Precedent from Early Arahants on the Bestowal of Bhikkhuni Ordination

by Ayya Tathālokā 

Mural at Wat Po

Written in commemoration of the lunar anniversary of our Venerable Foremother Saṅghamittā Therī’s arrival on Lankadvipa twenty-three centuries ago, as an inquiry into the ordination practices of our early arahant forebears, particularly those great Dhamma emissaries who spread the Buddha's teaching beyond the central heartland of the Indian Madhyadesa to foreign lands, far and wide in all directions.

 Great Activities of Early Arahants

We have heard and read that in the early days of the Buddha sāsana, while the Blessed One still lived and breathed and walked the dusty paths of India's ancient heartland, there were many fully enlightened women, bhikkhunī arahants. The Buddha’s beloved former wife , his foster mother, his half-sister, and many more Sakyan daughters were amongst the ladies of the Madhyadesa who became the Blessed One's foremost disciples, preeminent in all good qualities and virtues.

When the Sakyan ladies emerged en masse from their native home, Kapila—on foot, hair shorn, bereft of all but the humble robes of samaṇas, it was the Blessed One who received them and ordained his foster mother—she already attained to the first stages of sainthood. And to his bhikkhu saṇghā he gave the honor and responsibility of bestowing ordination upon the many saintly and aspiring others, uplifting five hundred more of these daughters of the Sakyans into full communion in the monastic saṇghā. Thus the bhikkhunī sāsana arose in the world in this fortunate eon, although there are rumors of other early solitary wanderers amongst women, quick to be enlightened, called directly to the path by the Conqueror.

Not long after, in praise of the effectiveness of his teaching, the Blessed One, the noble Lord Buddha himself testified to the attainment in his twofold monastic saṇghā—the complete enlightenment of five hundred of his monastic women disciples to the noble reaches and heights of the path, to arahant.

But then there were more . . .

For among the women elders, the therīs, there arose those who excelled in leadership and teaching: Therīs Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā, preeminent in leadership of the women's monastic saṇghā; Therī Dhammadinnā for her buddhavacana , her words likened by the Blessed One to his own; and Therī Paṭācārā, preeminent in her deep knowledge and teaching of the monastic discipline of the Vinaya. It is said that the Venerable Paṭācārā herself had five hundred enlightened disciples, and likewise former queen, Anojā Therī, and the great therī Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī too, together with thousands following the Therī Bimba Yasodhara, unequaled in vision of the ages.

But those were the early days of the sāsana, when arahants flourished upon the lands of Middle Earth and the noble path of the ariyas and the banner of the arahants blazed forth in all their glory in robed feminine and masculine form. But you may ask, what of the arahants of later days, after the light of the Tathāgata passed from the world into the great and final bliss of parinibbāna?

The years passed and the Dhamma spread, then a great king emerged, who by bloody conquest terrorized and took for his own land after land, amassing an empire previously unknown until, upon seeing a gentle monastic recluse, Asoka the Black stopped, transformed, and became Asoka the Benevolent.

Two hundred and six years had passed between the Blessed One's parinibbāna and the birth of Asoka's noble daughter, the great lady, Saṅghamittā, later remembered as the wise one. Upon this noble daughter reaching the age of eighteen, 96,000 bhikkhunīs, the majority of them holy ones, converged upon the beautiful capitol city of the realm, Pāṭaliputta, together with six kotis [600,000] of holy bhikkhus for the dedication of 84,000 monasteries and reliquary stupas across the land, as called together by Saṅghamittā’s father, now Dhamma-Asoka, the great king, uniter of the continent. To fulfill his wish that he become a true relative of the sāsana by gift of his own flesh and blood, with her father's blessing Saṅghamittā too went forth and received the pabbajjā ordination from her preceptor, Dhammapālā Therī, with Ayupālā Therī as her teacher. She undertook the preliminary sikkhā training and then the full training; no long time passed before she joined these noble therīs in destroying the fetter of individual existence, entering and then fulfilling the arahant path.


Her blessed brother Mahinda also went forth and awoke, and after the passing of a decade, joined with other excellent messengers of the Dhamma who went far and wide to foreign lands, sharing the word of the Blessed One's noble and liberating doctrine, enlightening the multitudes everywhere. For the Blessed One told the bhikkhus "Go forth for the weal and welfare of the manyfolk, . . .” There are those with little dust in their eyes, . . .” and “the gates to the Deathless are open."

