Sujātā
Sujātā (T. legs skyes ma; C. Xusheduo 須闍多).[1] The Sanskrit and Pāli proper name of a female lay disciple declared by the Buddha to be foremost among laywomen who had taken refuge in the three jewels.[1]
According to Pali accounts, Sujātā encountered Siddhartha in the forest after he had spent many years practicing austeries and he had grown very weak. Mistaking Siddhartha for a spirit of the forest (yakṣa), Sujātā offered him a bowl of rice-milk (kheer).[1] Upon drinking the nourishing milk, Siddhartha had the realization that practicing extreme austerities would not lead to a spiritual awakening. Gradually, he developed the insight that the path to awakening must be a middle way between extreme indulgence in sense-pleasures and extreme austerities.
One of Sujātā's sons, Yaśas, became Gautama Buddha's sixth disciple followig his enlightenment. Sujātā and Yaśas' former wife became the Buddha's first female disciples.[1]
The Sujata Stupa near Bodh Gaya is dedicated to Sujātā.
The name Sujātā also refers to other figures in Indian Buddhism.[2]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Sujātā.
- ↑
須闍陀, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
Further reading
Sujata (milkmaid), Wikipedia
