File:Head_of_the_Disciple_Ananda,_Hebei_province,_Fengfeng,_northern_Xiangtangshan_Cave_Temples,_South_Cave,_Northern_Qi_dynasty,_550-577_AD,_limestone_with_traces_of_pigment_-_Freer_Gallery_of_Art_-_DSC05697.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Ānanda
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ānanda Bhikkhu
Ānanda (Pali and Sanskrit: आनंद; 5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka (; , Sūtra-Piṭaka) are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council. For that reason, he is known as the Treasurer of the Dhamma, with Dhamma (, dharma) referring to the Buddha's teaching. In Early Buddhist Texts, Ānanda was the first cousin of the Buddha. Although the early texts do not
Ānanda was the Buddha's primary attendant and one of his principal disciples, renowned for his exceptional memory that allowed him to preserve and recite the Buddha's teachings at the First Buddhist Council, earning him the title "Treasurer of the Dhamma." Most of the early Buddhist scriptures known as the Sutta-Piṭaka are attributed to Ānanda's recollection, making him crucial to the preservation and transmission of Buddhist doctrine.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1877
- Died
- 1947
- Works
- 312
Top works
- Some sources of Buddhist iconography
- Artes y oficios de la India y Ceilán
- Borrowed plumes
- Rajput painting
- The Reinterpretation of Buddhism
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 111
- Total plays
- 184
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/%C4%80nanda">Read more on Last.fm</a>
via Last.fm · Ānanda
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- The Superstition, Secularism, and Religion Trinary: Or Re-Theorizing Secularism
· 2018 · cited 12x
- The Invention of Japanese Religions
· 2011 · cited 11x
- When Buddhism Became a “Religion”: Religion and Superstition in the Writings of Inoue Enryō
· 2006 · cited 5x
- God's Shadow: Occluded Possibilities in the Genealogy of “Religion”
· 2013 · cited 5x
- Theosophy and the Study of Religion
· 2024 · cited 4x
via Crossref · CC0
Key facts
- Religious biography.name
- Ānanda
- Religious biography.other_names
- Videhamuni; Dhamma-bhaṇḍāgārika ('Treasurer of the Dhamma')
- Religious biography.honorific prefix
- Venerable, the Elder (Thera)
- Religious biography.image
- Head of the Disciple Ananda, Hebei province, Fengfeng, northern Xiangtangshan Cave Temples, South Cave, Northern Qi dynasty, 550-577 AD, limestone with traces of pigment - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05697.JPG
- Religious biography.alt
- Sculpture of head of smiling monk with East Asian traits, part of limestone sculpture
- Religious biography.caption
- Head of Ānanda, once part of a limestone sculpture from the northern Xiangtangshan Caves. Northern Qi dynasty, 550577 CE.
- Religious biography.birth_place
- Kapilavatthu
- Religious biography.birth_date
- 5th4th century BCE
- Religious biography.death_place
- On the river Rohīni near Vesālī, or the Ganges
- Religious biography.death_date
- 20 years after the Buddha's death
- Religious biography.religion
- Buddhism
- Religious biography.known_for
- Being an attendant of the Buddha (aggupaṭṭhāyaka); powers of memory; compassion to women
- Religious biography.teacher
- The Buddha; Puṇṇa Mantānīputta
- Religious biography.initiator
- Daśabāla Kāśyapa or Belaṭṭhasīsa
- Religious biography.initiation_date
- 20th (Mūlasarvāstivāda) or 2nd (other traditions) year of the Buddha's ministry
- Religious biography.initiation_place
- Nigrodhārāma or Anupiya, Malla
- Religious biography.students
- Majjhantika; Sāṇavāsī, etc.
- Religious biography.parents
- King Śuklodana or King Amitodana; Queen Mrgī (Sanskrit traditions)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Head of the Disciple Ananda, Hebei province, Fengfeng, northern Xiangtangshan Cave Temples, South Cave, Northern Qi dynasty, 550-577 AD, limestone with traces of pigment - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05697.JPG
Show 4 more facts
- date of birth
- 0600-01-01
- date of death
- 0500-01-01
- Commons category
- Ānanda
- name in native language
- आनन्द
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~59 min read
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Name
- Accounts
- Previous lives
- Early life
- Attending to the Buddha
- Resisting temptations
- Establishing the nun's order
- Buddha's death
- First Council
- Ban
- Recitations
- Charges
- Historicity
- Role and character
- Passing on the teaching
- Death and relics
- Legacy
- In art
- References
- Notes
- Citations
- Sources
- External links
Ānanda (Pali and Sanskrit: आनंद; 5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka (; , Sūtra-Piṭaka) are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council. For that reason, he is known as the Treasurer of the Dhamma, with Dhamma (, dharma) referring to the Buddha's teaching. In Early Buddhist Texts, Ānanda was the first cousin of the Buddha. Although the early texts do not agree on many parts of Ānanda's early life, they do agree that Ānanda was ordained as a monk and that Puṇṇa Mantānīputta (, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra) became his teacher. Twenty years in the Buddha's ministry, Ānanda became the attendant of the Buddha, when the Buddha selected him for this task. Ānanda performed his duties with great devotion and care, and acted as an intermediary between the Buddha and the laypeople, as well as the saṅgha (). He accompanied the Buddha for the rest of his life, acting not only as an assistant, but also as a secretary and a mouthpiece.
Scholars are skeptical about the historicity of many events in Ānanda's life, especially the First Council, and consensus about this has yet to be established. A traditional account can be drawn from early texts, commentaries, and post-canonical chronicles. Ānanda had an important role in establishing the order of bhikkhunīs (), when he requested the Buddha on behalf of the latter's foster-mother Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (, Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī) to allow her to be ordained. Ānanda also accompanied the Buddha in the last year of his life, and therefore was witness to many tenets and principles that the Buddha conveyed before his death, including the well-known principle that the Buddhist community should take his teaching and discipline as their refuge, and that he would not appoint a new leader. The final period of the Buddha's life also shows that Ānanda was very much attached to the Buddha's person, and he saw the Buddha's passing with great sorrow.