Stories and Poems
of the Therigatha Nuns
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Program Description
In this event, Susan Murcott will present the enlightenment verses and songs of the first female disciples of the Buddha. Drawing from her influential book, First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening, Susan will share insights into the earliest female members of the Buddhist monastic community. It explores Buddhism’s relatively liberal attitude towards women since its founding nearly 2,600 years ago, through the study of the Therīgāthā, the earliest known collection of women’s religious poetry. These precious words of the earliest bhikṣuṇīs provide direct reactions to the suffering and pain of the human condition, tracing the journey of the wives, mothers, teachers, courtesan, prostitutes, and wanderers who became leaders in the Buddhist community. At a time when the world is facing such complex problems like culture wars and climate change, the thought-leadership of the women behind these songs and poems can inspire us to tackle our most pressing problems. Drawing upon her moving translations of and deep experience with their poetry, Susan Murcott’s presentation will guide us to a fuller understanding about the first Buddhist women and their search for spiritual attainment and their struggles in society. |
Registration:
Advanced registration is required. We offer all Dharma teachings and center events on a “dana” basis. This means we’re grateful for your generosity but there is no required cost to attend and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Suggested donation amounts are provided, and we welcome you to offer what you can to help us sustain our programming and make the dharma and events like this possible. And of course, ordained sangha (ordained nuns and monks) are always welcome free of charge. If you're not donating at this time but would like to attend, please email [email protected]. |
About Susan Murcott
Susan Murcott is an environmental engineer and teacher specializing in water and energy systems engineering, in planetary health and in rapid decarbonization. In her 20s, Susan was a practicing Buddhist at the Diamond Sangha in Maui and Honolulu Hawaii, and in that period she translated and wrote First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening (Parallax Press, 1991, which was also translated into French and Vietnamese). She was a co-founder, with Deborah Hopkinson, of Kahawai: Journal of Women and Buddhism, which published quarterly issues for 10 years from 1976 – 1986.
Since 1998, she has held research and teaching positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and at D-Lab, a humanitarian engineering program advancing collaborative approaches and practical solutions to global change and global poverty. She has also taught at Cambridge University and at Tufts University. She has led MIT student teams working on water/health engineering projects in 25 countries.
2025 is the 10th year in which Susan has co-taught “Climate Change and Planetary Health” (EC.719/EC.789) at MIT. Successive teams of students working with Susan have been identifying bold steps MIT and others could take to achieve Zero Carbon. Examples of student team projects conceived and executed in her project-based D-Lab classes range from the MIT Climate Clock, the first university climate clock in the world, projected on one of MIT’s tallest building, to designing and advancing a plan for decarbonizing of MIT campus buildings by 2035” in order to be leaders in getting to Zero Carbon as quickly as possible.
usan currently co-leads the MIT Ukraine Water Project. This is an effort to collaboratively design, with Ukrainian experts, a post-war, decentralized, renewable energy powered water supply, water/wastewater treatment and distribution system so that all Ukrainians have agency relative to their water resources as well as access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation.
Susan Murcott is an environmental engineer and teacher specializing in water and energy systems engineering, in planetary health and in rapid decarbonization. In her 20s, Susan was a practicing Buddhist at the Diamond Sangha in Maui and Honolulu Hawaii, and in that period she translated and wrote First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening (Parallax Press, 1991, which was also translated into French and Vietnamese). She was a co-founder, with Deborah Hopkinson, of Kahawai: Journal of Women and Buddhism, which published quarterly issues for 10 years from 1976 – 1986.
Since 1998, she has held research and teaching positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and at D-Lab, a humanitarian engineering program advancing collaborative approaches and practical solutions to global change and global poverty. She has also taught at Cambridge University and at Tufts University. She has led MIT student teams working on water/health engineering projects in 25 countries.
2025 is the 10th year in which Susan has co-taught “Climate Change and Planetary Health” (EC.719/EC.789) at MIT. Successive teams of students working with Susan have been identifying bold steps MIT and others could take to achieve Zero Carbon. Examples of student team projects conceived and executed in her project-based D-Lab classes range from the MIT Climate Clock, the first university climate clock in the world, projected on one of MIT’s tallest building, to designing and advancing a plan for decarbonizing of MIT campus buildings by 2035” in order to be leaders in getting to Zero Carbon as quickly as possible.
usan currently co-leads the MIT Ukraine Water Project. This is an effort to collaboratively design, with Ukrainian experts, a post-war, decentralized, renewable energy powered water supply, water/wastewater treatment and distribution system so that all Ukrainians have agency relative to their water resources as well as access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation.
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This event is based on Susan Murcott's book, First Buddhist Women - Poems and Stories of Awakening (Parallax Press, 2002). We encourage you to purchase this amazing book.
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WOMEN OF WISDOM
Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women
Over the course of a year, Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women will highlight and celebrate women teachers and practitioners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The programs in this series spotlight the history and impact of women in Buddhism and share the wisdom stewarded by a range of female lineage holders, teachers, scholars, monastics, and lay practitioners.
The series coincides with the 35th anniversary of the founding, by two women, of Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco. Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women hopes to contribute to ongoing efforts to support global programming featuring female Buddhist teachers and scholars and presenting topics of importance to women on the Buddhist path.
Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women
Over the course of a year, Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women will highlight and celebrate women teachers and practitioners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The programs in this series spotlight the history and impact of women in Buddhism and share the wisdom stewarded by a range of female lineage holders, teachers, scholars, monastics, and lay practitioners.
The series coincides with the 35th anniversary of the founding, by two women, of Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco. Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women hopes to contribute to ongoing efforts to support global programming featuring female Buddhist teachers and scholars and presenting topics of importance to women on the Buddhist path.