Family of Gautama Buddha
Encyclopedia
The Buddha was born into a family of the kshatriya
varna in what is now Nepal in 562 BCE. His father was King Suddhodana
, Leader of the Sakya
clan in what was the growing state of Kosala
, and his mother was Queen Maya
. He was raised by his mother's younger sister Maha Pajapati after his mother's death seven days after childbirth.
Later his first cousin, by his father, Ananda
joined the Buddha
as his attendant.
Much of the information on Suddhodana comes from Buddhist legend and scripture. He is believed to be a leader of the Sakya 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 Kaludayi 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.
Maya was the mother of the Buddha. 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 she is said to have had an immaculate conception
, with some similarities to Mary
's conception of Jesus
in biblical accounts. 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.
Ananda was the youngest first cousin of the Buddha. He joined the sangha
as a child. He was ordained along with Aniruddha and Bhadra. His father was the brother of King Suddhodana.
Ananda later became the attendant of the Buddha, almost twenty years after the Buddha's enlightenment
, when the Buddha was around 55. The Buddha had many private discourses with, including one on the nature of bhikkhu
nis.
Ananda also helped to found the order of nuns or bhikkhunis. He pleaded with the Buddha to allow women to enter the sangha
. The Buddha finally agreed to allow women to be ordained, after many refusals on condition they obey 8 rules governing respect for the monks (garudhamma).
Ananda was also present at the death of the Buddha. The Buddha is reputed to have told Ananda, that he could live for the remainder of the aeon and that Ananda could ask for this. However Ananda did not understand the Buddha's words and did not ask. The Buddha was then visited by Mara
, who tried to persuade the Buddha to pass away. But the Buddha told him that the time was already right, as he had accomplished his task: to establish the fourfold community of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, laymen, and laywomen. At the house of Cunda
the Buddha asked for food to be served. Hard and soft food was served to the Buddha's disciples but the Buddha was served some poisoned food. He later died after many days of pain and sickness.
After the Buddha's death, at the 1st council convened by Mahakashyapa at Rajarha, Ananda was asked to recite all of the suttas he could remember. It is from this that he popularly is known as "Pre-eminent in remembering."
Ananda gave the responsibility of transmitting teaching to Sanakavasa. Sanakavasa had been trained by Ananda. Ananda then decided to row into the middle of the river Ganges to attain nirvana
as the countries of Magadha
and Vaisali, who occupied the banks were at war. Both countries called at Ananda to come to their bank but Ananda refused. After Ananda's death Vaisali and Magadha ceased their war. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/db_04.htm
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
.
s and Sakra, King of the Gods. The Buddha promised Nanda an Aspara if he remained a bhikku. Nanda persevered and became an arhat. >ref>http://buddhism.2be.net/Nanda
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:
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.
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
varna in what is now Nepal in 562 BCE. His father was King 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...
, Leader of the Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
clan in what was the growing state of Kosala
Kosala
Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
, and his mother was Queen Maya
Queen Maya
Queen Māyā of Sakya was the birth mother of the historical Gautama Buddha, Siddhārtha of the Gautama gotra, and sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha. "Māyā" means "illusion" or "enchantment" in Sanskrit and Pāli. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā and Māyādevī...
. He was raised by his mother's younger sister Maha Pajapati after his mother's death seven days after childbirth.
Later his first cousin, by his father, 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...
joined the 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...
as his attendant.
Suddhodhana
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
. 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
Dharma
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...
to the messengers, they were all ordained into 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...
. 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 Kaludayi 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.
Maya
Devadaha
Devadaha was a township of the Sākiyans . It is near Nawalparasi District of Nepal. The Buddha stayed there during his tours and preached to the monks on various topics...
, in ancient Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. She was married to her cousin King Suddhodana, who ruled in the kingdom of 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...
.
In Buddhist texts she is said to have had an immaculate conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, with some similarities to Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
's conception of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in biblical accounts. 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
Queen Maya
Queen Māyā of Sakya was the birth mother of the historical Gautama Buddha, Siddhārtha of the Gautama gotra, and sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha. "Māyā" means "illusion" or "enchantment" in Sanskrit and Pāli. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā and Māyādevī...
journeyed to Devadaha. However she was forced to give birth en route, in the Lumbini
Lumbini
Lumbinī is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Buddha Gautama founded the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE...
grove. It is said that the Devas
Deva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....
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
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...
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
Dharma
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...
to her.
Ananda
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...
as a child. He was ordained along with Aniruddha and Bhadra. His father was the brother of King Suddhodana.
Ananda later became the attendant of the Buddha, almost twenty years after the Buddha's enlightenment
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
, when the Buddha was around 55. The Buddha had many private discourses with, including one on the nature of 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...
nis.
Ananda also helped to found the order of nuns or bhikkhunis. He pleaded with the Buddha to allow women to enter 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...
. The Buddha finally agreed to allow women to be ordained, after many refusals on condition they obey 8 rules governing respect for the monks (garudhamma).
Ananda was also present at the death of the Buddha. The Buddha is reputed to have told Ananda, that he could live for the remainder of the aeon and that Ananda could ask for this. However Ananda did not understand the Buddha's words and did not ask. The Buddha was then visited by Mara
Mara (demon)
In Buddhism, Māra is the demon that tempted Gautama Buddha by trying to seduce him with the vision of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara's daughters. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara personifies unwholesome impulses, unskillfulness, the "death" of the spiritual life...
, who tried to persuade the Buddha to pass away. But the Buddha told him that the time was already right, as he had accomplished his task: to establish the fourfold community of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, laymen, and laywomen. At the house of Cunda
Cunda (Buddhism)
In Buddhism in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta Kunda was a blacksmith who gave the last meal of either mushrooms or pork to Buddha. The Buddha fell violently ill but told Cunda not to worry. Buddha recovered from his illness before he attained parinirvana....
the Buddha asked for food to be served. Hard and soft food was served to the Buddha's disciples but the Buddha was served some poisoned food. He later died after many days of pain and sickness.
After the Buddha's death, at the 1st council convened by Mahakashyapa at Rajarha, Ananda was asked to recite all of the suttas he could remember. It is from this that he popularly is known as "Pre-eminent in remembering."
Ananda gave the responsibility of transmitting teaching to Sanakavasa. Sanakavasa had been trained by Ananda. Ananda then decided to row into the middle of the river Ganges to attain nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
as the countries of Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
and Vaisali, who occupied the banks were at war. Both countries called at Ananda to come to their bank but Ananda refused. After Ananda's death Vaisali and Magadha ceased their war. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/db_04.htm
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...
was the maternal first cousin (or in some accounts paternal first cousin) of the Buddha. He was ordained into 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...
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
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
, he was swallowed up into the earth and reborn in Avici
Avici
In Buddhism, ' is the lowest level of the Naraka or "hell" realm, into which the dead who have committed grave misdeeds may be reborn...
.
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 became deeply troubled by abandoning Janapadakalyani so the Buddha took him to Tavatimsa to meet the ApsaraApsara
An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...
s and Sakra, King of the Gods. The Buddha promised Nanda an Aspara if he remained a bhikku. Nanda persevered and became an arhat. >ref>http://buddhism.2be.net/Nanda
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
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...
as bhikkhuni
Bhikkhuni
A bhikkhuni or bhikṣuṇī is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called bhikkhus. Both bhikkhunis and bhikkhus live by the vinaya...
. After many refusals, the Buddha finally agreed to allow women to enter the sangha as long as they accepted eight additional vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
. 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.