The Role of Mahā pajā pati Gotaṃi in Early Buddhism : หน้า 32/120

21 Mahā pajā pati Gotaṃi was the younger sister of Queen Mahā mā yā the Buddha’s mother, and was also the wife of King Suddhodana. After Mahā mā yā’s death, she became the Buddha’s foster mother. The present sutta takes place at an early point in the Buddha’s ministry, on one of his return visits to his native city. After King Suddhodana’s death, Mahā pajā pati pleaded with the Buddha to admit women into the Sangha, and her acceptance marked the beginning of the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the Order of Nuns. The story is found at Vin Cv Kh 10/11.253 - 5 6 (see Ñāamoli, The Life of the Buddha, pp.104 - 7). An interesting anachronism in this sutta was brought to my notice by Ven. Ajahn Sucitto of Cittaviveka Monastery. The sutta depicts Mahā pajā pati Gotaṃi as a devout lay Buddhist and refers to the Bhikkhuni Sangha as if it were an existing reality, yet the canonical account of the founding of the Bhikkhuni Sangha shows Mahā pajā pati to have been the first historical bhikkhunī. Thus the Bhikkhuni Sangha could not have existed at the time the sutta was spoken if Mahā pajā pati was still a lay woman. We might resolve the discrepancy ( unnoticed by the commentator) by supposing that the original discourse was later modified after the founding of the Bhikkhuni Sangha to bring the latter into the scheme of offerings to the Sangha.