Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c38.s4: Gahapatānī

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c38.s4

Language
English

Gahapatānī

v2.c38.s4.1

There are not many discourses specially devoted to the duties of the female members of a household. In the Saṃyutta-nikāya⁶ a woman is enjoined to earn merits by good deeds, so that she may be reborn in a good family, be married in a good family, have no co-wife, be blessed with sons, and possess influence over her husband. Her strength, it is said, consisted in her appearance (rūpa), wealth (bhoga), relatives (ñāti), sons (putta) and moral virtues (sīla).⁷ Like the gahapatis, they should also develop faith (saddhā), observe moral precepts (sīla), listen to religious discourses (suta), be charitable (cāga) and acquire knowledge (paññā).¹ They should be quiet, gentle and obedient.²

v2.c38.s4.2

⁶ Ibid., iv, p. 249-250.

v2.c38.s4.3

⁷ Ibid., iv, p. 246.

v2.c38.s4.4

¹ Samyutta, iv, p. 250; Anguttara, iv, p. 270. 2 Majjhima, i, p. 125. 3 Samyutta, iv, p. 240. 4 Samyutta, iv, p.

v2.c38.s4.5

Women³ generally are more miserly (macchariyā), envious (issuki), more strongly attached to worldly objects⁴ than men, their knowledge also is less than that of men.⁵ They must drive away from their minds anger, hatred and disrespect for others,⁶ and be chaste, diligent, modest and bashful. They must not be greedy, wish others' evil, indulge in malicious, harsh or useless talks, and discard wrong views⁷

v2.c38.s4.6

There are certain special directions given to women, which are as follows:—

v2.c38.s4.7

They should (i) be well-wisher of their husbands, cater to their comforts and be sweet and attractive to them, (ii) respect the parents of the husband, and rever the Samaṇas and Brāhmaṇas revered by the husband's family, (iii) be efficient in household work, e.g., in spinning, (iv) look after the needs of the servants and workers of the household and feed them properly, (v) protect paddy, gold and other articles brought by her husband, (vi) become an upāsikā by taking Tisaraṇa, (vii) observe the five precepts, and (viii) be charitable and (ix) acquire knowledge.⁸ The first five bring her success in this life and the succeeding four (i.e. saddhā, sīla, suta and paññā) make her happy in the next.

v2.c38.s4.8

²⁴⁰ It is said that for these deficiencies they were not allowed to sit in the assemblies. 5 Anguttara, ii, p. 203; Kopa, dosa and appaccaya. See also Samyutta, iv, p. 240 f. 6 Anguttara, v, p. 286. 7 Samyutta, iv, p. 246. 8 Anguttara, iv, p. 265-266; iii, p. 37.

v2.c38.s4.9

The conversation that Nakulamātā gahapatānī had with her husband in deathbed shows how spiritually advanced sometimes the gahapatānīs were. Nakulamātā said to her husband that (i) death with anxiety is disapproved by Buddha and so he should not die with any anxiety (*sāpekho*) for her as to how she would meet both ends and rear her sons; she knew spinning and shaving hair (*veṇim olikhitum*) and by plying that trade,¹ she would be able to tide over her difficulties. (ii) He need not apprehend that she would go to another family, for both of them knew that they had been living as *brahmacārīs* for the last 16 years. (iii) He must not think that she would not care to approach Bhagavān or his monks after his death; on the other hand, she would be more eager to approach them, or (iv) that she would not observe the moral precepts; on the contrary she would be no less energetic than the best of the householder-disciples of Buddha. (v) He must not have any doubt that she would not attain mental tranquillity (*cetosamatha*); on the contrary she would be the best of those upāsikās who practised *ceto-samatha*. (vi) He must rest assured that she was deeply interested in this doctrine and was not wanting in deep faith in Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha.²

v2.c38.s4.10

¹ It seems that Nakulapitā was a barber by profession.

v2.c38.s4.11

² Aṅguttara, ii, pp. 295.

v2.c38.s4.12

There were other upāsikās also like Sujātā, Visākhā, Khuj-juttarā, Sāmāvatī, Uttarā Nandamātā, Suppavāsā Koliyadhītā, Suppiyā Kātiyānī, and Kālī of Kuraraghara, who were extolled by Buddha as leading female devotees for having some extraordinary virtues.³ In spiritual attainments, the female lay-devotees vied equally well with the male-devotees.⁴

v2.c38.s4.13

³ Aṅguttara, i, p. 26.

v2.c38.s4.14

⁴ See Infra, 233 f.

Cites (12)