Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c7.316

v1.c7.316

The various topics on which the Buddha discoursed to Ānanda as recorded in the Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta, have already been referred to. Some of them—e.g., on the eight assemblies, the eight positions of mastery, the eight stages of deliverance (D. ii. 112)—seem to be stereotyped later additions. On the other hand, with regard to the accounts of the honours to be paid to a Buddha’s dead body, the places of pilgrimage for the pious, and various other similar subjects, it is impossible to say how far they are authentic. In a few instances the remarks addressed to Ānanda seem to be meant for others, to be heard by them or to be conveyed to them—e.g., in the dispute between Udāyī and Sāriputta, when they both seek the Buddha for him to settle the differences in opinion between them (A. iii. 192 ff.); or, again, when the recalcitrant Udāyī fails to answer the Buddha’s question on subjects of reflection (anussatitthāna), and Ānanda gives an answer which the Buddha approves (A. iii. 322 ff.). A question asked by Ānanda as to whether there are any scents which spread even against the wind, results in the well-known sermon about the fame of the holy man being wafted everywhere (A. i. 222 f.; DhA. i. 420 ff.). Once or twice Ānanda intervenes in a discussion between the Buddha and another, either to ask a question or to suggest a simile which he feels could help the Buddha in establishing his point—e.g., in the interviews of Uttiya Paribbājaka (A. v. 194), of the brahmin Saṅgārava (A. i. 169), and again of Viḍūḍabha, son of Pasenadi (M. ii. 130).