36. Ven. Nandaka

Aspiration in the Past

The future Nandaka was born into a worthy family in the city of Haṁsavatī, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. While listening to a discourse by the Buddha, he witnessed a monastic being honoured by the Buddha with the title of foremost monastic in giving admonition to female monastics. He had an ardent desire to be designated with the same title by some Future Buddha. He therefore made extraordinary offerings to the Buddha and later expressed his wish before him. The Buddha saw that his aspiration would be fulfilled and made the prediction accordingly.

Ascetic Life in His Final Existence

The future Nandaka devoted himself to meritorious deeds till his death and after passing away from that existence, he was reborn only in good destinations. During the time of Buddha Gotama, he was reborn into a worthy family in Sāvatthī. When he attained adulthood, he listened to the Buddha’s discourse which aroused his devotion so much that he renounced lay life and took up the monastic life. Soon after, striving strenuously in monastic practice, he became an Arahat. He had a special competence in exercising the power of remembering past existences. He also was a gifted orator who could draw the attention of the four types of devotees who gathered before the Buddha or the Saṅgha by his skill in exposition. Thus, he came to be popularly known as Ven. Nandaka, the Expounder of the Doctrine.

At one time, the Buddha had to intervene between the two warring groups of Sakyan princes: the Koliyan clan and the Kapilavatthu clan. They were living on each side of a small river called the Rohinī. They could not amicably decide on the distribution of the scanty water to each clan’s cultivators. After pacifying both sides, the Buddha asked for 250 princes from each clan to take up the monastic life. These 500 Sakyan princes were young, and attached to their families, and did not find happiness as monastics. Hence, the Buddha took them to a far-away forest in the midst of which lay Lake Kuṇāla. There, he delivered the Birth Story about the King of the Cuckoos, Kuṇāla (Kuṇāla-jātaka, Ja 536) and aroused spiritual urgency in them. The Buddha knew about this and expounded the four noble truths to them which caused them to be established in Stream-entry (Sotāpatti-phala). Then he taught them the Discourse on the Great Assembly (Mahā-samaya-sutta, DN 20) in the Great Wood, at the end of which, the 500 monastics became Arahats. ^{For details on this episode refer to chapter 22.}

The 500 wives of the monastics who had renounced their lay lives, did not see any reason to remain in their lofty mansions. So they all gathered around Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī, the Buddha’s foster mother, to plead with the Buddha for admission into the Saṅgha.

They went to the Great Wood where, at the ardent request by Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī, the Buddha allowed them to become female monastics after laying down eight cardinal principles to be observed by them. Since there were no female monastics before them, their admission ceremony was performed by monks only. ^{Later, admission of female monastics required both a congregation of male monastics and that of female monastics.} The important thing relating to Ven. Nandaka is that all these 500 female monastics were, in one of their former existences, queen consorts to Ven. Nandaka who was then a king.

Then the Buddha enjoined the monastics to admonish the female monastics. When it was Ven. Nandaka’s turn to give admonition to the 500 female monastics, he did not go to them but deputed another monastic to carry out the task. This was because he knew, by his knowledge of recollecting past existences, that these 500 female monastics had been [1340] his consorts in his former existence. He was concerned that if some other monastic who was endowed with similar knowledge saw him surrounded by these female monastics, he might be misunderstood as being still attached to his former consorts.

The 500 female monastics were keen on receiving admonition from Ven. Nandaka. The Buddha then said to Ven. Nandaka: “Nandaka, admonish the female monastics personally, do not depute another monastic when it is your turn.” Ven. Nandaka, in respectful compliance with the Buddha’s words, went to the female monastics on the allotted day, the fourteenth day of the lunar month, which was an Observance (Uposatha) day. He admonished them on the subject of the six internal sense bases (āyatana) at the end of which, the 500 female monastics, former Sakyan princesses, attained the fruition of Stream-entry (Sotāpatti-phala).

The female monastics were pleased and delighted with Ven. Nandaka’s discourse. They approached the Buddha and expressed their appreciation of the supermundane path and the fruition which they had experienced. The Buddha then reviewed their case, and saw that the same discourse by Ven. Nandaka, if repeated, would lead them to becoming Arahats. So, on the following day the Buddha let them hear the same discourse from Ven. Nandaka. As the result of which, the 500 female monastics became Arahats.

On the day when the 500 female monastics approached the Buddha, he knew that the repeated discourse had benefited them and so he said to the monastics: “Monastics, the discourse by Ven. Nandaka yesterday is like the full moon that appears on the fourteenth day of the month whereas the discourse he made today is like the full moon that appears on the fifteenth day of the month.” Thus the Buddha extolled the merit of Ven. Nandaka’s discourse.

Foremost Title Achieved

With reference to the above episode, the Buddha, on another occasion, sitting in the monastic congregation, declared:

Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
bhikkhunovādakānaṁ yad-idaṁ Nandako.

Monastics, among the male monastic disciples who give instruction to female monastics, Nandaka is the foremost (etad-agga).