A beautiful and wealthy courtesan of Vaiśālī who became a follower of the Buddha. She was named after the mango fruit (Pāli, amba) because she was reputed to have been found at the foot of a mango tree. It is narrated in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta that Ambapālī invited the Buddha to dine at her house on his last visit to Vaiśālī before his death. He accepted the invitation, declining a similar one from the local princes. Ambapālī donated to the Saṃgha a residence constructed in her garden. She had a son who became an elder in the Order and she herself eventually renounced the world, gained insight into impermanence (anitya) through contemplating the ageing of her own body, and became an Arhat.

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