Ānanda
Ananda (Burmese: အာနန္ဒာ, ànàɴdà ; Chinese: 阿難 Ānán; Japanese: 阿難 Anan) was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of The Buddha. Amongst The Buddha's many
disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the 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 Ānanda.
The word 'Ānanda' means 'bliss' in Pali, Sanskrit as well as other Indian languages. It is a popular Buddhist and Hindu name, but popular also among Muslims in Indonesia.
In the Kannakatthala Sutta (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! What a true Joy!..."
Ānanda was the first cousin of The 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 (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, Ānanda 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, Ānanda 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 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." (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 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 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.
ĀNanda was the son of The Buddha’s uncle Amitodana. For the last 35 years of The Buddha’s he was his personal attendant and was also the most widely loved of all his disciples. If Sāriputta personified Wisdom and
Moggallāna personified psychic ability, then Ānanda certainly personified Kindness, Gentleness, warmth and Love. The Buddha praised him for his ‘acts of
Love through Body, through speech and through Mind’ (D.II,144), meaning that he was always ready to lend a helping hand, that he always spoke kindly to people and that he always Thought well of others. The Buddha even
said that he shared some of the very qualities that he himself had – that people were delighted to see him, that they were delighted when he taught the Dhamma
and they were disappointed when he finished speaking (D.II,145). Ānanda had a crucial role in the First Council. Having spent so many years close to The Buddha and remembering many of his discourses, he recited them during the Council so that the other
participants could commit them to memory and pass them down. It is with ĀNanda’s words, ‘Thus have I heard’ (Evaṃ me sutaṃ...), that most suttas begin.
Great Disciples of The Buddha, Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker,1997.
