There were many great disciples of buddha like Sariputta and Ananda. these disciples helped spread buddhas teachings, and how they reached enlightenment is very fascinating. they always worked with compassion and wisdom to bring peace to the society. their teachings continue to inspire till todays times.
now lets see,
The top 10 important disciples of the buddha.
Buddha had 10 principal disciples, like they were the 10 important disciples of buddha.
these were:
1. Ananda:
Ananda was the first cousin of the buddha. he is considered in one of the 10 important disciples of buddha. And Anand was buddha’s favorite disciple. Ananda had a very good memory, and could remember things in detail and clearly than others. Ananda was a attendant of the buddha, that’s why he was there all the time with buddha, (Ananda’s conditions on buddha) because of this he had almost all the discourses given my buddha in his mind, which helped to become the key figure in first Buddhist council. Anand was also the person who requested buddha to start the bhikkhuni sangha when Mahāpajāpati Gotamī had asked buddha to include her in the sangha.
2. Sariputta:
Sariputta was born in an brhamin family, so he was already in the field of spiritualism. he came to know about buddha because of Assaji. Assaji explained Sariputa the dhamma in very short sentences which made him go to the buddha and take his teachings. he became fully enlightened person and also became the buddhas right hand.
3. Moggallāna:
His birth name was kolita. he is considered as the second important disciple of buddha, first being the Sariputa. mogallana came in contact also because of Assaji. as Assaji told sariputa, here the sariputa and mogallana were good friends, and when he came to knew that he established himself in buddha’s sangha, he too came into buddha’s sangha and became the left hand of the buddha. it is said that mogallana was very good in psychic powers. Devadatta was a cousin of buddha, when he joined the bhikkhu sangha, he made some new rules in the sangha which were more extreme than the silas which were previously made, this created a break in bhikkhu sangha, and Devadatta took some of his disciples with him, mogallana had also gone with him, but to bring the other disciples back to the buddha.
4. Upāli:
upali is also considered as one of top 10 chief disciples of buddha. when first buddhist council happened he was in charge of revising the Vinaya pitaka. upali was from a barber community. he had met buddha when he was still a child. he was very serious in the field of sprituality, he was a master in Vinayaka pitaka.
5. Mahākāśyapa:
He was born in an brahman family. he used to follow a more disciplined life than others, like he didn’t even used to sleep in monsastaries but would sleep under the tree. when buddha and other disciples were invited for a feast in homes, kassapya would also avoid going for these invitations, he used to only go for alams. he lead by example and became an example for other disciples of buddha. mahakasyapa was the leader of the first buddhist council after the buddha’s maha pari nirvana.
6. Rahul:
Rahul was the son of Sidharth, and the only son of Siddhartha. he had a deeper connection with the buddhas life than you can imagine. at the time of birth of rahula, buddha was ready to leave the household life, but as his son born, it became a obstacle in the path to find the answer that could lead one to end the cycle of samsara. that’s why he named his son as rahula, as obstacle, which means as obstacle. he became a monk at a very young age and became enlightened at the age of 18.
7. Subhuti:
subhuti was born in an wealthy family. he was a relative of anathpindaka he understood the concept of emptiness very well. he became a monk after he heard the discourse of buddha in jetvana monastery. he became an arhant while practising loving-kindness.
8. Purna Maitrayaniputra:
Purna Maitrayaniputra was born in Donavatthu which was near somewhere kapilvastu. he came from a family of nobles. it is said that purna maitrayaniputra’s mother Mantānī was sister of kondanna (one of the first five disciples of the buddha). he used to teach in a fantastic way, which one could understand. in the times of buddha, he really helped in spreading of the buddhas teachings. it is said that he became sotapana. he is also considered one of the top 10 important disciples of buddha.
9. Katyayana:
katyayana is listed as one of the top 10 important disciple of buddha. katyayana was born in an brahman family. his father was appointed as a advisor for the king Candapradyota, ruler of the state of Avanti. his skin used to look like gold when he was born, so he was named by his parents as Kañcanamānava, which meant ‘young man with golden colored skin’. after his father death, katyayana became the advisor of the same king. the king Candapradyota requested katyayana and 6 others to go to the buddha and invite buddha to the avanti. all seven were preached by the buddha and became enlightened.
10. Anuruddha:
Anuruddha was a cousin of buddha. so he was also exposed to the royal prestige’s. he became a fully enlightened being. he was thought by buddha directly and is considered as one of the top 10 most important disciples of the buddha. when buddha was on his brink of maha pari nibbana, anuruddha was also present there, consoling monks and lay people as buddha was going through the maha pari nibbana.
