{{Otheruses4|a disciple of the Buddha|the Church of Self-Realization|Ananda Church of Self-Realization|}}
{{otheruses4| |Paulina Rubio album of the same title|Ananda (album)}}
{{otheruses4| |new religious movement|Ananda Marga}}

[[Image:Ananda at First Council.jpg|225px|thumb|Ananda reciting the [[Suttapitaka]] at the [[First Buddhist Council]]]]{{buddhism}}
'''Ānanda''' was one of many principal disciples and a devout attendant of the [[Gotama Buddha|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 remembering of the Buddha's teachings during the [[First Buddhist Council]]. For that, he was known as the ''Guardian of the Dharma''.

According to the Buddha every Buddha in the past and to come will have two chief disciples and one attendant during his ministry. In the case of [[Gautama Buddha]] the pair of disciples were [[Sariputta]] and [[Mahamoggallana]] and the attendant Ānanda.

The word 'Ānanda' means [[wikt:bliss|'bliss']] in [[Pali]], [[Sanskrit]] as well as other Indian languages. It is a popular [[Buddhism| Buddhist]] and [[Hinduism|Hindu]] name.

In MN 90, Kannakatthala Sutta, Ananda is identified with the meaning of his name:

:Then King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One, "Lord, what is the name of this monk?"

:"His name is Ananda (Joy), great king."

:"What a joy he is! What a true joy!..."

Ānanda was the first [[cousin]] of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] by their fathers, and was devoted to him. In the twentieth year of the Buddha's ministry, he became the Buddha's personal attendant, accompanying him on most of his wanderings and taking the part of [[interlocutor]] in many of the recorded [[dialogues]]. He is the subject of a special [[panegyric]] delivered by the Buddha just before the Budhha's [[Parinibbana]] (the [[Mahaparinibbana Sutta]] ([[Digha Nikaya]] 16)); it is a panegyric for a man who is kindly, unselfish, popular, and thoughtful toward others.

In the long list of the disciples given in the [[Anguttara Nikaya]] (i. xiv.) where each of them is declared to be the chief in some quality, Ānanda is mentioned five times (more often than any other). He was named chief in [[conduct]], in service to others, and in power of [[memory]]. The Buddha sometimes asked him to substitute for him as teacher and then later stated that he himself would not have presented the teachings in any other way.

==The First Council==

Because he attended the Buddha personally and often traveled with him, Ānanda overheard and memorized many of the discourses the Buddha delivered to various audiences. Therefore, he is often called the disciple of the Buddha who "heard much". At the [[Buddhist councils|First Buddhist Council]], convened shortly after the Buddha died, Ananda was called upon to recite many of the discourses that later became the [[Sutta Pitaka]] of the [[Pāli Canon]].

Despite his long association with and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a [[Sotapanna|stream-winner]] prior to the Buddha’s death. However, Buddha said that the purity of his heart was so great that, "Should Ananda die without being fully liberated; he would be king of the gods seven times because of the purity of his heart, or be king of the Indian subcontinent seven times. But Udayi, Ananda will experience final liberation in this very life." (AN 3.80)

Prior to the First Buddhist Council, it was proposed that Ananda not be permitted to attend on the grounds that he was not yet an [[arhat|arahant]]. According to legend, this prompted Ananda to focus his efforts on the attainment of [[nibbana]] and he was able to reach the specified level of attainment before the calling of the conclave.

In contrast to most of the figures depicted in the [[Pāli Canon]], Ananda is presented as an imperfect, if sympathetic, figure. He mourns the deaths of both [[Sariputta]], with whom he enjoyed a close friendship, and the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. A verse of the [[Theragatha]] [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/khuddaka/theragatha/thag-17-03-ao0.html] reveals his loneliness and isolation following the [[parinirvana]] of the Buddha.

In the [[Zen]] tradition, Ananda is considered to be the second Indian patriarch. He is often depicted with the Buddha alongside [[Mahakashyapa]], the first Indian patriarch.

==External links==
* [http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/aa/aananda.htm Entry on '''Ananda''' in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names]
* [http://what-buddha-said.net/library/DPPN/aa/aananda.htm Biographical account of Ananda]
* [http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xha71/powsample/images/127vb2.jpg Ananda with the Buddha and Subhuti]
* [http://www.acmuller.net/ddb Digital Dictionary of Buddhism] (log in with userID "guest")
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel273.html Ananda: Guardian of the Dhamma by Hellmuth Hecker]

==References==
* {{1911}}
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel273.html Ananda: Guardian of the Dhamma by Hellmuth Hecker]

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[[Category:disciples of the Buddha]]
[[Category:Family of the Buddha]]
[[Category:Arahants]]
[[Category:Zen Patriarchs]]

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