Freedman Michael - The Characterization of Ananda

8/6/2019 Freedman Michael - The Characterization of Ananda

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/freedman-michael-the-characterization-of-ananda 1/523

McMaster University

DigitalCommons@McMaster

Open Access Dissertations and Theses Open Dissertations and Theses

6-1-1977

The Characterization of Ānanda in the Pāli Canonof the Theravāda: A Hagiographic Study

Michael Freedman

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Dissertations and Theses at DigitalCommons@McMaster. It has been accepted for

inclusion in Open Access Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@McMaster. For more information, please

contact [email protected].

Recommended CitationFreedman, Michael, "The Characterization of Ānanda in the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda: A Hagiographic Study" (1977). Open

Access Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3131.http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/3131

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/open_diss

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/open_diss

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/



f •

1

.}.NANDA IN THE THERAVADA:

A H A G ~ O G R A P H I C STUDY

•

c

.,

,l

I

. \



\

--

•

-/, ,~ CHARACTER, ZATION OF ANANDA IN

OF THE THERAVADA:

A'HAGIOGRAPHIC STUDY

\

c-'

y- -

\

,

!

By.

"'"\ . 0

--:? \ . .

+

-.

THE PALI CANON

\

I

(

".7

MICHAEL FREEDMAN, M.A•

.".....

..

J

A T h e s i s '

S u b m i t t e d to th\ S c h o o l o£ ~ r a d u a t e Studies

in Pa r t i a l Ful f i lmen t of the R e q ~ i r e m e n t sf o r the ' Dcegree /

D o c t o r o f Phi losophy

I /M cM as t er U n i ~ ~ r s i t y

J u n e 1 9 7 7

,

iL



I

/j

McMASTER UNIVERSITY

m i l t o n , O n t a r i o

u

\- . - -The C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f Ananda n t h e P a l i Canon

o f t h e T h e r a v a d a ~ A H a ~ i o g r a p h i c S t u d y,

TITLE:

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (1977)

( R e l i g I o n )

AUTHOR: M i c ~ a e l F r ~ e d m a n , B.A.

M.A.

(S ir Be r g e

Uni v ~ , r s ' : (

(McMaster U n i v e r s i t y )

SUPERVISORS: Dr. P a u l Younger and D r J a n Yun-hua

\+-

NUMBER OF PAGES: v i i , 513

r

..

./ .

),

iio



ABSTRACT: , T h ~ s t u d y c o n c e r ~ s i t s e l f 'with the c h a r a c t e

_ .J' '.of Ananda, the B ~ d d h a ' s p e r s o n a l a t t e n d a n t , ~ t h e ~ p _ a _ l ~ l ~ · _ . ~ ~ ~the Theravada. I t s p u r p o s e , ~ t o ~ e s c r i b e anP analyze

c h a ~ a c t y ~ i z a t , l 0 t i n t h i s I i t e r a t u r e from an hagiographl

/ p e r s p e c t i v e . .v. • IOur s t ~ d y under takes f o r the f i r s t t ime a t h o ~ o u g h

a n a l y s i s 6 f every i n ~ t a n c e i n which Anandans n a m e ' a p p ~ a r s I n, ,

t h e sources we have u t i l i z e d . ThlS' approach enab'les us t o

s e e how e ~ e n seemingly i n s i g n i f i c a n t e v ~ n t s have o ~ t e n ~ a p t r , ibuted to Ananda I s c::haracterizati I ] _ : ~ v l 1 . i l e t h e ~ t u d y i s c e ~ t ~ r e d i n the p a l i s o u r c e s , we h ' v ~ \ a l s o , u ~ i l ~ z e d ~ u d d h i s t

..... r ..- 0 \ (> '). •

s o u r c e s ' , < ~ r o m the S a n s k r i t , Chines and Tibetan where , \ theseI '. \

have contr.;i..(:>uted t o odr u n d e r s t a in,g' of ,Ananda I s P l a T i n

.the Theravada. , " . . <, . .