Buddha visiting his five old friends
Image by Nomu420, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
lets learn about, The first five disciples of the buddha, they are as follows:
After realizing the enlightenment, Buddha thought others should also benefit from his wisdom and what he achieved, then he remembered his 5 companions – Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama and Assaji, who were doing the same to find the answers. he set out to reach them where they were practising the extreme sadhanas and buddha met these 5 disciples at Sarnath. these 5 disciples are also known as “Pañcavaggiya” (group of 5)
these 5 disciples are as follows:
1. Kondanna (Kaundinya):
Also known as Ājñātakauṇḍinya. he lived around 5th century BCE. he was also one of the first 5 disciples of the buddha. When buddha started the dhamma wheel, as he was hearing buddhas teachings, he attained enlightenment. he was the first person after buddha to attain enlightenment. he was the aesthetic who had predicted that the Sidharth Gautam will become Samayak Sam Buddha when he was just a child.
2. Bhaddiya:
He was one of the prince of the Shakya clan. the same clan Sidharth Gautam (buddha) was a part of as well. this Shakyamuni clan used to rule a small part of todays modern day Nepal and north India. this region had small – small kingdoms, and bhaddiya was a prince of one of these kingdoms. so he was born into a royal family and had everything a prince could have. when he came to hear about buddhas teachings he left his wordily material pleasures for the spiritual wisdom. in some contexts he had said that buddhas teachings were a lot more profound and fulfilling than all the pleasures of being a prince. he was known for his dedication to 4 noble truth and 8 fold paths. he was skilled for his teaching skills and used to make people understand the dhamma easily. he is also counted as one of the buddhas top 10 important disciples. he was known as a inspiration to leave the life of absolute comfort for his spiritual achievement. he became a fully enlightened person.
3. Vappa:
He was also one of the five disciples of buddha who took dhamma and became fully enlightened. he just like bhaddiya was also known for his moral conduct of sila (moral precepts). and his commitment for the buddhas teachings. he helped grow dhamma as he was one of the five earliest disciples of buddha. he helped to establish the sangha, a community of monks where monks used to learn. he was also a prince before he became a wandering aesthetic, he was also known as the inspiration for leaving the wordily desires for enlightenment. though there is little info about from which region’s prince he was. but he was a great teacher monks learned from and became arahant.
4. Mahanama:
Mahanama is considered one of the top 10 disciples of the buddha. he was also known as chief disciple, like a senior. Mahanama also belonged to the shakya clan. the was a cousin brother of the Sidharth Gautam, like he was Sidharth Gautam’s mother’s sister’s son. he also had a status of a noble, as he was born in royal family. he also attained full enlightenment. as he was one of the first five disciples who attained nibbana, he also helped develop the bhikkhu sangha. he is mentioned in various buddhist texts as wise and virtuous. it means he had a very deep understanding of the Silas, and 4 noble truth, but what sets him apart is his understanding of the dhamma and his compassionate nature. there is a sutta named after him.
Mahanama sutta (S II.227) in this sutta he asks buddha various questions which shows his understanding of the buddhas teachings. The questions are as follows:
(A)”Venerable Sir, I have heard that there are such things as ‘perceptions.’ What is the nature of perception, and how does it work?” (question explanation) here mahanama asks buddha what is perceptions i.e. how we see the world and on what is its process.
BUDDHA’s ANSWER: buddha said, the perception is a mental process, and is dependent on the six senses (eyes, nose, body touch, noise, taste and mind). our perceptions also takes shape according to our mental habits, attachments and desires. basically how we see the world are dependent on these, but buddha also says that feelings and thoughts can also change how we see the world. he gives examples of how wrong perceptions leads to suffering, like our wrong perception which is that we see things as permanent, independent and self existent, when in reality the things are impermanent which are always changing, and things don’t just exist on their own, but are dependent on other things. one of the examples are the dependent-origination law.
(B)”Venerable Sir, what should a person do when he recognizes that his perception is biased or incorrect?” (question explanation) here Mahanama asks buddha if a person realises that his perception is wrong, what should he do?
BUDDHA’s ANSWER: buddha said that, if one finds out that their perception is wrong, the first thing they should do is accept that this is the condition of the mind right now and accept it without reacting to it with aversion. buddha says him to correct his perception by practising mindfulness and panna which is wisdom. basically the four foundation of the mindfulness.
