1. 1
Who Knows Reality Is Great
The Story of Nun Patàcàrà
From The Dhammapada Verse 113
From The Dhammapada Verse 113
2. 2
Better it is to live one day
seeing the rise and fall
of things than to live as
hundred years without
ever seeing the rise and
fall of things.
Dhammapada Verse 113
While residing at the Jetavana
Monastery, the Buddha spoke
this verse, with reference to
Patàcàrà – the tragic things that
happened to her before she met
up with the Buddha.
Gandhakuti OR Buddha’s Hut in Jetavana
Monastery, Savatthi, Uttar Pradesh, India
The Buddha taught many important
Dhamma Discourses in Jetavana.
3. 3
The Story of Patacara
Patàcàrà was the daughter of a rich man from Sàvatthi.
She was very beautiful and was guarded very strictly by her
parents. Well, she fell in love with one of the family servants. Of
course the parents objected to any relationship
between the 2 young people.
One day, she eloped with the young male servant to live in a village
far away, as a poor man’s wife.
4. 4
In due course she became pregnant
and as the time for the birth of the baby
drew near, she asked permission from
her husband to return to her parents in
Savatthi but her husband discouraged
her. The husband was afraid of being
beaten up by his previous boss, the
father of his wife.
So, one day, while her husband was
away, she set out for the home of her
parents. He followed her and caught up
with her on the way and pleaded with
her to return with him; but she refused.
It so happened that her time was
drawing so near; she went into labor
and gave birth to a son in one of the
bushes. After the birth of her son she
returned home with her husband.
5. 5
Not long later, she was again
with child and as the time came
near for her to give birth, taking
her first son with her, she again
set out for the home of her
parents in Sàvatthi. Her
husband followed her and
caught up with her on the way;
but her time for delivery was
coming on very fast and it was
also raining hard. The husband
went a short distance away to
look for a suitable place for the
wife and eldest son. As he was
clearing a little patch of land, he
was bitten by a poisonous and
died instantaneously.
6. 6
Patàcàrà waited for her husband,
and while waiting for his return she
gave birth to her second son. In the
morning, she searched for her
husband, but only found his dead
body. Saying to herself that her
husband died on account of her, she
continued on her way to her parents.
Because it had rained incessantly
the whole night,
the Aciravati River was in spate; so
it was not possible for her to cross
the river carrying both her sons.
Leaving the elder boy on this side of
the river, she crossed the river with
her day-old son and left him on the
other bank. She then came back for
the elder boy.
7. 7
While she was still in the middle of the
river, a large hawk hovered over the
younger child taking it for a piece of
meat. She shouted to frighten away
the bird, but it was all in vain; the
child was carried away by the hawk.
Meanwhile, the elder boy heard his
mother shouting from the middle of
the river and thought she was calling
out to him to come to her. So he
entered the river to go to his mother,
and was carried away by the strong
current. Thus Patàcàrà lost her two
sons as well as her husband. So she
wept and
lamented loudly, “A son is carried
away by a hawk, another son is
carried away by the current, my
husband is also dead, bitten by a
poisonous snake!”
8. 8
Then Patacara made her way alone to
her village. She met a lady man in the
village and she tearfully asked after
her parents. The lady replied that due
to a violent storm in Sàvatthi the
previous night, the house of her
parents had fallen down and that
both her parents, together with her
three brothers, had died, and had
been cremated on one funeral pyre.
On hearing this tragic
news, Patàcàrà went stark mad. She
did not even notice that her clothes
had fallen off from her and that she
was half-naked.
She went about the streets, shouting
out, “Woe is me! I have lost my
husband, my two sons, my parents
and all my brothers!”
9. 9
Patacara wandered along the road
weeping and lamenting.
She arrived at Jetavana Monastery
where the Buddha was giving
a Dhamma discourse. A monk at
the monastery gate refused to allow
her in but the Buddha asked that
Patacara be brought to Him. By
then, some people in the
monastery had given some clothes
to Patacara.
When Patàcàrà was close enough to
hear the Buddha, He told her
to be mindful and to keep calm. He
then preached to her some Dhamma.
She listened most attentively with a
focused mind. She entered the Stream
of the NoblePath.
10. 10
Patacara requested the Buddha to
ordain her as a Nun.
As a Nun, she practiced very
ardently and diligently The Noble
Eight-Fold Path of Sila, Samadhi
and Panna.
One day after her alms round for
food, she returned to her kuti.
Before entering her hut, she
fetched a pail of water to wash her
feet. As she poured the water over
her feet and the water flowed away
onto the ground, she
contemplated and realized
impermanence and the different
life spans of beings. With a mind
of Right Mindfulness and Right
Concentration, she became an
Arahant.
11. 11
Better it is to live one day
seeing the rise and fall
of things than to live as
hundred years without
ever seeing the rise and
fall of things.
Dhammapada Verse 113
12. 12
With Metta, Bro. Oh Teik Bin
1 There is DUKKHA
in Samsara
2 Ignorance, Craving &
Attachment – Cause of
Dukkha
3 Way to End Dukkha
The Noble 8-Fold Path
4 Life is Uncertain
5 Death is Certain
6 The Point of Death
is Uncertain
7 The Mode of Death
is Uncertain
8 What is ENOUGH? 9 When is ENOUGH
truly ENOUGH?
May we SEE that what truly matters is DHAMMA –
Understanding, Practice and Realization
The End
