Bhikkhuni Sanghamitta theri story
"iti pi so bhagava araham sammasambuddho
vijjacharana sampanno sugato lokavidu anuttaro
purisa dhamma sarati satta deva manussanam
buddho bhagava ti".
After over two hundred years of the birth of Buddhism, Buddhism was at its peak during the time of King Dhammasoka in India.
The King Dhammasoka understood the essence of Buddhism, and offered great support to the cause of Buddhism by erecting rock- edicts
in all parts of his territory enjoining upon the subjects to follow the Doctrine in their daily lives. With his royal patronage Buddhism flourished, and the Sasana gradually grew in
importance and numbers. Tempted by worldly gain, many undesirables of alien sects joined the Order and polluted the Sasana by their corrupt lives and heretical views which
they taught. Good monks could not live together with these sham monks and there was trouble.
1.1. The first Miracle
The King consulted the Venerable
Moggaliputta Tissa to protect the Sasana. The King tested the monks and disrobed the undesirables to purify the Sasana. The Third Buddhist Council was then held by 1000 Arahants, with the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa as the presiding Thera. Seeing the imminent dominance of Brahmanism religion dominating India in some future time,
Moggaliputta sent emissaries of arahats to nine regions outside of India to spread the Buddhism.
The most successful emissary was the delegations led by Mahinda Thera who first established the Bhikkhu Sangha in Sri Lanka; and followed by the her sister Sanghamitta Theri who then established the Bhikkhuni sasana in Sri Lanka. For over 1,000 years (242 BC to 1050 AD), Buddhism flourished in Sri Lanka with both Bhikkhu
and Bhikkhuni Sangha working in harmony for the Buddha sasana in Sri Lanka. Up till 1050 AD, Bhikkhuni Sasana flourished world wide with Sri Lanka as the center of Buddhism, after Buddhism left India, its birth place.
1.2. The Second Miracle
In 429 AD, the visionary Bhikkhuni Devasara, seeing the future of Bhikkhuni was in imminent danger of war and famine and of being vanished from Sri Lanka, sent
emissaries to China led by Devasara to establish the Bhikkhuni Sasana in China. The original Theravada Bhikkhuni lineage was planted in China since 429 AD to grow in
unbroken lineage to this day as Mahayana Bhikkhuni Sasana.
1.3. The Third Miracle
To this day, many in Theravada have known Theravada Sangha as consisting of Bhikkhu
alone; not knowing that our Lord Buddha had left his heritage to his trusted Sangha – the worthy heir of his dhamma – Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni. It was a sad thing to see many younger generations still thought that Bhikkhuni Sangha was defunct and should not be
revived again. Mahaparinnibana discourse had defined the Buddha heir to consists of both Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni and without Bhikkhuni Sasana in active participation to
carry the responsibility of spreading the Sasana to the posterity; it will be very hard for Theravada to endure the remainder of Buddha sasana for another 2,400 years. For that reason, Sri Lanka has now revived the Bhikkhuni sasana some two decades ago, using the unbroken Theravada Bhikkhuni lineage preserved in China.
It was a miracle that Mahayana had preserved the Theravada Bhikkhuni lineage to this day so that Theravada could revive their Bhikkhuni sasana, which they all along thought was defunct and extinct in the world. This was another act of miracle in the chronicle of Buddha saThe miracles said above must attribute to three persons, Moggaliputta
Tissa Thera, Mahinda Thera, Sanghamitta Theri and Bhikkhuni Devasara of Sri Lanka
and the divine helps working behind the scene.
