Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t17.13

v2.c10.s2.t17.13

*Saundarananda* with 18 chapters, relates the story of Gautama Buddha returning to Kapilavastu to preach and convert his half-brother Nanda. Nanda had a nice wife and thus, he was reluctant to leave. Buddha took him to roam the heavens and there Nanda, captivated by prettier nymphs, wished to stay and live there. Buddha told him that only ascetic practices could do that. Nanda therefore converted and was prepared to return to the heavens. Through instructions from Ananda, a disciple of Buddha, he finally realised that nymphs should not be desired and joys in heaven were uncertain as well. Liberation only arises from faithful conversion. As a result, he retreated to the forest and practiced four Jhanas and eventually turned into an Arhat. Literarily inferior to *Buddhacarita*, this poem has not been translated into Chinese but the basic story could be found in Chinese sutras, for example, Article 96 (‘Brother Nanda Converted by the Buddha’) of ‘*Za Bao Zang Jing*’ translated by Kinkara and Tan Yao in the Northern Wei Dynasty.