Who are your favorite people from the EBTs?

Discussion
21

If I had to pick one of the Buddha’s disciples who I admire the most, it would be Venerable Sariputta. He was the disciple most highly praised by the Buddha (AN 1.187) and foremost in wisdom (AN 1.189). He was a supremely skilled meditator (AN 7.41). He taught about profound Dhamma subjects like dependent origination (MN 9). He could easily expand on the Buddha’s brief statements (MN 114). He gave practical strategies for dealing with the hindrances encountered in daily life (AN 5.162). He had loving-kindness and compassionate for others (SN 35.87). He really was the complete package, the real deal.

EDIT: To add the sutta Venerable Sariputta’s Lion’s Roar (AN 9.11) where he proclaims his great qualities.

:anjal:

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The last faculty before death?
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Well maybe one of them would be Mahākassapa not because he’s a tough guy, but for his simplicity, contentment and integrity (SN 16.1, SN 16.3 & SN 16.4).

His verses in the theragāthā about being weary of adulation and delighting in rocky crags always make me smile and remind me of why I ordained. Also being able to stay calm when someone’s finger drops off into your alms bowl is impressive. Sakka, lord of the gods, went undercover in order to offer him alms (Ud 3.7) and the Buddha swapped robes with him (SN 16.11).

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23

A warm shout out for the laywoman Nakula’s Mother!

She and her husband, Nakula’s Father, are depicted as the ideal couple that has all the prerequisites for meeting each other again in a future life. And they both are inspiring!

But the story about them I love most is when Nakula’s Father is about to die, and his wife comforts him by explaining that he need not worry about her when he dies, for she is perfectly able to look after herself, both in material and spiritual ways.

And in order to make sure that she really means what she says, she tells her husband to go to the Buddha and ask him if all her claims are correct. So he has no choice but to recover from his illness in order to do that—and the Buddha then confirms everything she had said. :smiley:

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Repeating from a previous post:

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I always come back to Thag 12.2 Sunītattheragāthā, The Verses of Arahant Sunīta.

A victim of an oppressive caste system, Sunita is the scavenger/street cleaner of (flowers/ or feces) “Shunned by people, I was disregarded and held in contempt. I humbled my heart
and paid respects to many people.”

Sunita encounters the Buddha, who “being sympathetic,
and having sympathy for the whole world, said to me, “Come, monk!” That was my ordination.”

Sunita practices with dedication, and becomes an Arahant. His experience embodies, to me, the heart of Buddhadhamma: you can begin from any place or station, and with dedicated and heartfelt practice, find release.

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25

There are a few, but the guy I like to remember the most is Upaka in MN26:

While I was traveling along the road between Gayā and Bodhgaya, the Ājīvaka ascetic Upaka saw me

He reminds me that when the mind is clouded by many delusions and defilements (and lacks sufficient good kamma from the past), one cannot see the diamond even when its brilliant light is shining directly into one’s eyes.

And his encounter with the Buddha also shows us that the Buddha is not omnipotent — he cannot bring enlightenment to just anyone in the world. This point matters because many Thais wish to be reborn in the era of Metteyya Buddha, hoping to attain enlightenment then. But relying on a future Buddha to hep us is stupid. We should make every effort now that we have already encountered the Buddha’s teachings!

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26

Me, too.

The first two reasons that came to mind were:

  • His extraordinarily quick grasp of the Dhamma. Upon hearing just a short verse from Ven. Assaji, he entered the stream — and then, as a newly‑entered stream‑winner himself, he was able to help his friend enter the stream as well.
  • His refusal to rely on blind faith. When the Buddha asked him whether he believed what had just been taught, he said no — he needed to think it through first!

Sorry for not being able to provide the link to the suttas.

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27

These days I am often reminded of a Venerable named Puṇṇa. He decides to travel to the remote country of Sunāparanta, whose people have the reputation to be “wild and rough”.

When the Buddha hears of Puṇṇa’s plans he asks him what he is going to think if the people of Sunāparanta do such and such a bad thing to him, and he replies that he will be grateful that they don’t do the worse thing. His story is told in SN35.88 and MN145, and his own praise of virtue and wisdom is transmitted in Thag1.70.

Although I am not surrounded by wild and rough people, there are still circumstances that are difficult and that we’d wish to be otherwise. I try to remind myself of Venerable Puṇṇa’s recipe, and in fact, you can always imagine something worse that is not happening to you right now. Even if I don’t find this always easy (which just makes my respect for the Venerable grow even more), if I manage to apply the recipe, it proves helpful. :heart:

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28

I got you! :folded_hands:

pli-tv-kd1:23.1.1

SN 48.44

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Thanks so much! :folded_hands:

:sunflower: :mushroom:

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30

Very interesting point indeed!

