Family of Gautama Buddha

The Buddha was born into a family of the kshatriya varna in Lumbini, Nepal in 563 BCE. He was called Siddhartha Gautama in his childhood. His father was king Suddhodana, leader of the Shakya clan in what was the growing state of Kosala, and his mother was queen Maya Devi. He was raised by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati, after his mother died just seven days after childbirth.

He later married Yashodhara (Yaśodhara was the daughter of King Suppabuddha and Amita), and together they had one child, a son, Rāhula. Both Yashodhara and Rāhul later became disciples of Buddha.

His first cousin, by his father, Ananda, joined the Buddha as his attendant.

Suddhodana

King Sudhodana and his court

Much of the information on Suddhodana comes from Buddhist legend and scripture. He is believed to be a leader of the Shakya clan, who lived within the state of Kosala, on the northern border of Ancient India. Although in Buddhist literature he is said to be a hereditary monarch, he is now believed to have been an elected head of a tribal confederacy. Suddhodana's father was Sinahana.

Suddhodana was said to be greatly troubled by the departure of his son and is reported in Buddhist scriptures to have sent 10,000 messengers to plead with Gautama to return. After the Buddha preached the dharma to the messengers, they were all ordained into the sangha. Later a friend of Suddhodana named Kaludayi invited the Buddha to return, at the request of Suddhodana. The Buddha also preached the dharma to him and shubhansu was later ordained as a monk.

After this request from his father Gautama returned to his father's kingdom where he preached dharma to him. Gautama later returned again to his father's kingdom to see his father's death. Suddhodana became an arahant.[1]

Maya

Queen Māyā's white renish dream, and the conception of the Buddha. Gandhara, 2-3rd century CE.

Maya was the mother of the Buddha and was from the Koliyan clan. Maya was born in Devadaha, in ancient Nepal. She was married to her cousin King Suddhodana, who ruled in the kingdom of Kapilavastu.

In Buddhist texts, a white elephant was said to have entered her side during a dream. When she awoke she found that she was pregnant. As it was traditional to give birth in the homeland of the father, Queen Maya journeyed to Devadaha. However she was forced to give birth en route, in the Lumbini grove. It is said that the Devas presided over the birth and that two streams, one cool and one hot, flowed down from the heavens.

Maya died seven days after the birth of her son, whom she had named Siddhartha or "he who achieves his aim." She is said, in Buddhist scriptures, to have been reborn in Tusita, where her son later visited her, paid respects and taught the dharma to her.[2]

Ananda

Ānanda was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples.[3] Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory.[4] Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka (Pāli; Sanskrit: Sūtra-Piṭaka) are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council.[5] For that reason, he is known as the "Treasurer of the Dhamma", with Dhamma (Sanskrit: Dharma) referring to the Buddha's teaching.[6] In Early Buddhist Texts, Ānanda is the first cousin of the Buddha.[5] Although the texts do not agree on most things about Ānanda's early life, they do agree that Ānanda is ordained as a monk and that Puṇṇa Mantāniputta (Sanskrit: Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra) becomes his teacher.[7] Twenty years in the Buddha's ministry, Ānanda becomes the attendant of the Buddha, when the Buddha selects him for this job.[8] Ānanda performs his duties with great devotion and care, and acts as an intermediary between the Buddha and the laypeople, as well as the Saṅgha (monastic community).[9][10] He accompanies the Buddha for the rest of his life, acting not only as an assistant, but also a secretary and a mouthpiece.[11]

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.[12][13] A traditional account can be drawn from early texts, commentaries, and post-canonical chronicles. Ānanda has an important role in establishing the order of bhikkhunis, when he requests the Buddha on behalf of the latter's foster-mother Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (Sanskrit: Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī) to allow her to be ordained.[14] Ānanda also accompanies the Buddha in the last year of his life, and therefore is witness to many tenets and principles that the Buddha conveys and establishes before his death, including the well-known principle that the Buddhist community should take his teaching and discipline as their refuge, and that the Buddha will not appoint a new leader.[15][16] The final period of the Buddha's life also shows that Ānanda is still very much attached to the Buddha's person, and he witnesses the Buddha's passing with great sorrow.[17]

