Life stories – Mythical women ancestors

For general sources click here. For sources about mythical ancestors, also see the corresponding section under Literature. Where applicable, specific sources are mentioned in the life description of the ancestor.

Prajnaparamita

Prajnaparamita means wisdom beyond all wisdom, seeing things as they truly are. It is recognizing that things are open and have no inherent independent existence. From prajnaparamita, reality is seen as it is, along with what I subsequently make of it with concepts and a narrative around it.
The concept of prajnaparamita is often personified as a goddess. She is called the Mother of all Buddhas because – according to Mahayana Buddhism – all Buddhas are born from prajnaparamita, the recognition of ‘form is emptiness, emptiness is form.’

  • The mother of all Buddhas , Lex Hixon, 1993
  • The Heart Sutra – Red Pine, 2004

Maya

Maya is the mother of Siddhartha, the future Buddha. She belonged to the clan of the Koliyas, situated in the southern region of present-day Nepal. Like her elder sister Pajapati , she was married to Suddhodana, the leader of the Sakyas. The territories of the Sakyas and the Koliyas were adjacent, separated only by a river. After twenty years of marriage and still childless, Maya has a dream of a white elephant circling around her three times with a lotus flower in its trunk. Then, the elephant enters her womb through her right side. As an elephant symbolized greatness, Maya knew she would give birth to a child of immense influence. She becomes pregnant, and the child is born from her right side.

Birth of the Buddha

However, seven days after the birth of her son, Maya passes away, ascending to the Tusita heaven. Seven years after the Buddha’s enlightenment, she ascends to the Tavatimsa heaven, the realm of the Thirty-Three Gods and Bodhisattvas. The Buddha visits his mother there for three months to instruct her on the Abhidhamma. 

The Maha-Maya Sutra is dedicated to her. In this sutra, it is told that Maya wishes to see her son’s body one last time upon hearing of his passing. When she opens the coffin, a thousand luminous appearances of the Buddha emerge, and Maya and her son are reunited.
Additionally, Mahamaya appears in the Avatamsaka Sutra where she is the 41st teacher of the main character Sudhana, who visits 52 teachers on his pilgrimage.

Srimala

Queen Srimala lived during the time of the Buddha and was married to King Yasomitra. She is the main character of T’he Sutra of Queen Srimala of the Lion’s Roar’, one of the earliest Mahayana sutras. This sutra describes how her parents – King Prasenajit and Queen Mallika – send Srimala a letter requesting her to study the Dharma. Srimala meditates on the Buddha. Then, in his presence, she excellently teaches the principle of tathagatagarbha: the inherent potential for awakening possessed by all living beings, including women. The Buddha declares that she will become a buddha in the future.

Tara

Her name is derived from the Sanskrit tri , which denotes swimming, and metaphorically, swimming across to reach enlightenment. Tara is the one who assists others in reaching the other shore. There are many legends about her. It is said that she originated from the tears of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

Green Tara (Photo: Wikimedia)

Long ago, Tara was a princess named ‘Moon of Wisdom’. The moon symbolizes the wisdom of the night and may indicate pre-Buddhist cultures where matriarchal and shamanistic elements played a significant role.
According to the legend, Moon of Wisdom always made offerings to the Buddha and received special instructions from him on arousing bodhicitta, boundless compassion. Some monks advised her to pray to be reborn as a man, so she could achieve complete awakening.
However, Moon of Wisdom declared that only fools see femininity as an obstacle to enlightenment. Clinging to male and female is an illusion. Then she vows to always be reborn as a female to help others until samsara is no more, until all suffering and ignorance are extinguished.

Ratnavati

Sometimes she is also called Ratnadatta. Her name means Jewel of Brocade, and she was the daughter of the dragon king, leader of the Nagas. Nagas are supernatural beings with partly human and partly serpentine features. Their realm with palaces and beautiful jewels lies underwater. Nagas are seen as treasure guardians and are honored for their wisdom and strength. According to Buddhist legend, the Prajnaparamita texts were preserved for many centuries by the nagas. 

Ratnavati appears in de Sagaranagaraja Sutra, the Sutra of the Dragon King of the Ocean. It tells how the Buddha, along with several disciples, is with the Nagas to instruct them. The whole community has gathered to listen to the words of the Buddha. At one point, Ratnavati has a discussion with Mahakashyapa, one of Buddha’s disciples, who claims that she cannot attain enlightenment because she is a woman. However, the young woman informs him that Buddhahood is present in anyone with a body and mind directed towards awakening. For this, it’s not necessary to have a male body. She explains to him that his notions of men and women have nothing to do with enlightenment. The Buddha confirms her and praises her clear insight.

Female naga (Photo: Buddhistdoor Global)

Prabhuta

Prabhuta is the thirteenth of the fifty-two teachers in the Avatamsaka Sutra that the pilgrim Sudhana encounters on his quest to find an answer to his question, “What is enlightenment?” She is an intelligent young woman – a layperson – deeply devoted to the dharma. Described in the sutra as possessing radiant beauty and great mastery over her mind, she is revered by all as a teacher. Residing in the middle of the town in a magnificent mansion with 10,000 woman attendants, she endlessly distributes delicious food, refreshing drinks, clothing, fragrant flowers, and exquisite jewels tailored to the needs of the people and countless other beings who come to her. The mere scent emanating from Prabhuta and the other women frees everyone from malice, jealousy, depressive feelings, and stress. The vessel from which she bestows her gifts upon everyone is inexhaustible. She is greatest in generosity and tolerance.

Sinha Vijurmbhita

The name Sinhavijurmbhita means “Lion Stretching” and represents her tirelessness in teaching devotion and liberation. She appears in the Avatamsaka Sutra as one of the teachers encountered by the pilgrim Sudhana on his quest for enlightenment. Sinhavijurmbhita lived in the city of Kalingavana. Sud hana visits her to learn the practice of the bodhisattva. In the park of the city, he sees an endless splendor, including trees with streams of varicolored flowers, trees laden with ever-ripe sweet fruit, trees producing garlands and ornaments of celestial jewels, trees of musical instruments producing sweet music and trees perfuming the air with their fragrances. Under these trees are magnificent lionthrones.

Sitting on each of these thrones is Sinhavijurmbhita, serene, fearless like a lion, and unwavering like a mountain. Beneath each tree sits a different assembly of beings, including goddesses, gods, birds, and bodhisattvas, and she teaches each group in a manner suited to bring them to awakening. When Sudhana asks her to teach him the practice of a bodhisattva, she explains that it is about removing all vain imaginings. Awakening is presence that permeates everywhere without conceptualizing anything.