And great and magnificent were her charities to all who needed. And even the great Creeper Parure she gave for the needy, and redeemed it with a King’s ransom, and she attended upon the sick, healing them with wise medicaments, and she built a monastery and it is easy to rehearse what she did not do that was good, but impossible to rehearse all her innumerable nobilities of deed and thought.
And it was of her the One who is Awakened said:
“Just, monks, as a skilful garland-maker if he obtain a heap of flowers will go on making beautiful garlands without end, even so does the mind of Visakha incline to do all manner of noble deeds weaving them into loveliness.”
And this is the history of that great, generous and happy lady, the daughter of the Law.
CHAPTER XVI
Thus have I heard.
At this time the Queen Prajapati, she who had nourished the Blessed One with noble milk when his mother Maya was received into Paradise, sent to our Lord, with a message from herself and from the Princess Yashodara and other ladies of the royal family, and it was this.
“Full of hindrances is the household life, very free the life of the homeless for such as would walk in the way. Let the Blessed One, the Happy One, permit that women also retire to the peace of the homeless life under the discipline taught by the Exalted Lord.”
But he was silent, and a second time they made their petition, for they thought:
“Much need have women of the Peace, and is the way closed to them only?”