From Buddhism: Ananda

Ananda, the chief personal attendant of the Buddha, was a first cousin of the Buddha, and a son of the Sakyan Amitodana, one of the brothers of his father Suddhodana.

“Born in the Tusita heaven along with the bodhisatta, he passed away from there, and was reborn in the house of the Sakyan Amitodana. He was born on the day of the Buddha’s enlightenment in the city of Kapilavastu .”

The soothsayers had predicted that Ananda would be the chief attendant of the Buddha. Hence, in order to prevent him from meeting the Buddha, his father took him to Vaisali when the Buddha visited Kapilavastu and brought him back only after the Buddha’s departure from there. Nevertheless, the Buddha who knew his cousin’s future came back to his house and converted him. Later Amitodana gave him permission to renounce the world.

For twenty years after the enlightenment, the Buddha had no permanent attendant. At the age of fifty-five, he made known to his disciples his wish to have a permanent attendant. All the chief disciples, except Ananda, offered to serve him, but were rejected on one account or another. Ananda sat in silence and when requested by his colleages to come forward as the Buddha’s attendant he refused on the ground that the Buddha himself would select him if the Buddha thought him fit.

Ananda at first refused to offer his services, when requested by Sariputta and Maudgalyayana on the ground that it was difficult to serve a Buddha. Later, he accepted the post on three conditions viz…(1) he should not be asked to partake of the Buddha’s food or use his robes, (2) he should not be asked to accompany the Buddha, when he visited laymen’s houses, (3) he might at any time see and pay his respects to the Buddha. The Buddha accepted these conditions and from that day until his death at Kusinara he had the service of a faithful attendant, devoted alike to his Master and to his duty.

From the time the Buddha announced his fast approaching death, Ananda followed him, imploring him to live longer, trying to find out the Buddha’s view on many an issue or questioning him concerning the future of the Sangha. As the Buddha lay dying in the sala grove of the Mallas, it is really touching to read how this most devoted disciple, unable to bear up any more, burst into tears. To console him the Buddha had to remind him of his often repeated doctrine of the impermanency of all component things.

Ananda’s service to the Dhamma was as great as that to the Buddha. Although not an arahant during the lifetime of the Buddha he was already well known for his wisdom which even the Buddha acknowledged. His close association with the Buddha and the Buddha’s promise to repeat to him any discourse delivered in his absence made it possible for him to be an expert in the teachings of the Buddha. Often he discussed very important topics with the Buddha. Ananda had discussions on the Dhamma with other prominent disciples of the Buddha and at times they turned out to be very interesting and illuminating. His knowledge of the Dhamma was so highly respected that the Buddha is once reported to have said that one who wants to honor the Dhamma should honor Ananda.

Ananda lived up to the ripe age of a hundred and twenty years. His great age had even become proverbial.

All the achievements of Ananda, according to the Buddha, were not the work of one birth. It was the final outcome of the work of numerous past births.

It was 100,000 aeons ago, in the dispensation of Buddha Padumuttara that he made his first resolve to be the personal attendant of a Buddha. At the time, Ananda was a prince named Sumana, a step-brother of Buddha Padumuttara himself. One day he saw the Buddha’s chief attendant, the disciple most dear to the Buddha, and a desire arose in him to be one like him. With the greatest difficulty he obtained his father’s permission to entertain the Buddha for seven days. Then he went to the dwelling place and built a monastery in the park named Sobhana, bought from a householder of the same name. He also built a number of other monasteries along the road from the capital to his palace and offered all these to the Buddha. He observed the ten precepts during three rainy seasons and also offered alms to the Buddha and his disciples. At the end of all these acts he made known his resolution to be chief attendant of a Buddha. Buddha Padumuttara prophesied the fulfillment of his desire.

In the time of Buddha Kassapa he presented a bowl-rest to a monk going on his alm-round. In another birth as the king of Baranasi he made eight cells for eight paccekabuddhas in his royal park and attended upon them for ten thousand years. In these he helped the boddhisatta to fulfill his ten perfections, while he himself accumulated much good kamma. While roaming in the endless sea of births and deaths as an ordinary being still not immune from evil thoughts, he was guilty of evil deeds as well. One such instance is recorded when as a blacksmith he committed adultery and suffered for a long time in purgatory.

Arahantship is only a stage on the path to complete deliverance. It is only by becoming a supreme Buddha that one ends life in samara. Hence, Ananda, too, will have to go on till he attains supreme Buddhahood. Ananda himself requested the Buddha to predict his future destiny to supreme enlightenment. The Buddha is then said to have predicted that after having respected and honoured sixty-two kotis of supreme Buddhas, kept in memory their doctrines and received their messages, he will become a Tathagata by the name Sagara-vara-dhara-buddhi-vikridistabhijna. His Buddha-field will be prosperous and it will be of lapis lazuli. His world system will be named Anavanamita-vaijayanti and the aeon will be named Manojna-sabdabbigarjita. This Buddha will bring to enlightenment twenty times hundred thousand myriads of kotis of bodhisattvas, comparable to the sands of twenty rivers of the size of the Ganges . His life-span will be incalculable in aeons. After his parinirvana his dharma will last twice as long as his life-span and twice as long as his teaching will the counterfeit of his dharma stand.