Visakha
Visakha (Pali: Visākhā; Sanskrit: Viśākhā), also known as Migāramāta, was a wealthy aristocratic woman who lived during the time of Gautama Buddha.
[note 1] As chief patron, Visakha generously supported the Buddha and his monastic community throughout her life, as well as served as one of his primary aides in dealing with the general public.
In Buddhist belief, when a fully enlightened Buddha appears in the world, he always has a set of chief disciples that fulfill different roles.
Having heard this, the woman made the resolve to become the female lay disciple foremost in generosity of a future Buddha and did good deeds for many lifetimes in hopes of becoming one.
King Bimbasara obliged and had Visakha and her father and mother moved to the city of Saketa (present day Ayodhya), near the Kosalan capital of Savatthi.
She also explained that she did not want to injure herself, as wet clothes can be fixed, but if a woman of marriageable age breaks a limb she couldn't marry and would be a problem for her parents.
One day when a monk had entered the household to ask for alms, Migara ignored him, prompting Visakha to say "Pass on, Venerable Sir, my father-in-law is eating stale food".
The two chief patrons were also Gautama Buddha's primary aides when dealing with the general public, and he often turned to one of the two whenever there needed to be something arranged with the community.
[20][21] Visakha regularly visited the Buddha in the afternoon for Dhamma sermons whenever he was in Savatthi, and fed large numbers of monks at her house daily.
[25] Visakha often wore her finest clothes and perfume to monasteries, although she later developed an insight into the values of asceticism and chose to give up her fine attire.
Visakha chose Maha Moggallana, the Buddha's disciple foremost in psychic powers, to stay with her and oversee the construction.
Thanks to Maha Moggallana's oversight and use of psychic powers to aid with the construction, the two-storey temple was built in nine months.
[6] Visakha is considered to be one of the most prominent female lay figures in the Buddha's time and her role in the Buddhist scriptures is often cited in determining the attitudes toward women in early Buddhism.
Dewaraja points to the fact that Visakha often wore her best clothes to monasteries as indicating a more liberal attitude toward women in early Buddhism.
Dewaraja contrasts this to other religions in Asia which generally describe pious women's love of ornamentation as "an evil attribute".
[39] The two patrons each play parallel roles, both being called upon to arrange things with the lay community, both building important temples for the Buddha, and both pursuing various types of giving for the Sangha.
[40] Harvey states that this symbiotic parallel relationship between the two chief patrons implies that no form of giving in Buddhism is gender specific.
