114 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Other examples are not wanting. The Nandakovada Sutta [1] tells of Mahaprajapati Gotami having brought five hundred alms-women with her to the Buddha when he was staying at Sravasti with a request that he should instruct them in the Doctrine and Discipline. Did the Buddha run away from them ?
The Samyutta Nikaya [2] reports that Kokanada, daughter of Pajjuna, when the night was far spent shedding radiance with her effulgent beauty over the whole Mahavana, came into the presence of the Buddha when he was staying at Vaisali.
The reports of frequent visits of Queen Mallika, wife of King Pasenajit, to the Buddha for religious instructions are scattered in the Pitakas.
From these instances it is clear that the Buddha did not shun women and women were not afraid of going to the Buddha.
It is true that the Buddha did advise [3] the Bikkhus not to make it a habit to visit families of lay disciples for fear of human weakness yielding to frequent contacts with women. But he did not forbid such visits nor did he express any disdain about women as such.
It is also true that the Buddha was dreadfully keen in maintaining celibacy. He was painfully aware of the fact that, to use his own words, [4] “Women doth stain life of celibacy”. But what did he advise ? Did he advise the Bhikkhus to shun all contact with women ? Not at all. He never put any such interdict. Far from doing any such thing what he did was to tell the Bhikkhus that whenever they met any women, do ye call up the mother-mind, the sister-mind, or the daughtermind [5] as the case may be i.e. regard a woman as you would your own mother, sister or daughter.
The second possible ground which an opponent of the Buddha can rely upon in support of the accusation is the opposition of the Buddha to women joining the Sangha and in making the Bhikkhuni Sangha (when he ultimately allowed it) subordinate to the Bhikkhu Sangha. Here again a further analysis of the situation is necessary. Why did the Buddha oppose the
1 : Majjima Nikaya II. P. 309.
2 : Vol. I P. 40.
3 : Anguttara Nikaya III P. 190.
4 : Samyutta Nikaya I. P. 53.
5 : Kindred Saying IV, P. 68.