Also: name of one of the most important disciples of the historical Buddha
Ānanda (in Hinduism) Skt., lit. “Bliss,” “Absolute Joy.” The term refers not to the enjoyment of sense objects, which are transient, but to the bliss of a state that lies beyond all duality, all pairs of opposites. Vedānta teaches that a state of consciousness that is free from thoughts and hence projects neither illness, old age, and death, nor anxiety, care, and suffering, is pure bliss. To define the abstract concept of brahman, Vedānta uses the formula “Sat-Chit-Ānanda,” wherein “Ānanda” is the unaffected absolute bliss that is experienced only in samādhi and is the equivalent of divine consciousness. In the monastic orders of the Shankara tradition, every sannyāsin is given a name ending in ānanda, e.g., Vivekānanda.
Ānanda (in Buddhism and Zen) name of one of the most important disciples of the historical Buddha. He was a cousin of the Buddha and entered the Buddhist order two years after its founding. He became important for the history of Buddhism when in the twentieth year of the Buddha’s teaching activity Ānanda became the Buddha’s personal attendant. Ānanda was famous for his extraordinary memory, in virtue of which he was able to retain the Buddha’s discourses. His exposition of the discourses formed the basis for the codification of the Sūtra-pitaka at the first council. Ānanda is one of the – ten great disciples of the Buddha. In Zen ānanda is considered the second Indian patriarch.
Ānanda is often extolled in the canonical writings for his humility and devotion toward the Buddha. He first took on the function of a personal attendant after the Buddha had assured him he would acquire no advantages as a result of his position. It was also ānanda who foiled Devadatta’s assassination plot against the Buddha. Ānanda was more than any other an advocate for the cause of women. He gave dharma discourses in the presence of women, and it was at his intercession that Buddha consented to the founding of an order of nuns. Ānanda was reproached with this at the first council. He is said to have attained arhatship only after the death of the Buddha, immediately before the first council.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Ānanda
External links: Buddhism / Buddha / Sūtra-pitaka / dharma Hinduism / Vedānta / brahman / samādhi /