Nanda
From Buddhist Encyclopedia
Three Jewels
Buddha . Dharma . Sangha
Three Dharma Seals
Anicca . Dukkha . Anatta
Karma . Rebirth
Samsara . Nirvana
Four Noble Truths
Seven Sets
Four Frames of Reference
Four Right Exertions
Four Bases of Power
Five Faculties
Five Strengths
Seven Factors of Awakening
Noble Eightfold Path
Bodhisattva
Four Great Vows
Ten Great Vows
Nanda was a half-brother of Gautama Buddha, the son of King Suddhodana and Maha Pajapati Gotami. He had a reputation as a handsome man, and was going to be married to Janapadakalyani, when the Buddha enticed him to become a monk on the day of his wedding. Nanda had to abandon his bride-to-be in order to follow the Buddha, a scene which is often represented in Greco-Buddhist art.
Nanda was deeply tormented by his renunciation, and the Buddha had to take him to the Tavatimsa heaven, where they met with beautiful heavenly damsels (apsarases) under the king of the gods, Śakra. The Buddha promised one of the nymphs to Nanda if he persevered with the life of a monk. Nanda agreed and he became an arahant.
