Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c7.438

v1.c7.438

There seems to be some confusion as to the time at which Ānanda entered the Order. In the Canonical account¹²⁴ he became a monk in the second year of the Buddha’s ministry. In the verses attributed to him in the *Theragātha*,¹²⁵ however, he says that he has been for twenty-five years a learner (*sekha*). It is concluded from this that Ānanda must have joined the Order only in the twentieth year after the Enlightenment and the whole story of his having been ordained at the same time as Devadatta is discredited.¹²⁶ The verses occur in a lament by Ānanda that his master is dead and that he is yet a learner. The twenty-five years which Ānanda mentions probably refer to the period during which he had been the Buddha’s personal attendant and not to his whole career as a monk. During that period, “though he was but a learner, no thoughts of evil arose in him,” the implication being that his close connection with the Buddha and his devotion to him gave no room for such. He, nevertheless, laments that he could not become an *asekha* while the Buddha was yet alive. If this interpretation be accepted—and I see no reason why it should not be—there is no discrepancy in the accounts of Ānanda’s ordination.