The r e s u l t of . o u r s t ~ d y " i s t o c a s t important l ' i g h tAon

~ ~ c h p r o b l ~ m s as A n a ~ ' s l a t e a r ~ h ~ n t h o o d l h i s c h a r a c t e r i z a ~ l o nas bahussuta

lhlS a t t ~ h d a n c e t h e Buddha, h ~ r e l a t i ¢ n s h i p

• I_ • ~ , J . . . . . . . . I

to S a r i p u t t a and h i s p l a c e ; t h e Councll o f RaJagaha. ,... / t,

<-

"I

\ I

"

\\

' ) " "

", '\

...

\.'....

"

,)

iii "

"



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would l ike to thank Dr. Paul Younger and Dr. Jan

Yun-hua fo r t he i r guidance and advice during the prepara t ion

of the s tudy which fo l lows . In add i t ion , I would l ike to

thank Dr. C.D.C. Pr ies t l ey of the Sansk r i t .and Indian 'Studie&

Department of the Univers i ty of Toronto fo r h is conversat ions

with me on the conten t o f the t hes i s and Jor h is read ing of

.. .the f i na l dra f t . To Dr. R.M. Smith of the above Univers i ty.",. - , "

of Toron to Depa rtmen t, my thanks fo r his- f r iendsh ip and. " .

advice during the r e s ~ a r c h and p r e p a ~ a t i o n of t h i s s tudy .

Fina l ly , I want to "extend my deep apprec ia t ion to my close. .

f r iend Shir ley Josephs fo r no t on ly typing the f i na l copy

.of t h i s t hes i s but fo r ass i s t ing me in the l abor ious ta skI

o f ed i t ing the f i na l v e ~ s i o n .

.~

iv



/ "

"1 '\ .

' ): .) , , ,

"

TABLE

Acknowledgments

)Abbrevia t ions

'r.

I I .

In t roduc t ion

A . n ~ n d a : 'k iS P1ace in the

A. The s \ t t av ibhanga .

( i ) ' \ a ra J i .ka

( i i ) Nissaggiya

( i i i ) Paci . t tya

B. The Mahavagga

·C. The CullavaggaJ

I I I . Ananda: His Place in tpe Pa l i Sut ta P i ~ a k aA. In t roduc t ion ,

B. Digha Nikaya

C. Majjhima 'Nlkaya

D. Ananda: His Pos i t ion as Bahussuta

E. samyut ta' N i k ~ y a

F. Angut tara Nikaya

VI. Conclusion

VII . Bibl iography

! , ~ -.

129

129

138

171.:::

- "222.

~ ' 2 6 2 0...

324

375

-442

485

499~ ~ / ! \' ,:1 .

)Ananda':' His Place in the Maha Par in ibbanaS u t ~ a .

Ananda: His P lace a the Council ofRajagaha

. IV .

.! V.

<\

v

1'.

...," , ' I fe ..,-'1> ' )



ABBREVIATIONS

Anguttara-Nikaya C o m m ~ n t a r yBook of the Disc ip l ine(Vinaya Pi taka , Bnglish t r ans l a t ion

• •

.-

BD

AA

A

. \/Note: R e f ~ r e n c e s to the Pa l i Virtaya P i ~ a k a (except fo r the

~ h a v a g g a and Cullavagga) are given in the f o l l o ~ i n gformat in the s tudy which ~ I I O w s : . (BD I ~ I 10 -11 ]p.20)" which means: This re fe rence i s to b fOund in, the Book of the Disc ip l ine ( i . e . the Engl ' sh t r ans la t io ! } ' ) , Vol.I , p .20 , and in .the Vinaya P t : ( , i . ~ .the Pa l i ed i t i on ) , Vol. I I I , pp . lO- l l . ,

~ Similar lYf re fe rences to the f i r s ~ fou r . pa i i Nikayas____________~ r given as in the fol lpwing e,xample, '\( S. I I 92, p . 65) ,w Q t c h ~ n s : This re fe rence ~ : be f ' ~ n d in theS n g l i ~ t ~ ~ t i o n of the S ~ t t a . N i k ~ y a ( i . e .

Kindred---'sa1r.Jngs) - a t - ~ \ l o l . ~ I . , . ' P ' _ ~ ~ __L ~ a n d in the- Pa l i / - "ed i t ion a t Satnyl¢tta'- Nikaya, ' ~ o l . I I ~ · p.92. · /

'All !he t ~ x t s of - the -ga l i Canon,_whether t ranpla t !Ons(

or Pal i ed i t i ons , r e ; f e r ' - ~ h : . ' ~ ~ l i Text Socie ty '--.ed i t ions , unless otherwise ~ ~ t e d . .

l ', • ~ ~ n g u t t a r a - N i k a y a ----

BHSD.

