![[info icon]](./../../../img/question_16.gif "Summary: This brief sutta, which encourages education for women, may account for the fact that in the pre-modern world Theravada Buddhist countries had the highest rates of female literacy. [TB].")
"A female disciple of the noble ones who grows in terms of these five types of growth grows in the noble growth. She grasps hold of what is essential and what is excellent in the body. Which five?
"She grows in terms of conviction.
"She grows in terms of virtue.
"She grows in terms of learning.
"She grows in terms of generosity.
"She grows in terms of discernment.
"Growing in terms of these five types of growth, the female disciple of the noble ones grows in the noble growth. She grasps hold of what is essential and what is excellent in the body."
She grows in conviction & virtue,
discernment, generosity, & learning:
A virtuous female lay disciple
such as this
takes hold of the essence
right here within herself.
©2008 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
The text of this page ("Vaddha Sutta: Growth", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions.
Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 1 July 2010.
How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Vaddha Sutta: Growth" (SN 37.4), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 1 July 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn37/sn37.034.than.html .