5. Uttarā Nandamātā
Aspiration in the Past
The future Uttarā Nandamātā was reborn into a rich family in the city of Haṁsavatī, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. As she was listening to a discourse by the Buddha, she saw a female lay disciple being named as the foremost among those who dwelt in absorption (jhāna). She had a strong desire for that distinction in some future existences. After making a great offering, she expressed her aspiration to the Buddha who predicted that her aspiration would be fulfilled.
Discipleship in Her Last Existence
The future Uttarā, after passing away from that existence, was reborn either in the Deva realm or the human realm for 100,000 aeons. During the time of Buddha Gotama, she was reborn as the daughter of Puṇṇasīha and his wife Uttarā, who were household servants to Sumana the householder in Rājagaha.
It was a festive occasion in Rājagaha on account of the auspicious day, according to the planets. Sumana the householder of Rājagaha called to Puṇṇasīha and said: “Puṇṇa, attending the festivities on this auspicious day and keeping the Observance Day precepts are actually matters that should not concern poor folks like you. Yet, I am going to give you an allowance for this festive day, and you may either go and enjoy yourself at the festival or do your ploughing as usual. Just let me know whichever you choose.” Puṇṇasīha replied: “Master, let me first consult this matter with my wife.”
At home, Puṇṇasīha told his wife Uttarā what his master had said to him. She said
It so happened that on that great day for Puṇṇasīha, Ven. Sāriputta, after rising from his absorption in the attainment of cessation, reviewed the world as to who deserved his blessing. He saw the ripening of Puṇṇasīha’s past merit as a sufficing condition for Awakening.
“Sufficing condition for Awakening.” For gaining the paths and fruitions (magga-phala), one must be endowed with past merit, for present favourable conditions by themselves cannot lead to one’s Awakening. Likewise, an action that brings its result in the present existence also needs the support of sufficing past merit to fructify. Therefore, being a virtuous person with the right reasoning, the fortunate present conditions need sufficing past merit for one to gain Awakening (sub-commentary).
Ven. Sāriputta took his alms bowl and double robe at the time for alms round, and went to the place where Puṇṇasīha was ploughing. He stood at a short distance where he could be seen by Puṇṇasīha, who, on seeing him, stopped ploughing and went up to him and made his obeisance with the hands, knees and forehead touching the ground. Ven. Sāriputta, wishing to do good to the poor man, looked at him and asked him where some good water might be available. Puṇṇasīha thought that the venerable wanted to wash his face, and so he made a tooth-brush out of a creeper nearby and gave it to him. While Ven. Sāriputta was brushing his teeth, Puṇṇasīha took the alms bowl and water-strainer and fetched a bowl full of fresh clear water, which was properly strained.
After washing his face, Ven. Sāriputta went on his way to collect alms food. Then, it occurred to Puṇṇasīha thus: “Ven. Sāriputta had never come this way before. He came today probably to bring benefit to me. Oh, if my wife had brought my meal, how good it would be to offer it to Ven. Sāriputta!”
Puṇṇasīha’s wife remembered that it was an auspicious day according to the planets. She had cooked a meal early in the morning with the ration which she received and carried it to her husband. On the way, she saw Ven. Sāriputta and thought to herself: “On previous days, although I saw him, I did not have anything to offer to Ven. Sāriputta, or when I had something to offer I did not meet him. Today, I have both the gift and the monastic at hand. I will cook another meal for my husband and offer this meal to Ven. Sāriputta now.” Thinking thus, she put her cooked rice into Ven. Sāriputta’s alms bowl and made her wish, saying: “May we be free from this life of poverty.” Ven. Sāriputta responded: “May your wish be fulfilled,” showed appreciation and returned to the monastery.
Herein, it may be noted that in performing a deed of merit there arise many impulsion thought processes of great merit, each consisting of seven meritorious impulsions or sub-moments of the thought process. If conditions are favourable, the first of these seven impulsions brings immediate result even in the very present existence.
Four present conditions must be there for such an immediate resultant: The receiving monastic is an Arahat or at least a Non-returner; the gift is something righteously obtained; the supporter has a strong will or volition in making the gift, his intention is intense before the act, during the act, and he feels glad for it after the act; and the receiving monastic has just arisen from dwelling in the attainment of cessation. And above all, there must be sufficient past merit in the supporter.
In the case of Puṇṇasīha and his wife, all the required present and past conditions co-existed. His past merit to make him a rich man was ripe, so on that very day he reaped a harvest of solid lumps of gold from the field he was ploughing. This elevated him to the status of a rich man as conferred by the king.
Puṇṇasīha’s wife returned to her home without proceeding to her husband and cooked
“Why?” asked her husband, wondering.
“Dear husband, I met Ven. Sāriputta on my way and offered him your meal; I had to go home and cook another meal for you. That is why I am rather late today.”