Then Mahinda called for Saṅghamittā. Her brother, this great thera, noble Mahinda, sent word by messenger from that lamp of an island Sri Lanka, far to the south where he had traveled teaching. For there Anulā Devi, queen of the king's noble brother, together with five hundred of her retinue of royal virgin companions, assembled and while listening to the Discourse on the Noble Truths, the Saccasaṃyutta, attained sotāpanna, entering that most noble of all streams, opening the Dhamma eye, gaining the vision of nibbāna. Then Anulā Devi, telling her king, Tissa, beloved of the devas, "Lord, I would go forth," she made known the inclination of her heart to renunciation and faithful as he was to the doctrine, the king in turn told this to his teacher, the noble thera Mahinda. For this, the great thera Mahinda called for the great therī Saṅghamittā, making it known, "It is not for a bhikkhu to do, when there are bhikkhunīs such as this sister of mine, noble and enlightened, friend of the saṇghā, Saṅghamittā. May she come here."

Then the king directed that an upāsikā vihāra be built for Queen Anula and the saintly ladies, noble in birth and noble in Dhamma vision that they could live at ease with the  dasasila ten precepts and await Saṅghamittā who would ordain them.

Although reluctant that his daughter, the Venerable Lady Sanghamitta should leave his land too, faithful in his dedication, Dhamma-Asoka, lord of the continent, then made ready for her both ship and company As the thera Mahinda had named them, the wise theri Saṅghamittā’s companions, the noble ones: Uttarā, Hemā, Pasadapala (Masagalla ), Aggimittā, Dasika , Phegu (Tappa),  Pabbata [-cchinna], Mattā, Mallā, and Dhammadasiya, bhikkhunīs free from desire and firm, with pure thoughts and wishes, firmly established in Dhamma and Vinaya, their passions subdued, with senses under control, attained to the three knowledges and supernormal powers, and well grounded in the highest bliss.

With sapling of the winter blossom-covered bodhi, southern branch of the fair and sacred fig under which the Blessed One awoke, Saṅghamittā came with her bhikkhunī retinue across the land and across the sea, blessed and accompanied by both devas and nāgas, calming storms, subduing the wilds of the ocean until they could see the shore and the Lankan king, beloved of the devas, waist-deep in the waters, hands held high in reverence above his head in welcome and exhalted joy. It was the first moon of the cool season when they descended, came ashore, and then up and into Anurādhapura, that most beautiful and beloved city, with streets clean swept in anticipation, strewn with rain of flowers showered down by devas.

The five hundred virgins surrounding Anulā and five hundred palace women, all free from passion and steadfast, received the pabbajjā ordination from the great therī, not long after fulfilling the arahant path in the illustrious doctrine of the Conqueror. And from them arose a great history, the Chronicle of the Lamp, and a great tradition of excellence in enlightenment, long-lasting, undying, to this day.

Analysis 

In modern times, if we look back to the example of the Ancient Arahants we find a very interesting picture.  It seems that in the very earliest days of the Buddha Sasana that the Buddha himself ordained bhikkhunis and that he himself instructed the Bhikkhu Sangha to do so, calling for them to fully ordain many hundreds of women. It also appears that the bhikkhunis themselves were active teachers both of lay people in all strata of society as well as teachers and leaders of their own monastic followings, numbering in several cases into the hundreds and even thousands. 
 
When we study the women's monastic discipline of the modern Pali-text Bhikkhuni Patimokkha, we find that a bhikkhuni may not ordain more than one student every other year, ostensibly due to shortage of lodgings (Bhikkhuni Pacittiyas 82 & 83).  It has thus been logically theorized that these precepts must have arisen late in the Buddha's lifetime, after the Bhikkhuni Sangha was very well established, with large numbers of women entering the Order, and the provision of lodgings a concern.  For this theory to hold true, we would then expect to find, at least in records postdating the Parinibbana, particularly for those knowledgeable in Vinaya and for those who were Arahantas, that these precepts would be most excellently followed in both letter and spirit. 
 
However, when we look carefully at the story of the international foundation of the Bhikkhuni Sasana in the 3rd century BC on the Isle of Sri Lanka by the Arahant siblings Elders Sanghamitta Theri and Mahinda Thera, as well as the extant records of all of the other Asokan Missions, we find that these Arahant Elders seem to have been either:
 
(1) unaware of these precepts because they had not yet been established, or
(2) aware of these precepts and aware of reasonable exceptions to them, that is, of variant cases where they applied and didn't apply - a knowledge now lost in modern renditions of the Vinaya.
 
This is interesting in two ways related to our modern circumstances.
 
If (1) were true, then this might lend credence to the theories that there were precepts established to control the Bhikkhuni Sangha and subjugate it to the Bhikkhu Sangha that were instituted at least several hundred years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha, and notably after the time of the Asokan Missions.
 
