The Millionaire's Daughter (Therigatha 6.5)

I will give you progressive, gradual instruction.

In the collection known as the Verses of the Elder (Enlightened) Nuns, the Therīgāthā, in Chapter 6, we find the story of Anopama ("Peerless" due to her beauty), the millionaire treasurer of Sāketa's daughter (Thig. 6.5). She utters a paean or verse concerning her awakening, her enlightenment, from hearing the Buddha teach her the Dharma. Her verses are recorded in the collection of nuns' utterances in the Pali canon, where she states:

Born in a high-ranking family

property owners of great wealth,

consummate in complexion and figure,

I was the daughter of the treasurer Majjha.

Royal sons sought me.

Sons of rich merchants

longed for me.

One of them sent my father a messenger,

who said, "Give me 'Peerless.'

And I in return will give

eight times her weight

in gold and jewels."

Name the dowry-price. I must have her! I offer her weight in gold eightfold with jewels, too!

.

But I, having seen the Awakened One,

unsurpassed, unexcelled in all the world,

bowed at his feet and sat

close by to one side.

He, Gotama (the Buddha), out of sympathy,

taught me the Dhamma (Doctrine).

And as I sat in that very seat,

I attained the third fruit [non-return].

Then I cast off my beautiful hair

and went forth into the left home life.

Today is the seventh day since I made

all craving shrivel away.

• See also Thig 6.4: Sujātā Therīgāthā translated by Dr. Hellmuth Hecker and Ayya Khema (suttacentral.net)
• Thig 6.6: The Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī Therīgāthā—the Buddha's mother's song of awakening translated by Andrew Olendzki (suttacentral.net)
• Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), based on translation by Ven. Thanissaro, (Thig 6.5) Anopamā Therīgāthā (suttacentral.net)

The Nuns' Quarters (sutra)

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), Upassaya Sutta (Saṁyutta Nikāya, "Connected Discourses with Kassapa" (sn.16.10) "The Nuns’ Quarters" edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

A nun asks questions of the Buddha.

Thus have I heard. On one occasion Venerable Maha Kassapa was dwelling at Savatthī in Jeta’s Grove, in Anathapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, in the morning, Ven. Ānanda dressed and (sn.ii.215) taking bowl and robe, he approached Ven. Maha Kassapa and said: “Come, Ven. Kassapa, let us go to the nuns’ quarters.”

“You go, friend Ānanda. You’re the busy one with many duties.”

A second time Ven. Ānanda said to Ven. Maha Kassapa: “Come, Ven. Kassapa, let us go to the nuns’ quarters.”

“You go, friend Ānanda. You’re the busy one with many duties.”

A third time Ven. Ānanda said to Ven. Maha Kassapa: “Come, Ven. Kassapa, let us go to the nuns’ quarters.”

Then, in the morning, Ven. Maha Kassapa dressed and, taking bowl and robe, went to the nuns’ quarters with Ven. Ānanda as his companion. When he arrived, he sat down on the appointed seat.

Then a number of nuns approached Ven. Maha Kassapa, paid respect to him, and sat down to one side. As they were sitting there, Ven. Maha Kassapa instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened those nuns with a Dharma talk, after which he rose from his seat and departed.

Then the nun Ven. Thullatissa, being displeased, expressed her displeasure: “How can Master Maha Kassapa think of speaking on the Dharma in the presence of Master Ānanda, the Videhan sage? For Master Maha Kassapa to think of speaking on the Dharma in the presence of Master Ānanda, the Videhan sage — this is just as if a needle-peddler (sn.ii.216) would think he could sell a needle to a needle-maker!”

Ven. Maha Kassapa overheard the nun Ven. Thullatissa making this statement and said to Ven. Ānanda: “How is it, friend Ānanda, am I the needle-peddler and you the needle-maker, or am I the needle-maker and you the needle-peddler?”

“Be patient, Ven. Kassapa. Women are foolish.”

“Hold it, friend Ānanda! Do not give the Monastic Community (Saṅgha) occasion to investigate you further. What do you think, friend Ānanda? Was it you that the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the Monastic Community, saying:

“‘Monks, to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states [of mind and heart], I enter and dwell in the first meditative absorption (jhana), which is accompanied by thought and examination, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. Ānanda also, to whatever extent he wishes, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, enters and dwells in the first meditative absorption’?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“I was the one, friend, whom the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the Monastic Community, saying: ‘Monks, to whatever extent I wish…I enter and dwell in the first mediative absorption…. Kassapa also, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the first meditative absorption.’

