Aniruddha
- It can also refer to Aniruddha (21st Shambhala King)
Aniruddha (阿那律) became a disciple soon after the Buddha’s enlightenment. He used to fall asleep when the Buddha was teaching and was reproved by the Buddha. Ashamed, he practiced day and night without sleep and lost his eyesight. However, he was able to see with his god-eye.
Source
阿那律 (Skt; Pali Anuruddha; Jpn Anaritsu)
A cousin of Shakyamuni Buddha and one of his ten major disciples. Either Amritodana or Dronodana is regarded as his father, each of whom was a younger brother of King Shuddhodana, the father of Shakyamuni. Aniruddha is known as foremost in divine insight among the Buddha's disciples. According to the Increasing by One Agama Sutra, he once fell asleep while the Buddha was preaching at Jetavana Monastery in Shravasti, the capital of the Kosala kingdom, and was severely reprimanded. He vowed never to sleep in front of the Buddha. From that night on he did not sleep at all, and this damaged his eyesight. Shakyamuni admonished him to sleep, but he never broke his vow. He eventually went blind as a consequence of sleep deprivation, but simultaneously obtained divine insight, or extraordinary powers of discernment. The "Five Hundred Disciples" (eighth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra predicts that he will become a Buddha named Universal Brightness.
Source
Aniruddha (Skt.) — a cousin of Buddha Shakyamuni who became one of his principle disciples.
Further Reading
- Nyanaponika Thera, The Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy (Wisdom Publications, 2003).
