Tara? Rainbow light of Yeshe Tsogal, Tibet

(Buddha's Wisdom)

Rainbow light body? 

Vajrayogini

Yeshe Tsogyal (circa 757 or 777–817 CE) [1] is also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge," "Knowledge Lake Empress" (Wylie ye shes mtsho rgyal, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ) or by her Sanskrit name Jñānasāgarā "Knowledge Ocean," or by her clan name "Lady Kharchen" [2].

She attained enlightenment in her lifetime and is considered the Mother of Tibetan Buddhism. Yeshe Tsogyal is the highest woman in the Nyingma Vajrayana lineage.

Some sources say she, as princess of Kharchen, was either a co-wife or consort of Emperor Tri Songdetsen (Trisong Detsen) of Tibet [3] when she began studying Buddhism with Padmasambhava, who became her main karmamudrā consort.

(Buddhist Monks) 21 Tara Mantra: 24/7 sacred chant for protection

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  Samantabhadri

  EMANATIONS: Yeshe Tsogyal is considered a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Tara. She is also considered an emanation of Prajnaparamita, Samantabhadrī, and Vajrayogini [16]. In the Life of Yeshe Tsogyel, Padmasambhava predicted that Yeshe Tsogyel would be reborn as Machig Labdrön; her consort Atsara Sale [2] would become Topabhadra, Machig’s husband; her assistant and another of Padmasambhava’s consorts, Tashi Khyidren, would be reborn as Machig’s only daughter, and so on. All of the important figures in Yeshe Tsogyel’s life were to be reborn in the life of Machig Labdron, including Padmasambhava himself, who would become Dampa Sangye [17].
• VIDEO: Gender? Tara, the most powerful Goddess?

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava is a founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and is considered a second "buddha" of our era [4] [which at least one other tradition, sticking to the original texts, would say is impossible, given that the historical Buddha often pointed out how rare the arising of a buddha is and how few there have ever been, with only one in any epoch.]

She is known to have revealed terma ("hidden treasure") with Padmasambhava and was also the main scribe for these terma. Later, Yeshe Tsogyal hid many of Padmasambhava's terma on her own, under the instructions of Padmasambhava for future generations [2].

Emperor Trisong Detsen

Born a princess in the region of Kharchen, Tibet, in about 777 CE, she fled from arranged marriages until captured for Emperor Tri Songdetsen.

Yeshe Tsogyal lived for approximately 99 years and is a preeminent figure in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and a role model for contemporary spiritual practitioners.

Although often referred to as being Padamasambhava's main "consort," Yeshe Tsogyal was primarily a spiritual master and teacher in her own right.

Prajnaparamita with Devotees

Based on her spiritual accomplishments, the Nyingma and Karma Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism recognize Yeshe Tsogyal as a female buddha.

The translators of Lady of the Lotus-Born, the namtar or spiritual biography that Yeshe Tsogyal left as a terma/hidden treasure, observe:

"As Dodrup Tenpai Nyima makes clear, beings able to reveal Termas must have at least the realization of the Perfection Stage practices. On the other hand, the one who originates the Treasures must have the supreme attainment of Buddhahood. Lady of the Lotus-Born is thus a testimony of Yeshe Tsogyal's enlightenment" [5]. More

Noble silence on National Quiet Day

Quiet body and mind will follow and vice versa.

Quiet Day is observed in the U.S. every year on February 25th. As the name clearly suggests, Quiet Day is about taking a pause and appreciating the magical sound of silence.

Noise is everywhere — on the road, in the sky, in the office, at the bar, in the classroom, even at home. Turn down the TV, Sport, Mama's gardening in the kitchen window! Modern life is noisy; it seems like there is simply no way to get away from it.

Being in the constant presence of talking and noise can be overwhelming. It is important to take a break every once in a while (preferably every day).

We know that quiet is good for body and mind (and the spirit loves the heck out of it). Peace calms us and helps us re-center ourselves, regaining balance and poise, inner peace and insight. More:

• QUIET DAY - Feb. 25, 2025 (National Today)

It's also:

• LET'S ALL EAT RIGHT DAY
• NAT'L CHOCOLATE COVERED NUT DAY
• NATIONAL BILLY DAY
• DAY OF LIBERATION AND INNOVATION
• PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION DAY
• EDSA REVOLUTION HOLIDAY (Philippines)
• CHOISEUL PROVINCE DAY (Solomon Islands)
• SOVIET OCCUPATION DAY
• WORLD SPAY DAY
• PISTOL PATENT DAY

Noble silence in Buddhism: Kolita Sutta

Ven. Maha Moggallana (aka Kolita)

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was staying near the City of Sāvatthī at Jeta's Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery.