1.4. The fourth Miracle – the lineage.
Buddha had predicted that when the sasana come close to 5,000 BE, the predicted five
disappearances (see Anagatavamsa Desana) will come to pass. The Buddha relics
(Dhatu – relics) from across the Universe will gather in one place at the Bodhi Tree
located in Anuradhapura to deliver the dhamma discourse to Devas and Brahmas
for them to pay their last homage to the Buddha relics forming the Buddha images
through the supernatural power. This event will be celebrated for seven days and nights
in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. The entire Universe will light up in brilliance while the
Devatãs are assembled for this convention. No human being will participate at this
convention of Devatãs. The convention would be led by the king of Devas, Sakka and his
retinues of Devas including Saputta and Bhallika, and the retinue of Sakka from
Tavatimsa heaven and Brahmana lineage Devatãs. The end of the convention will mark
the end of their final existence in the samsara – the round of rebirths has thus ended for
the Devatãs – so they will exclaim in joys as they enter Nibbana.
1.5. We owed much to Sanghamitta
When Sanghamitta was invited to visit Sri Lanka by the king of Sri Lanka to establish the
Bhikkhuni sasana in Sri Lanka, she brought along with her the Bodhi Sapling, a branch of the
original Bodhi tree grafted by the miracle power to be brought over to Sri Lanka for this event to
come in the year near 5,000 BE. The dhatu relics will then be flown to the original Bodhi tree in
Benares for final destruction to mark the end of Gotama sasana on earth.
1.6. The story of Sanghamitta Theri
The illustrious daughter of the Emperor Asoka (274-237B.C.) who ruled India arrived in Lanka
on the Full Moon Day of Unduvap which falls in the month of December. This day
commemorates two momentous events that gave tremendous impetus and stimulus to the spiritual
awakening of the people of Lanka, namely:
1. The arrival of the Theri Arahant Sanghamitta with a sapling of the Bodhi-Tree under whose
benign shade the Buddha attained supreme Enlightenment.
2. The establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order in Lanka.
In the 6th century B.C. in India women were considered inferior to men. They were highly
dishonoured and disinherited in Brahmin dominated society. Their rights were banged and
mouths were gagged. They were always kept confined to home. They had to work as slaves.
According to the Brahamins’literature
“Women have no sacrifices of their own to perform nor religious rites of observances to follow.
Obedience to the husband alone would exalt the woman in heaven”(Manu.v. 153).
But this type of hostile attitudes towards women both in religion and in society was criticised by
the Buddha himself. The Buddha paved the way for them also to seek freedom from
consciousness (cetovimutti) and freedom from wisdom (pannavimutti). It was for the first time in
history, the Buddha established a Bhikkhuni Order with rules and freedom of thought for them to
become full fledged Bhikkhunis in society. There were thousands of learned and well disciplined Bhikkhunis during the time of the Buddha. Among them, Pajapati Gotami, Khema,
Uppalavanna, Patacara, Dhammadinna,Soma,and Nanda could be mentioned a few. Even after
the demise of the Buddha there were many other well versed Bhikkhunis. Sanghamitta was one
such great Bhikkhuni who rendered an unparalleled service to the Buddha Sasana. She was
the daughter of the Emperor Asoka who ruled India righteously in the 3rd century BC. Her
mother was Vidisa Devi. Sanghamitta was born in 282 B.C. and at the age of 14 she was married
to Agibrahma, the nephew of Asoka. She gave birth to a son named Sumana (who later was
ordained and came to Lanka with Ven. Mahinda himself in the name of the novice Sumana). By
264 BC when she was at her young age of 18 years she took her ordination together with her
brother Mahinda. Thereafter, she dedicated herself to the Dhamma and because of her strenuous
efforts she became one of the Arahant Theris in the then society. After her attainment for
Arahantship she mostly spent her time at Pataliputta (present Patna).
In the meantime, her brother had introduced Buddhism to Lanka and established the Order. But
still there were thousands of women who were willing to enter the Order. But as the Thera
Mahinda was not in a position to ordain them as Bhikkhunis the king was instructed to send some
one to India and bring his sister Theri Sanghamitta together with a sapling of the Bodhi-Tree.
Therefore the Minister Arittha was sent to the Emperor Asoka by the then King of Lanka,
Devanampiyatissa and requested the Emperor to send his daughter and the sapling of the Bodhi-
Tree.
