Buddha was a deadbeat dad.

Of conquest and contribution.

The Buddha admitted there was no reason a woman could not be enlightened. “Women, Ananda, having gone forth are able to realize the fruit of stream-attainment or the fruit of once-returning or the fruit of non-returning or arahantship,” he said.

Ananda had made his point, and the Buddha relented. Pajapati and her 500 followers would be the first Buddhist nuns. But he predicted that allowing women into the Sangha would cause his teachings to survive only half as long – 500 years instead of a 1,000.

http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhisthistory/a/buddhistwomen.htm

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