Puṇṇasīha said to her: “Dear wife, you have done the most pleasing thing. I myself have offered a tooth-brush and fresh water to him for washing his face early this morning. So, for this day, every need of Ven. Sāriputta has been supplied by us!” The couple were elated about their good deeds.
Puṇṇasīha then had his meal. After that he took a nap with his head on his wife’s lap. On waking up, he saw all around him, where he had ploughed, a sea of yellow objects somewhat like the yellow flowers of the sponge gourd profusely scattered about. Surprised, he asked his wife: “Dear wife, what are those things?” Directing his finger at those yellow objects which were clods of earth: “Everywhere I turn, the earth look like gold!” his wife said: “Dear husband, perhaps you are having a hallucination after your hard work.” But Puṇṇasīha insisted: “Look there yourself!” And she looked and exclaimed: “Dear husband, what you say is true. Those things do look like gold!”
Puṇṇasīha stood up and picking up a clod of the yellow earth, struck it against the shaft of his plough. It was a soft lump of gold and stuck to the shaft like a lump of molasses. He called and said to his wife, showing a sample of gold: “Dear wife, other people have to wait three or four months to reap what they sow. For us, our meritorious deed, sown on the fertile soil that is Ven. Sāriputta have now brought us this harvest. Throughout this field of about two acres there is not a piece of earth the size of a myrobalan fruit which has not turned into gold.”
“What should we do about this?” his wife asked.
“Dear wife,” Puṇṇasīha replied, “we cannot hide this amount of gold.” So saying, he picked up clods of earth, filled the vessel, which was used to carry his meal, with lumps of gold, and went to the palace and showed it to the king.
King: Where did you get this gold?
Puṇṇasīha: Great King, the field I ploughed today has been turned into clods of gold. May the king send his men take it.
King: What is your name?
Puṇṇasīha: Great King, my name is Puṇṇa.
Then the king ordered his men to yoke carts and go and collect the gold from Puṇṇasīha’s field.
The Family of Puṇṇasīha Attain Stream-Entry
The king’s men collected the clods of gold, saying: “This is what the great past merit of the king has brought into being.” The gold clods instantly changed back into clods of earth! Not a piece of gold was collected by them. They reported the matter to the king. King Bimbisāra told them: “In that case, men, say: ‘This is what Puñña’s great past merit has brought into being,’ when you pick up those clods.” The men went back, said the words as instructed by the king when collecting the gold and were successful in obtaining the gold.
The clods of gold, taken in many cartloads, were piled on the main square of the palace. When heaped up it was the height of that of a palmyra tree. The king summoned merchants and asked: “Whose house in the city holds a pile of gold as big as this?” The merchants answered: “Great King, there is no house that holds this much gold.” The king further asked: “What should we do with Puṇṇa, who is the owner of this gold?” The merchants
Puṇṇasīha, now the Royal Treasurer, held a grand celebration on that auspicious acquisition of the royal title for seven days, when the Buddha and his Saṅgha were honoured with magnificent offerings. On the seventh day, after hearing the Buddha’s discourse, in appreciation of his great generosity, all the members of his family: Puṇṇasīha, his wife Uttarā and their daughter Uttarā, were established in the fruition of Stream-entry.
This is the story of Puṇṇasīha, one of the five great rich men within the dominion of King Bimbisāra who had inexhaustible resources. The stories of the other four will be given in chapter 45c.
Puṇṇasīha’s Family and the Sumana Family
Sumana the householder of Rājagaha, on learning that Puṇṇasīha had a grown-up daughter, sent messengers to ask for the hand of his daughter in marriage to his son. Puṇṇasīha gave a flat refusal, and Sumana became furious. “That fellow, who had been dependent on me, now disdains me because he has become a great man,” he thought, conceited as he was of his own wealth. He sent this view of his to Puṇṇasīha through messengers. Puṇṇasīha was not to be outdone. He explained to Sumana’s messengers: “Your master is being arrogant. Even though what he says is a fact, he should remember that a man should not be expected to always remain poor because he was born poor. Now, I am wealthy enough to buy householders like Sumana as slaves. But, I do not say this in derogation of his lineage. I still honour him as a worthy householder. My point is my daughter is a Stream-enterer, a noble one (ariya) in the Buddha’s teaching. She spends one gold coin every day on flowers in her offerings to the Three Treasures. I cannot send my daughter to the house of a non-believer like Sumana.”
When Sumana learnt the adamant stand taken by Puṇṇasīha, he changed his tone. He sent words to Puṇṇasīha, saying: “I do not wish to break our old ties of friendship. I will see to it that my daughter-in-law gets two gold coins worth of flowers everyday.” Puṇṇasīha, being a man who knew the value of gratitude, agreed to Sumana’s proposition and sent his daughter in marriage to Sumana’s son.