There Ven. Mahā Moggallāna [1] addressed the others, "Friend monks!"

"Yes, friend," the meditators replied.

Ven. Mahā Moggallāna then said, "Friends, once as I was withdrawn in seclusion (deep in peaceful meditation), this train of thought occurred to me:

"'Noble silence, noble silence,' it is said, but what is 'noble silence'" [1]? Then this awareness arose in me: 'There is the case where a meditator, with the stilling of directed thoughts and evaluations [1], enters and abides in the second meditative absorption (jhāna) characterized by rapture and pleasure born of stillness (samadhi, coherence, concentration), unification of mind free of directed thought and evaluation -- internal certainty. This is called noble silence.'

• Buddhism's meditative absorptions, the eight jhānas

With practice, one is still at will

"So with the stilling of directed thoughts and evaluations, I entered and abided in the second absorption that is characterized by rapture and pleasure born of stillness, unification of mind free of directed thought and evaluation -- internal certainty.

"While I remained in that [mental] dwelling, I was assailed by perceptions and [acts of] attention connected with directed thought.

"Then the Blessed One, coming to me through [psychic] power, said: 'Moggallāna, Moggallāna, Brahmin, be not heedless of noble silence. Instead, establish the mind in noble silence. Make the mind unified (single-pointed) in noble silence.

"Still (calmly concentrate) the mind in noble silence.' So at a later time, with the stilling of directed thoughts and evaluations, I entered and abided in the second absorption characterized by rapture and pleasure born of stillness, unification of mind free of directed thought and evaluation -- internal certainty.

"If one, speaking rightly, would say of anyone, '[This is] a disciple attained to greatness in direct knowledge through the assistance of the Teacher,' it is of me that one speaking rightly would say." Source

NOTES

1. [Kolita is Maha Moggallana's name, and Kolita Sutta translates as a "Discourse by Kolita." The Buddha's two great chief male disciples, the counterparts of his two chief female disciples, Ven. Khema and Ven. Uppalavanna, are the monks Sariputta (Upatissa) and Maha Moggallana (Kolita), who along with Ven. Uppalavanna were designated "foremost in psychic powers" just as Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Khema were called "foremost in wisdom."]
2. Noble silence (not responding but keeping silent because answering would be misleading, or because the question is wrongly put and full of assumptions, or because there is no way to improve upon silence) should not be confused with the meaning here. Here "noble silence" clearly refers to the silence of the noble ones, the characteristic of mental peace free of words, concepts, thinking, or reckoning, which is replaced by direct knowing not mediated by words. This is how enlightened disciples prefer to abide, with peaceful minds and heart now no longer disturbed by the defilements that gnaw at ordinary, uninstructed worldlings (those of us not yet attained even to the temporary liberations of the jhanas or the permanent liberation of the paths-and-fruits of noble attainments, referring to the stages of enlightenment.]
3. According to MN 44, directed thought and evaluation constitute verbal fabrication, which is why the second jhāna -- the level of absorption (blissful concentration) in which these fabrications (formations) are stilled -- is called noble silence.

Kolita's sutra on silence

Silence makes our life happy - A Zen story | Buddhist story | Key to Success | Wisdom Woven

Nun silent inside, her rapist falls into Avici

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

There Venerable Mahā Moggallāna addressed the other meditators: “Friends, mendicants!”

“Friend,” they replied. Venerable Mahā Moggallāna then said: “Just now, friends, as I was in private retreat this thought came to mind: ‘They speak of this thing called “noble silence.” What then is this noble silence?’

“It occurred to me: ‘As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a meditator enters and remains in the second absorption, which has rapture (piti) and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without [intentionally] placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called noble silence.’

“And so, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected were stilled, I was entering and remaining in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected.

“While I was in that meditation, perceptions accompanied by [intentionally] placing the mind beset me due to loss of focus.

