About Mahapajapati Gotami

Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, she was the first woman to seek ordination for women, which she did from Gautama Buddha directly, and she became the first bhikkhuni.

Products related to Mahapajapati Gotami

The sculpture depicts a scene where three soothsayers are interpreting to King Suddhodana the dream of Queen Maya.

The family of Gautama Buddha – Lineage of dreams & legends

23
Aug
2022
Biography, Dharma
The Buddha was born into a noble family in Lumbini in 563 BCE as per historical events and 624 BCE according to Buddhist tradition. He was called Siddhartha Gautama in his childhood. His father was king Śuddhodana, leader of the clan in what was the growing state of Kosala, and his mother was queen Maya. According to Buddhist legends, the baby exhibited the marks of a great man. A prophecy indicated that, if the .
Read More
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, the first modern Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada bhikkhuni and Abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, the only temple in Thailand where there are bhikkhunis.

Fully ordained Buddhist nuns – people & concepts

16
Jun
2022
Monks
A bhikkhunī or bhikṣuṇī is a fully ordained female monastic in Buddhism. Male monastics are called bhikkhus. Both bhikkhunis and bhikkhus live by the Vinaya, a set of rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahayana Buddhism and thus are prevalent in countries such as China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam but a few women have taken the full monastic vows in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools over the last decade. .
Read More

Foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha – The growth of the saṅgha

16
Aug
2022
Dharma
Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential śramaṇa schools of thought like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana. Śāriputra and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the sceptic; and the Pāli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. When the Buddha's community had grown to around sixty awakened monks, he instructed .
Read More

The Arhats – Moving beyond the state of personal freedom

12
Aug
2022
Dharma, Mahāyāna
In Buddhism, an arahant or is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved Nibbana and liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. Mahayana Buddhist traditions have used the term for people far advanced along the path of Enlightenment, but who may not have reached full Buddhahood. The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A .
Read More
Monks outside the temple at the Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Rato Dratsang

The forms of organized Buddhist monasticism

18
May
2022
Monasteries, Monks
is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. and nuns, called and bhikkhuni, are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people. Three surviving traditions of monastic discipline (), govern modern monastic life in different regional traditions: - the Theravada in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka - the Dharmaguptaka in East Asia - .
Read More