Yasodhara and the Buddha with Vanessa R. Sasson, Part One

Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts Department of Marianopolis College, Canada and the author of Yasodhara and the Buddha, which we discuss in this episode. For those who do not know Yasodhara, this largely forgotten woman was once married to the Buddha. In part one of this episode, we discuss Yasodhara’s rich, intricate story, as well as the research process behind the book. We also delve into why Vanessa felt compelled to write this book as a “western woman” and how that position affects the context of her modern storytelling.