“Then the Buddha himself came to me with his psychic power [of projecting himself] and said, ‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna, Brahmin, do not neglect noble silence! Settle the mind in noble silence; unify the mind and bring it to immersion (meditative absorption) in noble silence.’

“So, after some time, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected were stilled, I entered and remained in the second absorption…

“So if anyone can rightly be called a disciple who attained to great direct knowledge [enlightenment] with help from the Teacher, it is me.” Source

• Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (trans) based on Ven. Sujato ("With Kolita," Linked Discourses, SN 21.1) and Ven. Thanissaro translations of Kolita Sutta: Discourse by Kolita (SN 21.1 PTS: S ii 273 CDB i 713), Wisdom Quarterly

The great nun Uppalavanna

Eugene Watson Burlingame (BPS.lk, Wheel 354), edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

After gaining great concentration, purifying absorption (jhana), I gained liberating insight.

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The Nun Uppalavaṇṇā Theri

The luminous golden calyx of the blue lotus

"AS SWEET AS HONEY" THINKS THE FOOL… This was said by the Teacher (the Buddha) while he was residing in Jetavana in reference to his chief disciple nun Uppalavaṇṇā (foremost in magical powers).

We are told that Ven. Uppalavaṇṇā made an earnest wish at the feet of a previous buddha, Padumuttara, and that after performing works of merit for 100,000 cycles of time. As she passed from rebirth to rebirth among devas and humans, she passed away from the deva-world in the dispensation of the historical Buddha Gautama.

She was reborn in Sāvatthī as the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The color of her skin was the hue of the [golden] calyx of the blue lotus. Therefore, she was given the name Uppalavaṇṇā. When she reached a marriageable age, all the princes and merchants in the land, without a single exception, sent gifts to her merchant father, asking him to give them his daughter in marriage.

Thereupon the merchant thought to himself, “I shall not be able to satisfy the wishes of all, but I shall find some way out of the difficulty.” So he summoned his daughter and said to her, “You might become a nun.” Now she was in her final rebirth prior to attaining nirvana (nibbāna), so his words fell on her head like fragrant oil 100 times refined.

So she replied, “Dear father, I'll become a nun.” So he prepared rich gifts in her honor, and walking with her to the Order of Nuns, he had her go forth (gain ordination). Not long after she had gone forth, her turn came to unlock the uposatha (lunar observance) hall. After she had lighted a lamp and swept the hall, her attention was attracted to the flame of the lamp.

Standing there, she looked repeatedly at the flame. And concentrating her attention on the element of fire, she entered into a state of deep concentration (jhana). Consummating the deep concentration, she attained arhatship together with the analytical knowledges.

Some time later she went on a pilgrimage for alms in the country, and on her return entered the Dark Forest. At that time nuns were not forbidden to reside in a forest. There they built for her a hut, set up a bed, and hung curtains. From the forest she went to Sāvatthī for alms and then returned to her hut.

No! - But, baby, I love you! - I said no. I'm a nun! - C'mon, I'm your cousin. Just once.

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Now a cousin of hers, a young Brahmin named Ānanda [not the famous one], had been in love with her ever since she lived the household life prior to becoming a nun. So when he heard where she was living, he went to the forest ahead of her, broke into her hut, and hid under the bed.

On her return in the bright sunlight, she entered her dark hut, closed the door, and sat down on the bed waiting for her eyes to adjust. As soon as she sat down, the youth crawled out from under the bed and climbed on top of her. The nun cried out, “Fool, do not ruin me! Fool, do not ruin me!” But the youth overcame her resistance, did what he wanted, and went his way.

As if unable to endure his grave karmic offense, the great Earth burst open, swallowed him, and he was reborn in the most horrible hell Avīci ("the Waveless Deep").

Ven. Uppalavanna told the other nuns what had happened, and the nuns told the monks, and the monks told the Blessed One. Having heard this the Teacher addressed the monks, “Monks, the fool, whoever it may be -- whether monk or nun, male or female lay disciple -- who commits an unskillful act, acts with as much joy and happiness, with as much pleasure and delight, as if he were eating honey or sugar or some other sweet-tasting food.”

And joining the connection and instructing them in the Dharma, he pronounced the following stanza:

69. “As sweet as honey” thinks the fool

So long as an evil has not ripened,

But when that evil deed ripens,

Then to the fool comes suffering.

