Gotami grew up in poor circumstances. Her family was impoverished. She was skinny and haggard (kisā) and so took on the name ‘Kisāgotami’. As a result of these circumstances, it was hard for Kisāgotami to find a husband. She felt a deep sense of dejection because of this. One day a rich merchant took Kisāgotami [...]
Archive for the ‘Bhikkhu Bodhi’ Category
Kisāgotami and the Mustard Seed
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Order of Nuns, Pāli Canon on February 16, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Angulimāla Encounters the Buddha
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Pāli Canon on February 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Angulimāla was bent on completing his garland of a thousand fingers. With only one finger left to go, he waited for his next victim. It was around this time that Angulimāla’s mother set out to find him. She suspected that the murderer who wore a finger garland was her son. Out of her deep motherly [...]
Ānanda and the Sewing Circle
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Pāli Canon on February 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Ānanda excelled in sewing. As a bhikkhu with few possessions, tending to one’s robe was an important skill to have. As the Buddha pointed out, it also showed mutual respect between the Sangha and the laity since it was the lay devotees of the Triple Gem who offered the robes to the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. [...]
Bhaddā Kundalakesā and Sāriputta’s Question
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Order of Nuns, Pāli Canon on February 3, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Bhaddā was also known as ‘Kundalakesā’ (or curly-hair) because after her hair was ripped out at the roots as part of her ordination into the Jains it grew back curly. She became a Jain because she had no desire for lay life. Sensual pleasures and possessions meant nothing to her anymore. But Bhaddā was not [...]
Mahākassapa Encounters the Buddha
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon, Zen on January 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The earth trembled and shook. Knowing the meaning of this, the Buddha set out to meet his future disciple. He walked the distance of five miles to greet Mahākassapa on the road, an act of compassion towards the unsuspecting disciple. Sitting down under a banyan tree, the Buddha emitted rays of light so that the [...]
What is a Great Disciple? (Part 7)
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon on January 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Great Disciples (cont.) After making abundant offerings to the Buddha, the follower announces their aspiration. The Buddha directs his mind into the future and sees that the follower will attain the fruition of their aspiration under some future Buddha. The prediction is then made known to the follower. This aspiring disciple of the Buddha must [...]
What is a Great Disciple? (Part 6)
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon on December 28, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Great Disciples From among the noble disciples practicing under any given Buddha, a select number are picked by that Buddha as preeminent in a particular field. These are the great disciples. For example, each Buddha appoints two as chief disciples (Pali: aggasāvaka). During the Buddha Gotama’s time, these posts were filled by Sāriputta (the foremost [...]
What is a Great Disciple? (Part 5)
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon on December 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Noble Disciples (cont.) The second is a psychological perspective in which the noble disciple is viewed as one who was eradicated one or more of the ten fetters (Pali: samyojana) of the mind. In the classical Theravādan tradition these fetters are typically seen as being eradicated in groups. With each group’s successful eradication, the noble [...]
What is a Great Disciple? (Part 4)
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon on December 22, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Noble Disciples In contrast to the ordinary disciples are those disciples in whom the seeds of practice have begun to take root and flourish. These are the noble disciples (Pali: ariyasāvaka). As Bhikkhu Bodhi states, “What has raised them from the status of wordling to the plane of spiritual nobility is a radical transformation that [...]
What is a Great Disciple? (Part 3)
Posted in Bhikkhu Bodhi, Disciples of the Buddha, Life of Buddha, Practice, Pāli Canon on December 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Ordinary Disciples Within the disciples of the Buddha, there is a division between two kinds of disciples: the ordinary disciples and the noble disciples. As Bhikkhu Bodhi states, “The differences that divide them do not pertain to outward form and mode of life but to inward spiritual stature.”[1] This stature can be described when we [...]
