Buddhism: Maechi Wabi, Essay Example

• Why did Maechi Wabi go forth? What does the expression ‘to go forth’ mean in Buddhism? Who usually goes forth? According to Buddhist accounts, how and why did the Buddha himself go forth? How basic to Buddhism is this story?

Maechi Wabi felt specifically neglected when she was still a child. She felt that it was the pursuit for material things that made it possible for her parents to set her aside. It is for this reason that she decided to ‘go forth’ and move on from a specifically materialistic way to a much spiritually contemplating manner of being. She recognized the need to be free from such pressuring conditions from the world which could keep her away from feeling the real ease and happiness of the true life.

For many Buddhists, going forth means leaving their old ways of living that is dedicated to exploring possibilities of acquiring more material things; they consider these desires as mere distraction from understanding and benefiting from what real living offers. Most often than not, this idealism serve as the basic foundation of Buddhist belief that goes on to inspire many individuals to take on simpler lives in the hope of purifying themselves from wrong desires. As common as the teaching is, Maechi Wabi knew what she was entering as she tried to purify herself from all the impurities of life; she knew she would be mocked, and somehow, she was prepared to face such situations and she planned to stay within her beliefs and become more endowed with her want of being recognized as someone who leads the life of a samnak.

• What is samnak? How is life lived in a samnak? How do the samnaks Maechi Wabi lived different from the monasteries where Maechi tend to live surrounded by monks?

Samnak is the choice of a life of nunnery wherein women take the chance to purify their lives through putting themselves within the confined environment of a secluded village barely living on what is available in their surroundings, their environment. Simplicity specifically becomes the ground foundation of a Maechi’s life. Being in subjection to the monks, Maechis are often misconstrued as holy ones with lower recognizable sanctities compared to the men. Only a few samnak villages exist compared to monasteries hence resulting to fewer Buddhist nuns, some even do not know that they exist.

Maechis are often understood by the society as somewhat individuals who have no other choices in life, people who are poor who simply wanted to escape from the pressures of life. Women who involve themselves in such a type of living are then expected to know what they want and expect mockery from the society along the way of leading such way of life. Relatively, only through this real connection to their desires of undergoing purification would they be able to survive the points of mockery. Sticking to their desires should be something more than just a sense of enforced wish to live out from the life that most people lead which is most often than not more materialistic.

This is the reason why when Maechi Wabi entered the Samnak, she had to make sure that she knew what she wanted and that she was prepared for everything that comes along the way. She knew that her life was going to turn around, she needed to make sure that her life would be dedicated to purification and nothing more; thus gaining outstanding focus was a distinct necessity to the process she wanted to take into account. In the same manner, all the women who wanted to take the same path she took need to take on different aspects of assurance that this is the way they want to live their lives with.