25 (1) Confident
“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman. What are the five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives, the power of sons, the power of virtue. These are the five powers of a woman. When a woman possesses these five powers, she dwells confident at home.”
26 (2) Having Won Over
“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman…. (as above) … When a woman possesses these five powers, she dwells at home having won over her husband.”
27 (3) Under Her Control
“Bhikkhus, there are five powers of a woman…. (as above) … When a woman possesses these five powers, she abides with her husband under her control.”
28 (4) One
“Bhikkhus, when a man possesses one power, he abides with a woman under his control. What is that one power? The power of authority. When a woman has been overcome by the power of authority, neither the power of beauty can rescue her, nor the power of wealth, nor the power of relatives, nor the power of sons, nor the power of virtue.”
29 (5) In That Respect
“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman. What are the five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives, the power of sons, the power of virtue.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of beauty but not the power of wealth, then she is deficient in that respect. But if she possesses the power of beauty and the power of wealth too, then she is complete in that respect.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty and wealth, but not the power of relatives, then she is deficient in that respect. But if she possesses the powers of beauty and wealth, and the power of relatives too, then she is complete in that respect.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, and relatives, but not the power of sons, then she is deficient in that respect. But if she possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, and relatives, and the power of sons too, then she is complete in that respect.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, relatives, and sons, but not the power of virtue, then she is deficient in that respect. But if she possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, relatives, and sons, and the power of virtue too, then she is complete in that respect.
“These are the five powers of a woman.”
30 (6) They Expel
“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman … … the power of virtue.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of beauty but not the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty and wealth, but not the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, and relatives, but not the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, relatives, and sons, but not the power of virtue, they expel her; they do not accommodate her in the family.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not the power of beauty, they accommodate her in the family; they do not expel her.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not the power of wealth, they accommodate her in the family; they do not expel her.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not the power of relatives, they accommodate her in the family; they do not expel her.
“If, Bhikkhus, a woman possesses the power of virtue but not the power of sons, they accommodate her in the family; they do not expel her.
“These are the five powers of a woman.”
31 (7) The Cause
“Bhikkhus, there are these five powers of a woman … the power of virtue.
“Bhikkhus, it is not because of the power of beauty, or the power of wealth, or the power of relatives, or the power of sons, that with the breakup of the body, after death, a woman is reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. It is because of the power of virtue that a woman is reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.
“These are the five powers of a woman.”
32 (8) Situations
“Bhikkhus, there are five situations that are difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. What are the five?
“She may wish: ‘May I be born into a suitable family!’ This is the first situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit.
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family, may I marry into a suitable family!’ This is the second situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family and having married into a suitable family, may I dwell at home without a rival!’ This is the third situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family … dwelling at home without a rival, may I bear sons!’ This is the fourth situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family … having borne sons, may I abide with my husband under my control!’ This is the fifth situation….
“These are the five situations that are difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit.
“Bhikkhus, there are five situations that are easy to obtain for a woman who has done merit. What are the five?
“She may wish: ‘May I be born into a suitable family!’ This is the first situation….
“She may wish: ‘Having been born into a suitable family … having borne sons, may I abide with my husband under my control!’ This is the fifth situation….
“These are the five situations that are easy to obtain for a woman who has done merit.”
33 (9) Confident
“Bhikkhus, when a woman possesses five qualities she dwells confident at home. What are the five? She abstains from the destruction of life, abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech, abstains from wine, liquor, and intoxicants that cause negligence. When a woman possesses these five qualities she dwells confident at home.”
34 (10) Growth
“Bhikkhus, growing in five areas of growth, a woman noble disciple grows with a noble growth, and she acquires the essence, acquires the best, of this bodily existence. What are the five? She grows in faith, in virtue, in learning, in generosity, and in wisdom. Growing in these five areas of growth, a woman noble disciple grows with a noble growth, and she acquires the essence, acquires the best, of this bodily existence.
“When she grows here in faith and virtue,
In wisdom, generosity, and learning,
The virtuous woman lay disciple
Acquires right here the essence for herself.”