Visakha was the chief female disciple as well as the chief benefactress of Lord Gautam Buddha. She was born into a wealthy aristocratic family who were pious and generous.She was exposed to the Buddha’s teaching at a very young age. Visakha was wise and spiritually ready to enter the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation by attaining the first noble stage of Stream Entry (sotapanna) at the tender age of seven years. In her adult life, Buddha declared Visakha as the chief female disciple and put her in charge of dealing with matters relating to the order of Buddhist nuns. She also helped the Buddha in dealing with any issues relating to the lay community. After her marriage, Visakha was able to get her in-laws, Migara, her father-in-law in particular who was a devotee of the sect of naked ascetics, to become devotees of Buddha. She was also instrumental in encouraging a vast number of lay women to learn and practise the Buddha’s doctrine. Among her generous donations to the Buddha and the order of monks and nuns, the greatest donation was the Pubbarama monastery in Savatti, where Buddha is said to have stayed during six rainy seasons. According to the Pali canon, the Buddha has delivered a number of important discourses while residing at the Pubbarama monastery.
Background of her family.
Visakha was born into a wealthy and arisgenerous.Shtocratic family in the town of Bhaddiya in the kingdom of Magadha. Her parents were Dhananjaya and Sumana Devi. Dhananjaya’s parents were Mendaka and Chandapaduma, Mendaka being a very wealthy merchant and one of the five treasurers of King Bimbisara. Mendaka and his family were extremely generous donating food and other requisites to the people in need. In spite of their great generosity, they remained wealthy with unlimited sources of provisions and income as a result of their meritorious actions in the past. According to the Buddhist literature, it was mainly due to a meritorious act performed by Mendaka in a previous life. During a previous life too they were wealthy but, due to a prolonged famine they lost their assets and were one day left with food just enough for the family members. However, when a Pacceka Buddha visited their house on the alms round, they had offered their meal to him. As a result of which they have continued to enjoy the fruit of that meritorious act ever since it was performed.
Visakha’s younger sister Sujata was married to Kala, the only son of Anathapindika, who was the chief male disciple and the chief benefactor of the Buddha. Sujata had a difficult personality causing conflict and friction with her in-laws as well as with the domestic workers but, was transformed after listening to discourse from Buddha.
Attainment of Stream Entry (sotapanna)
Once Buddha visited the town of Bhaddiya accompanied by the order of monks and were invited to Mendaka’s house for alms for a period of a fortnight. During these visits, Visakha, who was only seven years old at the time, became familiar with the Buddha and the monks and was inquisitive about what the Buddha preached. After listening to a discourse by the Buddha which was appropriate to someone of her age, Visakha attained Stream Entry (sotapanna), the first stage of the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation.
Visakha’s marriage
In Savatti, there was a rich family of a merchant named Migara who had a son named Punnavaddhana. While his parents were trying to arrange a marriage for Punnavaddhana, he was not interested in getting married. When his parents kept pressuring him to get married, he informed them that if they can find a most beautiful girl of sixteen years with certain features of beauty he will agree to marry hoping that they will not find one. The girl had to possess the five attributes of beauty of a maiden (pancha kalyana) namely, beauty of hair, beauty of teeth, beauty of skin, beauty of youth and beauty of form. The parents arranged a team of Brahmins to travel around the kingdom to look for an eligible girl who possessed those assets of beauty.
One day Visakha, who was sixteen years old then, went with her attendants to attend a certain festival in the city of Saketa. When it started raining all herattendants ran to a shelter but, Visakha, walking at her normal pace with her clothes wet, entered the shelter where those Brahmins happened to be. When they criticized her for walking slow and getting wet, she explained to them that there are four persons in the world for whom it is not graceful to run.
1. A king in royal attire
2. A religious monk
3. A young woman
4.A royal elephant
When they noticed her beauty and heard her reply, they were happy that they found the bride they were looking for and approached her family with the marriage proposal. Both the families agreed on the marriage and after a big wedding ceremony, Visakha was given in marriage to Punnavaddhana accompanied by a big dowry. At the wedding, her father gave her a list of recitation that should be followed by a proper wife to make her married life happy and stable.
10 recitation given by Visakha's father :
1. You should not tell the faults of your husband and the in-laws to outsiders.2. If the neighbours speak negatively about the husband or the in-laws, it should not be encouraged or repeated.
3. Lend money and any articles only to those who will return them.
4. Do not lend to anyone who will not return them.
5. You should help a needy relation or a friend not expecting repayment.
6. You should stand up in respect when you see the husband or in-laws.
7. You should not eat before the husband or the in-laws eat.
8. You should not go to bed before the husband or the in-laws.
9. You should regard the husband and the in-laws with care and respect.
10. You should look up to and respect the husband as divinities.
After the wedding, Visakha moved to Savatti to live with her husband and the in-laws. The presents that Visakha received during the wedding were given away by her to needy people in Savatti and through that act she came to be known as a very generous person among the people in Savatti.
