The Order of Women
While the Buddha was in Kapilavastu many in his family, even his father, came to seek permission to join the monastic order he had established for his male followers. There were no women in the Order, however, and although those dearest to his heart - Yashodhara [his wife] and his aunt and foster mother, Prajapati - earnestly sought to join, the Buddha refused to make the precedent. Asking men and women to live together in a homeless life while trying to master the natural human passions seemed too much to expect of human nature. For women, his recommendation was the same as for men who wanted to follow him but were not prepared to give up home and family. There is no need to take to the monastic life, he told them, in order to follow the dharma. All the disciplines of the Eightfold Path, including meditation, can be followed by householders if they do their best to give up selfish attachment.
Yet this was not enough for Yashodhara and Prajapati. They had seen through the superficial satisfactions of life and longed to dedicate themselves completely to its goal. After the Buddha left Kapilavastu they decided to go after him on foot, like pilgrims, to press their case.
They caught up with him at Vaishali, almost two hundred miles away. Ananda, a young disciple who loved the Buddha passionately and attended to all his personal needs, happened to see them first, and his heart immediately understood their devotion and moved him to take their side. But the Buddha had already made his decision, and Ananda could not think of a way to bring the subject up again. He came to his teacher that afternoon troubled and preoccupied, not knowing what to say.
‘What is it, Ananda? There is a cloud over your face today.’
‘Blessed One,’ Ananda said, ‘my mind keeps struggling with a question I cannot answer. Is it only men who are capable of overcoming suffering?’…
‘No, Ananda,’ he replied. ‘Every human being has the capacity to overcome suffering.’
‘Is it only men who are capable of renouncing selfish attachments for the sake of attaining nirvana?’
‘No, Ananda. It is rare, but every human being has the capacity to renounce worldly attachments for the sake of attaining nirvana.’
‘Blessed One, if that is true, should only men be allowed to join the sangha and devote themselves completely to the Way?’
The Buddha must have smiled, for Ananda had caught him with both love and logic. ‘No, Ananda. If someone longs as ardently as I have to give up everything and follow the Way, then man or woman, it would be wrong to block that person’s path. Everyone must be free to attain the goal.’
Ananda’s eyes shone with gratitude. He got up and opened the door, and there stood the two barefooted women waiting for their reply.
‘Ananda,’ the Buddha laughed, ‘by all this, you have said and done just as I would have said and done.’
Thus were ordained the first nuns of the Buddha’s order, and the two branches of the sangha became the world’s first monastic community.
- Retold by Eknath Easwaran in the introduction to his translation of ‘The Dhammapada.’
Yet this was not enough for Yashodhara and Prajapati. They had seen through the superficial satisfactions of life and longed to dedicate themselves completely to its goal. After the Buddha left Kapilavastu they decided to go after him on foot, like pilgrims, to press their case.
They caught up with him at Vaishali, almost two hundred miles away. Ananda, a young disciple who loved the Buddha passionately and attended to all his personal needs, happened to see them first, and his heart immediately understood their devotion and moved him to take their side. But the Buddha had already made his decision, and Ananda could not think of a way to bring the subject up again. He came to his teacher that afternoon troubled and preoccupied, not knowing what to say.
‘What is it, Ananda? There is a cloud over your face today.’
‘Blessed One,’ Ananda said, ‘my mind keeps struggling with a question I cannot answer. Is it only men who are capable of overcoming suffering?’…
‘No, Ananda,’ he replied. ‘Every human being has the capacity to overcome suffering.’
‘Is it only men who are capable of renouncing selfish attachments for the sake of attaining nirvana?’
‘No, Ananda. It is rare, but every human being has the capacity to renounce worldly attachments for the sake of attaining nirvana.’
‘Blessed One, if that is true, should only men be allowed to join the sangha and devote themselves completely to the Way?’
The Buddha must have smiled, for Ananda had caught him with both love and logic. ‘No, Ananda. If someone longs as ardently as I have to give up everything and follow the Way, then man or woman, it would be wrong to block that person’s path. Everyone must be free to attain the goal.’
Ananda’s eyes shone with gratitude. He got up and opened the door, and there stood the two barefooted women waiting for their reply.
‘Ananda,’ the Buddha laughed, ‘by all this, you have said and done just as I would have said and done.’
Thus were ordained the first nuns of the Buddha’s order, and the two branches of the sangha became the world’s first monastic community.
- Retold by Eknath Easwaran in the introduction to his translation of ‘The Dhammapada.’