Buddhist .Hybrid Sanskr i t Dict ionary , (Edgerton)

BSO(A)S Bulle t in of the School of Or ien ta l and AfricanStudies (London)

. "-----.D :-- __ ~ g h a Nikaya

Encyclbpaedia o f Buddhism

Encyclopaedia o f Religion ' and Ethics , Cede Has-tings)

nIgha Nikaya Commentary (SumI

.'G.P. M a l a l a ~ k a r ~ )ameS (ed.A H ~ k a t h a .

of Pali Proper

D i a l o g ~ e s o f the Buadhatrans la t ion) .

Dhammapada

(Dham.ma,pada

Dic t ionary

DA

DB/ '

Ph,

DhA

OPPN

EB

ERE

--



~ ~ ' v " ~ )\G r a ~ s a y i n ~ s (Angut tara N i k a y a , ~

t r ans l a t i on )

Indian His to r i c a l Quar ter ly

Jataka

. Journal o£ the American" Orienta l

Journql o f Asian Stud ies

Jou rna l, o f th e A s i ~ t i c Socie ty / PakiStan

J .Kindred Sayings {Samyu tt a N ikaya - E ~ l i s ht rans la t ion}

M ~ j J ~ i m a Nik:ya

Majihima Nikaya Commentary (papancasudanI)

Mah vas,tu

Mid Ie Length sayings ~ M ~ j j h i m a Nikaya - Englisht r s l a t i on )

Mah p ~ n i b b a n a Sut ta -

Psa ros ~ h e ~ B ~ d d h i s t s - Pa r t I , The s ! \ s t ~ r s . 'Pa r t I I , The Brethren (The Theri-Theragatha int r ans l a t i on )

SnA Sut ta Nipata Commentary'

Thag T h e r ~ g a t h a. -". ,.

ThagA, Theraga th j A ~ ~ h a k a t h a

PTS

PTSD

S

Smp

Sn

UCR

Pa l i Text Soci et y D i ct io n ar y

Samyutta Nikaya

Samyutta Nikaya Commentary (Sara t thappakas inI )

s a m a n t a p ~ s a d i k ~ . ( c ~ m e n t a r y ~ n t ~ ~ i n a 1 a Pi taka)\

Butta N ip ata (V. Fausbol l )

Un iv ers ity o f Ceylon Review

Ud Udana

v i i



/

",r

A n a h d ~ , ( the E}uddha IS

,;;:c . o r 1 ~ , e r n e d

"

, 1..

.,

"

III

II

I N T R ~ D U C T I P NI

IThis s ~ u d y concerns ~ t s e ~ f with

,personal at tendant .

,

In par t1cl;11ar, the study i s.

with two fac tors : . (1) ' d e s c ~ i ~ a n g A ~ a n d a ' s p r e s ~ n t a t i o n Ln,

~ h e ' s o u r c ~ s ~ _ h a v ~ ~ c t e d , ' and ~ 2 trYiQg'. to e x p ~ ~ i n b h .. I -

-...

) manner in which 'he, is C h f r a c t ~ r ~ z e d in those sources. T h u ~ ,- we a r c ~ - & r r i e d .resPectiVl3.1t, wi.tll' \J:} '\q.eSGription, and ~ 2

. ... , ,) ' ~ . ..' ."' . ~ i ~ t e r p r e t a t i o n . ' ,

I t ' i s our contention, and, our thes is , that , the\V" , •

m a ~ n ~ r ' i n W ~ i c ~ ~ a ~ d a ' ~ place ~ the Buddhist t r ~ d i t i 6 nhas been preserved i s largely dependent on the nature of ~ h e '

. "

., .

l i te ra ture and on the. i n t e n t i o n ~ of the chain o f authors and ••

compilers who pre'served. the Buddhist t radi t ion ;01: \1$', ,, , .~ . ' ~ u l m ~ p a t i n 9 ' in t h now extant Buddhist sources. Before

y -

·we comfnent fur.ther on our ' thesis' , $ome 9 ~ n e r a l remarks

, r , \/,

(

\'10u+d seem in order. '. ,

." David S " p ~ l ~ g r O v e 'makes' t ~ point , ,IIDe,spite the ad-. ~ , ' .. "'f monJ.tiC?ns of' r ' e s p o J : l s i b l ~ 3 c h O l ~ r s , w r ~ t e r ~ o£ b o o ~ on.