Without Sahampati we would never have heard of Gautama Buddha and there would be no Buddhism.

He is a deva (god, spirit being) of the brahma class, being under the name ‘Sahampati’ in the brahma-world. He knows what is in the Buddha’s mind, something no other entity is reported capable of. He cares greatly that the Buddha should teach and not give up.

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I have still a few more! :smiley:

Let’s start with Nanda, the Buddha’s maternal cousin and half-brother.

In SN21.8 we encounter him wearing fancy outfit and makeup, and the Buddha has to remind him of what is the proper conduct for a monastic. The reason behind this behavior is revealed in Ud3.2, where we learn that he is very much in love with his former wife, “the finest lady of the Sakyan land”. He even thinks about disrobing. The Buddha takes him for an outing to the gods of the 32, where he can compare his “finest lady” to the heavenly nymphs, and looses taste for her.

The Buddha’s, “Rejoice, Nanda, rejoice! I guarantee you five hundred dove-footed nymphs”, inspires him to stay in robes and practice for future heavenly pleasures—until he is fed up with his fellow monks teasing him because of that. So finally he “does what needs to be done”, and realizes awakening. He’s even praised as a model for monastic life in AN8.9.

Another one I’d like to mention is the Buddha’s former charioteer, Channa. He too receives a special treatment by the Buddha, which the latter orders on his deathbed, and Ananda applies it later.

The treatment is called “the divine punishment”, and it consists in a treatment that the Buddha earlier explained to the horse trainer Kesi to be equivalent to “killing” that person (AN4.111). “For it is killing in the training of the Noble One when the Realized One doesn’t think they’re worth advising or instructing, and neither do their sensible spiritual companions.”

So after the Buddha’s death Ananda travels to the place where Channa lives, and as that one is a bit temperamental, he goes together with 500 monks. He transmits the Buddha’s message: “Channa may say what he likes, but the mendicants should not correct, advise, or instruct him.”

And Channa drops … not dead, but unconscious, which is perhaps not that far away. The story is told in the 21st vinaya Khandhaka.

And the cure is quite effective. Channa changes his ways and finally in SN22.90 receives a teaching by Ananda. He then thanks him for his efforts:

“Reverend Ānanda, this is how it is when you have such venerables as spiritual companions to advise and instruct you out of kindness and sympathy. And now that I’ve heard this teaching from Venerable Ānanda, I’ve comprehended the teaching.”

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32

Excellent Topic, We can also make it more inviting for people to read their lives or biographical information by framing it this way, for example:

  • Did you know that the Venerable Dabba attained four consecutive stages of holiness at the age of only seven, specifically while his head was being shaved for his ordination?
  • Did you know that Gavampati used his psychic powers to stop the rising Sarabhù river, causing the water to stand perfectly still like a mountain to reassure his fellow monks?
  • Did you know that Sìvalì remained in his mother’s womb for seven years and seven days and was capable of performing tasks just seven days after his birth?
  • Did you know that Bakula was recognized by the Buddha as the “foremost in health” among his disciples and only entered the monkhood at the age of 80?
  • Did you know that Anuruddha practiced so diligently that he never lay down to sleep for 55 years and completely abandoned the need for sleep during the final 25 years of his life?
  • Did you know that Patàcàrà once lost her sanity and wandered naked after losing her husband, two children, and her parents all in a single night before being saved by the Buddha?
  • Did you know that the famous courtesan Ambapàlì attained Arahantship after observing and contemplating the decay of her own beauty, comparing her youthful appearance to her aged, withered body?
  • Did you know that when the nun Sukkà preached, her skill was so great that a tree deity traveled through the city of Rajagaha to urge the citizens to listen to her teachings?
  • Did you know that Subhùti was considered the foremost in boundless compassion and would always enter meditation before receiving alms to ensure the donor received the greatest possible merit?
  • Did you know that Ukkhepakata-vaccha had memorized the entire Tipitaka (Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma) even before the formal First Council was organized?
  • Did you know that the nun Sìha attained Arahantship at the very moment she was attempting to hang herself, having been unable to control her sensual desires after seven years of practice?
  • Did you know that Vangìsa used to earn a living by tapping on the skulls of the dead to determine their place of rebirth, but was completely stumped when faced with the skull of an Arahant?
  • Did you know that Cakkhupàla was so determined in his meditation that he chose to go blind rather than lie down to rest and treat his eyes, eventually achieving Arahantship just as he lost his sight?
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33

If threat of violence is a possibility, I’ll think with my legs instead of applying Ven Puṇṇa’s recipe even though I like those suttas. Avoidance is better than dealing with trauma.