B.1 Mindfulness of the body (being aware of the body actions and postures)
B.2 Mindfulness of Feelings (being ware of the sensations in the body which are pleasant, unpleasant and neutral)
B.3 Mindfulness of Mind (being aware of the mental state, like anger, sad, desire, etc)
B.4 Mindfulness of Mental Objects ( being aware of the natures of reality, that everything is impermanent, every sensation is a dukkha I.E suffering, whether its pleasant or unpleasant, and third is anatta which means there is no self, as the mind is also changing and impermanent)
(C)”Venerable Sir, when a person has attained the practice of mindfulness and sees things more clearly, what happens to his views about the world and himself?” (question explanation) Mahanama asks buddha after practising the mindfulness what happens after that to his perception of the world?
BUDDHA’s ANSWER: Buddha says by practising mindfulness, the persons ignorant perceptions are demolished. the false perception which are that everything and sensation are permanent, false belief of I existing gets eradicated completely and one becomes enlightened.
(D)”Venerable Sir, what is the nature of someone who has reached full enlightenment? How do they see the world, and how do they live?” (question explanation) The Mahanama asks buddha that after the become the fully enlightened after following the 4 Foundation of mindfulness, what happens of their perceptions? and what is their nature?
BUDDHA’s ANSWER: Buddha explains that the enlightened person sees the world as it really is, which is impermanent, interdependent and free from self. The nature of an enlightened person is that they are super compassionate and have no attachments, delusion and hatred.
Next is,
5. Assaji:
Asaaji was also one of the first five disciples of the buddha. he also played a significant role in establishing the sangha. Asaji was a humble and a gentle person. he had a calm demeanor, which reflected in his behavior, one could see his purity of mind by his outward behavior. he was also one of the reasons why Sariputta came to buddha for his teachings. when Assaji became fully enlightened, when he used to walk, talk, one could feel peace inside him, which showed outward to anyone who came in contact with him. Sariputta had a different teacher before he met buddha, the teacher’s name was Sanjaya Belatthaputa, one day sariputta was walking on roads of Rajagaha, he saw Asaji walking in a peace and calm demeanor, he knew him as he had previously saw him with buddha who were practicing extreme practices. looking at his calm and peaceful demeanor, he asked aasaji who is his teacher, and what are his teachings, Assaji said his teacher was buddha and he explained the teaching in short to the Sariputta , its quoted –
“Of those things that arise from a cause, Their cessation too is brought about. This is the doctrine of the Buddha.”
hearing this, he immediately understood the 4 noble truths and 8 fold paths, he also understood the dependent origination law, which made him realise the buddhas teaching in such short sentences. after that his friend Mogallana who was his close friend also joined the buddha’s sangha. this is how Assaji had a great impact on the earliest spread of buddha’s teachings to the people and monks.
these five disciples were in Sarnath when buddha gave his first sermon to them. buddha has mentioned that you should At least visit the four important places in buddhas life. which are the places where buddha born, where he achieved enlightenment, where he gave his first sermon and where he achieved the Mahapari nibbana. for people who wish to visit these places, you can visit on this page: https://ariyotours.com/buddhist-tour-packages-from-mumbai/
there were many disciples of the buddha, but buddhas greatest disciple was Sariputra. as I Mentioned before, sariputra had met Assaji before he met buddha, it was because of assaji and his small explanation of buddhas teachings and his demeanor which made Sariputra to go meet buddha. buddha had two chief disciples, also known has buddhas right hand and left hand. sariputra was buddhas right hand and mogallana was buddhas left hand. but here we are talking about saruiputra, and lets dive into why sariputra is known as the important disciple of buddha next to mogallana.
1. he could understand the complex topics easily, and explain them according to the persons understanding. he was a fantastic teacher.
2. he was a central part of the buddhas sangha. he used to guide other bhikkhus according to the practices.
3. he had thorough understanding of the 4 noble truths.
4. he had good understanding of impermanence of things, decay, etc.
5. he also understood the concept of annata (non-self)
6. he was able to teach anyone, whether a beginner or a person who can easily understand the dhamma.
7. he was able to understand the importance of meditation i.e. vipassana meditation and its impact on understanding impermanence, dukkha and non -self. along with that he also understood the dependent-origination law as well.
8. he was compassionate and was a person full of metta.
sariputra was born in Rajagaha. at the time of birth his name was Upatissa. he was born in an brahman household, so he was already in spiritual discussions from a very young age.
