Mahaprajapati Gautami, Pioneer of the Women’s Movement in Buddhism

Mayura Saavi The women’s movement is a subject not widely discussed in conservative countries like India. After the early 20th century, the present history of the first women’s movement of 1900 is known among today’s generation, which was against the disrespectful behavior that women in the ‘industry’    experienced. On March 8, International Women’s Day […]

The Great Deeds of Gautami: The Achievements of the First Buddhist Nun

Buddha Shakyamuni with Mahaprajapati Gautami. From dhamma-stream.blogspot.com The stories of a number of nuns (Skt. bhikshuni) in early Buddhism were written down in various parts of the Pali Buddhist scriptures, especially in the Therigatha, commonly translated as Verses of the Elder Nuns, composed about 600 BCE, and also in the Theri Apadana or The Great […]

Mahaprajapati Gautami: The First Buddhist Nun

Statue of Mahaprajapati Gautami at Upaya Zen Center, USA. From womeninbuddhismtour-india.blogspot.com Mahaprajapati Gautami was the aunt and foster mother of prince Siddhartha. She raised him after the death of her sister, the Buddha’s mother: Mayadevi. The meaning of the Sanskrit name Mahaprajapati is “The great patroness of all beings” and Gautami is the female equivalent […]