07 Suppiyā, Who Attended the Sick

After aspiring under Buddha Padumuttara, Suppiyā was reborn in Bārāṇasī. As a devoted lay disciple, she promised meat soup to an ailing monk. Finding none for sale, she sacrificed flesh from her own thigh to fulfill her promise. When she met Buddha Gotama, her wound miraculously healed. The Buddha subsequently prohibited monastics from consuming human flesh and named Suppiyā the foremost female lay disciple for looking after the sick monastics.