• [The same exchange is repeated for the remaining meditative attainments and the six direct knowledges, all as in the preceding discourse (sn.ii.217).]

“I was the one, friend, whom the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the Monastic Community, saying: ‘Monks, by the destruction of the taints, in this very life I enter and dwell in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for myself with direct knowledge. Kassapa also, by the destruction of the taints, in this very life enters and dwells in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge.’

“Friend, one might just as well think that a bull elephant seven or seven and a half cubits high could be concealed by a palm leaf as think that my six direct knowledges could be concealed.”

The nun Thullatissa fell away from the monastic life. Source: SN 16.10: Upassaya Sutta—Bhikkhu Bodhi (suttacentral.net)

"Everything is burning!" (video)

Drrian, Seven, Hamilton, Wisdom Quarterly (Fire Sermon, SN 35.28 abbreviated)

Then there are the hot hells (narakas, nirayas).

What really "burns"

The Buddha said: "Everything is burning! What is the 'everything' that is burning?

"The eye [and other bases of consciousness -- ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind] is burning.

"Visible forms are burning. Consciousness born at the eye [ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind] is burning. Contact born at the eye is burning.

"And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is burning.

"Burning with what is it burning?

"It is burning with the fire of passion (greed, lust, craving), the fire of aversion (hate, fear, revulsion), the fire of delusion (wrong view, ignorance, confusion).

"It is burning, I tell you, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, distress, and despair!" (The Fire Sermon, SN 35.28)

(KQEDondemand) In dry years, fires cost billions of dollars and often result in lost lives. QUEST goes inside the California fire season, looking at how the history of human fire suppression is actually feeding today's danger.

Then there are the hot purgatories

• Sañjīva - the "reviving" hell. where the ground is made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings here appear fully grown, already in a state of fear and misery. As soon as one begins to fear being harmed, others appear and attack with iron claws. Or the attendants of the King of the Dead appear and attack with fiery weapons. Going unconscious as if dead, they are suddenly restored by karma to full health and attacked again. Other tortures experienced here include being splashed with molten metal, being sliced to pieces, and suffering from the oppressive heat. The lifespan here is not "eternal" but may as well be. In human years it can reach 1.62×10¹² years. It is said to be 1000 spans beneath Jambudvīpa [likely a reference to the Earth rather than just the subcontinent] and 10,000 spans in each direction.
• Kālasūtra - the "black thread" purgatory. Here, in addition to the torments mentioned above, black lines are drawn upon the body. And the King of Death's servants cut beings along these lines with fiery saws and sharp axes. Life here is 1.296×10¹³ years.
• Saṃghāta - the "crushing" purgatory. Also founded on hot iron, it is surrounded by huge masses of rock that smash together and crush the beings into a bloody jelly. When the rocks part again, karma restores life and the process begins again. The lifespan here is 1.0368×10¹⁴ years.
• Raurava - the "screaming" purgatory. Here beings run wildly about, looking for refuge from the burning ground. When they find any apparent shelter, they are locked inside screaming it as it blazes around them. Life here is 8.2944×10¹⁴ years.
• Mahāraurava - the "piercing" purgatory. The karmic results experienced here are for people who maintain their own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment them and eat their flesh. Lifespans are 6.63552×10¹⁵ years.
• Tapana - the "heating" purgatory. Here the King of Death's servants impale beings on a fiery spear until flames issue from their noses and mouths. Lifespans are 5.308416×10¹⁶ years.
• Pratāpana - the "great heating" purgatory. The torments here are similar to Tapana, but beings are pierced with a bloody trident. Lifespans are 4.2467328×10¹⁷ years. It is also said to last for the length of half an indeterminate aeon (antara kalpa).
• Avīci - the "uninterrupted" purgatory. Beings are roasted in an immense blazing oven. Lifespans here are 3.39738624×10¹⁸ years. It is also said to last for the entire length of an indeterminate aeon.

These worlds by no means exhaust the tale of possible places of suffering. Some sources describe 500 or even hundreds of thousands of different worlds. In later Chinese Buddhist texts, the numbers and types of miserable worlds were elaborated in a variety of creative ways. (See Di Yu for examples).

The types of suffering of the denizens here often resemble those of the hungry ghosts (pretas), and the two types of being are easily confused. The simplest distinction is that denizens are confined to their subterranean worlds, whereas ghosts wander.

