7. Ven. Soṇā Bahuputtika
Aspiration in the Past
The future Bahuputtika Soṇā was reborn into a rich man’s family in the city of Haṁsavatī, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. She had occasion to listen to a discourse by the Buddha when she saw a nun being named as the foremost female monastic in earnest endeavour. She then had a strong desire to become such a foremost nun in the future. So she made an extraordinary offering and later, aspired to the title. Buddha Padumuttara predicted that her aspiration would be fulfilled.
Ascetic Life in Her Final Existence
The future Bahuputtika Soṇā was reborn, for 100,000 aeons, in the fortunate destinations. During the time of Buddha Gotama, she was reborn into the family of a rich man in Sāvatthī. She was married to the son of a rich man and went to live in her husband’s house. She bore ten children and was known as Bahuputtika Soṇā (Soṇā with many children).
When her husband took up the monastic life, she arranged for the marriage of her ten children and bequeathed all her property to them, leaving nothing for herself. The children were all ungrateful to her. None of them was willing to let her stay at their houses for more than two or three days, after which, they treated her unkindly.
The old lady became an unwanted, helpless mother, neglected by her own children. Realizing her dire position, she decided that she must renounce the world and became a nun. After she had become a nun, her seniors in the Saṅgha would scold her for any slight mistake or shortcoming in her community obligations. She was often required to serve out punitive measures by her seniors. When her unkind children saw her undergoing such punishment, instead of taking pity on their old mother, they made a laughing stock of her saying: “This old woman has still not learnt the monastic discipline!”
This ridicule by her own children caused great spiritual urgency in her. “I do not have long to live. I must safeguard myself against the unfortunate destinies.” So reflecting, she let no time pass, whether sitting or walking, or standing or lying down, without uttering and contemplating on the 32 constituent parts of the body. Then, during all the free moments left to her, after discharging the communal duties to her co-residents, she went into meditation throughout the night. For she rightly realized that at her late age as a nun, she could not afford to let a moment pass without being mindful. When she sat meditating at night, she held onto a post on the ground floor of her nunnery, without losing hold of it. When she walked, meditating at night, she held a tree with her hand, never letting it go for fear that she might otherwise bump her head against something in the darkness. This is according to the commentary on the Verses of the Elder Nuns (Therī-gāthā, Thī 45).
When she first became a nun, she was called Ven. Bahuputtika Soṇā. But later, her earnest endeavour in taking up the three kinds of training earned her the epithet “one with earnest endeavour” and she was known as Āraddhaviriya Soṇā.
Attainment of Awakening
One day, when the nuns went to the Jetavana monastery to receive the Buddha’s admonition, they told Āraddhaviriya Soṇā to boil some water for the community. But before attending to that task, the old nun walked up and down the kitchen and contemplated on the 32 aspects of the body, uttering each item. The Buddha saw her, while sitting in his private-chamber at the Jetavana monastery and sent forth the
Even though one should live 100 years without seeing the sublime Dhamma, I.e. the supermundane Dhamma comprising nine factors. yet more worthwhile indeed is a single day’s life of one who perceives the sublime Dhamma.
After thus hearing the Buddha’s discourse made through the Buddha-radiance, which also enabled her to see the Buddha in person, Ven. Āraddhaviriya Soṇā became an Arahat. She now thought: “I have become an Arahat. Those who do not know this, on their return from the Jetavana monastery, will treat me with disrespect as usual which will result in them doing great demerit. I must let them know about my attainment of Awakening so as to forewarn them. She placed the pot of water for boiling on the fireplace but did not make the fire.
When the co-resident nuns returned from the Buddha’s monastery, they saw no fire at the fireplace and murmured: “We told the old woman to boil some water for the community but she has not even made the fire.” Then Ven. Soṇa said to them: “Friends, what use with the fire? Let anyone who needs warm water take it from that pot on the unlit fireplace.” The co-residents were surprised by these strange words and they realized that there must be some reason for the old nun to say so. They went to the pot and felt the water inside. It was quite warm. They took an empty pot to the fireplace and poured out the warm water into it. Whenever they took out the water from that pot, the pot filled up again.
Then only the nuns realized that Ven. Soṇa had become an Arahat. Those nuns who were junior in monastic standing to Ven. Soṇa made obeisance to her with with the hands, knees and forehead touching the ground, and said: “Ven. Soṇa, we have been foolish in being disrespectful to you and bullying you. For all these transgressions, we beg your pardon.” Those nuns, who were senior in female monastic standing, sat squatting before Ven. Soṇa, and said: “Ven. Soṇa, pardon us for our misbehaviour.”
Foremost Title Achieved
Ven. Soṇa became an example of how an elderly person could become an Arahat by dint of earnest effort. On one occasion, when the Buddha sat in congregation at the Jetavana monastery naming foremost nuns, he declared:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvikānaṁ bhikkhunīnaṁ
āraddha-viriyānaṁ yad-idaṁ Soṇa.
Monastics, among my female monastic disciples who have diligence and make earnest effort, Soṇa is the foremost (etad-agga).