The Female Buddha

 “The Female Buddha is beautiful and inspiring.”

                                                               Sharon Salzberg

 My name is Deborah and I am a photographer, psychologist and university professor. I am passionate about Guanyin and her message of wisdom and compassion. The book, The Female Buddha: Discovering the Heart of Liberation and Love, grew out of this passion and I am excited to bring her to the world.  Full of photos from Asia and the wise words of women from around the world it offers an inspiring opportunity: to reflect on beauty and bring love into the world. 

The Female Buddha introduces an ancient tradition of the divine feminine. Turning its pages provides a contemplative opportunity for both men and women.  Your help  offers you the opportunity to support this project and enjoy its treasures.  Your contribution will help spread Guanyins message far and wide. 

"In her gorgeous book, Deborah reminds us of the importance of compassion..."

                     Bernie Glassman

 What We Need and What You Receive

As you read this 1200 hardback copies of the book are being printed and shipped from overseas. My husband and I developed Samadhi Publications to bring The Female Buddha into form and we are securing a distribution company to get orders fulfilled.

This project has been mostly self-funded and now we need your help and support. So far our bigger expenses include: printing $10,380, marketing $960,layout $900, social media consulting $850, thank you books $780, publishing consulting $500, Social campaigns $285, Trademark $275, ISBN $250, editing $250 and distribution fees of 20+%. Miscellaneous costs are nearing $1000 and we can speculate postage costs near $800 before the end of the year.

Now we need your help to get The Female Buddha on the shelves of bookstores across the country. Your funding will help us purchase $3000 in marketing to bookstores and $2000 for extra expenses that include our social campaign and a virtual assistant to help with the endless details. 

Everyone in the biz tells us we will be lucky to break even on the first printing and we are asking you to help us accomplish this goal.  If we succeed, we will be able to continue offering The Female Buddha’s message to a broader audience with further printings.  Your contribution will help launch Samadhi Publications and its first offering of liberation and love.

“These joyous images will make you smile, with pride and with pleasure."

                                                                         Jan Willis

Your contributions are generously gifted with cards, books, photographs and more.  Your donation not only supports a good cause, you will be among the very first to receive a copy of the book, and it will be signed. 

Note Cards

You receive 6 black and white note cards (4.5X6.25) with photographs of some of the most loved images in the book.  Printed on fine matte paper the cards are blank inside and come with information on the back about the photo, and include envelopes. See www.thefemalebuddha.com to view the cards.

Books

Hardback, signed and sized at 9.5X9 The Female Buddha has 128 pages filled with 80 stunning photos and 54 inspired quotes.  Priced at $29.95, you receive incredible value for your contribution. The contents include:

• Foreword – Sandy Boucher offers insight into the yearning of both women and men for a female source of spiritual insight and strength.
• Introduction – Deborah shares her travel adventures, transformative stories, history of Guanyin and glimpses into the many contributions of Buddhist women.
• Contemplations – Moving photographs and quotations offer a depth and breadth of spiritual wisdom.
• Commentary on the Photos – Vivid details about the place, history and symbolic content of each photograph enrich the reader’s experience.
• Commentary on the Quotes – A brief biography of each of the women quoted in the book celebrates their bountiful offerings and diversity.

We so hoped to get all the books to you by Christmas yet there have been several delays in the printing process.  Because of this we are having 50 shipped federal express instead of by boat.  This costs extra for each book and we are picking up part of the tab and need you to help us with this extra cost.  If you live in Boulder this is not necessary if you want to pick up the books from us directly.  Please let us know when you place your order.

Photos

All the photographs are from images in the book.  Each photo is 8X10 or 8X12 and is printed on high quality paper. You choose from 18 possibilities in the gallery on this site or at www.thefemalebuddha.com.  

Female Buddha Workshop

Deborah will share stories and slides of Guanyin and we will connect the dots to her inspiration and our lives through reflection and personal sharing. Contemplations on the images and quotes in the book will bring us closer to the wisdom and compassion of Guanyin. *See below for the full description.

In Boulder, CO, the workshop is on Feb. 9 - 10, 2013.  Limited to 28 participants.

Times are Sat. 9:30-12:30, 2-5 and Sun 9:30-1.

The inclusion of the book + cards as part of the workshop are only available through this Indigogo campaign. Another reason to sign up now!

Consulting

As an accomplished writer, photographer and teacher Deborah has years of experience to inspire and guide you in the creative process.  Her work extends to successful program development in educational and busniness settings.  She can help you move through blocks as well as discover your potential.

Additional Overseas Shipping Costs

For the book(s) and photo please add $5 for each for shipping to Canada, $10 for each for shipping to other parts of the world.  

“Deborah captures the essence of the divine feminine...”

                                                            Linda Leonard

If We Exceed Our Goal...

We will be able to continue all our marketing efforts for a longer length of time to insure success in making The Female Buddha available to a broader audience.  We will also be able to pay for an in-house assistant for continued help so Deborah may once again have time to take a photograph!   We’d love to print a second edition and any funds you provide get us closer to this long range goal.

Other Ways You Can Help

Help us get the word out by reposting this on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media.

This work is a tribute to the many men and women who bring the divine feminine, her message and her many manifestations into form. Help us bring photographs of her image to those who long for her.  Help us bring the penetrating insight she embodies through women teachers who have mastered the understanding she represents. 

In gratitude, I will continue to work diligently and keep you posted on the project's progress. Please contact me directly if you would like to support The Female Buddha in any other ways including sponsoring a workshop or lecture.

By helping us to reach our goal we believe that we will all truly benefit from the compassion The Female Buddha has to offer the world.

*Discovering the Female Buddha Workshop description:

Stories and Slides

Focusing on the qualities of selflessness central to Guanyin, we explore her incarnation as the folk lengend Miao-shan, and compare her to the Handless Maiden in western tales.  Pertinent to our lives today, these stories ask a soul-searching question: what is sacrifice and what is unconditional love? 

Miao-shan is adolescent girl. As an adult figure, Guanyin has mastered the teachings of the Buddha. She wears an Eternal Buddha at her forehead and gestures with her left hand in a teaching mudra.  Like Sophia, she a feminine representation of great wisdom.

In sculptures and paintings we see Guanyin confidently standing in the back of a lion, carp, turtle or horse. Sometimes she is standing on the back of a dragon skimming the ocean waves.  Her all-knowing faith profoundly connects her to the natural environment.  How does she speak to our modern world?

Contemplations

The contemplations deepen our experience and understanding.  To set the tone a brief introduction and short periods of sitting and walking meditation will be offered. 

During the contemplations, one might simply reflect on a quote or image. A phrase is repeated to see what arises in the mind. An icon is simply appreciated or one may notice what other images, feelings or insights are evoked. 

Participants will be invited to write, draw or share in small groups what surfaces in their experience. In the large group, we look more deeply at themes of the individual and collective needs of our time.  We will resource what we have to offer and call to receive what we need.

Deborah Bowman, Ph.D. is a psychologist, photographer & professor of Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University. She is a trainer with Boulder Psychotherapy Institute & has been a psychotherapist for 25 years. She is author of When Your Spouse Comes Out, The Luminous Buddha & The Female Buddha.