Stories From The Buddha: Ananda
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.
阿南达，行政个人服务员的佛陀，是一个第一的堂弟，佛，和一个儿子的萨基扬amitodana ，其中一个兄弟在他的父亲净饭王。
“出生在tusita天堂随萨是菩提萨埵，他去世从那里，并于新生在众议院中的萨基扬amitodana 。他出生于当日佛陀的启示，在市kapilavastu “ 。
该soothsayers曾预言，阿南达将行政服务员的佛祖。因此，为了防止他从会议的佛陀，他的父亲带他到毗舍离时，佛陀访问kapilavastu ，并带他回后，才佛陀的偏离。不过，佛陀谁知道他的表弟的未来回来，他的家和他的改装。后来amitodana给了他许可，放弃世界。
为二十年后的启示，佛陀没有永久的服务员。在年满55 ，他知道他的弟子，他希望有一个永久的服务员。所有行政弟子，除阿南达，所提供的服务，他的意思，但被拒绝就一帐户或其他。阿南达星期六在沉默和要求时，他colleages挺身而出，作为佛陀的服务员，他拒绝，所持理由是佛陀自己会选择他，如果佛陀以为他适合。
阿南达在第一拒绝提供他的服务，当所要求的舍利弗和maudgalyayana在地面上，这是很难的服务成佛。后来，他接受邮报的三个条件，即… … （ 1 ）他不应该被要求参与对佛陀的食物或使用他的长袍， （ 2 ）他不应该问陪同佛陀，当他参观了外行’ s房子， （ 3 ） ，他可能在任何时候看到和他的薪酬方面，以佛陀。佛陀接受这些条件，并从那天起，直到他的去世在库系那拉他曾服务的忠实服务员，专门讨论都以他的主人和他的责任。
从时间佛宣布，他迅速接近死亡，阿南达跟随他，恳求他活得更长，试图寻找出佛陀的看法，对许多问题或质疑他关于未来的僧伽。正如佛陀弥留之际，在撒拉族格罗夫的mallas ，实在是令人感动阅读如何，这最专门的门徒，无法承受任何更多，闯入眼泪。安慰他，佛陀曾提醒他，他经常重复的学说的impermanency所有组件的东西。
阿南达的服务向dhamma是伟大的作为向佛祖。虽然不是一，阿罗汉在一生的佛陀，他已广为人知，为他的智慧，即使佛陀承认。他紧密联系佛陀和佛陀的承诺，重复他的任何话语发表在他缺席使人们有可能他是一个专家，在佛陀的教诲。往往他讨论了非常重要的课题，与佛陀。阿南达讨论了该dhamma与其他突出的门徒佛陀和时代，他们原来是非常有趣和有启发性。据他所知的dhamma是如此的高度尊重，该佛像是一旦据报，有一说，谁愿意履行dhamma应荣誉阿南达。
阿南达辜负了成熟的年龄1 100和二十年。他的伟大时代，甚至成为谚语。
所有的成就，阿南达，根据佛陀，没有工作，一出生。这是最后的工作成果，许多过去的出生。
这是100000 aeons前，在省却佛像padumuttara说，他作出了他的第一要解决的个人服务员的佛像。在时间，阿南达是一个王子命名sumana ，循序渐进式的兄弟佛像padumuttara自己。一天，他看到佛陀的行政服务员，弟子最亲爱的，以佛陀，和愿望，出现在他能够像他一样的一。与最大的困难是，他得到了他父亲的许可受理，佛陀为七天。然后，他到居住地，并建立了一个修道院在该公园命名为sobhana ，买了从户主的名称相同。他还建成了一批其他寺庙的公路沿线，从资本到他的宫殿和所提供的所有这些向佛祖。他观察了10戒律在3雨季的来临，也提供了施舍，以佛陀和他的弟子。在结束所有这些行为，他知道他的决议将行政服务员的佛像。佛陀padumuttara预言实现他的愿望。
在的时候，佛陀kassapa他提交了一份碗，其余的和尚去对他的ALM全面。在另一出生的国王baranasi他提出了八项细胞为8 paccekabuddhas在他的皇家公园，并出席了他们为万年。在这些他帮助boddhisatta履行他的十完善，而他自己积累了许多好的kamma 。同时，漫游在无休止的海上出生和死亡作为一名普通正在仍不免于邪恶的想法，他是有罪的劣迹，以及。这样一个实例是记录时，作为一个铁匠，他致力于通奸和遭受相当长的时间在炼狱。
arahantship只是一个舞台上的路径，完成解脱。这是只有成为最高佛陀的一个结束生命，在萨马拉州。因此，阿南达，也将继续下去，直至他达到最高buddhahood 。阿南达自己请佛祖来预测他未来的命运，以最高的启示。佛陀是那么说，有预测后，尊重和荣幸62 kotis最高的佛像，存放在记忆他们的理论，并收到他们的讯息，他将成为一个由如来的名称相-翻- dhara - buddhi - vikridistabhijna 。他的佛性领域将繁荣和它会有云居lazuli 。他的世界体系将被命名为anavanamita - vaijayanti和永旺将被命名为manojna - sabdabbigarjita 。这佛祖会带来的启示20倍100000涌现， kotis的菩萨，可比向砂20河流的大小恒河。他的生命跨度将无法估量，在aeons 。之后，他parinirvana他的弘法会去年的两倍，只要他的寿命和的两倍，只要他的教学将伪造的，他弘法的立场。
