Ānanda
Buddhist · mortal · mythic · mortal
THE MAN THE CANON IS REMEMBERED THROUGH. 'Thus have I heard' opens the sutras because he is the one who heard them, and the tradition's word for what he was is Treasurer of the Dhamma.
Relations
- attendant of: Siddhārtha Gautama
- advocated for: Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī
Sources
- Reference treatment of the Buddha and his disciples: Sariputta and Moggallana are the two Chief Disciples, Sariputta foremost among disciples of great wisdom and Maha Moggallana foremost among those of great supernatural powers; the ten great disciples are Sariputra, Moggallana, Mahakasyapa, Subhuti, Purna, Katyayana, Anuradha, Upali, Rahula and Ananda; Ananda was called the Treasurer of the Dhamma for his retentiveness of memory; Upali worked as a barber before he joined the Buddha, was foremost in observing the precepts, and became a disciple while cutting the Buddha's hair; Anuruddha was a cousin of Shakyamuni who became a disciple at the same time as Ananda.