WHO ARE OUR ROLE MODELS? - Bhikkhunī Khemā

Welcome back to the Sutta Meditation Series Podcast.

Role models play an important part in all of our lives, whether we seek them out or not. And whether we walk the Buddhist Path or not, they can have the power to shape the direction we take and the ability to influence the decisions that follow on from there.

For Buddhist practitioners, the Buddha is our most eminent role model, teacher and the Perfectly Enlightened One. And there are also many noble and great disciples of the Buddha.

Today we will focus on nun disciples (bhikkhuni) of the Buddha, and one in particular, Bhikkhunī Khemā, who was declared by the Buddha foremost among those with great wisdom (mahāpaññānaṃ) - AN 1.236; and a standard and a measure for the Buddha's nun disciples (alongside Bhikkhunī Uppalavaṇṇā) - SN 17.24.

Other suttas mentioned in this talk include:

• – Abhiṇhapaccavekkhitabbaṭhāna Sutta (AN 5.57)
• – Gandha Sutta (AN 9.15)
• – Vijaya Sutta ( Sn 1.11)
• – Samādhi-bhāvanā Sutta (SN 22.5)
• – Khematheri Vatthu (Dhp 347)
• – Uragajātaka (Jāt 354)
• – Manojajātaka (Jāt 397)
• – Rohaṇamigajātaka (Jāt 501)
• – Cūḷahaṃsajātaka (Jāt 502)
• – Mahāhaṃsajātaka (Jāt 534)
• – Khemātherīgāthā (Thig 6.3)
• – Khemā Sutta (SN 44.1)

In learning about such noble beings, we can delight in their lives and accomplishments; recognise the importance of seeing them as worthy role models; and use it as inspiration towards progress on the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path.

The VIDEO has been uploaded to the Sutta Meditation Series podcast channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwrSrkvP4mJRPWyPGliNDuA AND on Spotify as a video podcast

Blessings of the Triple Gem. Theruwan saranai