Editing The Buddha (section)

=== Formation of the bhikkhunī order ===
[[File:Mahapajapati.jpg|thumb|Mahāprajāpatī, the first bhikkuni and Buddha's stepmother, ordains]]
The formation of a parallel order of female monastics ([[bhikkhunī]]) was another important part of the growth of the Buddha's community. As noted by Anālayo's comparative study of this topic, there are various versions of this event depicted in the different early Buddhist texts.{{efn |Anālayo draws from seven early sources:{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|pp=40–41}}
# the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya in Four Parts, preserved in Chinese
# a *Vinayamātṛkā preserved in Chinese translation, which some scholars suggest represents the Haimavata tradition
# the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda Vinaya, preserved in Sanskrit
# the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya in Five Parts, preserved in Chinese
# the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, where the episode is extant in Chinese and Tibetan translation, with considerable parts also preserved in Sanskrit fragments
# a discourse in the Madhyama-āgama, preserved in Chinese, probably representing the Sarvāstivāda tradition
# a Pāli discourse found among the Eights of the Aṅguttara-nikāya; the same account is also found in the Theravāda Vinaya preserved in Pāli}}

According to all the major versions surveyed by Anālayo, [[Mahapajapati Gotami|Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī]], Buddha's step-mother, is initially turned down by the Buddha after requesting ordination for her and some other women. Mahāprajāpatī and her followers then shave their hair, don robes and begin following the Buddha on his travels. The Buddha is eventually convinced by Ānanda to grant ordination to Mahāprajāpatī on her acceptance of [[Eight Garudhammas|eight conditions called gurudharmas]] which focus on the relationship between the new order of nuns and the monks.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=43}}

According to Anālayo, the only argument common to all the versions that Ananda uses to convince the Buddha is that women have the same ability to reach all stages of awakening.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=79}} Anālayo also notes that some modern scholars have questioned the authenticity of the eight gurudharmas in their present form due to various inconsistencies. He holds that the historicity of the current lists of eight is doubtful, but that they may have been based on earlier injunctions by the Buddha.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2013b}}{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|pp=111–112}}

Anālayo notes that various passages indicate that the reason for the Buddha's hesitation to ordain women was the danger that the life of a wandering sramana posed for women that were not under the protection of their male family members, such as dangers of sexual assault and abduction. Due to this, the gurudharma injunctions may have been a way to place "the newly founded order of nuns in a relationship to its male counterparts that resembles as much as possible the protection a laywoman could expect from her male relatives".{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=127}}