Kaundinya
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Kaundinya (Sanskrit:कौण्डिन्य, Kaundinya, Pali:Kondañña) also known as Ajnata Kaundinya (Sanskrit:अज्ञात कौण्डिन्य, Ajnata Kaundinya, Pali:Añña Kondañña) was a Buddhist bhikkhu in the Sangha of Gautama Buddha and the first to become an arahant. He lived during 6th century BC in what is now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India.
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[edit] Early years
Kaundinya was born before the time of Siddhartha to a wealthy brahmin family in a town named in Donavatthu, near Kapilavastu, and was known by his family name. When he was growing up, he mastered the three Vedas at a young age and excelled in the science of physiognomy (lakhana-manta).[1]
Kaundinya became a young Brahmin scholar in Kapilavastu in the Sakya kingdom of King Suddhodana. He was one among the group of scholars who were invited to the royal court to predict the destiny of Crown Prince Siddhartha at his naming ceremony. All the other scholars raised two fingers and offered a two-fold prediction: That Siddhartha would either become a Chakravarti (supreme king) or would renounce the world and become a supreme religious leader. Kaundinya was the only one that explicitly predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha, raising one finger and stating his prediction.[2][3]
[edit] Renouncement and Arahanthood
When Siddhartha was aged 29, he renounced the world to become an ascetic. Kaundinya, along with Bharika (Bhaddiya), Baspa (Wappa), Mahanama and Asvajit (Assaji), (variously describe as four of the other scholars who had read Siddhartha's future, or the sons of those scholars) followed him into the ascetic life, with the approval of Suddhodarna who was worried about Siddhartha's safety. They were known as the Pancavaggiya (The group of Five) or Pancaka Bhadravargiya (The Group of Five Fortunate Ones).[1] After Siddhartha had mastered all the teachings of Arada Kalama (Alara Kalama) and then Udraka Ramaputra (Uddaka Ramaputta), he left and began practicing self mortification along with Kaundinya and his four colleagues at Uruvilva (Uruvela). These involved self-deprivation of food and water, and exposing themselves to the elements to near-death for six years, at which point Siddhartha rejected self-mortification. Kaundinya and his colleagues became disillusioned and moved away to Mrgadava (Isipatana), near Varanasi to continue their practices. After Siddhartha became the enlightened Gautama Buddha, he travelled to find Kaundinya to share his teachings. Kaundinya and his companions were skeptical of Gautama Buddha after his abandonment of asceticism, but were soon won over. Gautama Buddha preached the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Pali; Skt., Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra), which deals with the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path and Kaundinya reached the Sotapatti stage of arahanthood.[4] After hearing the subsequent Anattalakkhana Sutta regarding no-self or soul-lessness, he gained arahantship. Kaundinya thus became the first bhikkhu and arahant.[1][2][3][5] A later assembly at Jetavana declared him to be the foremost among the first bhikkhus.[1]
[edit] Later years
After a period within the sangha, Kaundinya retired to the Himalayas for the last twelve years of his life. This is attributed to two reasons in Buddhist literature. The first reason was that Kaundinya considered his presence to be a source of inconvenience for Sariputra and Moggallana, the two chief disciples of The Buddha. As the seniormost member of the sangha, Kaundinya lead the monks on the alms-round, but during dharma talks, the two chief disciples sat on either side of the Buddha and Kaundinya behind them. The two chief disciples were uncomfortable sitting in front of Kaundinya, so he decided to solve the problem by absenting himself. The other reason to which Kaundinya's leave is attributed was to spend more quiet time in religious practice, which was rendered difficult due to the attention that the sangha gained from the public. Before retiring to his retreat of solitude, Kaundinya ordained his nephew Punna.[1]
According to the Samyutta Nikaya, Kaundinya retired to the banks of the Mandakini Lake in the Chaddanta forest, said to be the abode of the paccekabuddhas. It was said that the 8000 elephants in the forest took turns to catering for his needs. Kaundinya only left once, to farewell Gautama Buddha before returning to the forest to pass away. He was cremated on a large sandalwood pyre which was constructed with the help of the elephants, and the ceremony was presided over by Anuruddha, one of the ten chief disciples and five hundred other monks. The ashes were later taken to Veluvana, where they were enshrined in a silver stupa.
[edit] Previous and future reincarnations
In Pali language Theravada literature, Kaundinya is said to have begun striving for enlightenment in the time of Padumuttara Buddha, the 13th Buddha. The son of a wealthy householder at Hamsavati, Kaundinya saw the monk who was the first disciple of Padmuttara Buddha. Kaundinya's previous reincarnation bestowed on the Buddha and the sangha and wished that he was in their position. Padumuttara is said to have prophseised the fulfilment of is in the era of Gautama Buddha, 1000 aeons into the future. After the passing of Padmuttara Buddha, Kaundinya constructed a jewelled chamber inside the cetiya in which the relics were stored and also made an offering of jewel festoons. The Apadana states that Kaundinya was the first person to offer a meal to Padumuttara and became a deva in the Tusita world, and that during the time of Vipassi Buddha, Kaundinya was a householder named Mahakala who offered the Buddha the first fruits of his field in their nine stages of produced.[1]
Numerous previous reincarnations in which Kaundinya and Gautama Buddha crossed paths are also noted in Pali literature. The Mahavastu cites a previous birth in which Kaundinya was a seafaring merchant who had lost all his wealth after a mid-ocean shipwreck. Kaundinya then went in search of the king of Kosala, who had a widely known reputation for philanthropy. However the Kosalan monarch had left his kingdom and surrendered his kingdom to the neighbouring Kasi king who was attempting to annex it, in order to avert bloodshed. Nevertheless, the Kasi king wanted to capture the Kosalan king and decreed a large reward for it. The Kosalan king, Gautama Buddha is a previous reincarnation, tied himself and asked the merchant to deliver him to Kasi. However, when the Kasi king heard this, he withdrew his army and restored the Kosalan monarchy, and the king bestowed wealth on the merchant. In another reincarnation, Kaundinya and his four colleagues who were to become the first bhikkhus were seafaring merchants under the command of the future Gautama Buddha who sacrificed himself to save them from an ocean death.[1]
The "Five Hundred Disciples" (eighth) chapter of the Mahayana Lotus Sutra predicts that in the future he will become a Buddha named Universal Brightness.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Malasekera, G. P. (1961). Encyclopaedia of Buddhism. Government of Ceylon, pp969-697.
- ^ a b Siridhamma (1995). The Life of the Buddha. Buddha Educational Foundation.
- ^ a b Narada (1992). A Manual of Buddhism. Buddha Educational Foundation.
- ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1993). Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion (SN 56.11). Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html.
- ^ Sister Upalavanna (trans.) (undated). Etadaggavagga: These are the Foremost (AN 1.14). Available on-line at: http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/014-Etadaggapali-e.html.
- ^ Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism: Ajnata Kaundinya. Soka Gakkai International USA. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