Uttarā’s Great Faith in Religious Practice
One day, Uttarā said to her husband: “Dear husband, in my parents’ house I keep the Observance Day (Uposatha) precepts eight days every month. If you may agree, I would do that here too.” Although she made her proposition in gentle words, her husband bluntly refused it. She had to put up with the refusal meekly. At the beginning of the Rains Retreat (Vassa) period, she sought his permission again to keep the Observance Day during the three-month period. Again she received a blunt refusal.
When two and a half months had gone by and only fifteen days were left of the Rains Retreat period, Uttarā asked her parents to send her 15,000 pieces of money, letting them know that in the confines of wedlock, she had not had a day to keep the Observance Day. She did not say how and why the money was needed. Her parents did not bother to ask why she needed the money but sent her the sum she asked for.
Uttarā then sent for Sirimā, a courtesan in Rājagaha, who was the sister of Jīvaka the physician, and said to her: “Dear Sirimā, as I intend to keep the Observance Day for fifteen days, I would request you to attend on my husband during these days for a fee of fifteen thousand coins.” Sirimā accepted her offer. Uttarā’s husband was only too happy about this arrangement and allowed her to keep the Observance Day for fifteen days.
Having obtained her husband’s permission, Uttarā went about her meritorious deeds freely. She prepared food offerings for the Buddha early in the morning, assisted by her servants. After making offerings to the Buddha, and when the Buddha returned to the monastery, she kept the Observance Day precepts and would stay upstairs alone, reflecting on morality. Fifteen days passed peacefully. On the morning of the first waning of the last
Such is the nature of sensual objects that through their continued enjoyment one tends to forget that they belong to another, and is tempted into thinking that they are one’s own.
At that time, the householder’s son, having fun with Sirimā on the upper storey of the mansion, drew aside the lace curtain of the window and looked down into the inside of the house. At the same time, Uttarā happened to look up into the window and her eyes met those of her husband. The husband smiled with the thought: “This Uttarā is looking like a being from the lower worlds of Niraya. How strange of her to deny herself the luxury of her status and to toil herself unnecessarily in the kitchen, mingling with the servants.” Uttarā also smiled with the thought: “This son of the householder, being forgetful, thinks that this life of ease and comfort is lasting.”
Sirimā, who saw the couple smile at each other, became furious with jealousy. “This slave, Uttarā, is flirting with my husband even in my presence,” she thought to herself, for she had now an illusion that she and the householder’s son were actually husband and wife. She ran down the stairs, fuming. Uttarā understood that Sirimā, after half a month of dominion of the house, considered it her own. So, she entered into the absorption of loving-kindness (mettā-jhāna) and stood sedately. Sirimā, rushing through the servants, took hold of a ladle, filled it with boiling oil from a pot which was cooking over the fire, and suddenly poured it over Uttarā’s head. But, since Uttarā was dwelling in the absorption of loving-kindness, and her whole body was diffused with loving-kindness, she did not feel the heat of the oil which flowed over her body like water onto a lotus leaf.
At that moment, Uttarā’s servant accosted Sirimā with abusive words, saying: “You slave woman, you are a mere hireling of our mistress. Yet after staying in this house for just fifteen days you try to rival our mistress.” These words awakened Sirimā to her true position. She realized she had gone too far. She went to Uttarā, fell on her feet, and apologised to her, saying: “Dear madam, I had been reckless in my behaviour. Do forgive me!” Uttarā replied: “Dear Sirimā, I cannot accept your apology now. You must first obtain forgiveness from my father, the Buddha, before I can forgive you.”
Just then, the Buddha and his company of monastics arrived and sat on the seats prepared for them. Sirimā approached the Buddha and prostrating herself at his feet, said: “Venerable sir, I have done some wrong against Uttarā. I apologised to her for it and she says that I must first obtain forgiveness from the Fortunate One before she will forgive me. May the Fortunate One forgive me.” The Buddha said: “Sirimā, I forgive you.” Then she went to Uttarā and made obeisance to her as a token of her apology.
The Buddha, in his discourse in appreciation of the food offering, uttered the following verse (Dhp 223):
Conquer the angry one by loving-kindness; conquer the wicked one by goodness; conquer the stingy one by generosity; conquer the liar by speaking the truth.
At the end of the discourse, Sirimā was established in the fruition of Stream-entry. After the attainment, she invited the Buddha to her residence the next morning and she made great offerings to the Buddha and his Saṅgha.
Thus goes the story of Uttarā the householder’s daughter, who also was known as Nanda’s mother after she gave birth to a son by the name of Nanda.
Foremost Title Achieved
On one occasion, when the Buddha was residing at the Jetavana monastery naming distinguished female lay-disciples, he declared:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvikānaṁ upāsikānaṁ
jhāyīnaṁ yad-idaṁ Uttarā Nandamātā.
Monastics, among my female lay-disciples who dwell in absorption (jhāna), Uttarā, the mother of Nanda, is the foremost.