Ananda

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Ananda

Ananda was one of many principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ananda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas

Sutra

Sutra , literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism , or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual....
in the Sutta Pitaka

Sutta Pitaka

The Sutta Pitaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist texts, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism....
are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council

First Buddhist council

According to late commentarial accounts, King Ajatashatru sponsored the First Buddhist council. It was convened in the year following the Buddha's Parinibbana, which would be 499/8 BCE according to Theravada tradition, at various earlier dates according to various Mahayana traditions, and various later dates according to various Western est...
. 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.

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Ananda was one of many principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ananda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas

Sutra

Sutta Pitaka

First Buddhist council

Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
the pair of disciples were Sariputta and Mahamoggallana and the attendant Ananda.

The word 'Ananda' means 'bliss' in Pali

Páli

P?li is a village in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary.External links...
, Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
as well as other Indian languages. It is a popular Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
and Hindu

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
name.

In the Kannakatthala Sutta (MN 90

Majjhima Nikaya

The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
), 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!..."

Ananda was the first cousin of the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
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

Interlocutor

Interlocutor may refer to:* Interlocutor , the master of ceremonies of a minstrel show* Interlocutor , someone who informally explains the views of a government and also can relay messages back to a government...
in many of the recorded dialogues. He is the subject of a special panegyric

Panegyric

A panegyric is a formal public speech , or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or object , a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical....
delivered by the Buddha just before the Buddha's Parinibbana (the Mahaparinibbana Sutta

Mahaparinibbana Sutta

For the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra see Nirvana Sutra.----The Mahaparinibbana Sutta is a Buddhist sutra in the Digha Nikaya of the Tripitaka....
(DN

Digha Nikaya

The Digha Nikaya is a Buddhism scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
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

Anguttara Nikaya

The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
(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

Conduct

Conduct may refer to:*Behavior*a personal behavior, a way of acting and showing one's behaviour*using hand gestures to direct*Action , in relation to moral or ethical precepts...
, in service to others, and in power of memory

Memory

In psychology, memory is an organism's mental ability to store, retain and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of mnemonic....
. 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 First Buddhist Council

Buddhist councils

Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings....
, convened shortly after the Buddha died, Ananda was called upon to recite many of the discourses that later became the Sutta Pitaka

Sutta Pitaka

The Sutta Pitaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist texts, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism....
of the Pali Canon

Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
.

Despite his long association with and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a stream-winner

Sotapanna

In Buddhism, a sotapanna , a stream-enterer or stream-winner, is a person, who has eradicated the first three Fetter s of the mind, that prevent freedom....
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 Udayi, Ananda will experience final liberation in this very life." (AN

Anguttara Nikaya

The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
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

Arhat

In the shramana traditions of ancient India arhat or arahant signified a spiritual practitioner who had?to use an expression common in the tipitaka?"laid down the burden"?and realised the goal of nirvana, the culmination of the spiritual life ....
. 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

Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, 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

Gautama Buddha

Theragatha

The Theragatha , often translated as Verses of the Elder Monks , is a Buddhist scripture, a collection of short poems supposedly recited by early members of the Buddhist sangha....
reveals his loneliness and isolation following the parinirvana

Parinirvana

In Buddhism, parinirvana is the final nirvana, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete bodhi . It is the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice and implies a release from the bhavachakra, samsara, karma and Rebirth as well as the dissolution of the skandhas....
of the Buddha.

In the Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Ch?n. Ch?n is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means "meditation" ....
tradition, Ananda is considered to be the second Indian patriarch. He is often depicted with the Buddha alongside Mahakashyapa, the first Indian patriarch.

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