Migara, Visakha’s father-in-law was a follower of Jainism and was not at all happy about his daughter-in-law being a follower of Buddha. She was not allowed to invite Buddha or the monks to offer food in their house. One day, Migara had invited naked Jain ascetics to a meal in their house and wanted Visakha to serve them but, she refused to serve or pay homage to them. Soon after that, a Buddhist monk has come to their household on his alms round and was standing outside the house. Migara who was eating his food at the time, saw the monk but, ignored the monk completely without offering any food. Then, Visakha approached the monk and told him “Pass on, Venerable sir, my father-in-law is eating stale food”. When Migara overheard this, he got angry and wanted to expel Visakha from his house. When the sponsors named by her father were called in to arbitrate, Visakha explained that she said so because as Migara was eating food without making any offering to the monks, he was using his old merit and not making any merit for the future which is similar to eating stale food. They decided that she did not mean any disrespect to Migara through her statement.
However, Visakha then threatened to leave Migara’s house anyway and return to her parents. Migara begged her forgiveness and agreed to give her freedom to offer alms to Buddha and the monks in their house. She invited Buddha and the monks for a meal in their house and when Visakha sent a message to Migara to come and participate in offering food to Buddha, he refused to join. When Visakha sent a second message asking him to be present during Buddha’s discourse after the meal, he agreed to do so sitting behind a screen as advised by his naked ascetic teachers. However, when Buddha delivered the discourse, it is said that both Migara and his wife realized the Dhamma and attained the first spiritual stage of Stream Entry (sotapanna).
Visakha becoming Migara’s mother (Migara mata)
Having attained Stream Entry, Migara and his wife took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha and became devotees of Buddha. He was ever grateful to Visakha for helping him to give up his blind faith in other religious sects and to become a disciple of the Buddha. It is recorded that on the day that Visakha donated the monastery that she built in Savatti named Pubbarama to Buddha, when Migara saw her devotion and jubilation, he asked her to consider himself as her son from henceforth. Since then, Visakha came to be known as “Migara Mata” (Migara’s mother). The monastery she donated to the Buddha also came to be known as the “Migaramathu Pasadaya” meaning Migaramata’s palace.Donation of the Pubbarama monastery
One day, Visakha has been to the Jetavana monastery to listen to a discourse given by the Buddha and while entering the monastery she had removed her priceless jeweled cloak known as “Mahalata” and given it to her maid servant to keep it. After the discourse they left the monastery but the maid servant forgot to collect the cloak where she had left it. Venerable Ananda, chief attendant of the Buddha, had the habit of going around the monastery at the end of each day, to see whether the devotees had left any of their belongings behind and found Visakha’s jeweled cloak. Having discussed with the Buddha, he kept it in a safe place to be returned to Visakha on the following day. Next day when it was sent to her through some monks, she refused to take it back as she thought it was not correct to take something back which was left in the monastery and handled by the monks. When the monks informed her that it was of no use to them, she decided to sell it and use the proceeds to build a monastery and donate it to the Buddha and the order of monks and nuns.
Her jeweled cloak was priceless and there was no one in Savatti who was rich enough to buy it. So, Visakha decided to buy it herself and use the money to build a monastery at the Eastern side of Jetavana monastery. Under the guidance of Arahant Maha Moggallana, Visakha spent the money in building the monastery in nine months and donated it to the Buddha and the order of monks and nuns. The new monastery was a two storied huge mansion, each story consisting of five hundred individual living cells. The pinnacle of the monastery was made of gold and was large enough to contain sixty water pots. The monastery was known as the Pubbarama, Purvarama, Migaramathu Prasadaya as well as the Eastern monastery.
Visakha invited Buddha and the the monks to stay in the newly built monastery during the four months of the rainy season. On the day that she donated the Pubbarama monastery to Buddha, while the dedication ceremony was still going on, Visakha felt so happy and jubilant that she went around the monastery accompanied by her children and grandchildren singing songs of joy. While resident in Savatti, on each day, Buddha is believed to have alternated between the Jetavana monastery and the Pubbarama monastery spending the day or the night at each place. Buddha spent six rainy retreats at the Pubbarama monastery.
The Foremost Philanthropist of Gautam Buddha
Due to her devotion, dedication and generosity towards the Buddha and the order of Buddhist monks and nuns, Visakha was declared by the Buddha as the chief benefactress ( The Foremost Philanthropist) and the chief female disciple of the Buddha. As the chief female disciple, Visakha played a very important role in helping and supporting Buddha, the monks and the nuns. Buddha depended on Visakha as well as Anathapindika, the chief male disciple, whenever there were issues to be dealt with regarding the lay disciples. She used to visit Buddha every day and after listening to the Buddha’s teaching, she would go around the monastery looking into the needs of the resident monks and nuns. Buddha sought her help on many occasions in resolving disciplinary issues that arose among the order of Buddhist nuns. She had gained permission from the Buddha to look after the monks who were visiting Savatti from other areas. It is said that every day she had five hundred monks visiting her house for food and that if she happened to be away, she would entrust her granddaughter with the responsibility of offering food to the visiting monks.On several occasions Buddha had changed or made new rules in terms of the disciplinary rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns at the request of Visakha. For example, during that time a group of monks had decided to refuse to ordain new monks during the rainy season and hence several people including a relative of Visakha, missed the opportunity to enter the Buddhist monastic community. It is believed that when Visakha approached the Buddha about it pointing out that the Buddhist doctrine is timeless and that one should be able to become a novice monk at any time, the Buddha has asked the monks to ordain new monks during the rainy season too.