Some time later a throng assembled in the Dharma hall and began to discuss the incident: “Even those that have rid themselves of taints [become enlightened] like the pleasures of love and gratify their passions. Why should they not? They are not kolapa trees or ant-hills. They are living creatures with bodies of moist flesh. Therefore, they also like the pleasures of love and gratify their passions.”

The Teacher drew near and asked them, “Monks, what are you talking about?” They told him. Then he said, “Monks, those who have rid themselves of the taints neither like the pleasures of love nor gratify their passions. For even as a drop of water which has fallen on a lotus petal does not cling to it but rolls off, even as a mustard seed does not cling to the point of an awl but rolls off, precisely so -- sensual love does not cling to the heart of one who has rid himself of the taints nor does it remain there.”

And making the connection, he instructed them in the Dharma by pronouncing the following stanza (found in the Dhammapada chapter on Brahmins, Brāhmaṇa Vagga).

401. Who, like water drops on a lotus petal,

Or mustard seed on a needle point,

Clings not to sensual pleasures —

That one I call a Brahmin.

Now the Teacher summoned King Pasenadi Kosala and said to him, “Your majesty, in this Doctrine and Discipline young women of good family, as well as young men of good family, renounce many kinsfolk and much wealth, go forth, and take up residence in the forest [as wandering ascetics].

"In case women reside in the forest, it is possible that evil-minded men, inflamed by lust, may conduct themselves towards them with disrespect and arrogance, do them violence, and bring their celibate life to naught.

"Therefore, a place of residence for the Order of Nuns should be erected within the city.” The king agreed and had an abbey (a place of residence for the Order of Nuns) erected on one side of the city. From that time on the nuns resided only in the city.

The Enlightened Nun and Mara the Evil One

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), Uppalavanna Sutra (SN 5.5); A. Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Mara appears to Uppalavanna

At Savatthi. Then, in the morning, the fully enlightened Buddhist nun [one of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, foremost in psychic powers] Uppalavanna [Theri] dressed... she stood at the foot of a sal tree in full flower.

 

Then Mara [Devaputra] the Tempter, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in Ven. Uppalavanna, desiring to make her fall away from absorption [samadhi, coherence, collectedness, concentration], approached her and addressed her in verse:
 

Having gone to a sal tree with flowering top,

You stand at its foot all alone, nun.

There is none whose beauty can rival your own:

Foolish girl, have you no fear of rogues?

Mara as Kamadeva, Cupid, Eros

Then it occurred to Ven. Uppalavanna: "Now who is this...? This is Mara the Tempter... desiring to make me fall away from absorption."

Then Ven. Uppalavanna having understood, "This is Mara the Tempter," replied to him in verses:

 

Though a hundred thousand rogues

Just like you might come here,

I stir not a hair, and I feel no terror;

Even alone, Mara, I fear you not.

 

I can make myself disappear,

Or I can enter inside your belly.

I can stand between your brows,

Yet you would not catch a glimpse of me.*

  

For I am the master of my mind/heart;

The bases of power are well developed;

I am freed from every kind of bondage.

Therefore, I fear you not, friend. 

 

Then Mara the Tempter realizing, "The nun Uppalavanna recognizes me!" was sad and disappointed and vanished right then and there.

*NOTE: Compare these psychic displays to the Buddha's chief male disciple foremost in psychic powers, Maha Moggallana. In one incident, he actually outmaneuvered Mara with them, baffling him in the process that a mere disciple of the Buddha was more powerful than the great Mara himself.

The Buddha's foremost FEMALE disciple

G.P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (Pali Tet Society, 1988-1973) edited by Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Uppalavanna Theri, the Buddha's chief female disciple foremost in magical powers.

Modern Theravada Buddhist nun, Ven. Tathaloka, in California wilderness (bhikkhuni.net).

Fragrant lotuses rise above their muddy pond water unstained (dingtwist.com)

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Lotuses arise from mire untainted (FM).

The enlightened Buddhist nun Ven. Uppalavannā Therī was one of the two chief female disciples of the Buddha. The daughter of a banker, she was born in Sāvatthi, an ancient kingdom in what is today northern India.

She received the name "Uppalavannā" because her skin was the color of the heart or calyx of a blue lotus. When she came of age, kings and commoners from all over India sent messengers to her father asking for her hand in marriage.