• "Hell" is being left out in the cold

Are they real?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
There is no "hell fire and brimstone" Buddhism. But these descriptions suggest that Christianity did not invent these worlds out of thin air. Another theory speculates that just as Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant) monastics and priests wanted to scare adherents into behaving, so too Buddhist monks, nuns, and scholars may have been similarly motivated. No doubt such worlds exist at least as metaphors, attempts to describe the grief, hopelessness, and suffering humans think is tantamount to the suffering they experience at the hands of others. There are definitely subterranean caverns, Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs), inhabited by reptoids (nagas), giants (titans, "demons," asuras), and ogres (yakkhas). But even with tangible evidence and first hand reports, we dismiss the entire idea out of hand. From at least the time of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Sumerians, the worlds "mythologies" have included version of this exact same thing. Maybe the Buddha inherited Indus Valley Civilization and Vedic lore and simply utilized it as skillful means to teach. Perhaps a better question for commentators is, Do we believe these worlds exist? We do. They are not eternal, they are not accidental, and although they are exponentially worse than the karmic "courses of conduct" that lead to them by rebirth, they are not "unfair." Our teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi, on the other hand, reasonably suggests that they, along with the remaining 31 Planes of Existence, are metaphorical.

The devas or Greek "gods" imprisoned the titans ("demons") underground in a mountain. Should they ever be unleashed or break free, it would mean human devestation.

• The unhappy hells in detail
  

"Hell" is being left out in the cold (video)

Dorrian, Seven, Hamilton, Wisdom Quarterly (Naraka edit, SN 35.28 abbreviated)

A team of penguins goes in search of pyramids in hellishly cold realms Dante explores in the Divine Comedy from ancient Buddhist lore.

The Cold "Hells"

Arbuda – the "blister" purgatory or hell (naraka). This is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and continually swept by blizzards. Inhabitants of this plane of existence arise fully grown and abide life-long naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters on their bodies. The length of life in this unfortunate realm is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds if one only took out a single seed every hundred years.
Nirarbuda – the "burst blister" purgatory. This realm is even colder, and here the blisters burst open, leaving the beings' bodies covered with freezing blood and pus.
Aṭaṭa – the purgatory of shivering. Here the beings shiver in the cold, making an aṭ-aṭ-aṭ sound with their mouths.
Hahava – the realm of lamentation. Here the beings lament in the cold, going ha, ho in pain.
Huhuva – the realm of chattering teeth. Here beings shiver as their teeth chatter, making the sound hu, hu.
Utpala – the "blue lotus" unfortunate realm. Here the intense cold makes skin turn blue like the color of an utpala waterlily.
Padma – the "lotus" realm. In this place the blizzard cracks open the frozen skin leaving one raw and bloody.
Mahāpadma – the "great lotus" realm. Here the whole body cracks into pieces and the internal organs are exposed to the cold and they also crack.

The Fire Sermon

"Everything is burning! What is this 'everything' that is burning? The eye [as well as the other five bases of consciousness -- ear, nose, tongue, body, mind] is burning.

"Visible forms are burning. Consciousness born at the eye [ear, nose, tongue, body, mind] is burning. Contact born at the eye is burning.

"And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is burning.

"Burning with what? It is burning with the fire of passion (greed, lust, craving), the fire of aversion (hate, fear, revulsion), the fire of delusion (wrong view, ignorance, confusion).

"It is burning, I tell you, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, distress, and despair!" (SN 35.28)

• Men's rules for breaking up with a woman
  

Can Women attain Enlightenment?

Rurui Shi (China) and Buddhist nuns (bhikkhunis) studying

Sister Soma's Sutra

Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator)

Then, in the morning, the bhikkhuni Soma dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Savatthi for alms. When she had walked for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her almsround, after her meal, she went to the Blind Men's Grove for the day's abiding. Having plunged into the Blind Men's Grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day's abiding.

Then Mara the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the nun Soma, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:

That state so hard to achieve
Which is to be attained by the seers,
Can't be attained by a woman
With her two-fingered wisdom.

Then it occurred to Soma: "Now who is this that recited the verse — a human being or a non-human being?"

Then it occurred to her: "This is Mara the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration."

Then Soma, having understood, "This is Mara the Evil One," replied to him in verse:

What does womanhood matter at all
When the mind is concentrated well,
When knowledge flows on steadily
As one sees correctly into [phenomena].

One to whom it might occur,
"I'm a woman" or "I'm a man"
Or "I'm anything at all" —
Is fit for Mara to address.

Then Mara the Evil One realizing, "The nun Soma knows me!" sad and disappointed, disappeared then and there.

-

108 Female Saints of the World
--
TRANSLATION: "Soma Sutta" from Discourses of the Ancient Nuns (BL 143), translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1997). Copyright © 1997 Buddhist Publication Society.