This was an absolute pleasure to read, and so comprehensive. Faure is clearly a dedicated academic and has an easy to follow format for all his works. No stone is left unturned in order to answer the questions he asks of himself, and unlike many scholars in Buddhism today he does not take everything at face value. Challenging the texts, traditional doctrines, and personal accounts of practitioners is done most thoroughly, though with the utmost respect, and bit by bit the issue of sexuality within Buddhism is uncovered.

If you're like me, someone with a huge, insatiable interest in buddhism and gender studies, this book will leave you with more questions than answers purely because there's still so much within this specialist corner of Buddhist studies to tackle. I

If you've ever wondered about the contradiction between the Buddha teaching that all physical forms are immaterial and unimportant, and his banning of women from the Sangha (initially) due to their "impure form", or why it is that nuns are treated lower than a freshly initiated monk, then this book is for you.

Some downsides of this work are arguably the introduction and it's difficulty. In regards to the introduction, Faure comes across as insufferable. Maybe that's just my interpretation, though, but I did find his intro very frustrating to read, despite the rest of his work being so enjoyable. The difficulty of this book relates more to the level of knowledge of the reader. As someone with such an extensive background in Buddhism this was pleasantly challenging, but to people new to Buddhism, you might find yourself a little lost, and I'd recommend leaving this one until you have a better understanding of a number of different schools within Buddhism.