 Buddhist writer Susan Murcott notes that the story of Khema's enlightenment is a rare case of a laywoman attaining arahantship "before" becoming a monastic.After going forth as a "bhikkhuni", Buddhist texts state that Khema became known for her wisdom.In the "Khema Sutta", she famously preached to King Pasenadi on the issue of the existence of the Buddha after death, explaining that the Buddha is unfathomable and that defining him as existing or not existing after death is impossible.