Becoming a Buddha: Lessons from Little Girls

IN ONE WELL-KNOWN episode in the Lotus Sutra, we meet an unlikely candidate for buddhahood: the eight-year-old daughter of the dragon king. Our introduction to her comes through gossip. Discussing—behind her back—the girl’s rumored readiness for buddhahood, the bodhisattvas Manjushri and Wisdom Accumulated mull over whether or not she could possibly be as advanced as they have heard. Wisdom Accumulated argues that, since it took the Buddha a very long time to become the Buddha, he “cannot believe that this girl in the space of an instant could actually achieve correct enlightenment” (Burton Watson, The Lotus Sutra). Young, female, non-human—the daughter of the dragon king, in Wisdom Accumulated’s view, cannot attain the accomplishments of a buddha, accomplishments he himself has not yet achieved.

But the daughter of the dragon king is not one to be gossiped about. Arriving on the scene, she confronts the two bodhisattvas, only to be summarily dismissed by Shariputra, a disbelieving, but earnest, disciple of the Buddha. Informing her of the limits of her own female body, Shariputra tells her of the famous “five obstructions” experienced by women:

First, she cannot become a Brahma heavenly king. Second, she cannot become the king Shakra. Third, she cannot become a devil king. Fourth, she cannot become a wheel-turning sage king. Fifth, she cannot become a Buddha. (Watson)

The daughter of the dragon king, undaunted, attempts to win Shariputra over with her skilled argumentation. Failing that, she resorts to a less subtle persuasion technique: magic. Using her supernatural powers, she takes on a male body, completes all the