Abandonment to Enlightenment - The Buddha's Wife - Extra History
Added 2023-09-01 17:30:01 +0000 UTCWhen Siddhartha renounced his power, position, and wealth he left behind a family. A Young Son Rahula and Princess Yasodhara but historians still argue today if Yasodhara even existed. Was it just a powerful story of the relationship Buddhism played between women and family or something more?
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Comments
It was highlighted a few times how scholars started reaching a point where they said, "you know, we should really write this down". Accurate record keeping and precise historical accounts has, for most of history, been a luxury of persnickety nobles and meticulous merchants, and the rare learned scholar. Bummer for scholars in the 20th century and onwards.
chromicacid
2023-09-01 19:54:56 +0000 UTCHer story feels like a centuries long game of telephone, both tracking and influencing how women and children were viewed at different times in various places. So while it doesn’t surprise me that some historians believe Yasodhara never existed, it does disappoint me.
Elizabeth Sanford
2023-09-01 18:29:04 +0000 UTCPersonally, I suspect what happened is that, over the centuries, various Buddhist writers added bits onto the story in order to spruce things up a bit, as with so many religious leaders' "biographies." I doubt I'd ever convert to Buddhism, mostly because of the requirement not to eat meat; my response to that would be, "I am a farm labourer; we're sorta contractually obligated to eat meat."
Martin Verran
2023-09-01 17:40:15 +0000 UTC
