Maha Prajapati Gotami requests ordination as a nun from the Buddha. Three times she asks and is three times refued.

Gotami and a large group of women from Kapilavatthu cut off their hair and don the robe of a nun. They walk to Vesali where they ask Ananda, the Buddha's attendant, to intercede with the Buddha on their behalf.

Ananda asks the Buddha three times if he would ordain the women and three times he says no. He then asks: 'Is it possible for women to get enlightened?' The Buddha agrees that it is and Ananda argues that surely women should be allowed this opportunity. The Buddha finally agrees - conditional on 8 points (basically placing the women as seconde to the men).