Mahapajapati Gotami

Prajapati Gautami
Prince Siddhartha with Mahaprajapati Gautami
Personal
Born	Prajāpatī Devdaha
Religion	Buddhism
Spouse	King Śuddhodana
Children	Sundari Nanda (daughter) Nanda (son)
Parents	Añjana (father) Yashodhara (mother)
Occupation	Bhikkhuni
Relatives	Suppabuddha (brother) Yashodhara (daughter in law) Maya Devi (sister)
Senior posting
Teacher	Gautama Buddha

Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī) or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from Gautama Buddha directly, and she became the first bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun).^[1][2]

Depiction

Gotamī's story was widely distributed, with multiple versions existing. It is recorded in the various surviving Vinaya traditions, including the Pali Canon and Sarvastivada and Mulasarvastivada versions.^[3]

Theravada Buddhism

In the Pali Canon, her request for ordination is detailed in the Anguttara Nikaya. The stories of her past lives are included in the Therīgāthā, Theri-apadāna and Jataka.^[4]

Mahayana Buddhism

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha bestows a prophecy upon Mahāprajāpatī that in the distant future, she will become a buddha named "Sarvasattvapriyadarśana."^[5]

Past lives

According to the Theri-apadāna, Gotamī started on the path of the Dhamma during the time of Padumuttara Buddha, when she was born to a wealthy family in Hamsavati. She witnessed Padumuttara Buddha place his aunt, a bhikkhuni, in a senior position, and aspired to achieve the same position after providing offerings to the Buddha and his followers for seven days. Padumuttara Buddha said she would achieve her aspiration under Gautama Buddha. She was later reborn in the Tavatimsa heaven as a god.^[4]

Gotamī then returned to the human realm as the leader of 500 female slaves. In that life, they encountered a group of 500 paccekabuddhas, for whom they built huts and provided food offerings for the duration of the rain retreat. Following the rain retreat, Gotamī had her followers prepare robes for the paccekabuddhas. They continued to perform meritorious acts throughout their lives and were reborn as Tavatimsa gods.^[4]

Gotamī's followers would follow her and attain liberation as bhikkhunis in the time of Gautama Buddha.^[4]

Final life

Tradition says Maya and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī were Koliyan princesses and sisters of Suppabuddha. Mahāpajāpatī was both the Buddha's maternal aunt and adoptive mother,^[2] raising him after her sister Maya, the Buddha's birth mother, died. She raised Siddhartha as if he were her own child.^[6]

An eminent Therī, Mahāpajāpatī was born at Devdaha as the younger sister of Māyā.^[7] Mahāpajāpatī was so called because, at her birth, augurs prophesied that she would have a large following.^[8] Both sisters married King Suddhodhana, leader of the Śākya. When Māyā died seven days after the birth of the Bodhisatta (the "Buddha-to-be"), Pajāpati looked after the Bodhisatta and nursed him.^[6] She raised the Buddha and had her own children, Siddhartha's half-sister Sundari Nanda and half-brother Nanda.^[9][4]

Ordination of the first woman

When King Suddhodhana died, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī decided to attain ordination.^[6] Gotamī went to the Buddha and asked to be ordained into the Sangha. The Buddha refused and went on to Vesāli. Undaunted, Gotamī cut off her hair and donned yellow robes and with many Sakyan ladies followed the Buddha to Vesāli on foot.^[2][10] Upon arrival, she repeated her request to be ordained. Ananda, one of the principal disciples and an attendant of the Buddha, met her and offered to intercede with the Buddha on her behalf.^[2]

Respectfully he questioned the Buddha, "Lord, are women capable of realising the various stages of sainthood as nuns?"

"They are, Ananda," said the Buddha.

"If that is so, Lord, then it would be good if women could be ordained as nuns," said Ananda, encouraged by the Buddha's reply.

"If, Ananda, Maha Pajapati Gotami would accept the Eight Conditions it would be regarded that she has been ordained already as a nun."^[2]

Gotamī agreed to accept the Eight Garudhammas and was accorded the status of the first bhikkhuni.^[2] Subsequent women had to undergo full ordination to become nuns.

Gotamī died at the age of 120.^[11]

References

Bibliography

• Anālayo, Bhikkhu (2011). "Mahapajapati's going forth in the Madhyama agama" (PDF). Journal of Buddhist Ethics. 18: 268–317. ISSN 1076-9005.
• Anālayo, Bhikkhu (2016). "The Going Forth of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī in T 60" (PDF). Journal of Buddhist Ethics. 23: 1–31. ISSN 1076-9005.
• Garling, Wendy (2016). Stars at Dawn: Forgotten Stories of Women in the Buddha's Life. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-61180-265-8.
• Garling, Wendy (2021). The Woman Who Raised the Buddha: The Extraordinary Life of Mahaprajapati. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1611806694.
• Scott, Rachel M. (2010). "Buddhism, miraculous powers, and gender - rethinking the stories of Theravada nuns". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 33 (1–2): 489–511.
• Tsomo, Karma Lekshe (2004). "Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī". In Buswell, Robert E. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 489–490. ISBN 0-02-865718-7.
• Walters, Jonathan S. (1994). "A Voice from the Silence: The Buddha's Mother's Story". History of Religions. 33: 350–379. JSTOR 1062715.
• Amatayakul, Supakwadee; Satha-Anand, Suwanna (2023). "Mahapajapati Gotami महाप्रजापती गौतमी Circa Sixth–Seventh Centuries BCE". In Waithe, Mary Ellen; Boos Dykeman, Therese (eds.). Women Philosophers from Non-western Traditions: The First Four Thousand Years. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 89–101. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28563-9. ISBN 978-3-031-28563-9. Retrieved 2024-06-02.

Further reading

• Blackstone, Kathryn R. (1998). Women in the Footsteps of the Buddha: Struggle for Liberation in the Therīgāthā. Curzon Press. ISBN 9781136805769.
• Horner, Isaline Blew (1975). Women under Primitive Buddhism: Laywomen and Almswomen. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9780842609555.
• Walters, Jonathan S. (1995). "Gotami's Story". In Lopez, Donald S. (ed.). Buddhism in Practice. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691044415.

External links

• Maha Pajapati (Gotami) Theri: A Mother's Blessing
• Mahāpajāpatī Gotami

This page was last edited on 13 June 2024, at 11:57