#parinirvana

A hanging scroll depicting the buddha Shakyamuni’s parinirvāṇa, or passing away, painted by Hasegawa Tōhaku (長谷川等伯) during the 1570′s at Myōjōji Temple (妙成寺) in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture

The Quest for Buddhism (91)

Early Buddhism and the disciples

Ten Principal Disciples No. 10: Ananda - The First Buddhist Council [So far]

According to the texts, the First Buddhist Council was held in Rajgir. In the first vassa after the Buddha had died, the presiding monk Mahakasyapa (Ref) called upon Ananda to recite the discourses he had heard, as a representative on this council.

Among his disciples, Ananda was the only one to witness Buddha's death in person. Anticipating his own death, Buddha took only Ananda on his last year-long journey from Rajgir to the small town of Kushinagara before he died there.

There was a rule issued that only enlightened disciples (arahants) were allowed to attend the council, to prevent mental afflictions from clouding the disciples' memories. Ananda had, however, not attained enlightenment yet, the Mahakasyapa could not allow him to attend, leaving aside the 499 disciples who had already attained Arhatship.

On the night before the event, he tried hard to attain enlightenment. After a while, Ananda took a break and decided to lie down for a rest. He then attained enlightenment right there, right then, halfway between standing and lying down. The next morning, to prove his enlightenment, Ananda performed a supernatural accomplishment by diving into the earth and appearing on his seat at the council (or, according to some sources, by flying through the air). 

Regardless, today, the story of Ananda's struggle on the evening before the council is still told among Buddhists as a piece of advice in the practice of meditation: neither to give up, nor to interpret the practice too rigidly.

Ananda played a crucial role in this council, and texts claim he remembered 84,000 teaching topics, among which 82,000 taught by the Buddha and another 2,000 taught by disciples.

Many early Buddhist discourses started with the words "Thus have I heard" (Skt: Evam maya srutam), which according to most Buddhist traditions, were Ananda's words, indicating that he, as the person reporting the text (Skt: samgitikara, lit: rapporteur), had first-hand experience and did not add anything to it.

十大弟子その十: 阿難 (あなん、梵/巴:ｱｰﾅﾝﾀﾞ･阿難陀) 〜第1回仏典結集（これまで）

釈迦が亡くなってから最初のヴァッサで、議長役の摩訶迦葉 (まかかしょう、梵: ﾏﾊｰｶｰｼｬﾊﾟ)が、この会議の代表として、聞いた説話を朗読するようにとアーナンダを呼び寄せたのである。

ブッダの死に直接立ち会ったのは、弟子の中でアーナンダただ一人であった。自身の入滅を予期していたブッダは、ラージギールからクシナガラという小さな町まで、最後の1年間の旅にアーナンダだけを連れて行き、そこで亡くなった。

この会議には悟りを開いた弟子 (阿羅漢) しか出席できない規則があり、これは精神的な迷いが弟子の記憶を曇らせることを防ぐためである。しかし、アーナンダはまだ悟りを開いていなかったので、マハーカーシャパは、既に阿羅漢を得ている499人の弟子たちをさしおいてアーナンダを出席させることができなかった。

その前夜、彼は悟りを開くために懸命に努力した。しばらくして、アーナンダは一息ついて、横になって休むことにした。すると、立っているときと横になっているときのちょうど中間地点で、その場で悟りを開いたのである。翌朝、アーナンダは悟りを開いたことを証明するために、地中に潜って評議会の席に現れるという超能力を発揮した（あるいは、空中を飛んだという説もある）。

いずれにせよ、アーナンダの前夜の奮闘ぶりは、今日でも仏教徒の間で、「瞑想をあきらめないこと」「瞑想を堅苦しく解釈しないこと」という瞑想修行のアドバイスとして語られている。

アーナンダはこの会議で重要な役割を果たし、仏陀が説いた8万2千の教えと弟子が説いた2千の教えのうち、8万4千の教えを記憶していたと文献に記されている。

Happy Saka Dawa! Saka Dawa is the most important festival in the Tibetan Buddhist world and commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (passing) of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni. Image taken from Internet During this month, the merits of good deeds are said to be multiplied one hundred million times. So, if we just commit to avoiding negative thoughts for this month and decide to engage…

Holidays & Days of Note for February 15th, 2017

*   Lupercalia (Ancient Rome) Lupercalia very kinky ancient Roman blood sex, this song was later rejected for use in Mary Poppins. Dick van Dyke kept missing and hitting himself in the face with the goat skin whip.

http://listverse.com/2017/02/14/10-bizarre-facts-about-lupercalia-the-original-st-valentines-day/

*   Susan B. Anthony Day 

*   National Gumdrop Day

*   National Hippo Day

*   National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)

*   Parinirvana Day (Mahayana Buddism) celebrates the day when the Buddha is said to have achieved Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body.

