| Lord Buddha attached more importance to the emancipation of the masses than to the salvation of the individual. His concern for the masses manifested itself in the establishment of the Sangha, which could be best described as an association of seekers.
Amrapali and Vasavadatta were two women disciples of Lord Buddha who gave up a life of pleasure and took to asceticism. At first women were not admitted to his order by Lord Buddha, but when Ananda, his fovorite disciple, pleaded on their behalf, he relented.
The story of Amrapali is told in the Maha-Parinibbana Sutta and in Malasarvastivadas. The garden which Amrapali gave up to Lord Buddha was still in existence when Fa-Hien visited India during the Gupta age.
Upagupta was a disciple of Buddha. For him, ahimsa (non-violence) did not merely mean desisting from violence but doing positive good and showing compassion. When Vasavadatta was shunned by society and had nowhere to go, Upagupta took her to his hermitage. |
