阿難陀 菩萨 A Nan Tuo Pusa (Ananda Bodhisattva)

阿難陀菩萨 A Nan Tuo Pu Sa (Ananda Bodhisattva)

阿難（IAST：Ānanda，天城文：आनन्द，注音：ㄚ ㄋㄢˊ），又稱阿難陀，迦毘羅衛人，梵語「阿難」，譯曰「喜慶」、「慶喜」、「歡喜」，又云「無染」。 ^[2] 阿難天生容貌端正，面如滿月，眼如青蓮花，其身光淨如明鏡，生於佛成道日，淨飯王^[3]既聞太子成佛，又聞宮中誕子，更增歡喜，於是說：「今日大吉，是歡喜日。」而命名為「阿難」。另外《大乘無量壽經解》曰：「又尊者隨佛入天宮龍宮，心無樂著，故名無染。」出家之後，釋迦牟尼佛曾經帶他到天宮去看過欲界天，也到龍宮去看過大龍菩薩的住處，無論是在龍宮或天宮，他都沒有染污，心地清淨，所以他這個名號也有無染的意思。^[1]

阿難是白飯王的兒子、釋迦牟尼佛（佛陀）的堂弟，也是佛陀的侍者，是佛陀十大弟子之一^[4]，人稱「多聞第一」。

阿難在佛入滅後証阿羅漢果，曾經參與第一次結集。據說阿難繼承摩訶迦葉之後，成為僧團的領導者。在《法華經》中，阿難被授記再供養62億諸佛之後將會成佛，佛號是山海慧自在通王佛。佛國名常立勝幡，劫名妙音徧滿。^[5]

《涅槃經》稱：「阿難多聞士。」迦葉讚曰：「佛法大海水，流入阿難心。」文殊菩薩讚曰：「相如秋滿月，眼似淨蓮花，佛法如大海，流入阿難心。能令人心眼，見者大歡喜，諸來求見佛，通現不失宜。」

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%BF%E9%9A%BE

Ananda ( IAST : Ānanda , Devanagari : आनन्द , phonetic notation: ㄚㄋㄢˊ), also known as Ananda , was a native of Kapilavastu . The Sanskrit word "Ananda" means "joyful", "celebration", "happy", and also "pure". ^[ 2 ] Ananda was born with a handsome appearance, his face was like a full moon, his eyes were like blue lotus, and his body was as bright as a mirror. He was born on the day when the Buddha attained enlightenment . King Suddhodana ^[ 3 ] heard that his prince had attained enlightenment and that a child had been born in the palace, and he was even more delighted. He said, "Today is a very auspicious day, a happy day." And named him "Ananda". In addition, the Commentary on the Mahayana Sutra of Infinite Life says: "The venerable followed the Buddha into the heavenly palace and the dragon palace, his mind free from pleasure and attachment, so he was named Unstained." After becoming a monk, Shakyamuni Buddha took him to the heavenly palace to see the Desire Realm Heaven , and also to the dragon palace to see the residence of the great dragon bodhisattva. Whether in the dragon palace or the heavenly palace, he was not stained and his mind was pure, so his name also means Unstained. ^[ 1 ]

Ananda was the son of King Palivarana, the cousin of Sakyamuni Buddha , and the Buddha’s attendant. He was one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples ^[ 4 ] and was known as the “first in knowledge”.

Ananda attained Arhatship after the Buddha's death and participated in the first Buddhist council . It is said that Ananda succeeded Mahakasyapa as the leader of the Sangha. In the Lotus Sutra , Ananda was given a prophecy that after offering alms to 6.2 billion Buddhas, he would attain Buddhahood . His Buddhahood would be called Changli Shengfan and his kalpa would be Miaoyin Pianman . ^[ 5 ]

The Nirvana Sutra says: "Ananda is a learned man." Kasyapa praised him, saying: "The great ocean of the Buddha's teachings flows into Ananda's heart." Manjusri Bodhisattva praised him, saying: "His appearance is like the full moon in autumn, his eyes are like pure lotus flowers, the Buddha's teachings are like the great ocean, flowing into Ananda's heart. It can inspire the eyes of people, and those who see him are delighted. All who come to seek to see the Buddha will appear to him without fail."

