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The nun Pao-hsien (Precious Virtue) (401-477) of Universal Wisdom Convent
Pao-hsien's secular surname was Ch'en, and her family was originally from Ch'en Commandery [in the Huai River valley, some distance to the northwest of the Sung capital].
At age 16 Pao-hsien went into mourning for her mother who had died. For three years she did not eat any cereals but sustained herself instead on arrowroot and taro; neither did she wear decorated silks nor use a bed or sitting mat during the mourning period.
Leaving the household life at age 19, Pao-hsien took up residence in Establishing Peace Convent. With pure conduct and vigorous application she thoroughly mastered both meditation and the monastic observance.
Emperor Wen of the Sung dynasty (407-424-453) treated her with reverend courtesy, presenting her with gifts of clothing and food. Emperor Hsiao-wu (430-454-464) also treated her with great respect, giving her ten thousand in cash every month. When Emperor Ming (439-465-472) ascended the throne he gave her the honor of receiving her, treating her with exceeding respect. In the first year of the t'ai-shih reign period (465), he named her by imperial appointment to serve as the abbess of Universal Wisdom Convent. In the second year (466), he issued another decree making her the rector of the assembly in the capital. In this capacity she was imposing and majestic, making decisions with divine insight. She was good at discussing the principles of things and was able to set errors aright. She was morally upright in character; nothing could deflect her from the proper course.
Previously, during the sheng-p'ing reign period (357-361) of the Eastern Chin dynasty, the nun Ching-chien (no. 1) was the first Chinese Buddhist nun. That first reception, by women, of the monastic obligation, was from the Assembly of Monks only. Later the nuns Hui-kuo (no. 14), Ching-yin and others of Luminous Blessings Convent consulted [the central Asian missionary monk] Gunavarman about the situation.
He said, "China did not have both the Assembly of Monks and the Assembly of Nuns, so the women accepted the full monastic obligation from the Assembly of Monks only."
Later, the nun Hui-kuo and the other nuns met the foreign nun Tessara and her companions when they arrived in China. In the eleventh year of the yüan-chia reign period (434) [of the Sung dynasty], the [Chinese nuns] once again received the full monastic obligation from the Indian missionary monk Sanghavarman on the ceremonial platform at Southern Grove Monastery, and this time both the Assembly of Monks and the Assembly of Nuns [comprising the women from Sri Lanka] were present. [Thus the lineage and tradition of the monastic obligation for women from the time of the Buddha's stepmother had finally been properly transmitted to China.] [Gunavarman] had not said that the first transmission to China, from the Assembly of Monks only, was invalid. He had said, rather, that the second transmission [that included the Assembly of Nuns] was augmenting the good value of the obligation that had already been received.
[After this second transmission of the monastic rules, however] those who were fond of unorthodox practices handed them on widely and repeatedly, causing the orthodox norms gradually to disappear. In the second year of the yüan-hui reign period (474), an expert in the study of the monastic rules, the Master of Monastic Rules Fa-ying (416-482), delivered a lecture on The Sarvāstivāda Monastic Rules in Ten Recitations at Prospering of Chin Monastery. On the day of the lecture there were ten-some nuns who, after the lecture, wished to receive again the obligation to observe the monastic rules. Pao-hsien then sent someone from the office of rector of assembly to present her orders to the lecture hall. The envoy sounded the gavel and issued the order to all the nuns that they were not at that time to receive the obligations again. If on examination it was found that any nun was not of sufficient age, the instructors had first to bring together the Assembly of Nuns, and after public confession of this fact they were to report to the office of the assembly. If the office approved, it would request someone to investigate to see whether the nuns were suitable candidates, and only then could they receive the obligation a second time. Anyone who opposed this plan would be subject to expulsion. On account of Pao-hsien's decisive action in this matter, quarrels came to an end, and the rest of her tenure in the office of rector was without untoward incident.
With great skill Pao-hsien brought matters into conformity with the spirit of the monastic life; she pacified all elements in the assembly. Detached from wordly affairs and having few desires, she was increasingly esteemed by the world. She was seventy-seven when she died in the first year of the sheng-ming reign period (477).
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 Published
by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003
by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia |
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