December – month to remember women in Buddhist History

Buddhist texts have been pontificated on recently in Parliament by no less than the President of the country and the Leader of the Opposition. Stanzas in the language used by the Buddha were recited. The Prez substituted Angulimala who later became an arahant for the Buddha’s sworn enemy– Devadatta. Were these references to the Buddha and his teachings erudite and educative, calling forth “sadhu sadhu”? Not one bit! Laughter and embarrassment pervaded us ordinary Buddhists. A quote from Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice came to mind:

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose/ An evil soul producing holy witness

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek/ A goodly apple rotten at the heart”

I have no need of Parliamentary shenanigans. I write this on the Unduvap Poya day which is particularly significant to Sri Lanka and us women.

Theri Sanghamitta

It was on a full moon day in the month of Unduvap that Theri Sanghamitta arrived in the port of Dambakolapatuna in Jaffna bearing, it is said, eight saplings of the Bo Tree under which Siddhartha Gautama realized the Truth of Samsaric Life and became the Buddha. She was the daughter of Emperor Asoka and like her elder brother Mahinda Thera, took ordination. They were sent by their father to Lanka on requests made by King Devanampiyatissa: first for the new religion in India – fulfilled by Mahinda Thera in 247 BC, and later for a nun to start a nuns’ order. She arrived in 288 BC bringing with her many nuns, artisans and agriculturists. The Bo saplings were distributed to temples, it is said, and historically noted, that the sapling grown in the Mahamevuna Park in Anuradhapura still lives and is the world’s oldest living tree. She instituted the Meheni Sasna or Order of Bhikkhunis in the island. Mahinda Thera’s coming over not only consolidated Buddhism as the state religion; it also heralded a new flourishing of arts and culture. Theri Sanghamitta’s coming created a fresh impetus of freedom to women to choose the life they wished to lead.

Prajapati Gotami

Much venerated is the step-mother of Prince Siddhartha since it was her persistence and earnest request that started a Bhikkhuni Order.Prince Siddhartha’s mother, Mahamaya Devi, died a week after he was born. Her younger sister, who had an infant herself – Nanda – was given the responsibility of breast feeding and caring for the motherless infant. This she did with her relegating her own son to second place. King Suddhodhana made her his queen.

As a teenager gaining knowledge and achieving sports prowess, Prince Siddhartha told his father that he was not willing to be proclaimed heir to the Kapilavastu throne. He wanted his step-brother Nanda to be proclaimed thus. King Suddhodhana was angered but calmed by his wife Gotami who understood the young prince better. We are certain that just as wife Yashodara accepted her husband’s desire for taking to homelessness to seek the Truth, Prajapati Gotami too was sympathetic. When the Prince, now Buddha, visited Kapilavastu to see his father and family, Gotami may have extended the warmest welcome. Then, during another visit, she expressed her desire to become a Bhikkhuni. The Buddha refused the request.

Bhikkhu Nanamoli describes her quest in his The Life of the Buddha according to the Pali Canon thus as Narrators One and Two (Commentators of the present and past) explain it:

“The next rains – the fifth – was spent at Vesali… the north bank of the Ganges….

“In the months that followed, King Suddhodhana fell sick and died an Arahat. The Buddha again visited his native city.

“Mahapajapati Gotami came to him and said: ‘Lord, it would be good if women could obtain the going forth from the house life into homelessness in the Dhamma and Discipline declared by the Perfect One.

“’Enough Gotami, do not ask for the going forth….’”

But later, she walked hundreds of miles with many women desirous of taking higher vows and came to where the Buddha was, in Vesali.

She requested ordination from the Buddha through Ananda thrice and was refused. Ananda Thera taking pity on her and recognizing her determination reminded the Buddha of Gotami having been a most loving and caring mother to him. He relented then and agreed to ordain her if she was willing to take eight extra vows to the 200 odd that monks take.

Much has been said about the Buddha’s refusal: women are too weak, frivolous, would ruin the Sangha; the Buddha being male was sexist. Nonsense! Silly conjectures and useless arguments on this issue. A Burmese nun explained that the Buddha was busy organizing the Sangha and their conveying his Word far and wide, and did not want to be distracted. Further, he felt women were weak physically and would not be able to undergo the rigours of meditating in forests, cemeteries, as the practice then was. Additionally, they would be in danger when thus in solitary meditation from human and animal predators. However, with Gotami accepting his laid down condition and seeming so determined, she and her vast number of companions were ordained. And thus came to completion the four pillars of Buddhism: bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, male and female lay devotees.

Princess Yashodara

And thus I come to the woman of the Buddha’s time and up to now who I most admire, revere and feel great respectful affection for: Yashodara, wife in many samsaric existences to the man the Buddha was in past births.

I vividly remember the film Bimba Devi hewath Yashodara directed by Prof Sunil Ariyaratna and produced by H D Premasiri in which Yashodara walks many miles with her retinue of bhikkhunis to where the Buddha resides recollecting and retailing details of their lives. Old and feeble, she knows death is near and wishes to breathe her last where the Buddha is. Incidents are revealed from the time Siddhartha, in a previous eons ago life, vows in the presence of Deepankara Buddha he will be Gautama Buddha. She vows she will continue being his partner in his many lives. The film reverts several times to the walk of the brown clad bhikkhunis and sevikas in white, holding reed parasols as the voice of Yashodara recollects incidents in her life. At the end her voice records her arrival at Buddha’s abode. The Buddha is present at her death and has a stupa built over her ashes – in gratitude for her life of understanding companionship and devotion to him.

When Siddhartha indicated his desire to go to ascetism, she did not object. Her only request was that he leaves her when she is asleep. This he did the night their son Rahula was born. She never faulted him. She gave up palace comforts and took to frugal eating when hearsay conveyed to her the immense suffering he underwent before attaining Buddhahood . She did not go to meet the Buddha on his first visit to Kapilavastu; she only pointed out his father to Rahula. The Buddha came to her palace to see her and she is said to have fallen at his feet, sobbing. Though King Suddhodhana was bereft when the Buddha took away Rahula –aged seven – to be ordained, Yashodara understood even this act. She sent her son to ask his father for his endowment, knowing perhaps what it would be.

She died an arahant, with the Buddha present. Hers was a truly exemplary life, yet retaining feminity plus a firmness of mind.

Princess Hemamala

brought to Lanka the tooth relic of the Buddha saving it for posterity when India was reverting to Hinduism and Jainism. It had to be hidden so she carried it in her hair.A monk in a bana preaching on Wednesday December 7 acknowledged a great debt to women of Sri Lanka. He said that it is they who preserve Buddhism by helping to maintain temples and the Sangha. We also now have a Bhikkhuni Order of higher ordained nuns who, though in the background, preserve the Sasana and Theravada Buddhism in its pure form in this land.