Biography

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Ananda was from Kapilavastu . He was the cousin of Sakyamuni Buddha , the son of King Paliddaka , the younger brother of Devadatta , and the youngest of the eight cousins. He was born on the day of Buddha’s enlightenment . Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of 30, and Ananda was 30 years younger than him. ^[ 1 ] When Sakyamuni returned to his homeland to preach six years after his enlightenment , Ananda, who was six years old, became a monk. ^[ 6 ] His monk was the Venerable Virāsaka . ^[ 7 ] He followed the Buddha very devoutly . When the Buddha was 53 years old, the 23-year-old Ananda was officially selected as the Buddha’s attendant at the Bamboo Grove Monastery because of his young age and good memory. Ananda served the Buddha for 27 years and followed the Buddha to preach in various places.

What made Ananda so special was that he had no enemies in his life. He practiced the Dharma and knew that it was the influence of the Dharma that made him great. Therefore, he was very humble and sincere. Therefore, even though he was often praised publicly by the Buddha, held a high position in the Sangha, and debated fiercely with the public on different issues every day, he did not incur the jealousy and resentment of others. That was not easy. Before his Nirvana , the Buddha also specifically praised his selflessness and kindness.

Ananda was also called "the first in knowledge" because he accompanied the Buddha in his sermons and remembered every word of the Buddha . ^[ 4 ] He attended many of the Buddha's lectures to different audiences. After the Buddha's death , Ananda was very sad and conveyed the Buddha's last words to the Sangha : "Minor precepts can be abandoned." However, the Buddha was ill at the time, so Ananda did not ask clearly what " minor precepts " meant. At the time of the 500-year council , Mahā -kāśyapa said that the definition of " minor precepts " was unclear and cited a series of Ananda's faults . ^[ 8 ] This included not giving the Buddha water when he asked for it. [ ^9 ] Ananda thought he had done nothing wrong and argued with reason. However, Ananda was the only one who could ^compile the Tripitaka . Finally, for the sake of harmony in the Sangha, Ananda confessed his sins to the crowd . ^[ 10 ]

After the Buddha's death, at the first assembly in Rajagriha , his excellent memory enabled him to recite many of the Buddha's previous teachings. Those recorded texts were compiled into Buddhist scriptures, including the Dīrgha Āgama , the Madhyama Āgama , the Samyuktagama , the Anguttara Āgama, the Parables , the Dhammapada, etc., which were of great help in the propagation of Buddhism. When the phrase " Thus have I heard " appears in Buddhist scriptures, "I" refers to Ananda. ^[ 11 ]

Ananda lived a very long life. After Mahakasyapa entered Jizu Mountain , Ananda was promoted to the leader of the Sangha . It is said that Ananda's death also led to the peace between Magadha and Vaisali , and the war ended.

In Zen Buddhism , Ananda is revered as the second ancestor of the Western Paradise . After Mahakasyapa's death, he inherited the throne and led his disciples to spread Buddhism. The attendants standing beside Buddha statues are often seen as him. ^[ 4 ] In many recorded dialogues, he is the interlocutor with the Buddha. For example, in the Shurangama Sutra , Ananda met the girl Modanga, who had been his wife for five hundred lifetimes , while begging for alms. When Modanga saw Ananda, she fell in love with him at first sight. Her mother cursed Ananda, causing him to almost break his vows. Later, the Buddha sent Manjusri Bodhisattva to save him with the Shurangama Mantra , which gave rise to the Shurangama Sutra .

Public Case Anecdotes

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[Ananda and Madana] is mainly based on the records of the Shurangama Sutra, Pali scriptures , and the "Buddha's Speech on Madana" in the 14th volume of the Taisho Tripitaka . ^[ 12 ] The Shurangama Sutra records in its first volume that after a great Dharma assembly, the Buddha led his disciples to accept offerings from King Prasenajit . Ananda went to the streets of Savatthi alone to beg for food. After walking for a long time, his bowl was still empty. Ananda was hot, hungry, and thirsty. At this time, Ananda met a woman who was fetching water from the river. This woman was Madana, and she was of the Shudra caste . Ananda walked up to her with his bowl in hand and begged for water.

