Jiun, a Shingon master, was a well-known Sanskrit scholar of the Tokugawa era. When he was young he used to deliver lectures to his brother students.
His mother heard about this and wrote him a letter:
“Son, I do not think you became a devotee of the Buddha because you desired to turn into a walking dictionary for others. There is no end to information and commentation, glory and honor. I wish you would stop this lecture business. Shut yourself up in a little temple in a remote part of the mountain. Devote your time to meditation and in this way attain true realization.”
So what do you think? Was she right or wrong?
Comment below!
Shoun became a teacher of Soto Zen. When he was still a student his father passed away, leaving him to care for his old mother.
Whenever Shoun went to a meditation hall he always took his mother with him. Since she accompanied him, when he visited monasteries he could not live with the monks. So he would built a little house and care for her there. He would copy sutras, Buddhist verses, and in this manner receive a few coins for food.
When Shoun bought fish for his mother, the people would scoff at him, fo a monk is not supposed to eat fish. But Shoun did not mind. His mother, however, was hurt to see others laugh at her son. Finally she told Shoun: “I think I will become a nun. I can be vegetarian too.” She did, and they studied together.
Shoun was fond of music and was a master of the harp, which his mother also played. On full-moon nights they used to play together. One night a young lady passed by their house and heard music. Deeply touched, she invited Shoun to visit her the next evening and play. He accepted the invitation. A few days later he met the young lady on the street and thanked her for her hospitality. Others laughed at him. He had visited the house of a woman of the streets.
One day Shoun left for a distant temple to deliver a lecture. A few months afterwards he returned home to find his mother dead. Friends had not known where to reach him, so the funeral was in progress.
Shoun walked up and hit the coffin with his staff. “Mother, your son has returned,” he said.
“I am glad to see you have returned, son,” he answered for his mother.
“Yes, I am glad too,” Shoun responded. Then he announced to the people about him: “The funeral ceremony is over. You may bury the body.”
When Shoun was old he knew his end was approaching. He asked his disciples to gather around him in the morning, telling them he was going to pass on at noon. Burning incense before the picture of his mother and his old teacher, he wrote a poem:
For fifty-six years I lived as best I could,
Making my way in this world.
Now the rain has ended, the clouds are clearing,
The blue sky has a full moon.
His disciples gathered around him, reciting sutra, and Shoun passed on during the invocation.
Maya Dreams of the White Elephant Women in Buddhism Part 1: Maya
Last week a reader posted a question on the blog beneath the ‚ÄúBuddha Boy‚Äù post. She asked whether or not it was possible for a Bodhisattva to be a woman. It was an innocent enough question, but ended up with me explaining how sexist the ancient East was. Another reader added that there were indeed powerful women in Buddhism. I then countered that by stating that at least in the ‚Äúmythology‚Äù of Buddhism there were strong women, but for the most part, nuns and lay-women were rarely, if ever, treated seriousness of male monks. I’m all for Buddhism, but I see no reason to look at history through glasses that are too rosy; there are skeletons in every closet, and sexism may be one of Buddhisms.
The situation is nowhere near resolved even in modern times. Here in the West, some of the most influential Buddhist writers and teachers are women, and that’s great, but in the East, the typical nun is still a second-class Buddhist. There’s not much we in the West can do about it (is there?), but we can at least look back over the famous women of Buddhism. So over the next few days, I’ll be introducing some historical female Buddhist figures, and then we’ll finish up with a couple of modern-day female Bodhisattvas.
The first woman we’ll talk about was in fact the first woman involved in the life of Buddha: his mother. She is known by various names, Maya, Mahamaya, Mahadeva and Gytrulma. She was a Queen, the wife of King Suddhodana, and the sister of Mahapajapati, who we’ll discuss later.
Around 2500 years ago, King Shuddodana Gautama of the Shakya clan ruled in northern India. He built a great castle and ruled his people well. One night, his wife, Queen Maya, had a strange dream wherein she saw a white elephant enter her womb through the side of her chest. She soon found that she was indeed pregnant. The people of the kingdom were thrilled that there would soon be a royal heir.
Planning to have the child at her parent’s home, Maya traveled there before the birth. On April 8th, on the way to Queen Maya’s ancestral home, she stopped to rest in a garden. Reaching for a blossoming branch in the garden, she suddenly, painlessly, had the child. Unfortunately, a few days later, Queen Maya died.
She named the baby Siddhartha, which means, “He who accomplished the goals.”
The name Maya means “Great Illusion,” and the idea that all of reality is a great illusion is an important Buddhist concept.
There’s not too much more to say about Maya, other than she was supposedly chosen by the gods to deliver the great savior of the world. She had visions and there were various miracles that occurred when he was born. She must have been special to have been chosen.
Trivia:
There are groups who claim that Maya had a virgin birth, but that belief is not widespread. There are many other similarities between the birth of Buddha and Jesus, but that’s for another time.
There are also scholars who connect the name Maya to the goddess Maia from Greek mythology, especially since that Maia had a son named Budh. There may or may not actually be a connection between the two stories, but bear in mind that Buddhism pre-dates much of Graeco-Roman culture, and there was significant trade with the East, even in those days. “Borrowing” of myths and stories went on all the time, and I’m not sure that it’s possible to rule out a connection.
As mentioned yesterday, (Maha)Pajapati was Queen Maya’s sister, and also a wife to King Suddhodana. When Maya died, Mahapajapati raised young Prince Siddharta Gotama. She raised the boy as her own, but did have two children who became the step-brother and step-sister of Buddha, Nanda and Sundari Nanda.
After leaving the palace and attaining Enlightenment, the Buddha started attracting disciples and followers. Among these were Mahapajapati’s son Nanda and Buddha’s own son, Rahula. At some point, King Sugghodana died, leaving Pajapati alone. She decided to join up with Buddha as one of his followers. She asked Buddha if she would be allowed to join him and he said no. Three times she asked, and each time he refused. Not willing to give up Pajapati cut her hair and dressed as a monk.
She contacted Buddha’s friend and servant Ananda and asked him to convince Buddha to allow her to become a nun. Again the Buddha refused, forcing Ananda to ask him whether or not he felt that women were capable of reaching Enlightenment. The Buddha replied that women were as capable as men of attaining Enlightenment, but never explained his refusal. However, Buddha did look back into Pajapati’s past lives and saw that she was indeed worthy. Mahapajapati was then allowed to form the order of nuns, becoming the first Buddhist nun.
