Ananda

Categories: Disciples of the Buddha | Patriarchs of Early Buddhism | The Buddha's Relatives

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  阿难陀

Ananda was one the principal disciples of the Buddha, a devout attendant and was renowned as the Guardian of the Dharma.

Ananda was the first cousin of Gautama Buddha, and was devotedly attached to him. In the twentieth year of the Buddha's ministry, he became his personal attendant, accompanying him on most of his wanderings and being the interlocutor in many of the recorded dialogues. He is the subject of a special panegyric delivered by the Buddha just before his death (Mahaparinibbana Sutta, Digha Nikaya 16); it is the panegyric of an unselfish man, kindly, thoughtful for others and popular.

In view of the abundance of praise, recognition and privileges, mutterings of envy and resentment could have been expected. But this was not the case at all. He was a man who had no enemies. Ananda was so much taken up by subordinating his entire life to the Dhamma, that fame could not touch him and make him proud. He knew that all that was good in him was due to the influence of the Teaching. When seen in this way, there can be no pride. One who cannot be proud, has no enemies, and such a one does not meet with envy. If someone turns inward completely and keeps away from any social contact, as Ananda's brother Anuruddha did, then it is easy to be without enemies. But if someone like Ananda, who had daily contact with a large number of people with regard to diverse matters, lives without enemies, without rivals, without conflict and tensions, it borders on a miracle. This quality is truly a measure of Ananda's uniqueness.

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 gift, Ananda is mentioned five times (which is more often than any other), as chief in conduct and in service to others and in power of memory. Also the Buddha sometimes asked him to substitute for him as a teacher and then later confirmed that he, himself, would not have presented the teachings in any other way.

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

Despite his long association and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a stream-winner prior to the Buddha’s death. In the period during which he was the Buddha's attendant, though he was still a "learner," "one in the higher training," no thoughts of lust or hate arose in him; the implication being that his close connection with the Buddha and his devotion to him gave no room for these.

Prior to the First Council, 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. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, there appear to be two explanations of the Buddha's cause of death: One is that the Buddha died because Ananda failed to invite him to live on to the age of the world or even longer. The other is that he died by a sudden illness which began after he ate what is known as "Sukaramaddava". The former story was probably a legend, or the result of a political struggle within the Buddhist community during a stage of transition, whereas the latter sounds more realistic and accurate in describing a real life situation that happened in the Buddha's last days.

In contrast to most of the figures depicted in the Pāli Canon, Ananda is depicted 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 death 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.

See also

• Ananda Mahidol – King Rama VIII of Thailand
• Ananda Temple – An ancient temple in Bagan.

References

• Ananda: Guardian of the Dhamma by Hellmuth Hecker