, . ~ . ~ " '-- - - . " ' ' /

Buddhism , s t i l l ,t e l l g ~ - t : 6

etsstJme tba t ar e a s o n ~ l y

hi;sto1;'ical. :.,. '.. ..... - : : ~ ...:--- ........ ": ..... , ' ~ . , . ~ : - - - , ,account or" the . l i£e 'and personal t e ~ ~ b i p g s o f Sakyamuni..

, '

Buddha m a be extracted, £rom the ear l ies t avai lable ~ a n o n i c a l .

, "

, ,

accounts..'

, .This qU:est of the his to r ioa l . B ~ d c l h a , h e g ~ n 'as a:. '

'"~ ~ s t ~ 1 = ' n n ~ ) - e t ~ « : : n t h century,. ~ n t e r . e s t , , ~ m ~ , t ..at ing b ~ t h \ ~ l n its

, : " , . ,\

'

..



l' •

, \'..

}; .. . 2

i s t ha t

What Snellgrove i te l l ing ~ s ~ ~ ~ are, . , .

s c ~ o l a r s as .Richard R6binson and E t i ~ n n ~ L a m o t t e ~,

•presupposit ions'anq i t s methods o inquiry the paral le l. '.. .quest of the h i s t o r i c a ~ J e s u ~ O£, ~ ~ a r e t h .. nl

•

, '~ h presentat ion and p r e s e r v a ~ i o n ~ Buddhist personal i t ies

(e.g . the Buddha and ~ a n d a ) i s p r i n c i p a ~ y the w o r ~ ofI

h ~ g i o g r a p h e r s and ~ o of h i s ~ p ~ i a n s . 2 ; The authors and(

c o m p i l ~ r s of the extant Buddhist s o u r c e ~ were not without

h i s t o r i ~ a l ~ n ~ e r e s t ~ f ~ u they tended, as a m a t t e ~ of

course, to express .or s u b s u m ~ these in teres ts under t h ~ i r ,' r ea l ' concerns ~ h i c h may be described as f ~ l l i n q u n ~ . s U ~ h

. , --labels as h a 9 i ~ g r a p Q Y , eschatology and s ~ t e r i o l o g y . ,This

t ~ n d e p c y i s i l lus t ra ted b ~ h fact tha t , even in the c ~ s e sof the Bud4ha and h is major d i s c ~ p l e s l v e ~ y l i t t l e is,known

... . '

of their ' personal h i s t o r i e s ' o u t s i ~ ~ of the Buddha's sasana.3

."- .'

•

, 1 . ~ -David L . Snellgrove', "Sakyamuni I s Final. NiF,!CU}a, IIB ~ e t i n of the SChoor of Oriental and A f ~ i c a n Studies, X X X V ~ 4

J . 1 a ~ 2, 1 9 , ~ 3 , p. 3 ~ 9 . ' ,

. 2 ' . ' ." Ib id . , p.4 l l . S n e ~ l g r o v ~ quotes Richard H.

Robinson(The Buddhist Religion, p. l3) , liThe q\.lest for the' ~ o b j e c t i ~ e G a u t a m ~ , l I ke t h a t 0.£ the his to r ica l Jesus, ~ foredoomed ~ a ~ e a s u r e of fa1lure . 'We c a n ~ o ~ get behindt ~ p o r t r a ~ t tha t t h early communities s y n t ~ e s i z e d for t n ~ i rf ~ n d e r s;. the i r r e p o ~ t s are"al l . w have,." , : . .-

