But the problem here is, his conversation to Sujata is not just related to solving a family issue, it is related to Dhamma:BlackBird wrote: The same is true of some of the social things the Buddha discussed, they clearly have no impact upon the Dhamma as a doctrine, so to say that if we start to question them - where does the buck stop? That's what we call a 'slippery slope fallacy'. If we were talking about an actual doctrinal point of the Dhamma, I would feel differently, but we're just talking about some advice the Buddha gave to a householder on how to make his family harmonious. Clearly that is something that is relevant to the culture and the time in which it was spoken, but culture and time changes.
Who is called a Slayer, a Tyrant, or a Thief,
Who is rude, unvirtuous, and disrespectful,
Such kinds of wives will on their death
To hellish worlds of misery depart.
But wives like Mother, Sister, Friend and Handmaid,
Firm in virtue, imbued with long termed self-control,
Such kinds of wives will on their death
To happy destinies depart.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... el334.htmlDeeply moved, Sujata replied that from then on she would strive to be a handmaid to her husband. The words of the Enlightened One had shown her how to conduct herself as a wife. Later she became a faithful disciple of the Buddha, to whom she was ever grateful for her salvation.
The Buddha's words here seem to be concerned with the long-term benefit of the wife (Sujata) than with the benefit of the family or the husband.