Story about Khema Theri.

I'm going to share with you a "rare" case in Buddhist history. A woman attained enlightenment or arahantship while she was still a lay woman wearing her royal garments before joining the Sangha 

Order. Then she became the First Chief Nun and the Wisest Nun of the Order (Maha Panna Agga)--she is Khema Theri. I'm going to share with you how was Khema final life during Buddha Gotama's time and why she could attain enlightenment easily at a twinkling of an eye.

During Lord Buddha's Gotama time

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Khema was a beautiful princess of Sagala, who was born with pure golden coloured skin. She loved beauty, enjoyed sensual pleasure and very proud of her beauty. She later became Chief Consort of King Bimbisara. King Bimbisara as a devotee of Buddha he always went to the Bamboo Grove Monastery to listen to Buddha's sermon. Nevertheless, Khema refused to follow the King to see the Buddha. Khema knew the Buddha always spoke ill about beauty and sensual pleasure, it was uncounter to her own sensual pleasure if she listened to Buddha's teaching. King Bimbisara always tried to persuade Khema to see the Buddha. At last, he thought of asking the poet of the palace to compose song praising the beauty and peacefulness of Bamboo Grove. He knew Khema loved beauty, peace and harmony, and finally Khema agreed to go to the Bamboo Grove.

When Khema went into the assembly hall, she sat at the back of a pillar so that Buddha would not able to see her. By using his Divine Eye, The Buddha saw that it was Khema's final life. Then The Buddha used his supernatural power to create a vivid image of beautiful lady standing at the back and fanning him. Of course this scene could only be seen by The Buddha and Khema. Khema's pride broke when she realized that her beauty was unmatched to the young lady. When she paid close attention to the young lady, she found the lady grew to become a middle-aged woman who wasfat and the black hair changed to gray. Then the woman grew old with wrinkled skin, ugly face, toothless and standing with sticks with shaking limbs. At last the old lady fell down in faint, died and left only the remaining bones.

Khema was struck with the scene of impermanence. She realized that life is transient, human body faces drastic change and ends in death. When the Buddha started to speak about the law of impermanence, she entered the stream and soon she attained arahantship while she was still wearing her royal garments. It is really a rare case where a lay people could attain enlightenment before joining the Sangha Order. Then she went forward to The Buddha and asked forgiveness from the Buddha for her wrong thought before. At last, Khema asked permission from King Bimbisara to join the Sangha Order as a nun. She was also responsible for running the nunnery and helped the Buddha in training the nuns to preach Dhamma. The Buddha declared that she was the foremost disciple in Great Insight and Wisdom among the nuns.

Many people would be envy and surprise, why this proud woman could attain enlightenment so easily? This is actually built up from her unique paramis accumulated since earlier Buddhas' time. Khema had been born and learned from many Supreme Buddhas in her previous life.

Unique Parami Accumulated From Past Lives.

During Lord Buddha Padumuttara time, she was a maid and wanted to become a nun but was not able to do so because she needed to support her family. She cut off her long hair and sold it to give alms to monks. She gained happiness in her offerings and made an earnest resolve: "May I become a great enlightened nun, who is famous for her wisdom in future Buddha era!" Since then, she did many meritorious deeds. When she was reborn as a princess in Buddha Vipassi's time, she became a nun and spent her whole life in listening to Buddha's discourses and at the same time helped Buddha in teaching Dhamma. During Lord Buddha Konagamana and Lord Buddha Kassapa's time, she was reborn as princess again, she became lay devotee by listening to Buddha's teaching earnestly and offered huge monastery to Buddha and Sangha. Khema always was reborn in the time of Buddha, Pacceka Buddha or Boddhisatta, it was also said that she was always the wife of he who was later Sariputta and lived virtuous life by observing precepts. She always tried to be near to the source of wisdom and listened to Supreme Buddha's teaching to acquire wisdom. Though she had been listening to Buddhas' discourses for long time, she had not entered the stream yet, because her aim was very high. She prayed to fulfil her earnest resolve, until she was reborn for final existence in Lord Buddha Gotama's time.

Khema had already purified her heart and perfected it in these virtues in many past lives. She was matured enough and had such pure and tranquil emotion that she could accept the Ultimate Truth in the twinkling of an eye. The fruit of enlightenment became ripening at Lord Buddha Gotama's time. At her last life, perhaps Mara still made his last effort to keep her in samsara, so she refused to see the Buddha at first. Finally, Mara failed in his effort since Khema had great force of merit accumulated which help her to gain enlightenment for this final life.

Khema didn't know that she had accumulated parami before she attained enlightenment. We also do not know whether we have sufficient paramis, but what we need to do is just to be diligent in practice at the present moment to accumulate our paramis, so that we could gain victory from Mara, the Evil One, who always try to keep us in suffering. If we strive hard in our practice, who knows this may be our final life? May all attain enlightenment soon.

(by Chong/Khema, Malaysia)