Female Deities: List of female Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

Mayadevi

Historical figure - mother of Sakyamuni Buddha

Queen Mayadevi (also Maya or Mahamaya) was the historical mother of Sakyamuni Buddha. She died not long after his birth, but is believed to have been reborn in one of the heavens where he later manifested and taught her the Dharma so that she too became enlightened.

She is traditionally depicted just as she was about to (painlessly) give birth, standing and holding the branch of a tree in her right hand.


Books:

  • The First Budhhist Women: Translations and Commentaries on the Therigatha, by Susan Murcott (Parallax Press,1991, ISBN: 0938077422)
  • Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, by Thich Nath Hanh (Parallax Press, 1991, ISBN: 0938077260)
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