Ananda

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Ananda ( skt. For absence of unhappiness, read: happiness, 5th century BC ), a cousin of the Buddha , was his favorite disciple in the last years of the Buddha's life. He is considered to be the keeper of the Dharma , since after its death ( extinction ) he was able to appear as a witness for the utterances of the Buddha and, according to general opinion, reproduce them true to the original within the framework of the first Buddhist council . Centuries later, the sutta-pitaka of the Pali canon, recorded in writing, emerged from these discourses, which had been handed down orally until then .

Ananda obtained from the Buddha that women were also admitted to full ordination as bhikkhuni and were allowed to establish an order of nuns. The discipline of the monks ( Vinaya ) was extended to include some rules for nuns. Together with Moggalana and Sariputta , he was one of the three most important disciples of the Buddha.

Legend

Ananda, Tibetan illustration.

After his enlightenment, the Buddha had no one to accompany him for twenty years. When he was 55 years old, he chose Ananda as his companion, the only one of his students who had not offered him his services. Ananda now accepted, but under eight strict conditions, including that he would not be allowed to accept the special clothing and food sacrifices made to the Buddha.

Ananda survived the Buddha for many years and died at the age of 120 on a barge in the middle of the river Ganges . According to his request, his body was cut in half so that the leaders of the north and south banks could have their share. Stupas were erected over his belongings .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Vinaya_Pitaka Vinaya Pitaka in English. Good overview regarding the difference in rules for monks and nuns.
  2. ^ Charles Higham : Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts on Files, New York 2004, ISBN 0-8160-4640-9 .

See also

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ananda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian early Buddhist and cousin of the Buddha
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 5th century BC Chr.