[238] Chapter III

37 M›tug›masa˙yutta
Connected Discourses on Women

I. FIRST REPETITION SERIES

(Women)

1 (1) Agreeable and Disagreeable (1)

“Bhikkhus, when a woman possesses five factors she is extremely
disagreeable to a man. What five? She is not beautiful, not
wealthy, not virtuous; she is lethargic; and she does not beget
children. When a woman possesses these five factors she is
extremely disagreeable to a man.
“Bhikkhus, when a woman possesses five factors she is
extremely agreeable to a man. What five? She is beautiful,
wealthy, and virtuous; she is clever and industrious; and she
begets children. When a woman possesses these five factors she
is extremely agreeable to a man.”

2 (2) Agreeable and Disagreeable (2)

“Bhikkhus, when a man possesses five factors he is extremely
disagreeable to a woman. What five? He is not handsome, not
wealthy, not virtuous; he is lethargic; and he does not beget chil-
dren. [239] When a man possesses these five factors he is
extremely disagreeable to a woman.
“Bhikkhus, when a man possesses five factors he is extremely
agreeable to a woman. What five? He is handsome, wealthy, and
virtuous; he is clever and industrious; and he begets children.
When a man possesses these five factors he is extremely agree-
able to a woman.”
(The same as the above.)

1286
 37. M›tug›masa˙yutta 1287

3 (3) Peculiar
“Bhikkhus, there are five kinds of suffering peculiar to
women,262 which women experience but not men. What five?
“Here, bhikkhus, even when young, a woman goes to live with
her husband’s family and is separated from her relatives. This is
the first kind of suffering peculiar to women….
“Again, a woman is subject to menstruation. This is the second
kind of suffering peculiar to women….
“Again, a woman becomes pregnant. This is the third kind of
suffering peculiar to women….
“Again, a woman gives birth. This is the fourth kind of suffer-
ing peculiar to women….
“Again, a woman is made to serve a man. This is the fifth kind
of suffering peculiar to women….
“These, bhikkhus, are the five kinds of suffering peculiar to
women, which women experience but not men.” [240]

4 (4) Three Qualities

“Bhikkhus, when a woman possesses three qualities, with the
breakup of the body, after death, she is generally reborn in a state
of misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. What
are the three? Here, bhikkhus, in the morning a woman dwells at
home with her heart obsessed by the taint of selfishness; at noon
she dwells at home with her heart obsessed by envy; in the
evening she dwells at home with her heart obsessed by sensual
lust. When a woman possesses these three qualities … she is gen-
erally reborn in a state of misery … in hell.”

(Anuruddha: (i) The Dark Side)

5 (5) Angry
Then the Venerable Anuruddha approached the Blessed One …
and said to him:263 “Here, venerable sir, with the divine eye, which
is purified and surpasses the human, I see women, with the break-
up of the body, after death, being reborn in a state of misery, in a
bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. When a woman pos-
sesses how many qualities, venerable sir, is she reborn thus?”
1288 IV. The Book of the Six Sense Bases (Sa˘›yatanavagga)

“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with

the breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a state of
misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. What
five?
“She is without faith, shameless, unafraid of wrongdoing, angry,
unwise. When a woman possesses these five qualities [241] she is
reborn in a state of misery … in hell.”

6 (6)–13 (13) Malicious, Etc.

“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with the
breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a state of mis-
ery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. What five?
“She is without faith, shameless, unafraid of wrongdoing,
malicious, [envious … stingy … of loose conduct … immoral …
unlearned … lazy … muddle-minded,]264 unwise. When a
woman possesses these five qualities she is reborn in a state of
misery … in hell.” [242–43]

14 (14) The Five

“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with the
breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a state of mis-
ery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. What are
the five?
“She destroys life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual
misconduct, speaks falsehood, and indulges in wine, liquor, and
intoxicants that cause negligence. When a woman possesses
these five qualities she is reborn in a state of misery … in hell.”

II. SECOND REPETITION SERIES

(Anuruddha)

(Anuruddha: (ii) The Bright Side)

15 (1) Without Anger

Then the Venerable Anuruddha approached the Blessed One …
and said to him: “Here, venerable sir, with the divine eye, which
is purified and surpasses the human, I see women, with the
 37. M›tug›masa˙yutta 1289

breakup of the body, after death, being reborn in a good destina-

tion, in a heavenly world. When a woman possesses how many
qualities, venerable sir, is she reborn thus?”
“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with
the breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a good des-
tination, in a heavenly world. What are the five?
“She has faith, she has a sense of shame, she is afraid of wrong-
doing, she is without anger, she is wise. When a woman possess-
es these five qualities [244] she is reborn in a good destination, in
a heavenly world.”

16 (2)–23 (9) Without Malice, Etc.

“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with the
breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a good destina-
tion, in a heavenly world. What are the five?
“She has faith, she has a sense of shame, she is afraid of wrong-
doing, she is without malice, [without envy … not stingy … not
of loose conduct … virtuous … learned … energetic … mind-
ful,]265 wise. When a woman possesses these five qualities she is
reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.” [245]

24 (10) The Five Precepts

“When, Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with the
breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a good destina-
tion, in a heavenly world. What are the five?
“She abstains from the destruction of life, abstains from taking
what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains
from false speech, abstains from wine, liquor, and intoxicants
that cause negligence. When a woman possesses these five qual-
ities, with the breakup of the body, after death, she is reborn in a
good destination, in a heavenly world.”