A l s o ' ~ o r t h ' q p o t i n q , again froM S n e ~ 1 9 r Q V e ' s a r t i c l ep . 4 ~ l , 'are ~ h r ~ m a r k S of t o ~ ~ s de la ~ a l l e e ~ 9 u s s i n ~ Pot 26)« . h ~ l esb u ~ ~ l e de distir lguer dans leo ~ o u d d ~ i e, ~ o . n i m e. dans. 4' autre'S'"'religion.s, loa f a i a t . l e ~ . systemes .. c e l ~ e : - c i .. ,

a $ s e n ~ 1 e l i e e ~ ' s t . a b ~ e , · c ~ ~ x ~ l a ' s ~ e o n ~ ~ i ~ b s . ~ t a t i ~ Q 1 e s •.; ~ ' i n d 1 a n i s ~ e o £ f i c ~ e l . i q n o r e , ~ a fo i bouddhiqu .au ~ o f i t\d •un" Bes ~ Y ~ , 1 : ~ q l e ! J ,que'. l a c o n ' U t l u n ~ u t e a p ~ t : r o n e ' , e t f a ~ . t, s , q r ~ ~ r ' l ~ : e o u d c l h i ~ r g ~ ''de .;c:o ~ y s t e m e : . ~ . I . . . . , " .~ e a ' ~ s o , .Ei;:ienne Lamotte, .H1st:oire .du b o u ' d d h i s m ~indian, p.x, PP •.16:-2$ •., ' '. ' . ' . ' .. '. i

( 3 ': '. . " , :. . , .' .:. ", '. : ; .. ,.. ' '. , .. :, ., Se,f) e.g. ",Anandau , EB :tli ~ a s c i c ; : l ' a - 4, ,p .. 5 2 9 ~ ,X-egarding

., ,:. :1"

./ '.,'l " ~ • • • ' . . • ' • ' • ,

Ii· •. / ' " - - ' -

...

, #0



D,ne example, an i m p o . r t a n t , , ~ o n e , concerns the"",death

3

Again, th i s i s not to say tha t i n t e res t was not taken in

worki-ng out , a connected l i f e s tory of the Buddha and his"

m ~ j o r l tsc iPies, but t ha t these l i fe s to r i es are primarily

h a g i o g r a P h ~ c a l ~ u c t i o n s re f lec t ing the importance of

each of the individuals as the various Buddhist t radi t ions, ' ,

wished to have them p r e s e ~ t e d . 4 A £ew examples of the way

in which the Buddhist sources ut i l i ze his tor ica l i n f o r m a t ~ o nwould seem in order.

location of the Buddha. Most sources d i ~ c u s s i n 9 the m J t ~ ~ ,of the B u ~ a ' s deatb ( a r i n i b ~ a ~ concur' ~ h a t ~ h B ~ d h adied a t Kusinara or i n ' i t s envi r s . However, by t h e ~ i m ethe various Buddhist sources ,were writ ten down, the ajPhors

and compiler$ of t h e s ~ sources f e l t tha t t h e , ~ ~ o f the

Buddha's , d ~ a t h l Which by the i r time was not very i m p o ~ t a n t ,i< f '

should have been more s i 9 n i f i c ~ n ~ t h a t perhaps the Buddha'S

d eath sh ou ld have ~ a k e n , p l a ~ e in one o t ~ e ' then ~ x i s t i n g ,

the divergencies ,in the treatment of· Ananda's ear ly l i fe inthe extant l i ~ e r a t u t e .G ~ P . Mala iasekera ' s DPPN-makes it c lear t ha t m U ~ h ofthe p e r ~ o n a l informat ion concerning BudQhis t pe r sona l i t i e s , ,i s t o ~ e l f o u n d in the Commentaries, or in such sources as tneApadana; the ~ a t t e r , for ~ x a m ~ l a , being regarded a s one oft ~ l a t e s t b ~ ~ k s o f the Pal i Canon ( ~ e e DPPN I , pp.115-l16).

~ A ~ p p r e c i a t i o n of the ~ a r i a t i o ~ s ~ the p re se r - •vation of the various B u d d h ~ s t p e r s o n a l i t i ~ s in the extant

.sourCes- can be haq by examining the w o ~ ~ o f , . A n d r e ~ B a r e a u ,Recherches sur. l a biograEhie du buddha dans l ~ s u t r ~ p i t a k ae t les v i n a y a p i ~ a k a anciens, Tomes . & 2. e ,

\

, \'<

",. ' .