The Quest for Buddhism (43)

Early Buddhism and the disciples

Ten Principal Disciples No. 3: Mahakasyapa who was the Foremost in Buddhist Practice.

Mahakasyapa was one of the principal disciples of the Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple. He was praised by the Buddha as foremost in ascetic practices and a foremost forest dweller.

There are many legends and theories about his life, including his upbringing. Regardless, it is clear that Mahakasyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community following the parinirvana (death) of the Buddha.

Mahakasyapa presided over the First Buddhist Council. In Buddhist texts, he assumed many identities, that of a renunciant saint, a lawgiver, an anti-establishment figure, but also a "guarantor of future justice" in the time of Maitreya, the future Buddha—he has been described as "both the anchorite and the friend of mankind, even of the outcast".

Mahakasyapa was born in a wealthy brahmin family in a village called Mahātittha, in the kingdom of Magadha, present-day India. He was born under the Pippala tree (Pippala = Bodhi tree), hence his childhood name Pippali. His body had some of the 32 characteristics of a Great Man (Ref), which in Buddhism are seen as the basis for early representations of the Buddha.

From his youth onward, he was inclined toward living a spiritual life rather than marrying, but his father who was fearing the end of the family line, wanted him to wed. In canonical Buddhist texts in several traditions, Mahakasyapa was entered an arranged marriage with a woman named Bhadra-Kapilani. Both of them aspired to lead a celibate life, however, and they decided not to consummate their marriage.　

Shortly after that, Mahakasyapa met the Buddha, was struck with devotion when seeing him, and asked to be ordained under him. Mahakasyapa took upon him the thirteen ascetic practices (including living in the wilderness, living only from alms and wearing rag-robes)and became an enlightened disciple (arahat) in nine days. He excelled in supernatural powers (rddhi: Ref2) and was equal to the Buddha in meditative absorption (Skt: dyāna).

In many post-canonical texts, Mahakasyapa decided at the end of his life to enter a state of meditation and suspended animation, which was believed to cause his physical remains to stay intact in a cave under a mountain called Kukkuṭapāda, until the coming of Maitreya Buddha. This story has led to several cults and practices, and affected some Buddhist countries up until early modern times.

[Photo above: Gurpa hill which is located 34km from Gaya district in Bihar. It is believed that Mahakasyapa resides on the hill until the present day.]

仏教の探求 (43)

初期仏教と弟子たち

十大弟子その三: 摩訶迦葉( まかかしょう、梵: マハーカーシャパ、別称: 大迦葉・だいかしょう) 〜頭陀第一(ずだだいいち)

マハーカーシヤパは、ブッダの主要な弟子の一人である。仏教では悟りを開いた弟子とされ、禁欲的な修行の第一人者であった。ブッダは、彼を修行の第一人者、森の住人の第一人者として賞賛している。

彼の生涯については、生い立ち等、伝説が多く、諸説あるが、ブッダのパラニルバーナ（死）の後、マハーカーシャパが僧院の指導者となったことは確かである。

マハーカーシヤパは、第1回仏教会を主宰した。仏典の中では、出家の聖人、法学者、反体制者であると同時に、未来のブッダである弥勒菩薩 (みろくぼさつ、梵:マイトレーヤ)時代の「未来の正義の保証人」であり、「隠遁の世捨て人」であると同時に「追放された者までも含めた、人類の友」と表現されるなど、多くのアイデンティティを持った人物であった。

マハーカーシャパは、現在のインド、マガダ王国のマハーティッタという村の裕福なブラフミンの家に生まれた。ピッパラ樹（ピッパラ＝菩提樹）の下で生まれたので、幼名をピッパリといった。彼の身体には、初期仏教においてブッダの表現の基礎とされる、三十二相（参照）の特徴のいくつかがあった。

彼は若い頃から結婚よりも精神的な生活に傾倒していたが、家系の存亡を危惧した父親が彼の結婚を望んだ。いくつかの伝統的な仏教正典では、マハーカーシャパはバドラー・カピラーニーという女性とお見合い結婚をしたことになっている。しかし、二人とも禁欲的な生活を望んでいたため、結婚を成立させることはなかった。

その直後、マハーカーシャパはブッダに出会い、その姿を見て心を撃たれ、彼の下で出家することを願い出た。マハーカーシャパは、荒野に住み、托鉢で生活し、ぼろ衣を着るなど13の修行を行い、9日間で悟りを開いた弟子（阿羅漢）となった。彼は超能力 (リッディ: 参照2) に優れ、瞑想的吸収 (禅定) においてはブッダと同等だった。

A reclining image of the Buddha Shakyamuni (釈迦如来 Shaka Nyorai) passing away into parinirvāṇa dating to the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at Anaoji Temple (穴太寺) in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, of somewhat mysterious provenance as it was found above the temple’s ceiling in 1896