Sarasvati's Gift
The Autobiography of Mayumi Oda—Artist, Activist, and Modern Buddhist Revolutionary
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
The inspiring life story of pioneering feminist artist, activist, and Buddhist teacher Mayumi Oda told through her own words and original thangka paintings.
Sitting in meditation in front of a statue of Goddess Sarasvati, Mayumi Oda heard her say in a loud voice, "Stop the plutonium shipment!" After taking a stunned breath, Mayumi replied, "I can't do that. I'm only an artist," and Sarasvati answered, "Help will be provided." This book is the culmination of a life devoted to responding to Sarasvati's call to cultivate a path of peace, justice, and compassion.
Known as the "Matisse of Japan," Mayumi Oda is a painter, environmental activist, and Buddhist practitioner whose life reflects both the brilliance and shadows of modernity. Sarasvati's Gift explores her upbringing in Japan, her tumultuous marriage and the death of her son, her immigration to the country responsible for the destruction of her home, her inspiration for both her Buddhist practice and her art, and ultimately her commitment to the planet that gives her life both hope and meaning. This raw, heartfelt, and powerful memoir shares Mayumi's story of finding her place and her mission to transform the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Painter Oda (Goddesses) explores her life as a visual artist, environmental activist, and Buddhist practitioner in this powerful memoir. Oda, who was raised in a Japanese Buddhist family, was four years old when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ("a horror that affected me profoundly"). In 1962 she married American translator John Nathan, and the two moved to New York four years later, where Oda began her involvement in Vietnam War protests and women's liberation movements. When Japan was to receive a plutonium shipment as part of its nuclear reactor program in the '90s, Oda writes that the goddess Sarasvati called to her to stop its progress. As a result, she founded two organizations that advocate for abandoning nuclear power, the promotion of alternative energy, and sustainability. Oda used her thangkas large scrolls depicting various Eastern religions' goddesses as well as feminizations of traditionally masculine gods as conversation starters during her activism, and 26 of them are showcased in full-color images throughout. While Oda focuses most heavily on her activism, readers interested in Buddhist art or feminism will find this straightforward, impassioned memoir rewarding.
