Uppalavanna (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

: Uppalavaṇṇā;

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: Utpalavarṇā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'' (Pali; Sanskrit: Bhikshuni), or nun, who was considered one of the top female disciples of

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

. She is considered the second of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with

Khema Khema (Pali: Khemā; Sanskrit: Kṣemā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'', or nun, who was one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with Uppalavanna. Khema was b ...

. She was given the name Uppalavanna, meaning "color of a blue water lily", at birth due to the bluish color of her skin. According to the

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

tradition, Uppalavanna was born the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Due to her beauty, numerous wealthy and powerful suitors came to her father to ask for her hand in marriage. Instead of marrying, she entered the monastic life under the Buddha as a ''bhikkhuni.'' According to the

Mulasarvastivada The Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit: मूलसर्वास्तिवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda sect still remain largely unk ...

tradition, Uppalavanna had a tumultuous life as a wife and courtesan before converting to Buddhism and becoming a ''bhikkhuni''. Uppalavanna attained enlightenment while using a fire '' kasina'' as her object of meditation less than two weeks after her ordination. Following her enlightenment she developed a mastery of ''

iddhipada ''Iddhipāda'' (Pali; Skt. ''ddhipāda'') is a compound term composed of "power" or "potency" (''iddhi''; ''ddhi'') and "base," "basis" or "constituent" (''pāda''). In Buddhism, the "power" referred to by this compound term is a group of spirit ...

'', or spiritual powers, leading the Buddha to declare her his female disciple foremost in

psychic powers This is a list of alleged psychic abilities that have been attributed to real-world people. Many of these abilities pertain to variations of extrasensory perception or the ''sixth sense''. Superhuman abilities from fiction are not included. Psyc ...

. Her male counterpart was Maha Moggallana.

Textual sources

The earliest known record of Uppalavanna comes from a 3rd century

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

stone engraving, portraying her at the Buddha's descent to

Sankassa Sankissa (also Sankasia, Sankassa and Sankasya) was an ancient city in India. The city came into prominence at the time of Gautama Buddha. According to a Buddhist source, it was thirty leagues from Savatthi.''Dhammapadatthakathā'', iii, 224 Af ...

after he visited his mother in Tavatimsa Heaven as described in Buddhist legend. Uppalavanna is mentioned in several early Buddhist texts of the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

, including the ''

Saṃyutta Nikāya The Saṃyukta Nikāya/Samyutta Nikaya (''Saṃyukta'' ''Nikāya/'' SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings") is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three basket ...

'', ''

Aṅguttara Nikāya The Anguttara Nikaya ('; , also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali ...

,'' and the ''Therīgāthā'' and '' Apadāna'' collections within the '' Khuddaka Nikaya'' as well as some early

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

texts such as the ''Perfection of Wisdom in Eighty-thousand Lines'' and ''Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom.'' Buddhist scholar

Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publ ...

notes that, despite being considered one of the Buddha's chief disciples, details about Uppalavanna's life in the Buddhist texts and commentaries are quite scant. Bhikkhu Bodhi points out that there is more in Buddhist texts about one of her previous lives than about the ''bhikkhuni'' herself.

Background

In Buddhist belief, when a fully enlightened

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

appears in the world, he always has a set of chief disciples. For the current Buddha,

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, his chief male disciples were Sariputta and Moggallana, while his chief female disciples were

and Uppalavanna. According to the

, in a previous life Uppalavanna was born a woman in the time of Padumattara Buddha and witnessed him declare one of his nuns foremost in

. After hearing the declaration, the woman made the

resolve Resolve may refer to: * ''Resolve'' (Lagwagon album) * ''Resolve'' (Last Tuesday album) * "Resolve" (song), by the Foo Fighters *''The Resolve'', a 1915 American silent short drama film * "Resolve" (''One Tree Hill'' episode) *''Resolve'', a Briti ...

to become the female disciple foremost in psychic powers under a future Buddha and did good deeds for many lifetimes in hopes of becoming one. This wish came true in the time of Gautama Buddha, when she was reborn as Uppalavanna.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Uppalavanna was given her name (meaning color of a blue water lily) due to being born with a complexion that was the color of a blue water-lily, in accordance with a wish she was said to have made in a past life. According to

tradition Uppalavanna was born into a wealthy merchant family from

Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...