When Ananda asked Modanga for water, Modanga felt inferior and did not dare to offer the water to Ananda. Ananda replied, "The Buddha taught that the four castes are equal. Although you belong to the Shudra caste, you can still offer food to the monks ." After hearing this, Modanga happily poured the water into Ananda's bowl. ^[ 13 ] Modanga fell in love with Ananda and told her mother about her feelings and asked her mother to find a way to marry her to Ananda.

Madana's mother conveyed her daughter's wish to Ananda, who replied, "Please tell your daughter that as a monastic , the purpose is to escape from birth and death and leave the three realms . Desire and lust are the root causes of the cycle of birth and death. The Buddha repeatedly warned his disciples to stay away from desire and cultivate pure Brahmacharya . I will never marry."

The mother told her daughter what Ananda had said and asked her to give up the idea. However, Modanga did not give up and urged her mother to use magic to deceive Ananda. When Ananda passed by her house again to beg for alms , Modanga used magic to make Ananda confused and forced him to enter Modanga's house. Modanga was delighted and dressed herself up beautifully to seduce Ananda. ^[ 12 ]

Ananda knew something was wrong and refused to obey. However, the mother of Madana lit a fire in front of the door and grabbed Ananda’s clothes, threatening him, saying, “If you don’t obey, I will throw you into the fire and burn you to death.” Ananda was reciting the Buddha’s name at this time. The Buddha sensed that Ananda was in danger and quickly sent Manjushri Bodhisattva to Madana’s house to find Ananda. He also ordered all the monks to recite the Heart Sutra with all their hearts . ^[ 13 ] At this time, Ananda was in Madana’s room. When he was about to break his vows, he suddenly came to his senses and left Madana immediately.

Madana girl still did not give up. She followed Ananda every day. Wherever Ananda went, she followed him. When Ananda returned to the monastery, Madana girl would guard the door. Ananda could not bear it and asked the Buddha for help. After the Buddha knew about this, he invited Madana girl to the monastery . The Buddha asked, "Why do you follow Ananda every day?" Madana girl replied, "Buddha, I heard that Ananda has no wife. I am also unmarried. I want to marry Ananda and become his wife." The Buddha said, "Ananda is a monk with no hair. If you want to marry him, you must shave your hair like him. If you shave your hair and come, I will ask Ananda to be your husband." Madana girl replied, "I can shave my hair." ^[ 12 ]

Madana asked her mother to shave her hair, saying: "I will be Ananda's wife in my life and death, and I will not marry anyone but Ananda." Madana's mother shaved her daughter's hair while shedding tears. Madana returned to the monastery and told the Buddha: "I have shaved my hair." The Buddha asked Madana, "What do you love about Ananda?" Madana replied: "I love Ananda's eyes, I love Ananda's nose, I love Ananda's mouth, I love Ananda's voice, I love the way Ananda walks." Madana told the Buddha, "In short, I love everything about Ananda." ^[ 12 ]

The Buddha said: There are tears in the eyes, mucus in the nose, saliva in the mouth, dirt in the ears, and feces and urine in the body. These are all very smelly. If two people become husband and wife, they will have children. There is life and death, and the separation of relatives. In this way, what is there to love about Ananda’s body? ^[ 13 ] After hearing the Buddha’s words, the daughter of Madana contemplated the impurity of the human body. It turned out that Ananda’s body was also dirty, so what was there to love? At this point, all her thoughts of love and greed were eliminated. Due to the maturity of her good roots and wisdom from previous lives, she suddenly realized and attained the first fruit.

The Buddha knew that Madana had attained the holy fruit , so he told her that she could go find Ananda. Madana lowered her head in shame, knelt before the Buddha and said: It was out of foolishness that I chased after Ananda in the past. Now that you have heard the Buddha’s teachings, your mind has been enlightened.

The Buddha said, "This is the girl named Matang. In the past, she was Ananda's wife for five hundred lifetimes. During these five hundred lifetimes, they always respected each other, loved each other, and both of them attained the Way through my sutras and precepts. Now, they meet like brothers. If they follow this path, why should they not follow it?" The Buddha said this sutra. All the monks were delighted when they heard it.