[246] III. POWERS

25 (1) Confident
“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman. What are the five?
The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives,
1290 IV. The Book of the Six Sense Bases (Sa˘›yatanavagga)

the power of sons, the power of virtue. These are the five powers
of a woman. When a woman possesses these five powers, she
dwells confident at home.”

26 (2) Having Won Over

“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman…. (as above) …
When a woman possesses these five powers, she dwells at home
having won over her husband.”266

27 (3) Under Her Control

“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman…. (as above) …
When a woman possesses these five powers, she abides with her
husband under her control.”

28 (4) One
“Bhikkhus, when a man possesses one power, he abides with a
woman under his control. What is that one power? The power of
authority. When a woman has been overcome by the power of
authority, neither the power of beauty can rescue her, nor the
power of wealth, nor the power of relatives, nor the power of
sons, nor the power of virtue.” [247]

29 (5) In That Respect

“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman. What are the
five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of rel-
atives, the power of sons, the power of virtue.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of beauty but not
the power of wealth, then she is deficient in that respect. But if
she possesses the power of beauty and the power of wealth too,
then she is complete in that respect.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty and
wealth, but not the power of relatives, then she is deficient in that
respect. But if she possesses the powers of beauty and wealth,
and the power of relatives too, then she is complete in that
respect.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty,
 37. M›tug›masa˙yutta 1291

wealth, and relatives, but not the power of sons, then she is defi-
cient in that respect. But if she possesses the powers of beauty,
wealth, and relatives, and the power of sons too, then she is com-
plete in that respect.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty,
wealth, relatives, and sons, but not the power of virtue, then she
is deficient in that respect. But if she possesses the powers of
beauty, wealth, relatives, and sons, and the power of virtue too,
then she is complete in that respect.
“These are the five powers of a woman.”

30 (6) They Expel

“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman … [248] …
the power of virtue.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of beauty but not
the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not accommodate her
in the family.267
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty and
wealth, but not the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not
accommodate her in the family.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty,
wealth, and relatives, but not the power of virtue, they expel her;
they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty,
wealth, relatives, and sons, but not the power of virtue, they
expel her; they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not
the power of beauty, they accommodate her in the family; they
do not expel her.268
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not
the power of wealth, they accommodate her in the family; they
do not expel her.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not
the power of relatives, they accommodate her in the family; they
do not expel her.
“If, bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not
the power of sons, they accommodate her in the family; they do
not expel her.
“These are the five powers of a woman.”
1292 IV. The Book of the Six Sense Bases (Sa˘›yatanavagga)

31 (7) The Cause

“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman … the power
of virtue.
“Bhikkhus, it is not because of the power of beauty, or the
power of wealth, or the power of relatives, or the power of sons,
that with the breakup of the body, after death, a woman is reborn
in a good destination, in a heavenly world. It is because of the
power of virtue that a woman is reborn in a good destination, in
a heavenly world.
“These are the five powers of a woman.” [249]

32 (8) Situations
“Bhikkhus, there are five situations that are difficult to obtain for
a woman who has not done merit. What are the five?
“She may wish: ‘May I be born into a suitable family!’ This is
the first situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has
not done merit.
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family, may
I marry into a suitable family!’ This is the second situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family and
having married into a suitable family, may I dwell at home with-
out a rival!’269 This is the third situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family …
dwelling at home without a rival, may I bear sons!’ This is the
fourth situation…. [250]
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family …
having borne sons, may I abide with my husband under my con-
trol!’ This is the fifth situation….
“These are the five situations that are difficult to obtain for a
woman who has not done merit.
“Bhikkhus, there are five situations that are easy to obtain for a
woman who has done merit. What are the five?
“She may wish: ‘May I be born into a suitable family!’ This is
the first situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family …
having borne sons, may I abide with my husband under my con-
trol!’ This is the fifth situation….
 37. M›tug›masa˙yutta 1293

“These are the five situations that are easy to obtain for a
woman who has done merit.”

33 (9) Confident
“Bhikkhus, when a woman possesses five qualities she dwells
confident at home. What are the five? She abstains from the
destruction of life, abstains from taking what is not given,
abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech,
abstains from wine, liquor, and intoxicants that cause negligence.
When a woman possesses these five qualities she dwells confi-
dent at home.”

34 (10) Growth
“Bhikkhus, growing in five areas of growth, a woman noble dis-
ciple grows with a noble growth, and she acquires the essence,
acquires the best, of this bodily existence. What are the five? She
grows in faith, in virtue, in learning, in generosity, and in wis-
dom. Growing in these five areas of growth, a woman noble dis-
ciple grows with a noble growth, and she acquires the essence,
acquires the best, of this bodily existence.

“When she grows here in faith and virtue,

In wisdom, generosity, and learning,
The virtuous woman lay disciple
Acquires right here the essence for herself.”