Not wishing to offend any of them, he suggested that Uppalavannā should leave the world, that is, go forth and become a nun. Because of her past karma acting as a decisive support (upanissaya), she very willingly agreed and was fully ordained.

White lotuses in a pool (mrwallpaper.com)

Soon it came to her turn to perform certain duties in the hall on lunar observance days (weekly visits by lay people for intensive practice of one meal then fasting the rest of the day based on phases of the moon). Lighting the lamp, she swept the room. Taking the flame of the lamp as her visible meditation object, she developed fire-kasina.

 

Then attaining to absorption (jhāna) thereby, she became fully enlightened along with the four special attainments call the analytical knowledges. She became particularly versed in the mystic power of transformation, shape shifting (iddhi vikubbana).

Magic powers

How could a lotus bud be the womb of a baby? The power of merit (passport-love.com).

 

When the Buddha arrived at the gandamba-tree to perform the Twin Miracle, Ven. Uppalavannā offered to perform certain miracles herself, if the Buddha would allow it, but he declined, seeing great danger in disciples who possess them publicly exhibiting magical powers (ThigA.190, 195).

 
Later, at Jetavana, in the assembly of the Monastic Community (Sangha), the Buddha declared her to be a chief disciple, "foremost in supernormal (iddhi) powers (A.i.25), like Ven. Maha Moggallana among male disciples.

According to the Dhammapada Commentary (iii.211), the miracle which Ven. Uppalavannā volunteered to perform at the gandamba-tree, was the assumption of the form of a world ruler (cakkavatti), with a retinue extending for 36 leagues and the paying of homage to the Buddha, with all the ruler's followers, in the presence of the multitude.

The Verses of the Nuns (Therīgāthā, vv.234-5) contains several verses (gāthās of the theris or senior nuns, lit. monastic elders) attributed to her. Three of them were uttered in anguish by a mother who had been unwittingly living as her daughter's rival (or co-wife) with the man who later became the monk Ven. Gangātīriya.

Ven. Uppalavannā repeated these verses to help her reflect on the harm and vileness of sexual and sensual desires, which can reduce one to depravity. Two others are utterances of joy -- verses of uplift (udana) -- on the distinctions she had won; another records a miracle she performed before the Buddha, with his consent.

What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place...

The rest contain a famous conversation between her and Māra Devaputra, the tempter, a beautiful Cupid like deva intent on frustrating the enlightenment of eminent individuals, a kind of Satan or fallen Lucifer figure.

This conversation, which more or less identical with the foregoing, is recorded in S.i.131f, wherein she tells Mara that she has passed completely beyond his power and influence, his temptations and trickery.

Rape

Oh my goodness, the karmic consequences!

The books give several episodes connected with Ven. Uppalavannā. Once a young man named Ananda, who was her cousin and who had been infatuated with her during her life as a layperson, hid himself in her hut in Andhavana. In spite of her protests, he deprived her of her chastity as a nun.

No. Desist, fool, for what has this body to offer bu what great danger in your lust?

 
It is said that as a result of this heinous crime he was swallowed up by the fires of Avīcī, the lowest of the hells known as the "waveless deep." From that time onwards, nuns were forbidden to live in Andhavana (DhA.ii.49f; the incident is referred to in Vin.iii.35), a forest grove used for monastic living and practice in the early forest tradition prior to there being formal nunneries and monasteries (viharas).
 

It is said (e.g., DhA.iv.166f) that this incident gave rise to the question of whether even fully enlightened being (arhats) enjoyed the pleasures of love and wished to gratify their passions. Why should they not? For they are not trees nor ant-hills, but living creatures with moist flesh.

The Buddha most emphatically declared that thoughts of lust never enter the hearts of arhats (fully liberated "saints" freed of all bondage and mental defilements).

Flesh

On another occasion, Ven. Uppalavannā came across some meat left behind in Andhavana, which was obviously meant for her. It was left by a kindhearted thief. Having prepared the meat, she took it to make an offering to the Buddha at the Bamboo Grove (Veluvana).

Finding him away on alms round, she left the meat with Ven. Udāyi, who was looking after the monastery (vihāra), to be given to the Buddha. But Udāyi insisted that Ven. Uppalavannā give him her inner robe as a reward for his services (Vin.iii.208f).
 

