Update: 108 Zen Books sweeps it, declared readers’ favorite Female Buddhist Blog 2009. See screen capture at bottom. Poll will remain open for late comers who’d like to vote.

Update: Voting ends Thursday at noon MST! Winner of Best Female Buddhist Blogger 2009 will be announced here.

A list of some of my favorite female Buddhist bloggers out there.  They come from diverse backgrounds and represent a wide practice.  List your favorites in the comments!  Even include some of them there yoga bloggers!

The Dalai Grandma ~ “Why “Dalai Grandma” when my basic practice is Zen? It’s my daughter’s nickname for me. Anyway, I am not so sectarian. I like the story that appeared in the Reader’s Digest years ago: At an interfaith conference in Hawaii, a Japanese delegate approached a an American Baptist minister and said, “My humble superstition is Buddhism. What is yours?” This blog emphasizes daily life and practice from the perspective of a feminist Buddhist dealing with sickness and aging, and waiting for my turn to come up on the kidney transplant list.”

Budding Buddhist ~ “…this blog journals my thoughts, ideas, discoveries and more concerning Buddhism. One of these days I’d like to move closer to a place to Practice.  I’d like to follow in my Aunt and late Uncle’s footsteps and become involved in hospice care, and possibly counseling.  I’d also like to go back to school and get a masters in Buddhist Studies, at the very least.  (I have a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology.)”

Buddhist at Heart ~ “Devoted New Kadampa (NKT) practitioner who has searched everywhere for truth and always returns to Dharma.”

The Jizo Chronicles – Maia Duerr ~ “I’ve been practicing and studying the Buddha way since 1993, and exploring the question “What is engaged Buddhism?” since the late 90s. As former executive director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and editor of its journal, Turning Wheel, I was lucky enough to meet many practitioners of engaged dharma. Now I direct the Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy Program along with Roshi Joan Halifax, where we forge new pathways of everyday engagement and servant leadership.”

Enlightenment Ward – “My name is Marnie Louise Froberg sometimes known as NellaLou. I am a Canadian writer and live mostly in northern India. I have been a Buddhist practitioner for nearly 30 years (the Soto Zen type of meditation principally but sometimes some other types) and just wanted to share a perspective on this practice and related matters with others who may have interest in such things. I am not a Dharma teacher nor would I like to pretend to be one, so please use common sense with what you read here-and hopefully at all other times as well.”

Wandering Dhamma – Brooke Schedneck ~ “I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University under the supervision of Juliane Schober. I’ve started this blog because I wanted a forum for my thoughts about Buddhist practice and my research within the field of Buddhist studies. Recently I was awarded a Fulbright research grant to start fieldwork in Thailand for my Ph.D. dissertation. My research will focus on the relationship between Thai Buddhists and Euro-Americans interested in Buddhism and both groups’ interpretations of Buddhism.”

Full Contact Enlightenment – “Full Contact Enlightenment is all about living and dying with every ounce of being. It’s about not shying away from experience. Emerging from the cocoon. Breaking from the hindrances. Shaking up the foundations and chipping away at the concepts that I’ve held as a Gen X-er raised on punk rock, comic books, horror movies and skateboarding. Not your typical Buddhist? Why be typical? And what is typical anyways??”

108 Zen Books ~ “Anything I write about myself seems unimportant in the context of a boundless reality – not to mention that any story about my Self would be quite tainted with my inexhaustible and untransformed delusions.  I love to write but I don’t take the time.  I love to take photographs but I don’t do much with them.  I love to practice but I tend to drift into intellectual backwaters and whirlpools of thought.  There are no transmissions I can claim nor great realizations. i’m just a practitioner who struggles with all the same things every human does.  And this blog is just another way to practice.”

Mind Deep – Marguerite Manteau-Rao ~ “Feminine voice. Student of Vipassana meditation, at IMC (Insight Meditation Center). Happy beneficiary of beginner’s mind . . .”

Barbara’s Buddhism Blog – Barbara O’Brien ~ “Barbara began formal study of Buddhism in 1988, when she was accepted as a lay student of Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, NY. In the years since she has since been actively engaged in meeting Buddhists from other traditions and learning about the many forms of Buddhism. Although most of her work as a writer focuses on American politics, she has written extensively about religion in America and how it impacts politics and culture on her personal blog, The Mahablog.”

Buddhism Examiner – Emily Breder ~ “Emily is a non-sectarian Buddhist with more than 15 years experience writing. She has studied the traditional Buddhist teachings for more than ten years and meditates twice daily. In the course of writing for Examiner.com, she has been published by the Buddhist Channel website, and Healing Thresholds for her article on meditation for kids with Asperger’s Syndrome. For Examiner.com, she writes about national and global news from a Buddhist perspective, as well as explaining in layman’s terms basic points on the Buddha-Dharma.”

There are plenty more great female Buddhist Bloggers out there.  Be sure to check out lists at both MindDeep and 108 Zen Books as well as NellaLou’s Blog roll!

~
Cheers,

John

www.zendirtzendust.com

Final Poll: