Isidasi, the daughter of a baron who became a nun in Gautama
Buddha’s organization, soon attained liberation as an arhant
bhikkhuni.
One day, after finishing her alms round in Patna city, she rested near
the riverbank. Her friend, the nun Bodhi, was also resting next to her.
The conversation between the two arhant bhikkhunis at that time is
recorded in the Buddhist scriptures.
“Venerable Isidasi, you are still young and very beautiful. For what
reason did you become ordained? Why did you become a nun?”
“Venerable Bodhi, I will tell you why I became a nun. Listen to me.
My father was a baron in Ujjain. I was his beloved daughter. At a young age, I was married off to a rich baron in Saketa, who was a
friend of my father.”
“Since I got married and moved to Saketa, I washed my aunt’s and
uncle’s (father-in-law) feet in the morning and evening. If my
husband’s brothers, sisters, and family members came home, I would
get up from my seat so they could be seated and honored. I prepared
and served food appropriately.”
“I went to my husband at the right time and adorned him with
perfume like a maid. I prepared food, cleaned the dishes, and treated
my husband like a mother treats her only son.”
“Although I treated my husband with respect, he did not love me.
Despite behaving modestly, not lazily, and politely towards him, he
soon got tired of me and started to dislike me.”
“One day, he said, 'I can’t live married life with Isidasi anymore. Send
her to her parents.'”
“‘Child, don’t say that. Isidasi is intelligent, dutiful, and not lazy. She
treats you well. Why don’t you like her?’ asked his parents.”
“‘She doesn’t hurt me, but I don’t want to be with her anymore,’ he
replied.”
Because her husband insisted on sending her back to her parents,
Isidasi returned to her parent’s house. Without any grudge, she went
to her parents.
“Father, I have not done anything wrong to my husband. I didn’t do
anything bad or say a bad word. But I came back because he said he
does not like me,” Isidasi said. After a while, Isidasi’s father remarried her to another man. At his
house, Isidasi did all the work like a maid, respected her husband,
was a good dutiful wife and harbored no malice, as before. But after
about a month, he also got tired of her. Then again she had to return
to her parent’s house.
One day, Isidasi’s father saw a young man begging with dirty clothes
and a broken pot. He immediately bathed him in fragrant water,
dressed him in beautiful clothes and ornaments, and said, “Child,
from today onward you may not go begging. Marry my daughter,
take care of this property and riches, and live in this mansion.” That
young man agreed. Isidasi also honored him and treated him well just
like she did to her previous husbands. Despite this, he also disliked
her after about a month. “I don’t like living with Isidasi. I want to go
back to begging. It is better to beg than to be with my wife Isidasi,”
he said and left the mansion.
That day, Isidasi went to her room and cried the whole night. “Why
does every man hate me? Why do all men dislike me, even though I
am an obedient and dutiful wife?” she thought to herself. “What is
the meaning of this life? Should I commit suicide and die, or should I
become a nun?” she pondered.
After some time, one day, the wise and virtuous nun Jinadatta came
to my mansion for alms. Seeing her, I bowed at her feet, invited her
into my home, and offered alms.
“Venerable nun, I also want to become a Buddhist nun,” I told to
venerable nun Jinadatta. My father heard this and said, “Daughter, why do you think of
becoming a Buddhist nun? Stay in this house, follow the Dhamma,
and offer alms.”
“Father, you have seen the sufferings I have endured in this short
period, haven’t you? How embarrassed I was! I have suffered a lot,
more than any girl should have to bear. Therefore, Father, allow me
to become a nun. Let me abandon this lay life and end all these
sufferings to rest in the great nirvana.” She pleaded, bowing at her
father’s feet.
With her father’s permission, she went to a Buddhist nunnery and
became a nun. Within seven days, she meditated continuously and
reached fruition. She became a liberated arhant nun, attaining the
three intelligences. Then she obtained the divine eye and the ability
to see her past lives. One day, she watched how she spent her time in
the cycle of reincarnation.
In one previous life, she was a man and the son of a very rich
goldsmith in a village named Eraka. He spent his life as a young man
with a beautiful face and body. However, due to bad associations and
bad friends, he committed sins greedily and lustfully by engaging in
illicit sexual intercourse with various women. After that life, where
she was a man, she was born into hell for a very very long time,
suffering greatly. After that life in hell, she became a monkey in the
womb of a female monkey. On the seventh day after the baby
monkey was born, the great monkey leader removed the baby’s male
organs, causing severe injury and great suffering. These were the
results of the sins the past mistakes done when she was a man and a
son of a rich goldsmith.
From that life, she died and was born as a baby goat in the womb of a
blind and humpbacked goat (doe) that lived in a forest. She was caught by humans, and to lift heavy loads, the goat owner crushed
the goat’s male organs. That goat pulled heavy loads for twelve years,
suffering from ulcerated and worm-infested sores. This was also a
result of the wrongful, sinful illicit sexual acts committed in her
previous life as a man and the son of a rich goldsmith.
After that life, she was born as a bull in the womb of a cow who lived
on a farm owned by a cattle dealer. One year after birth, the bull’s
male organs were removed to make it better at pulling weight. It
carried heavy loads until it became very sick and died. This too was
the result of bad karma collected in her male life as the son of a rich
goldsmith.
In the next life, I was born in the house of a slave girl in a certain
street. I was not possible to be a woman or a man in that life. My
gender was neither a man nor a woman. It is also was the result of
my sinful karmas done in my male life as the son of a rich goldsmith.
After that life I was born as a daughter, a girl in a house of a very
poor cart driver. Being poor, he never got food to satisfy his hunger.
People came every day asking him to repay the loans he had
borrowed from them. As the girl was crying because her father could
not pay the debt, someone took her by force. Then I was a sixteen
years old girl. That man had a son named Giridasa. He took her to his
house. He had a virtuous, dutiful and devoted wife. I was Jealous of
her. So I did various things to make that wife unpleasant to him. I
made him angry about that his other wife.
So even when I provide all the services to my husbands like a maid,
they leave me because of that karmic reward. But I, the Isidasi, ended
all those karmas in this life. I have no rebirth and no suffering again… (from Theri Gatha - Stanzas of Bhikkunis)
1 Like