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The story of Bhikkhuni Patacara was heart-wrenching. She was the only daughter of a wealthy family in Savatthi. Her parents were<br />
overly protective of her and never allowed her to leave the house. All day long she was required to stay inside. Thus, she never had a<br />
chance to meet many people. When she reached an age suitable for marriage, she fell in love, without her parents’ knowledge, with a young<br />
servant in their househ<strong>old</strong>. When her parents arranged for her to marry the son of another wealthy family, Patacara urged her secret lover to<br />
run away with her. Early on the morning she was to be married, she disguised herself as a servant girl and pretended to go outside to fetch<br />
water. As soon as she was outside, she met her lover and they fled to a distant village where they were married.<br />
Three years later Patacara became pregnant. When she neared her time, she asked her husband to take her to her parents’ house to give<br />
birth there, as was the custom. Her husband was reluctant but because she insisted, he agreed. But halfway there, Patacara went into labor<br />
and delivered a son. As there was no longer any need to return to her parents’ home, they went back to their own village.<br />
Two years later, Patacara was again with child. Again she insisted her husband take her to her parents’ house. This time they met with<br />
tragedy. Along the way, a storm broke, just as she was going into labor. Her husband asked her to wait by the side of the road while he<br />
entered the forest to cut some branches to make a shelter. Patacara waited for a long time, but her husband did not return. In the middle of<br />
the night, surrounded by rain and wind, she gave birth to a second son. At dawn, she lifted her newborn son in one arm and held her other<br />
son’s hand, and entered the forest to look for her husband. She found him dead from a poisonous snake bite. She wept bitterly for a long<br />
time. Then she stood up and headed with her two sons towards her <strong>old</strong> home in Savatthi. At last she reached the river. The waters were<br />
swollen from the rain, making the water too deep for her first son to wade across. She t<strong>old</strong> him to wait on the bank while she carried the<br />
baby safely to the other side first. She held the infant over her head as she walked through the deep waters. When she was halfway across,<br />
a mighty eagle swept down and grabbed the baby in its talons. She screamed at the bird to release her child, but it flew away. When her<br />
other son heard her cries, he thought she was calling him to join her. When Patacara turned around, she saw him stepping into the rushing<br />
waters. She shouted at him to wait, but it was too late. The strong currents swept him away, and she was unable to save him.<br />
At last, Patacara crossed to the other shore, and collapsed on the banks. When she came to, she stood up and walked for several days<br />
until she reached Savatthi. When she finally arrived, she learned that her parents’ home had been destroyed in the storm and both her<br />
parents killed when a wall collapsed on them. Patacara had returned on the same day her parents’ bodies were being cremated.<br />
Patacara collapsed by the side of the road. She no longer wanted to live. Some people took pity on her and took her to see the Buddha.<br />
He listened to her tell her story, and he t<strong>old</strong> her in a gentle voice, “Patacara, you have suffered terribly. But life is not only suffering and<br />
misfortune. Be brave! Practice the Way of Enlightenment, and one day you will be able to smile even at your most painful sufferings. You<br />
will learn how to create new peace and joy in the present and for the future.”<br />
Patacara bowed and asked to take the refuges. The Buddha entrusted her to Sister Mahapajapati’s care. Soon afterwards Patacara was<br />
ordained as a bhikkhuni. She was deeply loved by Sister Mahapajapati and the other bhikkhunis. After several years of practice, she<br />
learned to smile again. One day, while washing her feet, she watched the streams of water disappear back into the earth, and she had<br />
sudden insight into the nature of impermanence. She held that image in her mind during her meditation for several days and nights, and one<br />
dawn, she broke through the problem of birth and death. Spontaneously, she wrote a poem:<br />
The other day, while washing my feet,<br />
I watched the streams of water flow<br />
back into the heart of the earth.<br />
I asked, “To where does the water return?”<br />
Contemplating in serene silence,<br />
mind and body held in mindfulness,<br />
I looked into the nature of the six sense objects<br />
with the spirit of a strong, quick horse.<br />
Staring at the oil lamp wick,<br />
I concentrated my mind.<br />
Time passed quickly.<br />
The oil lamp still shone.<br />
I took a needle<br />
and pushed the wick down.