Mention is made of a pupil of Ven. Uppalavannā, who followed the Buddha for seven years, learning the monastic disciplinary code or Vinaya (Vin.ii.261).

The other chief female disciple

The Buddha declares that Ven. Khemā Theri (foremost in wisdom" like Ven. Sariputra among the monks) and Ven. Uppalavannā are the measure of his female disciples, and that the believing nun, if she would aspire perfectly, should aspire to be like them (A.i.88; ii.164; S.ii.236).

Past lives

In Padumuttara Buddha's time Uppalavannā saw a female disciple who was declared to be "foremost among those possessed of supernormal power," and wished for herself a similar rank in the dispensation of a future buddha.

In the time of Kassapa Buddha, she was one of the seven daughters of Kikī, king of Benares (Varanasi, India), and having done many good deeds, was reborn in a heavenly world.

Later, she was reborn in the human world and had to work for her living. One day she gave an offering to a nonteaching (pacceka) buddha, who had just risen from deep absorption (samādhi). She made an offering of a meal of fragrant rice in his bowl and covered it with a beautiful lotus.

She had prepared the meal for herself. The beautiful lotus she afterwards took back but again replaced it, asking the pacceka buddha's forgiveness. She expressed a wish that she should beget as many sons as there were grains of rice in her offering and that lotuses should spring up under her feet as she walked.

Lotus born

Red and blue lotus blossom, symbolic flower of the East (devwijewardane)

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Born in a lotus blossom

In her next rebirth she was spontaneously reborn inside of a lotus. An ascetic who found her as an infant adopted her as his daughter. But when she grew up to be a great beauty, the king of Benares, hearing of her beauty, asked the ascetic for her hand in marriage and made her his chief queen, calling her Padumavatī.

• Sophal1 explains that the Abhidharma describes three modes of conception: womb born, born of flowers, fruit, or tree-hollows, and spontaneously born [apparently of mind powered by karma with no intervention of parents].

The king's other wives became very jealous of her beauty, and when the king was away to quell an uprising of border tribes, they concealed in caskets her many sons, chief of whom was Prince Mahāpaduma.

They hid everyone born to Padumavatī and told the king that Padumavatī was a nonhuman who had given birth to a log of wood.

Padumavatī was sent away in disgrace, but later through the divine intervention of Sakka (King of the Devas), their deception was exposed, and Padumavatī regained all of her former power and glory. (Her temporary downfall was due to her having withdrawn her lotus gift to the pacceka buddha).

Later, when Prince Mahāpaduma and his brothers became pacceka buddhas, Queen Padumavatī died of a broken heart and was reborn in a village outside Rājagaha (modern Rajgir, India, a royal city surrounded by a ring of seven hills where Vulture's Peak is located).

There some of the pacceka buddhas who had been her sons discovered her, and they all came to a meal offering at her house. At the conclusion of the meal, she offered them blue lotuses and expressed the wish that her complexion should be like the calyx of the blue lotus.
 

This account is a summary of the Therīgāthā Commentary, pp.182ff; AA.i.188ff; but see also DhA.ii.48f.

 

The Collection of Monastic Stories (Apadāna) account of the past lives of Uppakavanna differs from the above in several details (ii.551, but vv.1-15 quoted in the Therigatha differ from those in the Apadāna and agree with the Therigatha account).

Reptilian

Naga princess (allexandramonica)

According to this account, in Padumuttara Buddha's time, she was a reptilian (nāga) maiden named Vimalā and was impressed by the supernormal-powers displayed by a nun, hence her wish for similar powers.

The Apadāna also mentions Uppalavannā's birth as the daughter of a banker of Benares in the time of Vipassī Buddha. She gave great alms to the Buddha and monastic disciples and made offerings of lotuses.

She was the second daughter of Kikī, and her name was Samannaguttā. In her next rebirth she became the ravishing daughter of Tirītavaccha of Aritthapura. In her last rebirth she became an arhat within a fortnight (two weeks) of her ordination as a nun.
 

