Ananda

From New World Encyclopedia
This article is about a disciple of the Buddha. For the organization "Ananda (Church of Self-Realization)", see Ananda Church of Self-Realization.


File:Ananda at First Council.jpg
A wallpainting in a monastery in Laos depicts Ananda reciting the Suttapitaka at the First Buddhist Council

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Ananda (Chinese: 阿難, A Nan or 阿難陀, A Nan Tuo) was one of the ten great disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. He was renowned as the Guardian of the Dharma.

The word Ananda means 'bliss' in Pali, Sanskrit, Sinhala and Tamil and is quite often part of Buddhist and Hindu monastic names.

Ananda's highly developed memory, plus the fact that he was constantly at the Buddha's side, meant that he, more than any other person, was responsible for preserving and transmitting the Buddha's teachings.

It was due to the effort of Ananda that Buddha first allowed females to become bhikkhunis (nuns).

Early life

Ananda was born in Kapilavatthu and was the Buddha's cousin, being the son of Amitodana, the brother of the Buddha's father, Suddhodana. It was during the Buddha's first trip back to Kapilavatthu after his enlightenment that Ananda, along with his brother Anuruddha and his cousin Devadatta, all became monks.

Ananda was reportedly around 37 at the time he became a student of Belatthassa, an arahant (a fully liberated saint) in the Sangha. The monk's life suited Ananda and his quiet, unassuming nature meant that he was little noticed by the others until he was selected to be the Buddha's personal attendant.

Life with Buddha

He devoted himself to Buddha with a special childlike fervor and served as his personal attendant till the end of his life. Descriptions of him indicated he had no intellectual attainments, but that he was a man of great sincerity and had a loving nature.

This was apparently in contrast to his cousin Devadatta, who became one of Buddha's greatest rivals, attempting to oust Buddha as the head of the order.

In view of the abundance of praise, recognition and privileges Ananda received, mutterings of envy and resentment might have been expected, but this was not the case at all. Ananda was so occupied subordinating his entire life to the Dhamma that fame had no influence over him. He knew that all that was good in him was due to the influence of the Teaching, and so avoided pride. One who is never proud has no enemies and is not the subject of envy. If someone turns inward completely and keeps away from any social contact, as Ananda's brother Anuruddha did, then it is also easy to be without enemies. But Ananda had daily contact with a large number of people with regard to diverse matters, yet he had no enemies or rivals, and his relationships with others were without conflict or tension.

In the long list of the disciples given in the Anguttara (i. xiv.) where each of them is declared to be the chief in some quality, Ananda is mentioned five times (more often than any other). He was named chief in conduct, in service to others, and in power of memory. The Buddha sometimes asked him to substitute for him as teacher and then later stated that he himself would not have presented the teachings in any other way.

Because he attended the Buddha personally and often traveled with him, Ananda overheard and memorized many of the discourses the Buddha delivered to various audiences. Therefore, he is often called the disciple of the Buddha who "heard much". At the First Buddhist Council, convened shortly after the Buddha died, Ananda was called upon to recite many of the discourses that later became the Sutta Pitaka of the Pāli Canon.

Despite his long association with and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a stream-winner,stream-winner can also be sure that he or she will not be reborn in any of the unhappy rebirths, prior to the Buddha’s death. During the period he was the Buddha's attendant, though he was still a "learner" and "one in the higher training", no thoughts of lust or hate arose in him; this is seen as implying that his close connection with the Buddha and his devotion to him gave no room for these.

First Buddhist Council

Prior to the First Buddhist Council (544 B.C.E.), it was proposed that Ananda not be permitted to attend on the grounds that he was not yet an arahant. According to legend, this prompted Ananda to focus his efforts on the attainment of nibbana and he was able to reach the specified level of attainment before the calling of the conclave.

Three months after the Buddha's Mahaparinirvana (passing away), his immediate disciples convened a council at Rajagaha. Maha Kassapa, the most respected and senior monk, presided at the Council. Two very important personalities who specialised in the two areas of the teachings: - The Dharma: Ananda, the closest constant companion and disciple of the Buddha for 25 years. Endowed with a remarkable memory, Ananda was able to recite what was spoken by the Buddha. - The Vinaya: Upali remembered all the Vinaya rules. Only these two sections - the Dharma and the Vinaya - were recited at the First Council (no mention was made of the Abhidharma yet). Though there were no differences of opinion on the Dharma there was some discussion about the Vinaya rules.

Before the Buddha's Parinirvanana, he had told Ananda that if the Sangha wished to amend or modify some minor rules, they could do so. But Ananda forgot to ask the Buddha what the minor rules were. As the members of the Council were unable to agree as to what constituted the minor rules, Maha Kassapa finally ruled that no disciplinary rule laid down by the Buddha should be changed, and no new ones should be introduced. No intrinsic reason was given. Maha Kassapa did say one thing, however: "If we changed the rules, people will say that Ven. Gautama's disciples changed the rules even before his funeral fire has ceased burning." At the Council, the Dharma was divided into various parts and each part was assigned to an Elder and his pupils to commit to memory. The Dharma was then passed on from teacher to pupil orally. The Dharma was recited daily by groups of people who regularly cross-checked with each other to ensure that no omissions or additions were made.[1]


In contrast to most of the figures depicted in the Pāli Canon, Ananda is presented as an imperfect, if sympathetic, figure. He mourns the deaths of both Sariputta, with whom he enjoyed a close friendship, and the Buddha. A verse of the Theragatha [1] reveals his loneliness and isolation following the parinirvana of the Buddha.

In the Zen tradition, Ananda is considered to be the second Indian patriarch. He is often depicted with the Buddha alongside Mahakashyapa, the first Indian patriarch.

Legacy

Ananda's spiritual lineages played an important role in the transmitting of the original teachings of Buddha in the first century after his passing.

Ananda himself spoke at the First Council after Buddha passed away and thus became the main repository of Dharma orthodoxy.

At the Second Council ( 444 B.C.E.) six of the eight monks chosen to attend were his disciples. Because he lived longer than most of the other direct disciples, Ananda's disciples were among the eldest and most revered almost 100 years after the Buddha's Mahaparinirvana.[2]

A total of six Great Councils have now been held for the sake of taking take up issues relating to preserving the meaning and purity of the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddhist Councils have been instrumental in the creation and preservation of the Pali Canon (Tipitaka), both in its original oral form, and, as it now exists, in its written form.[3]

Death

It is not known when or where Ananda passed away but, according to tradition, he lived to a ripe old age. When Fa Hien, the famous Chinese pilgrim, visited India in the 5th century CE, he reported seeing a stupa containing Ananda's ashes, and that nuns in particular had high regard for his memory.[4]

Notes

  1. A View on Buddhism Buddhism.kalachakranet.org Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  2. A View on Buddhism Buddhism.kalachakranet.org Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  3. Buddhist Councils Eveything2.com. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  4. The Buddha and His Disciples Buddhanet.net. Retrieved September 14, 2007.

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