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Ānanda was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist Sutta-Piṭaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council. For that reason, he is known as the Treasurer of the Dhamma, with Dhamma referring to the Buddha's teaching. In Early Buddhist Texts, Ānanda was the first cousin of the Buddha. Although the early texts do not agree on many parts of Ānanda's early life, they do agree that Ānanda was ordained as a monk and that Puṇṇa Mantānīputta became his teacher. Twenty years in the Buddha's ministry, Ānanda became the attendant of the Buddha, when the Buddha selected him for this task. Ānanda performed his duties with great devotion and care, and acted as an intermediary between the Buddha and the laypeople, as well as the saṅgha. He accompanied the Buddha for the rest of his life, acting not only as an assistant, but also a secretary and a mouthpiece.
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Kushinagar is a town in the Kushinagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana after his death. It is an international Buddhist pilgrimage centre.
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Ayodhya is a legendary city mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit-language texts, including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These texts describe it as the capital of the Ikshvaku kings, including Rama.
References
- ↑ Varma, C. B. "Story of Renunciation". The Illustrated Jataka & Other Stories of the Buddha. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
- ↑ Anoma River. British Museum.
- ↑ Law, Bimala Churn (1932). Geography of Early Buddhism. London: Kegan Paul.
According to Cunningham, Anomā is the river Aumi, in the district of Gorakhpur. But Carlleyle identifies the river Anomā with the Kudawa Nadī in the Basti district of Oudh.
- ↑ "Pali Proper Names". Pali Kanon .
Cunningham identifies the river with the modern Aumi. He states his belief that the word means inferior, to distinguish it from other and larger rivers in the neighbourhood, and that the original name in Pali was Oma.
- ↑ "Anoma river". indiawaterportal.org . 22 December 2010.