Navigating Chastity in Marriage : หน้า 31/62

she was at the level of a Sotapanna (Stream-Enterer), one who attained the first stage of holiness. As a married woman, she performed the duties of a good wife and had 20 children (10 sons and 10 daughters). She understood the roles of a husband and a wife according to The Precepts, virtues and the law that valued monogamy. She accepted that as a human being and a wife, she had to live with certain responsibilities and limitations, even though she was a Sotapanna (Stream-Enterer) person. Although she wanted to live a celibate life, she ultimately could not do so in that lifetime. Another example is Pipphali and Bhaddakapilani, who were husband and wife for a period of over 100,000 consecutive lives. In one lifetime, they were born to parents who wished for the two to be married. Although they both preferred to live chaste lives, they agreed to the marriage in order to appease their parents but lived together for many years as if they were siblings. When their parents passed away, they both ordained to be a monk and nun. Each gave the other blessings as they departed to pursue Nibbana. There is also the story of Lady Uttra, who was married and also wished to perform merits. She asked her husband for permission to perform merits for seven days, but he told her that he would be lonely without her. Lady Uttra then arranged for Lady Sirima, a beautiful prostitute to temporarily take care of her husband, during which time Lady Uttra was able to perform merits and live a holy life. While Lady Uttra's example is an extreme case, we and our partner must consider which lifestyle is appropriate for us both without causing bitterness and resentment and the sin of adultery. This is very difficult for some couples, but more feasible for others. If we wish to live a life of chastity, the best and easiest path would be to make that important decision before getting married. However, if we are already married, we need to realize we have already promised to take on a role and that if we choose to live chastely later on; the decision must involve our partner in order to preserve the marriage. This issue is a major one and it can cause many intense conflicts between couples if both do not PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com