The Pilgrim Kamanita · Chapter
XLII: The Sick Nun explained
Vasitthi, sick with longing for Kamanita, confronts Angulimala and reminds him of his promise to bring news of her beloved.
What happens
Vasitthi, sick with longing for Kamanita, confronts Angulimala and reminds him of his promise to bring news of her beloved. Angulimala departs for Ujjeni, but Vasitthi's hopes are crushed when he returns alone, confirming Kamanita lives but is married. Her feverish hopes collapse, leading to a physical and spiritual crisis. Nursed by Medini, she resolves instead to seek the Buddha, and after the rainy season, she and Medini set out eastward toward the Master.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Detachment
Vasitthi's lovesickness and the collapse of her hopes illustrate the suffering inherent in attachment, as she grapples with the ascetic teaching that domestic life is a 'slut's corner.'
Compassion and Mercy
Angulimala's willingness to fulfill his promise and Medini's devoted nursing demonstrate compassion within the monastic community.
The Pilgrim's Path
Vasitthi's decision to redirect her journey toward the Buddha, seeking new life from the Holy One, embodies the pilgrim's quest for spiritual liberation.
Characters to notice
- Vasitthi
The sick nun, consumed by love and longing for Kamanita, confronts Angulimala and later falls into despair before redirecting her pilgrimage toward the Buddha.
- Angulimala
Now a monk, he fulfills his promise to Vasitthi by traveling to Ujjeni to bring news of Kamanita, then departs eastward to follow the Master.
- Medini
After losing her husband Somadatta, she enters the Order and nurses Vasitthi with self-sacrifice, later enthusiastically agreeing to accompany her on the pilgrimage east.
- Kamanita
Reported by Angulimala to be alive and living in opulence in Ujjeni with wives, though Vasitthi's hopes of reunion are dashed.
- Somadatta
Mentioned as having come to a sad end, drowning himself in the Gunga after gambling away his substance.
Key passages
“A slut's corner is domestic life”
The ascetic saying that household life is a place of moral degradation.
Vasitthi recalls this harsh teaching after her hopes of reunion with Kamanita are shattered.
“When loves comes, suffering also comes”
Love inevitably brings pain and suffering.
Vasitthi reflects on the lesson she has learned from her own experience.
“Just as when in the last month of the rainy season, in harvest, the sun, after dispersing and banishing the water-laden clouds, goes up into the sky, and by his radiance frightens all the mists away from the atmosphere, and blazes and shines”
Like the sun clearing away clouds after the rains, the holy life dispels the gossip of ordinary penitents and shines brightly.
Vasitthi recalls the Master's words as she and Medini set out eastward after the rainy season.