This would also importantly tend to not support speculations amongst some contemporary Theravada Buddhists that the Buddha himself established these precepts for the sake of controlling and even stifling the Bhikkhuni Sangha because he did not want it to exist, or wanted it to remain very small and ineffective, or to die out quickly. 
 
If (2) were true, it would also prove, through the authoritative example of the early Arahants, that these precepts, in the way that they were practiced in the early days, as understood by fully enlightened Masters of Dhamma and Vinaya, were circumstantial in application, as other precepts also are, in details that are now lost to us. That is, these precepts were not meant to be kept under every circumstance, but rather that there were exceptions, such as when the women to be ordained were replete with offered lodging and requisite support, as well as support in good quality training and instruction in Dhamma and Vinaya, much as the case of Queen Anula and her large following of several hundreds of women. 
 
It would also prove, once again, that according to the understanding of the Ancient Arahants who lived within the first five hundred years after the Parinibbana -- at a time that all traditions agree that the Dhamma was still present in its pristine purity in practice and realization within the Sangha -- that it was (and is) a desirable thing to ordain larger numbers of both men and women who faithfully aspire to the full and complete living of the Holy Life in the monastic Sangha.
 
This does seem to be the prevalent mood of both the early Sasana in the Buddha's lifetime up to the pre-missionary period Buddhism in India under the Emperor Asoka as well as in the ensuing period of the great missions, as evidenced by the early missionary records from this period which proudly relate the numbers of both men and women brought into the Sangha by the Dhammadhuta Arahantas who traveled and taught far and wide, ordaining both men and women.
 
The case of Sanghamitta and Mahinda is unique, however, as it is the only record in which the presence and the name of the ordaining female Arahanti is recorded for posterity.  All other records show only bhikkhu Arahant emissaries ordaining both men and women, or ordaining what in some cases may have meant men alone, or in other cases such as that of Suvannabhumi meant simply ordaining "people" without distinction of gender in one record, the Mahavamsa, but with distinction of gender inclusive of both men and women in other records such as the Samantapasadika and the Sudassanavinayavibhasa.  
 
The numbers below are of ordinations given by Arahant Dhamma emissaries of the Asokan Missions period resulting from their initial teaching in these lands.
 

• Mahinda Thera ordains 30,000 men and Sanghamitta Theri ordains 1000 noblewomen (Sri Lanka)
• Sona and Uttara Thera ordain 3,500 noblemen and 1,500 noblewomen in Suvannabhumi (mainland SE Asia)
• Rakkhita Thera ordains 37,000 persons in Vanavasa (South India)
• Yonaka Dhammarakkhita Thera ordains 2,000 persons, more than half being women, in Aparantaka (Indian West Coast)
• Mahadhammarakkhita Thera ordains 13,000 persons in Maharashtra (West India)
• Maharakkhita Thera ordains 10,000 of the Yonas (in the Greek lands along the Arabian Sea)
• Mahadeva Thera ordains 40,000 persons in Mahisamandala (Avanti)
• Majjhima with Kassapagotta, Dundubissara, Sahadeva and Mulakadeva Thera each ordain 100,000 (Himalayan Region)

 
The apparent uniqueness of the case of Sanghamitta and Mahinda is largely, if not completely, due to the uniqueness of there being an extant record, the Dipavamsa.  This, in turn, may be largely due to the fact that the bhikkhunis of the tradition founded by the most venerable Sanghamitta, as recorded in the Dipavamsa, were highly educated and skilled in practice and teaching of both Dhamma and Vinaya, and for unknown reasons seem to have taken a particular interest, whether earlier or later in their tradition, in recording their own history over a several hundred year period.  It was the authoring of the Dipavamsa - the "Lineage of the Lamp," "Chronicle of the Lamp" or "Chronicle of the Island" - that is thought to have inspired the later Bhikkhu Sangha authored Mahavamsa - the "Great Chronicle" - and perhaps even inspired other Buddhist histories of lineages and traditions such as the Chinese "Transmission of the Lamp".  Or it may simply be that this one particular record has happened to survive the ages, while others have not, or have yet to be discovered. 
 
It is important to acknowledge, however, that Northern and Southern records differ in their inclusion of Sanghamitta Theri in the history of the conversion of the Isle of Lanka, for the Northern records mention Mahinda (Skt: Mahendra) alone, and do not say how many people he ordained, but simply that he firmly established the Sangha in that land.  This suggests the tendency in at least some branches of the tradition to record only the names of the great male leader for posterity.
 
