Narrative of the Seven Sisters in the Theri-Apadana
The Apadana is a well-known but relatively little-studied text. The Theri-Apadana, the section of the text on women, tells of the lives of female disciples of Gotama Buddha. Alongside versified narrative accounts of the lives of these women during the time of Gotama Buddha, the text reveals the past lives of these women, under former buddhas. These past-life accounts of women as disciples of former buddhas add a new dimension to the notion of fem…
Beware the Crocodile: Female and Male Nature in Asvaghosa's Saundarananda
In chapter eight of his Saundarananda, Asvaghosa launches into one of the fiercest attacks on women that can be found in early Buddhist literature. He evokes animal imagery and symbolism to demonstrate a manipulative and (sexually) aggressive nature for women, which he juxtaposes with a comparably weak will for men. He utilizes similes of entrapment whereby violent, aggressive and poisonous animals, birds or reptiles (women) ensnare weaker creatu…
Women as Teachers and Disciples in Early Buddhist Communities: The Evidence of Epigraphy
Inscriptions from ancient India reveal to us two related phenomena about early Buddhist nuns: firstly, that nuns were teachers of other women, and secondly that nuns considered themselves to be (or were recorded to be) direct disciples of male monastic teachers. The first of these is confirmed by the textual evidence, and sits as part of our picture of the lives of nuns at the time of the historical Buddha and subsequently. The second, however, c…
Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns: Biographies As History
This title sheds light on the lives of early Buddhist women in India, seen through biographical accounts preserved within the Buddhist tradition for over a thousand years. The biographies reveal strong female characters, who overcame hardships to become exemplar practitioners, depicting inspirational women, born within traditional societies, whose stories can inspire generations of women to come.
Dhammadinnā
This chapter begins, as does each chapter in Part I, with a section on Pāli sources for the Buddhist nun Dhammadinnā, and then presents information on sources in other languages/other Buddhist traditions. Following this, the popular biography of Dhammadinnā is narrated, which recounts her importance as a teacher. The sources used for this are, first, the Therīgāthā verses, which are often the basis for Pāli biographies. The other accounts used ar…
Nirv??a in Early Buddhist Inscriptions
Nirv??a is often considered the quintessential goal of the Buddhist path. In this article, I focus on one aspect of the conceptualization of nirv??a that becomes apparent through an analysis of its occurrence in early Indian epigraphy. Surveying pre-Gupta inscriptions, it becomes clear that the aspiration for nirv??a has one recurring feature attached to it; the aspiration of the donor for the attainment of nirv??a — whether for themselves or oth…
Nirvana in Early Buddhist Inscriptions
Nirvana is often considered the quintessential goal of the Buddhist path. In this article, I focus on one aspect of the conceptualization of nirvana that becomes apparent through an analysis of its occurrence in early Indian epigraphy. Surveying pre-Gupta inscriptions, it becomes clear that the aspiration for nirvana has one recurring feature attached to it; the aspiration of the donor for the attainment of nirvana — whether for themselves or oth…
An Uneven Landscape: A Review of Cabezón’s Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism
José Ignacio Cabezón’s Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism is a book that caught people’s attention as soon as it was released. The book is, essentially, a work that concentrates on an analysis and assessment of views on sex, sexuality, and sexual deviance within South Asian Buddhist traditions. It is also marketed as a book on gender. While sections on gender do form part of the book (by necessity), this is less of a focus than the marke…
Happy 40th Birthday, Buddhist Studies Review
Although not everyone loves a birthday, celebration can be augmented or evanesced with occasion for reflection, and taking stock.I'm pleased to be writing this editorial for Buddhist Studies Review, 40.1, to celebrate forty years of the journal.At the time of writing, we continue on with the successes of the journal, and the organization that manages it, the UK Association for Buddhist Studies.This year, our UKABS conference will take place at th…
Ikṣvāku Women
Buddhism (12 works) · Indian and Buddhist Studies (11 works) · History (9 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Art (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Gautama Buddha (6 works) · Literature (6 works) · History (5 works) · Sociology (5 works)