Mahakashyapa: “Maha” means great; “Kashyapa” was his name. Since there were many people with the last name Kashyapa, the word “great” was added to indicate who was being referred to. Kashyapa means “Great Turtle Clan (da gui shi).” His ancestors had seen a huge turtle with a map on its back and took their name from this incident. Mahakashyapa is also known as “drinker of light (da yin guang).” The light of his body seemed to swallow up all other kinds of light, because they disappeared in the brilliance of his light. His personal name was Pippala, which is the name of a tree. His parents had no son, and they prayed for one to a pippala tree; as a result they had a son, whom they named in the tree’s honor. Mahakashyapa was a fire worshipper. He cultivated the skill of smelting fire. There were all kinds of outside religions in India.
Water worshipers, fire worshipers, and earth worshipers. The latter would bury themselves in the earth and if they remained alive for a certain number of days, they could become spirits. These outside religions were confused and confusing. Purple-golden Light Bhikshuni, who was Mahakashyapa’s wife. At the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, Mahakashyapa was 120 years old, and his wife was probably close to one hundred.
Long ago, at the time of Kashyapa Buddha, his wife saw a Buddha-image being battered by wind and rain, to the point that there was no gold left on the figure. She resolved to repair the temple, but didn’t have enough money. She also hoped to regild the image, but that was even more expensive. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and this woman’s heart was strong and true. Everywhere she went she begged for money, and over a period of years she accumulated the equivalent of about 100,000 American dollars. Then she hired a goldsmith to regild the image. The goldsmith was moved by her decision to repair the Buddha image despite her own poverty, and he offered to do the work for half the wage. So the two of them shared the merit and virtue of this. Soon the temple was repaired so that it didn’t leak anymore, and the Buddha image was regilded. After that in every life, this woman 5 body shone with a purple-golden light. After the goldsmith, who was Mahakashyapa in a former life, finished the Buddha image, something strange happened between him and the woman. “Your heart is very good,”
He said to her. “I’ll take you for my wife, and I will be your husband. Not just in this life, but from now on, in every life, we will marry one another.”
That’s why I guessed that since Mahakashyapa was 120, his wife must have been at least a hundred. Even so, they were still very strong and active in their cultivation. Mahakashyapa’s wife cultivated the Way and was certified to the fruition