The
Pregnant
Bhikkhuni
ONCE THERE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN who had only been married for a short time when
she
realized that her true calling was to be a nun and not a wife. Her good
husband’s heart broke to hear her ask permission to leave him. but because he
loved her dearly, allowed her to go and fulfill her wish. She thus entered the nunhood and became a disciple
of Devadaua, little knowing that she was already pregnant at the time. As the
months rolled by. however. and her condition became quite obvious, the other
bhikkhunis took her to see Devadatta who demanded that she disrobe. However,
she refused to do so. “Why should I disrobe, she asked. “ill have no broken any monastic rule” Instead,
she went to the Buddha and became one of his disciples.
Now the Buddha knew that she had not violated any of the monastic
precepts. but for the sake oilier good name as well as that of the Order, the
Buddha requested a public hearing of her case in the presence of the king. The aim of doing so was to prove the innocence
of the hhikkhuni once and for all and to remove the last
traces of doubt that
anyone might still have concerning her condition.
The expectant mother
was then thoroughly questioned by one of the Buddha’s female devotees who was able to establish that the
bhikkhuni had indeed become pregnant while she was still a lay woman and not after having entered the
nunhood. The monk appointed by the Buddha to oversee the case then made a public declaration of the bhikkhunis innocence.
Everyone gathered there, including the king. returned home satisfied.
When the bhikkhuni finally gave birth to a baby boy. the good king adopted him as his very own
son. However, at he age of seven, upon
learning that his mother was a nun, the little boy 1eit the palace and became a novice himself bier, when he
turned twenty, he became a
bhikkhu. He then went into a forest and after diligent practice attained
arahatship. Thereafter, he continued to live in the forest alone for more than
twelve years.
When his
mother finally got to see him again, she could not control her excitement. She
ran up to him with tears of joy in her eyes. The son, however, remained
indfferent and said to her, “You are acting like a worldly mother and not as
one who has entered the Order. Haven’t you learned any restraint?” He then
walked away, knowing full well that if he had greeted his mother otherwise, she
would have remained emotionally attached to him and her own spiritual progress
would have been hampered.
Unaware of
her son’s purposes the mother at first could not get over how harshly he had
treated her and felt heartbroken. Later, however, she saw that her son was just
trying to help her. With that in mind, she practised hard and one day got to
realize the futility of all emotional attachment. Letting go of such
attachment, she too became an arahat.
The monks who knew the story of the bhikkhuni and her son remarked that
if the mother had been foolish enough to disrobe as Devadatta had bid her, she
and her son would probably not have become arahats. “They were lucky, Lord.”
they added, ‘to have come to you for refuge.” The Buddha replied. “Bhikkhus, in
trying to attain arahatship. you must strive diligently and
depend on yourself, and not on anyone else.”
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