. When Uppalavanna grew up she was known for her immense beauty, with several kings and wealthy suitors coming to her father to ask for her hand in marriage. Not wanting to disappoint so many people, and fearing a potential conflict between the various wealthy and powerful suitors, he suggested Uppalavanna become a ''bhikkhuni'', or nun, under the Buddha. Already being inclined to the holy life, she happily agreed and ordained under the Buddha as a nun. According to the

tradition Uppalavanna was instead born the daughter of a merchant in

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area a ...

and married to a local. Uppalavanna later found out her husband was having an affair with her mother and leaves him and her newborn daughter. Uppalavanna eventually marries another man who takes a second wife, who she later finds out was her daughter that she left behind. Distraught by the discovery, Uppalavanna leaves and becomes a courtesan before being converted by Maha Moggallana and becoming a nun.

Enlightenment

Buddhist texts relate that Uppalavanna attained enlightenment less than two weeks after ordaining as a ''bhikkhuni''. Shortly after becoming a nun it was Uppalavanna's turn to prepare the observance hall. While the other nuns were out, she lit a lamp and started sweeping the hall in accordance with her duties. Using the fire from the lamp as a '' kasina'', or object of meditation, she entered deeper states of concentration and became a fully enlightened ''

arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

'' later that night.

Chief Disciple

Following her enlightenment, Uppalavanna gained a mastery of ''

'', or spiritual powers, that is described as having been superior to any other nun in the Buddha's time. Because of this, the Buddha designated her the female disciple foremost in psychic powers. The Buddha also praised Uppalavanna for her teaching and leadership skills, declaring her and

his chief female disciples that other nuns should take as their model. Uppalavanna and Khema share the title of chief disciples with their male counterparts, Maha Moggallana and Sariputta.

Rape

According to the

tradition, a man who lusted after Uppalavanna before her ordination hid in her hut and attempted to rape her. Uppalavanna tries to escape using her psychic powers, but due to a bad karma she committed in a past life her psychic powers were rendered ineffective and the rape proceeds. The rapist is then swallowed by the earth and falls to Avici hell for his evil deed. Following the incident, when questioned about the matter, the Buddha states that Uppalavanna did not break the monastic rule of chastity since she gave no consent. This event leads to the creation of a rule prohibiting nuns from dwelling in the wild as a way to protect against such incidents.

Cakkavatti Miracle

Uppalavanna's most significant display of psychic powers was a miracle she displayed where she transformed into a '' cakkavatti'', or universal monarch, and created a large retinue to pay respect to the Buddha. Buddhist texts describe that she offered to perform this feat during the

Miracle at Savatthi The Twin Miracle, also called the Miracle at Savatthi (Pali), or the Miracle at Śrāvastī (Sanskrit), is one of the miracles of Gautama Buddha. There are two major versions of the story that vary in some details. The Pali account of the miracl ...

, but the Buddha refused and told her to wait for the right time to perform the feat. Uppalavanna performed the miracle four months later at

when the Buddha returned to earth after spending his rains-retreat in Tavatimsa Heaven.

Encounter with Mara

Once, when Uppalavanna was meditating in the wilderness alone,

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Animals *Mara (mammal), a species of the cavy family *Mara the Lioness, in the movie ''Born Free'' Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials *Mara, ...

attempted to break her concentration. Mara appears and tells her she should be afraid of rogues as a beautiful young woman sitting alone in the wilderness. Being an enlightened arahant, Uppalavanna sees through the charade and describes her psychic abilities, explaining to Mara that she is the master of her own mind and has nothing to fear. Disappointed by his inability to break her concentration, Mara leaves.

Legacy

Uppalavanna shares a complementary role with her male counterpart Maha Moggallana. American ''bhikkhuni'' Tathālokā Therī points out that the story of Uppalavanna's rape in the Pali tradition shares a theme with Maha Moggallana, whose psychic powers also suddenly become ineffective on one occasion due to a past karma, which leaves him unable to escape and causes him to get killed by a group of bandits. Anthropologist Ranjini Obeyesekere notes that of the Buddha's two pairs of chief disciples, each pair had one disciple that was dark skinned (Maha Moggallana and Uppalavanna) and one disciple that was light skinned ( Sariputta and

). Obeyesekere argues that this pairing is meant to symbolize the inclusiveness of the Buddha's teachings, that the Dhamma is meant for people of all colors and classes.

Notes

References

External links

* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed., trans.) (1997). ''Discourses of the Ancient Nuns (Bhikkhuni-samyutta)'' (Bodhi Leaves Publication No. 143). Kandy, Sri Lanka:

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...

. Retrieved 2007-10-19 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bl143.html. * Nibbana.com (n.d.). "Life Histories of Bhikkhuni Arahats: The story of Uppalavanna Theri". Retrieved from "Nibbana.com" at https://web.archive.org/web/20060719091131/http://www.triplegem.plus.com/gcobbkn1.htm#3. {{Authority control Foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha Buddhist nuns Arhats