Episode 15 – Follow the Buddha’s Bequeathed Teachings
>> Ananda took [Aniruddha’s] advice so he asked one question after another. The World-Honored One answered one after another. Abide in the Fourfold Mindfulness, use the precepts as your teacher, ignore evil bhiksus. At the beginning of all Buddhist sutras, are the words, “Thus have I heard.”
“Such I have heard. At one time, the Buddha dwelt on Vulture Peak, near the City of the House of the Kings.” Every sutra must have a similar opening to. “Such I have heard, that at one time, the Buddha lived at such and such place.” It always states where the Buddha lived at one time, though each place may be different. When He expounded the Lotus sutra, He was near the City of the House of the Kings on Vulture Peak.
To understand the opening of a sutra, we need to understand the sutra’s preface. To understand the preface, we need to know that even though the sutra was expounded by the Buddha, it was Ananda who passed it down.
There is a saying, “The great sea of the Buddha-Dharma flowed into Ananda’s heart.” But Ananda’s age differed from the Buddha’s by 31 years. The day the Buddha attained enlightenment was the day Ananda was born. The Buddha had been expounding the Dharma for 20 years by the time Ananda became a monk. How could Ananda have heard those first 20 years [of teachings]?
This came about because the venerable elders who had been attendants of the Buddha during the first 20 years after His enlightenment, Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, and other venerable elders traveled to different locations to transmit the teachings. But they felt that they were spending too much time away from the Buddha, so the Buddha needed an attendant to always be by His side. Therefore, they had a discussion about what person would be suitable. The result of their discussion was to recommend Ananda.
Ananda’s appearance was very dignified. The Buddha had 32 Marks and Ananda had 30. He was the first cousin of the Buddha, so his behavior, demeanor and disposition etc., were similar to the Buddha’s. He also came from a royal family, therefore, he had a presence similar to the Buddha’s and was familiar with the Buddha’s daily habits. Therefore, they considered Ananda most suitable. They recommended to the Buddha that. Ananda become His personal attendant. The Buddha was silent but did not reject the idea. This is called silent acceptance.
So everyone started to tell Ananda, “The Buddha would like you to be His attendant.” Ananda did not dare [to accept]. Ananda said, “The Buddha, with His great wisdom often expounds the Dharma to kings, ministers and the venerable elders of all religions. One who is by the Buddha’s side needs to be clever and sharp and has to be able to absorb the Buddha’s teachings. I am still so young, how am I qualified to be the Buddha’s attendant?” But everyone kept persuading him, especially Sariputra.
He counseled Ananda, “You have to become His attendant. You are the only possible candidate.” So Ananda answered, “In that case, I will accept but with conditions.” Everyone thought, “To be close to the Buddha is a blessing and an honor. Others dare not even ask for this. You have so many people recommending you, and the Buddha joyfully accepted. Why would you have conditions?”
Ananda said, “Although I am joyous, I worry about compiling the Buddha’s teachings in the future. That is a lot of responsibility. Since I did not hear any of the Dharma that the Buddha expounded in the first 20 years, I hope the Buddha can expound the Dharma from the previous 20 years again.” When the Buddha heard about this, He called Ananda to Him and said, “This condition of yours is something I can accept.” Ananda then told Him, “I am not going to wear the clothes which You have worn. And when You accept offerings on Your travels, I will sit far away from You. Why?” asked the Buddha. Ananda said, “If You give me clothes You have worn, that may lead people to talk about me and say the Buddha is giving me special treatment if. I wear clothes You have worn. Next, when You are accepting offerings, I will sit far away from You so others will not think that I am receiving special treatment by taking the same meals offered to the Buddha. When it comes to clothing and food, I hope to avoid people’s criticisms. Venerable Buddha, I hope You can approve these requests.” The Buddha felt these requests were reasonable so. He agreed.
These were the three conditions. First was to repeat the Dharma. Second was not to accept the Buddha’s worn clothes. The third was to sit far away when the Buddha received offerings, not to sit next to the Buddha. This was Ananda’s wisdom. The Buddha, of course, delightedly accepted it. Therefore, Ananda became the Buddha’s attendant.
The Buddha expounded the Dharma for 49 years. When He was 80 years old, as He was embarking on a journey by foot, He felt the conditions for His teaching had come to an end, so He said to Ananda, “The conditions for my work in guiding this world have ceased. I want to enter Parinirvana here.” Ananda was very nervous and quickly informed all those who had traveled to other places. Therefore, it did not take long for all the disciples to gather together. Some were farther away. Some were close by. No matter where they were, they received this urgent summons, so they quickly gathered.