" 1:)

\'

",-, ..-



4

"and compilers of the account of the Buddha's par in ibbana

f i r s t had Ananda ask the Buddha why he should choose to d ie

in such an obviously i n s i gn i f i c an t l oca t ion I and secondly '

had the Buddha inform Ananda t h a t Kusinara was hardly with-

major c i t i e s . In o rder to r i q h t t h i s wrong l the ~ u t h o r s

1he Buddha goes on to expla in howu t its s igni f icance .

"-fo rm erly th e g r ~ a Suddassana ( a c ak k av a tt in ) had ru led

- -- - --, "-_.

,-- -then=-ana-how the Buddha h imse l f had, in previous b i r t h s , '

chosen t h i s l oca t ion for h is dea th . In t h i s way the

• authors and compi le r s of the accounts o f th e l a s t day's o f

"'-he B U d d ~ a could a t t r i bu t e g re ate r s ig nif ic ad ce to the

B U d d h a ' s < ~ e a t h , and to h iS 'dea th ' s l o c a t ~ o n , than mere ly ,

, .asse r t ing th a t 'a 'man cannot a lways ch oose where he i s to

d i e . ,5 Thus, in t ~ ins tance , we can see th a t h is to r ic a l

t ru th i s only .acknowledged because (a) it cannot be avoided

. .the B u d d h a ~ s dea th by the t ime the au thors and compilers

, ' ,came to wri te t h e i r accounts o f t h clos ing days of the

and h is place o f dea th .

. "-.t Buddha's

to po in t

.l i f e ) and (b) it could be used

bas in t h i ~ _ . case ,

i l l u s t r a t e the s igni f icance o f the auddha

su r 1a

s tudy ,

5D I I 147, p .19 l . See a l so l Andre B a r e a ~ , R e c h ~ r c h e sb i o ~ r a p h i e du buddha ••• I Tome 2, pp.72·76, and ourpp. 55-162, p .424 .



5

Another i l l u s t r a t i on o f th e use of h l s t o r ~ c a l l n f o r -

mation In the Buddhls t sources i s c on ta In ed In a s tudy by

o

A.L. Basham, who po in t s ou t regard lng the death of Mahavlra

o r N i g a ~ ~ h a Natapu t ta , who i s recorded in th e Pa l l sources

to have pre-deceased the Buddha, "We sugges t t h a t the p a ~ lrecord may no t , in f ac t , r e f e r to the death p f Mahavira a t

Pava, bu t to t h a t o f Gosala a t sava t t h I , which th e Bhagavat i

Sut r a also mentions as havlng been accompanled by quar re l l ing

and confusiot:1. At a l a t e r da te , when th e ch i e f r i v a l o f

Buddhlsm was no longer A j i v i k i ~ m . bu t Ja in ism , the name may

6<have been a l t e r ed to add to th e s ign i f i cance o f th e a cc ou nt."

I f Basham's · ana lys i s lS co r r ec t , as it seems to be, we can

see in t h i s second example . t ha t the au thors and c ompile rs o f

the Buddhis t sources were no t beyond t rans fo rming h i s t o ry to

s u i t t h e i r lmmediate needs.

One cou'ld go on provid ing examples ad in f ln i turo and,

i ndeed , our s tudy h a much to add to th e above list. Our

purpose in br lng lng forward the above two €xamples i s to

show qUl te spec i f I c a l l y th e -nature and th e type of i n t e r e s t s

expressed in the l i t e r a t u r e we wi l l be s tudy ing . WIth the

above ~ mind, l e t us now tu rn to th e Buddhis t pe r sona l l t y

wIth whom our s tudy concerns i t s e l f , Ananda, the Buddha's

a t t endan t .

Ananda as i s known, gains h is lmportance 1n the Buddhls t

l,

t r ad i t i on , f rom 'es sen t i a l l y two f a c to r s : (1) he was the

Buddha ' s persona l a t t endan t In th e c los lng per Iod o f th e

p .75 .

