佛祖統紀 5.8

5.8

The second patriarch was the Venerable Ānanda, second son of King Śuklodana, the Buddha's uncle. He was born on the eighth day of the second month, the day the Buddha attained awakening (Ānanda means 'rejoicing', referring to the king's heart rejoicing and the whole country celebrating); he was the younger brother of Devadatta. His face was like the pure, full moon, and his eyes were like blue lotus blossoms. At the age of eight he went forth from home under the Buddha, receiving the full precepts through the fourfold motion-and-resolution karmavācanā, and was foremost in learning. At the age of thirty-one he became the Buddha's attendant, hearing and retaining the treasury of Dharma. Arriving at the assembly of the Lotus [Sūtra], the Buddha told Ānanda, 'In a future age, you shall become a buddha named Mountain-Sea-Wisdom Unimpeded Sovereign King.' He further told the bodhisattvas, 'Ānanda and I both gave rise to the aspiration for awakening simultaneously under the Buddha King of Emptiness. Ānanda always delighted in extensive learning, while I was ever diligent and energetic. Therefore, I have already attained awakening, while Ānanda protects and upholds my Dharma, and shall also protect the treasuries of the Dharma of all future buddhas.' After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, Mahākāśyapa gathered the treasury of Dharma, selecting one thousand arhats, and ordered Ānanda to ascend the lion throne to expound the various sūtras. When Kāśyapa was about to enter extinction, he entrusted the supreme Dharma to Ānanda and spoke these words: 'In ancient times, when the Buddha Dīpaṅkara was a śramaṇa, he kept a novice whom he constantly ordered to recite the sūtras. If the sūtra recitation was slightly deficient, he would immediately scold him. At that time, the novice begged food for his master; if he delayed even a little and his sūtra lessons were not completed, he would be severely rebuked by his master. The novice, sorrowful and distressed, recited as he walked. At that time, an elder, learning the reason upon inquiring, said to the novice, "Do not harbor sorrow and distress; from this day forward I shall constantly provide for you." Thereupon, this novice no longer went begging, but focused his mind on reading and reciting, and his sūtra lessons were always fulfilled. That novice was the Bhagavat, and the elder who provided food was Ānanda. Through this causal condition of merit, his wisdom is profound and wonderful, and he has attained dhāraṇī and extensive learning.' (The commentary says: The novice who was assigned the sūtra recitation naturally obtained the benefit of dhāraṇī; the elder who provided the food also gained the merit of extensive learning. We can truly know that when people in the world create good or evil, according to the deeds they perform, those who aid and support them will certainly receive equal retribution. How could one escape the resonance of karmic tendencies?) Ānanda travelled about to preach and transform [beings] for nearly twenty years. Once he went to the Bamboo Grove (the Bamboo Grove Monastery outside Rājagṛha) and heard a monk reciting a verse: 'If a man lives a hundred years / and does not see the ancient water crane, / it is not as good as living for a single day / and happening to see it.' Ānanda said sorrowfully, 'This is not a verse of the Buddha. It should say: "If a man lives a hundred years / and does not understand the phenomena of arising and ceasing, / it is not as good as living for a single day / and coming to understand them."' The monk told his teacher. The teacher said, 'Ānanda is old and decrepit; his words are not to be trusted.' Later, Ānanda heard that monk still reciting the former verse, and he reflected: 'Now this monk does not accept my teaching; remaining in the world brings no benefit, so it is appropriate to enter nirvāṇa.' He went to visit King Ajātaśatru, who happened to be asleep. The king dreamed that the main pole of his parasol snapped, and he woke up in shock. The doorkeeper told him, 'Ānanda has come to see you because he is entering extinction.' The king wept aloud and asked where he was. The doorkeeper replied, 'He has already departed for the kingdom of Vaiśālī.' The king immediately arrayed the fourfold army (elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry) and pursued him to the Ganges. Ānanda was in a boat in midstream. The king bowed his head and said, 'Lamp of the three realms, please do not enter nirvāṇa.' At that time, five hundred ṛṣis on the Snow Mountains saw that Ānanda was about to enter nirvāṇa and flew through the air, entreating him to let them go forth. Ānanda then transformed the Ganges into golden ground, preached the Dharma to the ṛṣis, and they attained arhathood and entered extinction at the same time (these were the five hundred ṛṣis led by Madhyāntika). Ānanda surged up into the air, displayed the eighteen transformations, entered the wind-surging samādhi, and divided his body into four parts: one part was given to Śakra Devānām Indra, one part to the dragon king Sāgara, one part to the Licchavis of Vaiśālī, and one part to King Ajātaśatru. Each of the four places erected a jeweled stūpa to make offerings to the relics (drawn variously from the Lotus [Sūtra], the Transmission of the Treasury of the Dharma, the Great Treatise, the Words and Phrases, and the Sublime Music).