As women’s spirituality continues to gain popularity, The Buddha’s Wife offers to a broad audience for the first time the intimate and profound story of Princess Yasodhara, the wife Buddha left behind, and her alternative journey to spiritual enlightenment. What do we know of the wife and child the Buddha abandoned when he went off to seek his enlightenment? The Buddha’s Wife brings this rarely told story to the forefront, offering a nuanced portrait of this compelling and compassionate figure while also examining the practical applications her teachings have on our modern lives. Princess Yasodhara’s journey is one full of loss, grief, and suffering. But through it, she discovered her own enlightenment within the deep bonds of community and “ordinary” relationships. While traditional Buddhism emphasizes solitary meditation, Yasodhara’s experience speaks of “The Path of Right Relation,” of achieving awareness not alone but together with others. The Buddha’s Wife is comprised of two parts: the first part is a historical narrative of Yasodhara’s fascinating story, and the second part is a “how-to” reader’s companion filled with life lessons, practices, and reflections for the modern seeker. Her story provides a relational path, one which speaks directly to our everyday lives and offers a doorway to profound spiritual maturation, awakening, and wisdom beyond the solitary, heroic journey. "After narrating the tale of Yasodhara's survival and spiritual growth in the company of others, Surrey and Shem draw on Jean Baker Miller's relational-cultural theory dealing with the importance of relationships, Zen peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh's concept of interbeing, and other sources to investigate the power of connection to heal individuals and, perhaps, a suffering world."--Publishers Weekly "Smoothly written and with compelling applications of social and psychological theories as well as Buddhist tradition, this can serve both spiritual practitioners and secular readers seeking insight on strengthening themselves and their relationships."--Booklist " The Buddha's Wife carries us beyond any one religious tradition to launch us gently into streams of a universal wisdom. Therein is its spiritual power. This is a beautifully written book for all who know, at least intuitively, that our liberation--as people and as a planet--is rooted in our shared commitments to more radically relational and mutual ways of being than any of the major world religions (including Buddhism) either teach or practice."--(The Rev) Carter Heyward, PhD, professor emerita of Theology, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge MA " The Buddha's Wife is a gripping telling of an amazing 2,500-year-old story, followed by a collection of contemporary inspirational stories, and specific reflections and practices collected from the lives and work of 'relational activists' all over the world. A great read and a practical guide for anyone who wants to 'wake up' and walk a path of healing with others."--Martin Sheen " The Buddha's Wife is a riveting tale that will move your heart and shift your focus to the precious beings around you. In our world, where the social fabric is torn by violence, greed, and neglect, this visionary story offers us an alternative path beyond individualism and self-preoccupation. Drawing on the deep wisdom of relational and spiritual practices that Surrey and Shem have studied, created, and engaged in over decades, this timeless and beautiful narrative shows us what deep attunement to ourselves and to one another looks like, as well as the means by which we can work to manifest it."--Mary Watkins, author of Toward Psychologies of Liberation " The Buddha's Wife is a visionary work of profound insight, imagination, compassion, and scholarship. In telling the lost story of Yasodhara, Surrey and Shem give us a lamp for our troubled times, illuminating new paths and practices for all relationships."--Susan M. Pollak, coauthor of Sitting Together "A brave and life-changing book, The Buddha's Wife speaks to perhaps the greatest challenge of our time, our false sense of separateness. For all people of all faiths, The Buddha's Wife shifts perception and thus opens us to possibility. It touched me deeply."--Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet "Bless you Janet, Sam, and Yashodhara for pointing us in the feminist clarity that we serve best as an 'I' in the nest of the 'we', being communal at home and the world was the smartest decision of my life. Let's help midwife a loving world."--Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, doctor, clown and activist for peace and justice "In this creative, groundbreaking rendering, the relational 'Yin' of Buddhism, so often absent, is brought beautifully to life. The teachings are clear, vibrant, relevant. They guide us in loving more fully, and are the very grounds for healing our earth and bringing peace to our world."--Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Radical Acceptance and True Re