More Info on anandaSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
other usesOne source|date=February 2012No footnotes|date=February 2012Infobox religious biography|background = #FFD068 | color = black|name = Venerable Ananda|image= Ananda at First Council.jpg|caption = Ananda reciting the Suttapitaka at the First Buddhist Council |birth name =|alias =|dharma name =|birth_date =|birth_place =|death_date =|death_place =|nationality =|religion =|school =|lineage =|title =|location =|education =|occupation = bhikkhu , attendant of Gautama Buddha|teacher = Gautama Buddha buddhism Ananda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Gotama Buddha|Buddha . Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ananda had the most retentive memory and most of the Sutra|suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council . For that, he was known as the Guardian of the Dharma .
According to the Buddha every Buddha in the past and to come will have two chief disciples and one attendant during his ministry. In the case of Gautama Buddha the pair of disciples were Sariputta and Mahamoggallana and the attendant Ananda.
The word 'Ananda' means wikt:bliss|'bliss' in Pali , Sanskrit as well as other Indian languages. It is a popular Buddhism|Buddhist and Hinduism|Hindu name, but popular also among Muslims in Indonesia .
In the Kannakatthala Sutta ( Majjhima Nikaya|MN 90 ), Ananda is identified with the meaning of his name:
:Then King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One, "Lord, what is the name of this monk? "
:"His name is Ananda, great king."
:"What a joy he is& #33; What a true joy!..."
Ananda was the first cousin of the Gautama Buddha|Buddha by their fathers, and was devoted to him. In the twentieth year of the Buddha's ministry, he became the Buddha's personal attendant, accompanying him on most of his wanderings and taking the part of interlocutor in many of the recorded dialogues . He is the subject of a special panegyric delivered by the Buddha just before the Buddha's Parinibbana (the Mahaparinibbana Sutta ( Digha Nikaya|DN 16)); it is a panegyric for a man who is kindly, unselfish, popular, and thoughtful toward others.
In the long list of the disciples given in the Anguttara Nikaya (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.
The First Council
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 Buddhist councils|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 Pali Canon .
Despite his long association with and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a Sotapanna|stream-winner prior to the Buddha’s death. However, Buddha said that the purity of his heart was so great that, "Should Ananda die without being fully liberated; he would be king of the gods seven times because of the purity of his heart, or be king of the Indian subcontinent seven times. But ... Ananda will experience final liberation in this very life." ( Anguttara Nikaya|AN 3.80)
Prior to the First Buddhist 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 contrast to most of the figures depicted in the Pali 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 Gautama Buddha|Buddha . A verse of the Theragatha http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/khuddaka/theragatha/thag-17-03-ao0.html 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.
External links
http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/aa/aananda.htm Entry on Ananda in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names
http://what-buddha-said.net/library/DPPN/aa/aananda.htm Biographical account of Ananda
http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xha71/powsample/images/127vb2.jpg Ananda with the Buddha and Subhuti
http://www.acmuller.net/ddb Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel273.html Ananda: Guardian of the Dhamma by Hellmuth Hecker
References
1911
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel273.html Ananda: Guardian of the Dhamma by Hellmuth Hecker
s-starts-rel|busuccession box|title= Lineage (Buddhism)|Lineage of Buddhist patriarchs (According to the Zen schools of China and Japan)|before= Mahakasyapa |after= Shanavasa |years=s-end Buddhism topics Persondata | NAME = Ananda | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Ananda Category:Disciples of Gautama Buddha Category:Guatama Buddha family Category:Arahants Category:Zen Patriarchs Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Pali words and phrases Category:5th-century BC people