Uppalavannā's name occurs several times in the Jātakas, the Rebirth Tales of the Buddha:

• 

  Jataka Tales (Rhys Davids)

  In the Kharādiya Jātaka (J.i.160) she was a deer, the sister of the Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be).
• In the Tipallatthamiga Jātaka (J.i.164) she was the mother of Rāhula (the Buddha's son), then reborn as a stag.
• She is identified with the old woman, the foster-mother of Ayyakālaka (J.i.196),
• with the queen Mudulakkhanā (J.i.306),
• the female Brahmin in the Sārambha Jataka (J.i.375),
• the courtesan in the Kurudhamma Jataka (J.ii.381),
• the Brahmin's daughter (and sister of Rāhula) in the Dhonasākha Jataka (J.iii.168),
• Siridevī in the Sirikālakanni Jataka (J.iii.264),
• the goddess in the Bhisapuppha Jataka (J.iii.310),
• Manoja's sister in the Manoja Jataka (J.iii.324),
• the ascetic's daughter in the Kumbhakāra Jataka (J.iii.383),
• the deity in the Jāgarajā Jataka (J.iii.405), in the Sankha Jataka (J.iv.22), and in the Kiñchanda Jataka (J.v.11),
• the sister in the Bhisa Jataka (J.iv.314),
• Sutanā in the Rohantamiga (J.iv.423),
• the younger sister in the Jayaddisa Jataka (J.v.36),
• Kundalinī in the Tesakuna Jataka (J.v.125),
• Ummadantī in the Ummadantī Jataka (J.v.227),
• Hiridevatā in the Sudhābhojana Jataka (J.v.412),
• the goddess of the parasol in the Mūgapakkha Jataka (J.vi.29),
• the ocean spirit in the Mahājanaka Jataka (J.vi.68),
• the goddess in the Sāma Jataka (J.vi.95),
• Selā in the Khandahāla Jataka (J.vi.157),
• Accimukhī in the Bhūridatta Jataka (J.vi.219),
• Bherī in the Mahā-ummagga Jataka (J.vi.478), and
• Kanhajinā in the Vessantara Jataka (J.vi.593).

It was Ven. Uppalavannā who ordained Anojā and her companions by the express wish of the Buddha (AA.i.178).

When the Courtesan met the Buddha

G.P. Malalasekera (Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names courtesy of the German site palikanon.com) edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

You, too, will succumb to the power of beauty if you do not practice mindfulness (vigilant "bare awareness," sati) and exercise the mindful contemplations/recollections (four foundations, satipatthanas). Craving is the weak link in Dependent Origination for escape.

Who'll be Miss World in a pageant when everyone's in traditional Indonesian dress? (AP)

  

The Buddha (Kingstone_13)

Ambapālī (Ambapālikā): a courtesan of Vesāli. She is said to have come spontaneously into being at Vesāli in the gardens of the king (a familiar trope indicative of the woodland devis and fairies of far surpassing beauty, e.g., the life story of the Buddha's chief female disciple the nun Uppalavanna Theri once born of a blue lotus or the recent Japanese "Tale of Princess Kagyuga").

The gardener found her at the foot of a mango tree -- hence her name (amba = mango) -- and brought her to the city. She grew up so full of beauty and of grace that many young princes vied with each other for the honor of her hand. (This sounds exactly like the Shinto/Buddhist folktale of the Moon goddess avatar Princess Kagyuga!)

Tadolf Swiftler vs. Jen Law (article.wn.com)

Finally, in order to end their strife, they appointed her courtesan (a female courtier). Later she became a devout follower of the Buddha, and building a monastic complex (vihāra) in her own garden grove, gave it to him and the Buddha's Monastic Order (Sangha). This was during the Buddha's last visit to Vesāli shortly before his final nirvana.

 

It is said that when Ambapālī heard of the Buddha's visit to Koti village near Vesāli she and her retinue drove out of the city in magnificent chariots to meet him and, after hearing a discourse, invited him and the monastics to a meal the next day. The Buddha accepted this invitation and had, as a result, to decline one from the Licchavi princes of Vesāli.

 

Some devis (divine-human hybrids, demigoddesses, fairies), like this one from Scotland in Tartan-Scottish, might default to their beauty to succeed and overcome a sexist planet like Earth (costumed dolls by Martha Boers/a-faerietale-of-inspiration).

