Anuruddha
Encyclopedia
Anuruddha was one of the five head disciples
and a cousin of Gautama Buddha
.
. Since Sukkhodana was the brother of Suddhodana
, king of the Sakya
s in Kapilavastu
, Anuruddha was cousin to Siddhartha, (Gautama Buddha
). He was a kshatriya
by birth, enabling him to be raised in wealth. Anuruddha returned to his home town two years after the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha
, preaching his ideas to the Sakyan kingdom. Together with his 3 cousins Bhaddiyam, Ananda
, and Devadatta
and their barber Upali
, to become ordained by the Buddha at the Anupiya Mango Grove.
as an affectionate and loyal bhikkhu
, and stood near the Buddha in assembly. At one point, when the Buddha was disappointed with the arguments of the monks at Kosambi
, he retreated to Pacinavamsadaya to stay with Anuruddha. In many texts, even when a large number of distinguished monks were present, Anuruddha is often the recipient of the Buddha's questions, and answers on behalf of the sangha
. As the Buddha was reclining and going through the jhanas, Ananda said to Anuruddha: "The Exalted One has attained final Nibbana, Venerable Sir." Anuruddha, having divine vision, stated that the Buddha was absorbed in the state of "cessation," but had not yet died. Anuruddha was consulted by the Mallas of Kusinara regarding the Buddha's last obsequies.
Later, at the First Buddhist Council, he played a notable role and was entrusted with the custody of the Anguttara Nikaya
. Anuruddha died at Veluvagama in the Vajji country, in the shade of a bamboo thicket. He was one hundred and fifteen years old at the time of his death.
, which describes the previous reincarnation
s of Buddhist figures. In the time of Padumuttara Buddha
time, he had been a wealthy householder. Hearing one of the monks declared best among possessors of the celestial eye, he desired a similar honor. He performed acts of merit, including holding a great feast of light in front of the Buddha's tomb. In Kassapa Buddha
's era he had reincarnated and was born in Varanasi
; one day he placed bowls filled with clarified butter around the Buddha's tomb and set them alight, circumscribed the tomb throughout the night, bearing on his head a lighted bowl.
He was reborn in an impoverished family in Varanasi and was named Annabhara. One day, while working for his master, the banker Sumana, he gave his meal to a Pacceka Buddha, Uparittha. The banker, having heard of Annabhara's pious deed, rewarded him by helping to establish a business for him. The king, impressed, gave him a site for a house, and when the ground beneath was excavated, yielded much buried treasure.
Sravaka
Shravaka or Śrāvaka or Sāvaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain...
and a cousin of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
.
Early years
Anuruddha was the son of Sukkhodana and brother to MahanamaMahanama
Mahanama may refer to*Mahanama College in Colombo*Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer*Shantha Bandara, alias Mahanama...
. Since Sukkhodana was the brother of Suddhodana
Suddhodana
King Suddhodana was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya people, who lived in southern Nepal. Suddhodana's father was Sinahana...
, king of the Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
s in Kapilavastu
Kapilavastu
Kapilavastu is the name of a region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists. The search for the Buddha's birthplace following the accounts left by Xuanzang and Faxian involved various searches in the late 19th century...
, Anuruddha was cousin to Siddhartha, (Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
). He was a kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
by birth, enabling him to be raised in wealth. Anuruddha returned to his home town two years after the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, preaching his ideas to the Sakyan kingdom. Together with his 3 cousins Bhaddiyam, Ananda
Ananda
Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...
, and Devadatta
Devadatta
Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama Siddārtha, the Śākyamuni Buddha, and brother of Ānanda, a principal student of the Buddha...
and their barber Upali
Upali
Upali was a monk, one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha. Before joining the order, he worked as a barber. He asked the Buddha if a person of "low birth" such as he could join the order...
, to become ordained by the Buddha at the Anupiya Mango Grove.
Religious life
Anuruddha acquired "divine vision" (dibba-cakkhu) and was ranked foremost among those who had the ability. Sariputta assigned the eight thoughts of a great man for Anuruddha to use as a meditation topic. Journeying into the Pacinavamsadaya in the Ceti country to practice, he was able to master seven, but could not learn the eighth, which Buddha taught him. Anuruddha developed insight and then realized arahantship.Depiction
Anuruddha is depicted in the Pali CanonPāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
as an affectionate and loyal bhikkhu
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
, and stood near the Buddha in assembly. At one point, when the Buddha was disappointed with the arguments of the monks at Kosambi
Kosambi
Kosambi may refer to:*Kosambi, India, an old city and Buddhist pilgrimage site.*Kosambi, Tangerang, a subdistrict of Tangerang Regency, Banten, Indonesia*Kosambi, Jakarta, an administrative village of Cengkareng, West Jakarta, Indonesia...
, he retreated to Pacinavamsadaya to stay with Anuruddha. In many texts, even when a large number of distinguished monks were present, Anuruddha is often the recipient of the Buddha's questions, and answers on behalf of the sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
After the Buddha
Anuruddha was present when the Buddha died at Kusinara. He was foremost in consoling the monks and admonishing their future course of action, reminding them of the Buddha's decree to follow the dharmaDharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
. As the Buddha was reclining and going through the jhanas, Ananda said to Anuruddha: "The Exalted One has attained final Nibbana, Venerable Sir." Anuruddha, having divine vision, stated that the Buddha was absorbed in the state of "cessation," but had not yet died. Anuruddha was consulted by the Mallas of Kusinara regarding the Buddha's last obsequies.
Later, at the First Buddhist Council, he played a notable role and was entrusted with the custody of the Anguttara Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya
The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
. Anuruddha died at Veluvagama in the Vajji country, in the shade of a bamboo thicket. He was one hundred and fifteen years old at the time of his death.
Depictions in the Jataka
Anuruddha is frequently depicted in the JatakaJataka
The Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
, which describes the previous reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
s of Buddhist figures. In the time of Padumuttara Buddha
Padumuttara Buddha
In Buddhism, Padumuttara Buddha is the thirteenth in the List of the 28 Buddhas.He was born in Hamsavatī. He lived for ten thousand years in three palaces: Naravāhana, Yassa and Vasavatti. His wife was Vasudattā, by whom he had a son, Uttara. His body was fifty eight cubits high...
time, he had been a wealthy householder. Hearing one of the monks declared best among possessors of the celestial eye, he desired a similar honor. He performed acts of merit, including holding a great feast of light in front of the Buddha's tomb. In Kassapa Buddha
Kassapa Buddha
In Buddhist tradition, Kassapa is the name of a Buddha, the third of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa , and the sixth of the six Buddhas prior to the historical Buddha mentioned in the earlier parts of the Pali Canon . In the Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, this Buddha is known as...
's era he had reincarnated and was born in Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
; one day he placed bowls filled with clarified butter around the Buddha's tomb and set them alight, circumscribed the tomb throughout the night, bearing on his head a lighted bowl.
He was reborn in an impoverished family in Varanasi and was named Annabhara. One day, while working for his master, the banker Sumana, he gave his meal to a Pacceka Buddha, Uparittha. The banker, having heard of Annabhara's pious deed, rewarded him by helping to establish a business for him. The king, impressed, gave him a site for a house, and when the ground beneath was excavated, yielded much buried treasure.
External links
- Anuruddha: Master of the Divine Eye by Hellmuth Hecker (translated from the German by Nyanaponika Thera)