Ananda
Ananda
5th c. BCE – c. 400 BCE
Ananda served as the personal attendant of Shakyamuni Buddha for twenty-five years, accompanying him on his travels and memorizing his discourses with remarkable fidelity. He was renowned for his excellent memory, his compassion toward all beings, and his advocacy for the admission of women into the monastic order. The Buddha said that among his disciples Ananda was foremost in learning and in service to others.
Though Ananda had not attained full awakening during the Buddha's lifetime, the night before the First Council he sat in deep meditation and realized liberation. At the council, he recited all of the Buddha's discourses from memory, beginning each with "Thus have I heard." For this reason he is often called the Guardian of the Dharma Treasury. As the second Chan patriarch, he received the wordless transmission from Mahakashyapa and continued the unbroken thread of direct experience passed from teacher to student.
Teachings
- sayingThus Have I Heard
Thus have I heard. These are the words with which every sutra begins, for it was Ananda—the Buddha's attendant for twenty-five years—who recited from memory the entirety of the Buddha's teachings at the First Council. Though Ananda had not yet attained full awakening during the Buddha's lifetime, his perfect memory preserved every word. On the night before the council, pressed by the urgency of the task, Ananda at last relinquished his striving and lay down to rest. In that moment of letting go, his mind opened completely, and he was fully awakened.
Master Record Sources
- datesZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
trad. 5th c. BCE
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Ananda
- schoolZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Indian Patriarchs
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Mahakashyapa