 

Who's that bad girl? Michelle Trachtenberg

While returning from her visit to the Buddha, Ambapālī was so elated at the idea of having the Buddha to a meal the next day, she refused to make way for the Licchavi princes who were on their way to invite the Buddha. She told them she had invited them and they attempted to purchase her invitation. She refused to give up her invitation for anything in the world.

The DA. says that just before beautiful Ambapālī's visit, the Buddha admonished the monastics to be vigilant and mindful (contemplating reality rather than being neglectful and taken in by appearances), lest they should lose their heads about her (DA.ii.545).

 

It was after this meal that Ambapālī gave over her park, the Ambapāli-vana, often thought of as a mango grove, to the Buddha and the Monastic Order. The Buddha accepted the gift and stayed there some time before going on to Beluva (Vin.i.231-3; D.ii.95-8); the two accounts vary in details. For example, in the Long Discourses (Digha Nikaya) version, the Buddha was already in Ambapālivana, and not in Kotigāma, when the courtesan visited him.

 

I want to be a courtesan. - No, honey, you mean "princess"! You want to be a princess or a nun! - No, dad, I think I'd rather be a courtesan or business woman or rock star. - Okay, be a rock star but not like your role models Britney Spears or Selena Gomez. No more Disney!

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I'm a warrior princess, li'l girl, not a wh*re.

Ambapālī had a son, Vimala-Kondañña, who was an eminent Elder (an enlightened monastic or thera/theri of many years standing). Having heard him preach one day, she renounced the world and -- working for insight by studying the working of the law of radical impermanence as crudely illustrated in her own aging body -- she attained full enlightenment (Therīgāthā 206-7).

 

Nineteen verses ascribed to her are found in the Psalms of the Sisters or Therīgāthā (ThigA.252-70).
 

Black Beauty Barbie (kattisdolls.net)

In the time of Sikhī Buddha she had entered the Monastic Order. While yet a novice, she took part in a procession of Buddhist nuns (bhikkhunīs) and was doing homage at a shrine when an enlightened elder nun (arhat therī) in front of her hastily spat in the court of the shrine. Seeing the spittle and not knowing who had committed the fault, she said in reproof: "What prostitute has been spitting here?"

It was owing to this remark that she was born as a courtesan in her last rebirth (ThigA.206-7).

 

The Apadāna (also quoted in the Therīgāthā) gives some more details about her. She had been a daughter of a noble warrior caste (kshatriya/khattiya) family in the time of Phussa Buddha and had done many meritorious deeds in order to be beautiful in later rebirths.

In a future life as a deva in Heaven #2, I'm going to marry Sakka, King of the Devas. - Hah, you wish! He's already married to an asura princess (Martha Boers/a-faerietale...).

 

Fruit beauty is deva beauty.

As a result of the abuse of the nun (referred to above) she had been born in hell and later had, for ten thousand lives, been a courtesan. In Kassapa Buddha's time she had practiced celibacy (Ap.ii.613ff.; ThigA.213f).

 

It is said that she charged 50 kahāpanas a night from her patrons and that Vesāli became very prosperous through her. It was this that prompted King Bimbisāra to get a courtesan for his own city of Rājagaha (Vin.i.268), modern Rajgir, where the Buddha often resided atop the poorly named Vultures Peak, which has no vultures and is merely a beautiful hill overlooking Rajgir that was a good retreat, a tiny hermitage the Buddha used to be close to the city, Bamboo Grove monastery, and one of his many royal patrons, King Bimbisara, his wife, and their bad son the subsequent King Ajatasattu.

The devas (space nymphs) as depicted in Thai cultural art (Ammar Crazzy/flickr.com).

 

Among Ambapālī's patrons was King Bimbisāra, and he was the father of her son Vimala-Kondañña (ThagA.i.146). [This would seem to make Ambapali a kind of Queen of Rajagaha except not technically as happens in royal matters of polyamory and polygamy, multiple partners and wives, ladies in waiting, etc. King Bimbisara, who had reached the first stage of enlightenment and therefore loved and had an unshakeable faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and noble Sangha, was not so different from Ambapali, who also loved the Three Gems.]

 

In the Psalms of the Sisters (vv.1020-21; Psalms of the Brethren.ii.129) there are two verses which, according to tradition, were spoken by Ananda in admonition of monks who lost their heads at the sight of beautiful Ambapālī. Whether this was before or after she joined the Monastic Order we are not told.