Shortly after the Buddha's death, the First Council is convened, and Ānanda manages to attain enlightenment just before the council starts, which is a requirement.[18] He has a historical role during the council as the living memory of the Buddha, reciting many of the Buddha's discourses and checking them for accuracy.[19] During the same council, however, he is chastised by Mahākassapa (Sanskrit: Mahākāśyapa) and the rest of the Saṅgha for allowing women to be ordained and failing to understand or respect the Buddha at several crucial moments.[20] Ānanda continues to teach until the end of his life, passing on his spiritual heritage to his pupils Sāṇavāsī (Sanskrit: Śāṇakavāsī) and Majjhantika (Sanskrit: Madhyāntika),[21] among others, who later assume a leading role in the Second[22] and Third Councils.[23] Ānanda dies in 463 BCE, and stūpas (momuments) are erected at the river where he dies.[24]

Ānanda is one of the most loved figures in Buddhism. Ānanda is known for his memory, erudition and compassion, and is often praised by the Buddha for these matters.[25][6] He functions as a foil to the Buddha, however, in that he still has worldly attachments and is not yet enlightened, as opposed to the Buddha.[26] In the Sanskrit textual traditions, Ānanda is widely considered the patriarch of the Dhamma, who stands in a spiritual lineage, receiving the teaching from Mahākassapa and passing them on to his own pupils.[27] Ānanda has been honored by bhikkhunis since early medieval times for his merits in establishing the nun's order.[28] In recent times, the composer Richard Wagner wrote a draft for a libretto about Ānanda, which was made into the opera Wagner Dream by Jonathan Harvey in 2007.[29]

Devadatta

Devadatta was the maternal first cousin (or in some accounts paternal first cousin) of the Buddha. He was ordained into the sangha along with his brothers and friends and their barber, Upāli, when the Buddha preached to the Shakyas in Kapilavastu.

For a time, Devadatta was highly respected among the sangha. Shariputra is said to have sung the praises of Devadatta in Rajagaha. After some time, Devadatta developed siddhis and his intention is said to have been corrupted. After gaining these siddhis, Devadatta attempted to kill the Buddha on several occasions, commonly thought to be motivated by jealousy of the Buddha's power. He is reported to have rolled a boulder toward the Buddha, piercing his flesh, and to have incited an elephant to charge at the Buddha.

Devadatta then attempted to split the sangha into two, with one faction led by himself and the other by the Buddha. However, this attempt failed as all of his converts returned to the Buddha's sangha.

Devadatta was reputedly remorseful toward the Buddha late in life. He is reported to have walked to the monastery where the Buddha was staying to apologize to him but, as a result of bad karma, he was swallowed up into the earth and reborn in Avici before he could ask for forgiveness.[30][31]

Nanda

Nanda was a half-brother of the Buddha; the son of King Suddhodana and Maha Prajapati Gautami. Nanda was to be married to a princess named Janapadakalyani but abandoned her to join the sangha. Nanda persevered and became an arhat.[32]

Maha Pajapati Gotami

Maha Pajapati Gotami (Sanskrit: Maha Prajapati Gautami) was the youngest daughter of King Suppabuddha and Queen Amita. She was married to King Suddhodana with her elder sister Mahamaya (or Mayadevi). When her sister died after the birth of Siddartha Gautama she took Siddartha into her care. She also gave birth to a son, Nanda, to King Suddodhana.

After the death of King Suddhodana, Maha Prajapati journeyed to find the Buddha. When she found him, she petitioned the Buddha, through Ananda, to allow women to enter the sangha as bhikkhuni. After many refusals, the Buddha finally agreed to allow women to enter the sangha as long as they accepted eight additional vinaya. These were:

  • A bhikkhuni must always pay respect to bhikkhus
  • A bhikkhuni must spend the varsa retreat in a retreat where bhikkhus are staying
  • Bhikkhunis must ask bhikkhus to give them official teachings twice a month
  • Bhikkhunis must perform the end of varsa ceremony in front of bhikkhunis and bhikkhus
  • Serious breaches of the vinaya must be dealt with by bhikkhus and bhikkhunis
  • Once a trainee has completed her training, she must ask both the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis for ordination
  • Bhikkhunis are not to abuse bhikkhus
  • Bhikkhus may criticize bhikkhunis (regarding disciplinary matters), but bhikkhunis may not criticize bhikkhus.