Nonetheless, these early records, fully half of which record both very large numbers of men and women being ordained by early Arahanta Dhamma teaching emissaries, whether by bhikkhus alone or by bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, do show one thing: They show an attitude of tremendous positivity to the ordination of women alongside the ordination of men in this early original period of the Buddha Sasana, within the first five hundred years following the Parinibbana.  And significantly, for the Theravada tradition, it is useful and important to acknowledge that Sanghamitta Theri and Mahinda Thera are the co-founders of the International Theravada tradition that has been passed on and lasted until this present day, in the Theravada traditions of Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Burma.  Thus, the example of the attitudes and behaviors of the founding Arahants of this tradition, in its early and pristine days, might be considered most excellent precedent and example for those who would like to conserve and perpetuate the authentic and original Theravada Buddha Sasana.  
 

Post Script 

The most important question, that of the prevalent attitude within the very early Theravada tradition on the ordination of women, both in the Buddha's lifetime and in the early missionary period within the three hundred years following the Parinibbana, is answered here clearly.  However, there are further technical clues related to the possible later development of the Pali text Vinaya over time which emerge from analysis of the Dipavamsa records of Sanghamitta and Mahinda that may be worthy of consideration. 
 
(1) The presence (mention) of the sikkhamana training stage in the lifetime of Sanghamitta Theri from her ages 18-20 - suggesting the sikkhamana training for underage women may be an earlier Vinaya practice, already in place in the Asokan period;

(2) The apparent absence (or non-mention) of restriction on the number of women (and men) to be ordained at one time - suggests this restriction might be of later addition to Vinaya (post-Asokan period), or appropriate exceptions to the restriction where known then;

(3) The apparent absence (or non-mention) of dual ordination by both the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Sanghas, with ordination mentioned for women by the Bhikkhuni Sangha only - suggesting the requirement of dual ordination might be of later post-Asokan period addition to or adaptation of Bhikkhuni Vinaya under later circumstances.

 

References 

Sutta Pitaka

• Anguttara Nikaya: Book of the Ones
• Khuddhaka Nikaya: Therigatha, Theri Apadana

Vinaya Pitaka

• Vinaya: Culavagga, Bhikkhuni Vibhanga

Vinaya Commentaries

• Samantapasadika 
• Sudassanavinayavibhasa

Chronicles and Histories

• The Dipavamsa: An Ancient Buddhist Historical Record, translated by Hermann Oldenberg
• Mahavamsa: The Great Chronicle, translated by George Turnour

Contemporary Publications on the History of Buddhism

• Light of Liberation: A History of Buddhism in India, Nyingma Crystal Mirror Series VIII
• History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Saka Era, Lamotte

Originally published 19 Dec 2009, Hemanta 2552; edited 7 Dec 2019, Hemanta 2562

The author expresses gratitude to the venerable Bhikkhu Analayo for his review of the original draft of this article and to the venerables Ajahn Brahmali, Bhikkhuni Sudhamma and Bhikkhuni Sobhana for their helpful editorial suggestions.

Private Copyright by the Author, 2009.  Contact the author at dhammadharini [at] gmail [dot] com if you wish to quote from or link to this publication

Ven. Bhikkhunī (Ayyā) Tathālokā Therī

Ayyā Tathālokā Bhikkhunī is an American-born member of the Buddhist Monastic Saṇgha with a background in Zen and Theravāda Buddhism. Venerable Tathālokā began her journey into monastic life nearly twenty-five years ago, and in 1997 was granted Higher Ordination by a multi-ethnic gathering of the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhunī Saṇghas in Southern California. In 2005 she co-founded the North American Bhikkhunī Association and the Dhammadharini Support Foundation. She is recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award, and a presenting scholar at the 2007 International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Saṇgha.

Following in the late Ayya Khemā's footsteps, Ayyā Tathālokā became the second Western woman in Theravāda Buddhism to be appointed bhikkhunī preceptor, serving in the going forth, training, and full ordination of women in Australia, the USA, and Thailand. In 2009 she served as preceptor for the historically significant bhikkhunī ordinations in Perth, Australia. She participated as preceptor in the bhikkhunī ordination ceremonies in Northern California at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage in 2010, Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin in 2011, and the American Buddhist Seminary Temple in Sacramento in 2012.

Inspired by the forest traditions in Buddhism, for the past five years she has been involved in developing a rustic, green, off-the-grid women's monastic retreat named Aranya Bodhi: Awakening Forest Hermitage, located on the Sonoma coast. She also writes on the history of women and Buddhism and Buddhist women's monastic discipline—two of her special areas of interest and research—in addition to teaching liberating Dhamma and meditation.