Aspiration to become the Chief benefactress
According to Buddhist literature, during the time of a previous Samma Sambuddha named Padumuttara, Visakha was born into a rich man’s family in the city named Hamsavati. She watched the Buddha declaring a female disciple as the chief female disciple and the chief benefactress of Buddha. This created an interest in her to become one and made the aspiration in front of the Buddha to become the chief female disciple and benefactress of a future Samma Sambuddha. Since then she had performed meritorious actions during innumerable life times toward her aspiration and was born during the time of Gautama Buddha to fulfill her aspiration.The eight boons
One day when Buddha was residing at the Pubbarama monastery, Visakha invited Buddha and the order of monks to have a meal in her house. After the meal, she approached Buddha and asked for eight boons. When Buddha stated that Buddha is not in a position to grant boons, Visakha explained that they were of benefit to the Buddhist monks and asked for permission to name them. Visakha requested that as long as she lived, she is permitted,1. To offer robes for the monks during the rainy season
2 .To offer food for the monks arriving in Savatti.
3. To offer food for the monks leaving Savatti.
4. To offer medicines for the sick monks.
5. To offer food for the sick monks.
6. To offer food to the monks attending the sick monks.
7. To offer rice gruel to the monks in the morning.
8. To offer bathing robes to nuns to bathe in the river.
Buddha questioned Visakha as to what benefits she expected to receive from these offerings. She explained that if she came to know of any monk who has resided or visited Savatti, has attained any stages of the Buddhist spiritual path, she would know that he would have received some of her offerings. When she reflects on that,
She will feel glad and happy.
When her mind is happy, her body will be tranquil.
When her body is tranquil, she will feel pleasure.
When she feels pleasure, her mind will become concentrated.
When her mind is concentrated, it will result in the development of spiritual faculties, spiritual powers and factors of enlightenment.
Buddha was very pleased with the response from Visakha and granted her the eight boons, praising her devotion and wisdom by exclaiming Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
Buddha’s discourses connected to Visakha and Pubbarama
On one occasion when Buddha was residing at the Pubbarama monastery, Visakha, in wet clothes, disheveled and with tears in her eyes, visited Buddha in the middle of the day. When Buddha asked her why she was upset, she reported that she just had the news of the sudden death of her favourite granddaughter. Buddha asked her whether she would like to have as many grandchildren as the number of citizens of Savatti. When she said yes, Buddha said that many people are dying in Savatti each day and that she would be coming to the Buddha much more often in the same state of grieving. When Buddha uttered the following verse, Visakha composed herself by realizing that all component things are impermanent and that when one has more attachments, it can only lead to more separations and grief.
Pemato jayati soko
pemato jayati bhayam
pemato vippamuttassa
natthi soko kuto bhayam.
Endearment begets sorrow
Endearment begets fear
For him who is free from endearment
There is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?
Once, Visakha asked Buddha as to what qualities would help a woman to be happy and successful in this life and future lives. Buddha described four qualities of a woman that will result in success in this life: a woman does her work well, manages the servants well, respects her husband and guards his wealth. Then Buddha described the four qualities that will result in success and happiness in future lives: confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha (saddha), virtue (sila), charity (caga) and wisdom (panna).
While residing at the Pubbarama monastery, Buddha delivered another discourse to Visakha named Visakhuposatha sutta which is recorded in the Anguttara Nikaya. She visited Buddha while observing the eight precepts of Buddhist morality which is observed on Uposatha days such as the full moon day. Addressing Visakha, Buddha described to her how the eight precepts should be observed properly and the advantages of observing them including rebirth in heavenly worlds .
The death of Visakha
Visakha had ten sons and ten daughters and it is said that each of them also had a similar number of sons and daughters. She has however, retained her beauty and the charm till her last days. She fulfilled her role as the chief female disciple of the Buddha and the chief benefactress by supporting Buddha, Buddhist monks and nuns as well as the lay Buddhist disciples. It is recorded in the Buddhist literature that Visakha passed away at the age of one hundred and twenty years and that due to her meritorious actions she was reborn as a deity in the celestial world called the Nimmanarathi. Spiritually, Visakha remained a Stream Enterer (sotapanna) which is the first of the four stages of the Buddhist spiritual path to liberation. Buddha has assured that a Stream Enterer will gain enlightenment within a maximum of seven more births. Visakha was a wealthy, wise lady of great charm and beauty filled with devotion and generosity, who attained Stream Entry at the tender age of seven years. She will continue to be recognized and remembered as one of the most prominent lay Buddhist disciples of Lord Gautama Buddha.
Refrence:
Narada Thera 2000, The Dhammapada, Verse 213, Buddhist Cultural Centre, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka.
Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, Visakhuposatha sutta, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha; Anguttara Nikaya, Wisdom Publications.
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