They were all at peace because each of them had attained the fruit of Arhatship. They knew the laws of nature, that the Buddha would eventually enter into perfect rest and Parinirvana. Since they understood this, naturally their minds were peaceful. Ananda was the only exception. For almost 30 years, Ananda stayed by the Buddha’s side and did everything with Him. Letting go of this bond was difficult. So when the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, everyone else was calm; Ananda was the only emotional one. He could not control himself, so he ran outside and cried loudly under a tree.
At this moment, Aniruddha happened to arrive. He saw Ananda crying there, so he told him, “Ananda, you are one to uphold the Buddha-Dharma. In the future we need you to pass it down. Now you have to seize this moment and go to the Buddha’s side and ask Him about the most important things.” Ananda said, “Venerable One, I am very distressed right now. I do not know what I need to ask the Buddha.”
Aniruddha said, “You must ask the World-Honored One this. While He is alive this group of bhiksus sees Him as their teacher. Once He enters Parinirvana, who will be their teacher?”
“And while He is alive, they abide with Him. Wherever He goes, they follow Him. Once He enters Parinirvana, where shall their minds abide?”
“Also, in the Buddha’s Sangha, there are evil bhiksus, bhiksus who do not abide by precepts. While the Buddha is alive, He can subdue them. Once He enters Parinirvana, who will control them?”
“Also, to benefit people in the future, the Dharma has to be passed down. In the future, when we must compile the sutras, what can we do so people will have faith in and accept them, and know that the teachings we compile were indeed expounded by the Buddha. These are very important matters. You must hurry and ask the Buddha about them.”
After Ananda heard this he said, “Indeed! This is very important.” He quickly approached the Buddha and asked Him each of these questions. He asked the Buddha, “While You are in this world everyone sees You as their teacher, but once You enter Parinirvana, who will be their teacher?” The Buddha replied, “While I am alive, you see me, the Buddha, as your teacher. Once I enter Parinirvana, take the precepts as your teacher.”
“What will we abide in? Abide in the Fourfold Mindfulness.”
“Who will control the evil bhiksus?” The Buddha said to Ananda, “Everyone must be compassionate and try to counsel them. If they cannot be counseled, it is best to just ignore them.”
“When I enter Parinirvana, of course you must recompile the teachings I have expounded. And when you compile them, remember that at the beginning of every sutra, you must begin with, ‘Thus have I heard’ one time, the Buddha was at such a place with such people, and how many there were. These words must be included.” So this is how every sutra begins. It is the sutra preface. When beginning to speak the sutra, this description must be included.
This is the reason that every sutra contains, “Thus have I heard, one time the Buddha was at such and such place.” The reason for this came out of this occasion, from Ananda’s request for teachings before the Buddha entered Parinirvana. Therefore Buddhist sutras begin with the words, “Thus have I heard.”
Ananda took [Aniruddha’s] advice so he asked one question after another. The World-Honored One answered one after another. Abide in the Fourfold Mindfulness, use the precepts as your teacher, ignore evil bhiksus. At the beginning of all Buddhist sutras, are the words, “Thus have I heard.”
Everyone, we must remember the source of Buddhism. When the Buddha was alive, there were many non-Buddhist religions. Their [sacred] texts begin with “AU.” In this word, “A” means emptiness. “U” means existence. This indicates that all things in the world belong in these categories, emptiness and existence. That is their opening principle. There are many non-Buddhist religions.
We should know that Buddhist sutras contain unsurpassed, subtle, and wondrous Dharma. The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One. He expounded the wisdom teachings; His understanding penetrates all things in the world. The Buddha sees everything very clearly. He has a complete view of things, which He then explains to others so that every person in the world can accept what is tangible and what is intangible. We ordinary people cannot see the intangible, but the Buddha’s eyes can see it.
In the past I have told everyone that the Buddha observed 84,000 bugs in a bowl of water. We would only see clear water. But the Buddha saw, in that clear water, countless microorganisms. He considers them living beings. Things that we cannot conceive of or understand, the Buddha knows them like the palms of His hands, and He can see them vividly. Indeed He is the Enlightened One of the universe. He expounds wisdom teachings, which must be different from non-Buddhist teachings. Therefore, Ananda used “Thus have I heard.” Of course there are more stories about Ananda and the compilation of the sutras. Though they are stories, they are part of the process of passing down the Dharma. Everyone, please always be mindful.