From Grief to Arahatship: The Process of Women Who Lost Their Only Child in the Therīgāthā

The purpose of Buddhism is to solve the problems of life, alleviate the suffering of human beings, and obtain happiness and liberation, and lamentation and separation from the beloved are counted among the universal sufferings of human existence. They are closely associated with death and bereavement, and happen to everyone. In general, the loss of an only child is the most painful and unbearable. How a mother confronted the passing of her only child (son or daughter) and coped with loss and grief in the early Buddhist texts? How the Buddha helped them to pass through sadness? Actually, bereavement may be more than a negative experience, and may possess positive implications. It gives the bereaved an opportunity to transform themselves from grief to inner tranquility and enlightenment, and the assistance does not comprise giving mere comfort or support, but also emphasizes the proper understanding of impermanence and the causes of suffering. This paper is a textual, narrative and comparative study of the bereavement process in the three cases in the Therīgāthā and its commentary (the Therīgāthā-aṭṭhakathā): Ubbirī lost her only daughter Jīvantī, Vāsiṭṭhī lost her only son, and Kisāgotamī lost her only son. It analyses and integrates the bereavement cases according to the structure of the Four Noble Truths (cattāri ariya saccāni), the similarities and differences among the bereaved, the reactions, the processes of changes, and finally consequences are related and compared. How the Buddha led them realize the impermanence on their path from grief to arahatship (arahatta) is also essential.

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並列摘要

佛教的宗旨在引導眾生離苦得樂，解決人們生活中的問題並減輕煩惱痛苦，其中，因摯愛死亡而與之分離的悲傷，更是人生中必然的遭遇和普遍的苦難，無人能夠倖免。一般而言，失去獨生子女是令喪親者最痛苦和難以接受的情境之一，尤其當喪親者是與子女有深刻連結的母親。本文想要探討早期佛教經典當中，這樣的母親如何面對獨生子女（兒子或女兒）的離逝？如何經歷失落和悲傷？佛陀又如何幫助與開導她們走過哀悼期？事實上，喪親可能不僅是人生中被動消極的經歷，更可能具備積極的面向，因為它提供了喪親者從悲痛走向內在安寧，甚至見法證果的機會，而對喪親者的協助也不僅是給予心理上的安慰和生活上的支持，還包括對無常的體悟與對苦因的正確認知。本文將探討巴利《長老尼偈》及其註釋中三個喪失獨生子女的女性案例，以文獻、敘事，與比較的方法進行研究，並依據四聖諦與三業等佛法的架構來分析比較喪親者之間的異同、其悲傷反應、轉化的過程，以及最終的境界，同時，佛陀如何帶領她們認清無常的本質，從悲痛走向證果也是關注重點。這三個案例包括：烏毘利（Ubbirī）喪失獨生女智瓦（Jīvantī），婆四吒（Vāsiṭṭhī）喪失獨子，及翅舍瞿曇彌（Kisāgotamī）喪失獨子。

並列關鍵字

《長老尼偈》；喪親；女性；獨生子女；佛陀

國際替代計量

From Grief to Arahatship: The Process of Women Who Lost Their Only Child in the Therīgāthā

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