Thus Have I Heard

Text

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.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Ananda

Lineage: Indian Patriarchs

By Ananda

• Thus Have I Heardproverb
• Women as Equalsproverb
• Knock Down the Poleproverb
• Twenty-Five Years as Attendantproverb
• Late Arahantshipproverb

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Traditional account of the First Buddhist Council

  Traditional Buddhist Canon: Thus Have I Heard