It was because of this invitation that the Ven. Theri Arahant Sanghamitta was sent to Lanka
together with some other 11 nuns to establish the Bhikkhuni Order in Lanka so as to spread
Buddhism in all over the country with the full participation and assistance of women. She was
sent to Lanka by sea and landed at the ferry called Jambukola in the North. There the King
received the sapling of the Bodhi-Tree with great respect and brought it to Anuradhapura in a
procession with great honour, held some unprecedented ceremonies lasting for weeks. There after
it was planted in Mahameuna Grove.
According to the great Historian H. G. Wales this is the oldest historical tree in the world. “In
Ceylon there grows to this day a tree, the oldest historical tree in the world, which we know
certainly to have been planted as a cutting from the Bodhi-Tree in the year 245 B.C. From that
time to this it has been carefully tended and watered”.
By this time Queen Anula and 500 other women, shaven headed and clad in yellow, were eagerly
looking to receive the Pabbajja ordination. This moment just after the introduction of Buddhism
to Lanka is described by Prof. Bapat in his work “2500 years of Buddhism” as follows:
“The king and the people of Ceylon were deeply impressed by the new gospel and accepted
Buddhism. Its progress was phenomenal. Hundreds of thousands of men and women embraced
the new faith and thousands entered the Sangha and adopted the life of bhikkhu. Monasteries
were erected on all sides and rich endowments were made for their upkeep. Queen Anula and a
number of women also expressed their desire to receive the pabbajja ordination and enter the
Sanghas. But as no monk was allowed to do this for them, emissaries were sent to Emperor
Asoka to send some distinguished Nuns to help them (p.85).” It was under these circumstances
that the Theri Arahant Sanghamitta after having well discerned the word of the Buddha
established the Bhikkhuni Order in Lanka. Since then the Bhikkhuni Order has flourished in
Lanka for more than thousand years. There were many well educated and creditable nuns with
great composure in that lineage of the Bhikkhuni Sasana. At one time, in 429 A. D. under the
supervision of a renowned nun called Devasara, a group of Nuns went to China and conferred
Higher Ordination on Chinese Nuns.
But such a glorified and well connected Bhikkhuni Order came to be defunct by the year 1017 A.
D. mainly because of chola invasion from South India. After the invasion, both Bhikkhus and
Bhikkhunis disappeared from Lanka. There were no at least five monks to perform a
vinayakamma. It was under the able guidance of the Ven. Asarana Sarana Saranankara Maha
Thera that the Higher Ordination was reintroduced from Siam (Thailand) and re-established the
Order of Monks in Lanka (Malwatte Chapter) in 1753 A.D.
Now there are more than 200 Bhikkhunis in the country. We have to accept them as our own
elderly mothers and sisters in robes. They have no way to turn to. They all are Buddhist and
Sinhalese. Whatever the rules and regulations found in the code, at present, they are rendering a
peerless service in society giving advice to the people and caring and sharing things with them.
They are also, like monks striving to mould the future generation in the country. In short, they are
now doing their service as full fledged Nuns. Therefore what we can do today is to help them in
whatever the possible manner. On the contrary, their responsibility is also to be emphasised. They
must be very well aware of the word of the Buddha (The Dhammavinaya). They have to lead
their lives entirely abiding by the rules proclaimed by the Buddha. Mainly the Astha Garu
Dhamma should be accepted as their basic principles. Thus respecting the monks and their own
senior Nuns if they lead a life based on morality concentration and wisdom according to the
teaching of the Buddha the Bhikkhuni Sasana of Sri Lanka will flourish again day by day and this
same example also will be followed by the womankind in the whole world. I feel, on this very
day of the Theri Sanghamitta’s arrival and the establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order in Lanka,
should be proclaimed as the International Women’s Day.
May Bhudha Sasana endure the entire life span
May the posterity know that Sangha means – Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni
May all beings be well happy and peaceful!
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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