ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that many normative Indian Buddhist writings from the middle period of Indian Buddhism, including the Garbhavakranti-sutra, voice a critique of auspiciousness, a rejection of sexuality, and a distaste for child-bearing. As the existence of the Garbhavakranti-sutra clearly illustrates, some Buddhist monastics became expert in birth as a result of their efforts to triumph over birth. The Buddhist discourse of birth produces not only celibate monks and inauspicious women, but auspicious ascetics as well. The Pali Sujata narrative works in the mode of dramatic irony to create a sense of critical aloofness regarding the worship of yaksas associated with Buddhist sites or villages occupied by Buddhist lay supporters. The chapter considers the term "conceptual reframing" to characterize the discursive move made in a series of Sanskrit avadanas that repurposes the prestigious monastic ritual of going forth for fertility and child-protection.
