The story of Matangi’s daughter and Ananda is the source of the Surangama Sutra and the model example of the “ordeals with females” suffered by Buddhist disciples. In the “ordeal with Matangi’s daughter,” Matangi’s daughter is seen as a femme fatale who tries to seduce disciples. This image of her projects the conflict between discipline and desires and the tension between male disciples and women. Thus, in the realm of religion she becomes a warning against lust, and in the realm of the secular, a splendid topic for literature and theater. However, this course of events is a key test of Ananda’s discipline, and critical to the girl’s awakening to the truth and attainment of arhathood. In other words, from her perspective what the account depicts is her ordeal with Ananda and her awakening to the truth rather than Ananda’s ordeal with her. Accordingly, this study explores the images of Matangi’s daughter in the Matangi Sutra and Surangama Sutra and their interpretations, in Ming and Qing dynasty literature and culture, in modern culture and as a female Buddhist disciple, from the female perspective (Matangi’s daughter’s point of view) rather than the male perspective (Ananda’s view) as previously. Through the media of the classics, discourses,literature, theatre, music, images, poetry and popular phrases, the following issues are discussed: How has Matangi’s daughter been interpreted? What was the original image of her? In what ways has this image been enhanced and transformed? How has this image changed since it was first established? The perspectives behind the preceding issues are carefully examined and summarized in two ways in which her image has been interpreted: as someone who is actively lusting after Ananda, and as someone who quickly attains arhathood; possible trends extending from these interpretations are presented, hopefully opening up new possibilities for interpreting modern Buddhist women.