6A• L • Basham, His to ry and Doct r ines of the AJlv ikas ,j



6

Buddha ' s a ct iv e m i nis tr y, a c ~ o r d i n g to the Pa l i t r ad i t i on , an

a t tendanceship which l a s t ed twenty f ive yea r s ; and (2) Ananda

was one o f the bhikkhus , o r the bhikkhu (depending on the source

consu l ted ) who, ,because o f h is cha r ac t e r l z a t i on as bahussu ta ,

was chosen to r e c i t e a por t ion o r a ll o f the buddhavacana a t the

so - ca l l ed F i r s t Counci l . These two, as wel l as o the r , .f a c to r s have made Ananda an impor tan t f ig u re fo r the reco rders

of the Buddhis t t r a d i t i on ( s ) . Some of th e o ther f a c to r s

r e f l ec t i ng th e impor tance o f Ananda a re t h a t he was a cous in

to th e Buddha, a r e l a t i v e l y ea r l y conve r t , and was cha r ac t e r i z ed

l i ke S ~ r i p u t t a , as a man o f g r e a t lea rnIng (bahussuta /mahaoanna)

~ the Buddha's sasana .

In t e r e s t l ng ly , the very reasons WhlCh have made

Ananda lmpor tan t are , ln many case s , h I s t o r i c a l l y speakIng,

verY, tenuous . For example , t he re 1S doubt on the pa r t o f

a l a rge p ro po rt io n o f modern scho la r s as to the h i s t o r l c l t y

- 7o f the so -ca l l ed F i r s t Counc i l o r Counc l l o f RaJagaha.

Fur ther" t he re 1 5 even some doubt abou t the qua I l ty and

l eng th of tIme o f ~ n a n d a ' s a t t endancesh lp on the Buddha, as

we s ha l l see .

In addl t lon to the POSlt lvc e lements in sp l r ing the

-

au thors and complIers o f the ex t an t BuddhlSt sources to

Inc lude ~ n a n d a 1n t he i r hag lograph ics (WhICh, by the way,

or lg ina ted in an o r a l t r ad I t i on ) , the re a r e ~ a number o f

negat Ive c lements in Ananda 's charac te r l za t lon In the Buddhis t

7Char les S. Preb i sh , "A Review of Scholarsh Ip on'-theBuddhISt Counci ls , " Jou rna l of Asian Stud ie$ , XXXLII, No.2,Feb. 1974, pp.245-246.



t r ad i t i on .

7

Thus, fo r example, Ananda i s regarded as having :

s ingle-handedly gained the admiss10n o f women in to the Sangha;

fa i l ed to reques t the Buddha to eX,tend h is l i f e when the

Buddha offe red him the oppo rtun ity to do so ; and fa i led to

ge t the necessa ry de t a i l s from the Buddha on cer ta1n

d i sc ip l i na ry procedures which the Buddha sugges ted the

bhikkhus could waive if they so des i red a f t e r h is dea th . 8

The ,combining of these pos i t i ve and nega t ive elements

provides a p ic tu r e o f Ananda as a bhikkhu who d id n ot ach iev e

h is arahanthood dur ing the Buddha's l i f e t ime . In those

accounts which d i scuss Ananda 's arahanthood, t h i s achievement

tak es p la ce on the evening p r i o r to the convening of the

Counci l of Rajagaha. T h i ~ postponement of arahan t -

hood fo r Arianda would not seem so unusua l if Ananda 's p lace

in the Buddha's sasana had been l e s s impor t an t and/or if we

had o ther examples in the Buddhist l i t e r a tu r e of maJor

d i sc ip l e s l ike k ra nd a h av in g t h e i r a rahan thoods post poned to

so l a t e a t ime in t he i r l i ves . Unfor tunate ly . Ananda's

~ i s unique. We can f ind him in v i r t u a l l y every list

of t he t a s , a l l o f whom, with the unique except ion of Ananda,

appear to be arahan ts . Yet the most c onv in ci ng evi de nc e

sugges t ing the pecu l i a r i t y of Ananda's l a t e arahanthood .

comes from Buddhists themselves . Thu s, N ag arJ una ln h is

~ a h a E r a j n a p a r a m i t a Sas t ra f e l t the need to i n t e r p r e t Ananda's

8Ananda i s accused of t hese - fau l t s a t the Counc1l ofRajagaha, see Culla va9Qa XI, 288-289, P P : ~ - 4 0 1 .

r























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Documents

Freedman Michael - The Characterization of Ananda