She was born, we are told, in the city of Bhaddiya, in the kingdom of Bengal. Visakha was never chastised for her clothes and it was not until she personally developed an insight into non-attachment that she chose to give up the fine clothes on her own. Vesak is held on the first full moon day of Vesakha. When the brahmins saw this they first ridiculed her as lazy. If the spiritual mentor is male he is referred to as "father", if the spiritual mentor is female she is referred to as "mother". The brahmins searched many cities until they found a festival in the city of Saketa. Visakha was the Buddha's greatest patron and benefactor along with her male counterpart, Anathapindika. [20][21][40] Any form of giving that one of the benefactors pursued was also performed by the other. Visakha, throughout her previous existences, had always been a generous donor and an ardent promoter of the Doctrine of successive Buddhas. Having heard this, the woman made the resolve to become the female lay disciple foremost in generosity of a future Buddha and did good deeds for many lifetimes in hopes of becoming one. [26] The Buddha called Visakha's love of giving exemplary, and pointed to her as an example of an ideal benefactor, with both a love of giving and abundant wealth to give. Another children’s story from a work-in-progress of stories for liberal religious kids. It was for them to decide whether she was guilty or not. Over the next two weeks, Mendaka invited the Buddha and his monks to eat at his house daily. But his ascetic teachers, the Niganthas, would not let him go; however, they conceded that he could listen from behind a curtain. With this money, she built a monastery on the eastern side of the city; this monastery came to be known as Pubbarama. Her father was named Dhanañjaya, and her mother was named Sumanā. Visakha was born into a prominent and wealthy family in what was then the kingdom of Magadha. Menu. The building contained a thousand apartments, -- five hundred apartments being in the lower story, and the same number in the upper. Visakha possessed an immensely valuable gem-encrusted cloak given by her father as a wedding present. So, I said, ‘My father-in-law only eats leftovers.’ Now Sirs, what do you think, am I guilty?” The elders decided that Visakha was not guilty. In answer to Visakha's question, the Buddha revealed this story of the distant past. 126-127. The Story of Visakha Theri - Developing Metta - Dr. James Henley At one time, there lived a rich man by the name of Visakha in the city of Pataliputta. [38][39] In fact, Buddhist studies scholar Peter Harvey notes that the majority of the stories in the Pali Canon of donors being reborn in the Buddhist heavenly realms are about women. The two chief patrons were also Gautama Buddha's primary aides when dealing with the general public, and he often turned to one of the two whenever there needed to be something arranged with the community. So permission was granted to her to invite the Buddha and his bhikkhus to the house. The Story of Visakha. [28] One day Visakha lost some jewelry which was found by Ananda, who put it away for her. Visakha (Pali: Visākhā; Sanskrit: Viśākhā), also known as Migāramāta, was a wealthy aristocratic woman who lived during the time of Gautama Buddha. … King Pasenadi requested that his brother in law, King Bimbasara, send him some of the people of special merit in his kingdom so his subjects could see their example. While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (146) of this book, with reference to companions of Visakha. By Natasha R.on February 27, 2017 So, she took it off, wrapped it up in her shawl, and gave it to the maid to hold it and take care of it. [16][17][note 3] Over time, she gradually got her entire household to become devout Buddhists. Dewaraja points to the fact that Visakha often wore her best clothes to monasteries as indicating a more liberal attitude toward women in early Buddhism. On top of the pair of chief Arahant disciples such as Gautama Buddha's chief male disciples Sariputta and Moggallana, and his chief female disciples Khema and Uppalavanna, all Buddhas have a set of chief patrons as well. She is known as the female lay disciple of the Buddha who was foremost in generosity. One day, a granddaughter of Visakha named Sudatta died and Visakha felt very deeply about her loss and was sorrowing over the child's death. [35][31][34] In total, the Buddha spent a total of six rainy seasons at Visakha's monastery, the second most of any monastery during his lifetime, surpassed only by Jetavana. On that occasion, the rich man Mendaka took Visakha and her five hundred companions with him to pay homage to the Buddha. The Visakha Bucha Day, also known as Buddha Purnima is a sacred festival of the Buddhists and one of the most important days in the Buddhist calendar. In ancient India, there was a belief among wealthy families that unmarried women were considered to be a burden on their parents. Hearing the story, the master himself asked the goat why it had laughed and why it had wept. Visakha’s father-in-law Migara was a devout disciple of the Niganthas, a sect of naked ascetics. Her father Dhanañjaya, Bon of Mendaka1the treasurer, ranked p. 452 One day, a granddaughter of Visakha named Sudatta died and Visakha felt very deeply about her loss and was sorrowing over the child's death. Visakha gave birth to ten sons and ten daughters, and ten sons and ten daughters each were born to everyone of her children and grand-children. When she was only seven years old, the Buddha visited her birthplace. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Because of this, Migara hired a set of brahmins to find a woman that met Punnavaddhanna's description. 107-108; as well as The Udana: or the Solemn Utterances of the Buddha, trans. Despite the efforts by the monastics telling her that her gifts were enough she insisted on giving more. Others, however, are of our own making, created by misunderstanding, and can be corrected... Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. Visakha was the daughter of a rich man of Bhaddiya, named Danancaya, and his wife Sumanadevi, and the granddaughter of Mendaka, one of the five extremely wealthy men of King Bimbisara's dominions. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, which are all said to have happened on the same date. [5][6], Visakha was born into a wealthy family, in the city of Bhaddiya in Anga, which at the time was part of the kingdom of Magadha. Her father-in-law felt that he should not refuse for a second time. On arrival at the monastery, she found that her bejeweled cloak was too heavy. When it began to rain at the festival, everybody ran for cover except for Visakha, who walked to cover slowly. After releasing several he stated that was enough and the gates be closed. When the Buddha taught her she achieved sotāpanna, a stage of enlightenment. [12][13], After Visakha moved into her husband's household her father-in-law, a follower of Jainism, became very irritated by Visakha's devout faith in Buddhism. More great books at LoyalBooks.com. Lotus Flower- symbol of purity and great beauty, 10 Reasons Why Inner Beauty is More Important Than Outer. She had certain poise and calm authority around her. In Buddhism, one's spiritual mentor is sometimes respectfully referred to as one's parent. The story of the noble maiden Visakha is related at great length in the Ceylonese books.' She was born, we are told, in the city of Bhaddiya, in the kingdom of Bengal. She was most strongly inclined to do good deeds and had done much good in her previous existences, just as an expert florist makes many garlands from a collection of flowers.”. [31][32][34] After the building of the monastery, the Buddha would alternate between Migāramātupāsāda and Jetavana, the monastery built by his chief male disciple Anathapindika, whenever he was staying in Savatthi. The next day, the Buddha and his disciples were invited to the house of Visakha. Story One day, a granddaughter of Visakha named Sudatta died and Visakha felt very deeply about her loss and was sorrowing over the child's death. This site is a tribute to Buddhism. Now, there was also a Purvvarama at Saketa, and it can hardly … Visakha chose Maha Moggallana, the Buddha's disciple foremost in psychic powers, to stay with her and oversee the construction. So she went to the Buddha; when the Buddha saw her, he said, "Visakha, don't you realize that many people die in Savatthi every day? [29][30][31][32] As Visakha prepared to begin the construction of the monastery, she requested the Buddha stay in Savatthi for the construction, however, the Buddha needed to teach elsewhere and let her choose a monk to stay with her for the construction. When alms-food was about to be offered, she sent word to her father-in-law to join her in offering food; but he did not come. Some bhikkhus hearing her, thought she was singing and reported to the Buddha that Visakha was not like before, and that she was going round and round the monastery, singing. There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposedly Judgement Day ...read more. One thing I know for sure is I was born as a Buddhist, live as a Buddhist and will leave this earth as a Buddhist. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. When the meal was over, again she sent a message, this time requesting her father-in-law to join her in hearing the discourse that would soon be given by the Buddha. She also explained that she did not want to injure herself, as wet clothes can be fixed, but if a woman of marriageable age breaks a limb she couldn't marry and would be a problem for her parents. First lady Daw Su Su Lwin drives stake for construction of Visakha Ponami Gonwei four story building in Lewe, Nay Pyi Taw on 11 November 2017. However, the cattle behind the gate still followed her, jumping over the gate to reach her. [6], Visakha is considered to be one of the most prominent female lay figures in the Buddha's time and her role in the Buddhist scriptures is often cited in determining the attitudes toward women in early Buddhism. In Buddhist belief, when a fully enlightened Buddha appears in the world, he always has a set of chief disciples that fulfill different roles. Verse 53: As from a collection of flowers many a garland can be made by an expert florist, so also, much good can be done (with wealth, out of faith and generosity) by one subject to birth and death. King Bimbasara obliged and had Visakha and her father and mother moved to the city of Saketa (present day Ayodhya), near the Kosalan capital of Savatthi. Buddhism has given me a tremendous inspiration to be who and where I am today. After hearing the Buddha’s discourse Migara attained Sotapatti Fruition. After hearing the discourse given by the Buddha, Visakha, her grandfather and all her five hundred companions attained Sotapatti Fruition. [40], Parallels are often drawn between Visakha and the Buddha's chief male benefactor, Anathapindika. [note 1]. Visakha, Great Female Supporter. When the elders came, Migara said to them, “While I was having my rice-with-milk in a golden bowl, Visakha said that I was taking only dirt and filth. After hearing this it was agreed that Visakha meant no disrespect. It was the custom for the Venerable Ananda to look after the things left by any one of the lay disciples. The story of how she convinced him to accept the Buddha’s teachings … For the Buddhist holiday, see. [note 2] During this conversation, the brahmins noticed that Visakha had all of the traits Punnavaddhana described and they proposed to her on his behalf, which Visakha accepted. While residing at the Pubbarama monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha uttered Verse (53) of this book, with reference to Visakha, the famous donor of the Pubbarama monastery. Major Differences in Buddhism: There is no almighty God in Buddhism. 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