Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.4260

v2.c36.4260

In the time of Padumuttara Buddha he belonged to a rich family and was called Nanda. Later he left the world and lived the hermit's life, at the head of forty-four thousand others. The Buddha visited Nanda's hermitage and accepted from him a gift of fruit and flowers. He asked one of his monks, proficient in mettā and eminent in receiving gifts, to preach the anumodanā. At the end of the sermon all the other hermits became arahants, but Nanda's attention was fixed on the majesty of the preaching monk, and he did not reach any attainment. Later, discovering the qualities in which the preacher had attained eminence, Nanda resolved that he too would reach similar eminence.²