Khema was a Buddhist bhikkhuni, or nun, who was one of the top female disciples of the Buddha.
15 Facts About Khema
1.
2.
Khema is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with Uppalavanna.
3.
Khema was born into a royal family in Sagala, modern day Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan.
4.
Khema was the wife of King Bimbisara of the ancient Indian kingdom of Magadha.
5.
Khema was convinced to visit the Buddha by her husband, who hired poets to sing about the beauty of the monastery he was staying at to her.
6.
Khema attained enlightenment as a laywoman while listening to one of the Buddha's sermons, considered a rare feat in Buddhist texts.
7.
Khema's name means "security" and is sometimes used as a synonym for Nirvana.
8.
Khema was described as being immensely beautiful and having a radiant golden complexion.
9.
Khema had a strong attachment to her looks and knew the Buddha found fault with physical beauty.
10.
Buddhist writer Susan Murcott notes that the story of Khema's enlightenment is a rare case of a laywoman attaining enlightenment before becoming a monastic.
11.
Khema taught her friend Vijaya, leading her to become a nun as well, after which she soon became an arahant.
12.
Mara takes the form of a young man and attempts to seduce her, but in a drastic shift from her previous conceit, Khema describes her disgust for the human body and explains that she has moved beyond any attachment to the senses.
13.
Khema is associated with several figures in a variety of jataka tales and stories set in the time of the previous Buddhas, where her previous existences are often shown as being kind and wise.
14.
Khema is regarded as an accomplished disciple of the Buddha, holding the same position among the nuns as Sariputta did among the monks.
15.
Sanskrit and Pali scholar Gisela Krey notes that Khema spiritually surpassed her husband, King Bimbisara, who got no farther than stream-entry.