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34

Oh for sure, and the Buddha too recommends it, for example in MN2.

When I posted this I wasn’t however thinking of physical violence at all, but of other difficult circumstances. There are enough of those, and running away isn’t possible. But compared to others, we are still lucky!

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35

I find lord Sakka inspirational! He spoke to the Buddha about how he approached various ascetics to learn from them, but he doesn’t really learn from them and those ascetic end up becoming his disciples! He also declares himself as a stream-winner. In a sutta he talks about how many people worship him but he actually worships the Buddha! In the Questions of Sakka sutta, I find it very down to earth and quite adorable of this high deva being shy to meet the Buddha! There’s a whole set of discourses dedicated to lord Sakka in the connected discourses, showing that he was an important disciple of the Buddha. There was also a discourse which I can’t recollect at the moment where the Buddha lists 7(?) qualities Sakka practiced as a human to end up in his glorified state.

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Oh! That’s interesting! I thought it was the monks contemplating her corpse? This sounds like a commentarial expansion. Can someone clear up my confusion?

This too! Sounds like a wonderful story, is it from the Suttas?

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Oh no! She’s still very alive when she makes the balance of her beauty in Thig13.1. One of my favorite poems in the canon!

It’s in SN10.9; and see also SN10.10.

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Ohhh yes yes I’m aware of Thig13.1! I forgot about it! And those Suttas about Venerable Sukkā are so sweet! Just imagining this deity running around streets and chanting these lovely verses! It’d be so cool if we ever get to see something like this in our lives :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: .

Thanks Venerable! Sādhu, Sādhu!

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This thread is basically an exercise of sanghanussati. My favourite has to be Ven. Ananda. Why?

  • He’s a people person. Everyone was uplifted at his sight, they were uplifted when he spoke and when he kept quiet, everyone longed for more. Can you imagine someone in your life endowed with these qualities? I have a few friends who are like that and they are quite pleasant to be around, but I rarely get to see them nowadays. Though these qualities came with a price, out of sympathy for others, he comforted the people of Kosalans who were still griefing the passing away of the Buddha, neglecting his practice, so much so that a spirit had to intervene and re-invigorate him (SN 9.5).
  • Unlike other prominent monastic disciples, Ven Ananda was still a learner. His insecurity was very apparent in several suttas. His vulnerabilities are something that I can relate to as a putthujana, even though he was an Ariyan, threading the far end of the Noble eightfold path. Some of his vulnerabilities that stick in my mind are:
    • In DN16, he went away to sob in private when the Buddha was about to pass away. This hit me hard when I first read it.
    • He felt drugged and the Dhamma wasn’t apparent to him when the Buddha was critically ill and when his close friend, Ven Sariputta, passed away.
    • When Ven Udayi harassed Ven Sariputta (AN 5.166), Ven Ananda did nothing to stop the harrassment. The Buddha later admonished Ven Ananda for that. Consequently, Ven Ananda felt timid and was afraid of further admonishment.
    • In MN122 Ven Ananda gathered a group of monks for a sewing session. He received rebuke from the Buddha. The end of the sutta deserves repeated reading. It shows how much the Buddha cared for Ananda.
    • In AN 3.80, the Buddha issued assurance to Ananda that he would attain Nibbana in this life when he was criticized by Ven Udayi (him again?). It’s rare for the Buddha to make such prediction, but I think the Buddha sensed Ananda needed much assurance.
  • He cared for womenfolk. In AN8.51, it was he who persuaded the Buddha to allow women to be ordained. Ven Ananda allowed women to pay respect to the Buddha’s corpse first because he considered it was late (presumably out of concern for their safety) and for that reason he was reprimanded by senior monks during the first Sangha council (Kd 21). He was blamed for allowing women to be ordained during the first Sangha council too. The account in Kd21 is very strange indeed. Why on earth would the 499 fully enlightened Arahants blame Ananda for these blameless conducts? It’s not hard to imagine why he was a favourite among nuns. In modern parlance, I think it is safe to call him the 师奶杀手 of the Sangha. In SN16.10, we can see Ven Thullananda favouring him over Ven Mahakassapa for which Ven Ananda got a stern warning. Needless to say, Ven Mahakassapa isn’t my favourite monk for this and other suttas. Too tough on Ven Ananda.

There are too many qualities to be listed here. Reading Anandatheragatha gave me goosebumps.

I hesitate to add that when I think of Ven Ananda, there are probably a few living Sangha members who embody some of his qualities. It’s very inspiring to see these sort of monks serving the sasana selflessly. (Hint: Ajahn Brahm)

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No, that was another courtesan, Sirimā the sister of Jīvaka, as related in the Dhammapada Atthakathā.

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