Maha Pajapati is said to have given the Buddha a robe made of fine cloth. The Buddha refused it, saying it was too elaborate and would cause the sangha to degenerate. Later Maha Pajapati became an arahant.[33]

See also

  • Yaśodharā (wife and later disciple)
  • Rāhula (Buddha's son, who later became a disciple)
  • Rohini (Gautama Buddha's cousin and disciple)

References

  1. ↑ "The Life of Buddha: Part One: 1. King Suddhodana And Queen Maya". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  2. ↑ Andrew Mossberg. "Who were the Buddhas?". amidabuddha.org. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  3. ↑ Nishijima, Gudo Wafu; Cross, Shodo (2008). Shōbōgenzō : The True Dharma-Eye Treasury (PDF). Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. p. 32 n.119. ISBN 978-1-886439-38-2.
  4. ↑ Mun-keat, Choong (2000). The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga Portion of the Pāli Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama (PDF). Harrassowitz. p. 142. ISBN 3-447-04232-X.
  5. 1 2 Powers, John (2013). "Ānanda". A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-1-78074-476-6.
  6. 1 2 Sarao, K. T. S. (2004). "Ananda". In Jestice, Phyllis G. Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 49. ISBN 1-85109-649-3.
  7. ↑ Witanachchi 1965, p. 530.
  8. ↑ Keown 2004, p. 12.
  9. ↑ Malalasekera, G.P. (1960). Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. 1. Pali Text Society. OCLC 793535195.
  10. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Ānanda.
  11. ↑ Findly, Ellison Banks (2003). Dāna: Giving and Getting in Pāli Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 377. ISBN 9788120819566.
  12. ↑ Prebish, Charles S. (2005) [1974]. "Review of Scholarship on Buddhist Councils" (PDF). In Williams, Paul. Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 1: Early History in South and Southeast Asia. Routledge. pp. 226, 231. ISBN 0-415-33227-3.
  13. ↑ Mukherjee, B. (1994). "The Riddle of the First Buddhist Council – A Retrospection". Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal. 7: 457.
  14. ↑ Ohnuma, Reiko (December 2006). "Debt to the Mother: A Neglected Aspect of the Founding of the Buddhist Nuns' Order". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 74 (4): 862, 872. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfl026.
  15. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Mahāparinibbānasuttanta.
  16. ↑ Obeyesekere, Gananath (2017). "The Death of the Buddha: A Restorative Interpretation". The Buddha in Sri Lanka: Histories and Stories. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-59225-3.
  17. ↑ Strong, John S. (1977). ""Gandhakuṭī": The Perfumed Chamber of the Buddha". History of Religions. 16 (4): 398–9. doi:10.2307/1062638. JSTOR 1062638.
  18. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Ānanda; Īryāpatha.
  19. ↑ Keown 2004, p. 164.
  20. ↑ Hinüber, O. von (5 November 2007). "The Advent of the First Nuns in Early Buddhism" (PDF). Indogaku Chibettogaku Kenkyū [Journal of Indian and Tibetan Studies]. Association for the Study of Indian Philosophy: 235–6. ISSN 1342-7377.
  21. ↑ Witanachchi 1965, pp. 534–5.
  22. ↑ Hirakawa, Akira (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna (PDF). Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 9788120809550.
  23. ↑ Bechert, Heinz (2005) [1982]. "The Date of the Buddha Reconsidered" (PDF). In Williams, Paul. Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 1: Early History in South and Southeast Asia. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 0-415-33227-3.
  24. ↑ Lamotte, Etienne (1988) [1958]. Histoire du Bouddhisme Indien, des origines a l'ere Saka [History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Śaka Era] (PDF) (in French). Université catholique de Louvain, Institut orientaliste. pp. 93, 210. ISBN 90-683-1-100-X.
  25. ↑  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rhys Davids, Thomas William (1911). "Ānanda". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 913.
  26. ↑ Shaw, Sarah (2006). Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pāli Canon (PDF). Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-415-35918-4.
  27. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2013, Damoduoluo chan jing; Madhyāntika.
  28. ↑ Ambros, Barbara R (27 June 2016). "A Rite of Their Own: Japanese Buddhist Nuns and the Anan kōshiki". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 43 (1): 209–12, 214, 216–8, 245–6. doi:10.18874/jjrs.43.1.2016.207-250.
  29. ↑ App, Urs (2011). Richard Wagner and Buddhism. UniversityMedia. pp. 42–3. ISBN 978-3-906000-00-8.
  30. ↑ "Devadatta". Palikanon.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  31. ↑ Devadatta
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ Maha Prajapati Gautami

Sources

  • Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2013), Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. (PDF), Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3
  • Keown, Damien (2004), A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-157917-2
  • Witanachchi, C. (1965), "Ānanda", in Malalasekera, G. P.; Weeraratne, W. G., Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, 1, Government of Sri Lanka, OCLC 2863845613
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