37. Ven. Nanda
Aspiration in the Past
The future Nanda was reborn into a worthy family in the city of Haṁsavatī during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. When he came of age, he had the occasion to listen to a discourse by the Buddha. As he was listening to the discourse, he witnessed the Buddha name a certain monastic as foremost in guarding his sense-faculties. He aspired to that distinction in the teaching of some Future Buddha. After making extraordinary offerings to the Buddha, he expressed his aspiration. The Buddha predicted that the aspiration would be fulfilled.
Ascetic Life in His Final Existence
The future Nanda was reborn as the son of Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī, the foster-mother of the Buddha, in the city of Kapilavatthu.
He was born two or three days after the Bodhisatta, Prince Siddhattha, was born by Queen Māyā, who was the elder sister of Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī. On the third day of his first visit to Kapilavatthu, the Buddha admitted Prince Nanda into the Saṅgha. The details of Ven. Nanda’s story have been given in chapter 20b.
Although Prince Nanda had taken up the monastic life, the pitiable words of Princess
The Buddha knew the distress of Ven. Nanda, his utter negligence and his dissatisfaction in the monastic life. To give immediate relief to his boredom and despair, the Buddha said to him: “Come, Nanda, let us pay a visit to the celestial world.” – “Venerable sir, the celestial world is accessible to powerful beings only. How would I be able to visit there?” asked Ven. Nanda. “Nanda, just make your wish to go there and you will get there and see the celestial realms.”
The above account is taken from the commentary on the Collection of the Numerical Discourses (Aṅguttara-nikāya). The following account about Ven. Nanda will be based on the Discourse about (Nanda-sutta, Ud 3.2) and the commentary thereon.
The Buddha’s objective was to allay the pangs of attachment in Nanda’s mind by a strategy. Then, as if taking Nanda by the arm, the Buddha, by means of his supernormal powers took Ven. Nanda to the Tāvatiṁsa Realm. On the way, the Buddha let him see a decrepit old female monkey sitting desolately on the stump of a burnt tree in a burnt paddy field, with her nose, ears and tail burnt away after a big forest fire.
In this matter, the Buddha took Nanda personally to the Tāvatiṁsa Realm to let him experience the stark contrast between the nature of human existence and Deva existence, how lowly in birth the former is when compared with the latter. Just by letting him see the Tāvatiṁsa Realm, the Buddha could have opened up the vista of the Deva realm while remaining at the Jetavana monastery, or else he could have sent Nanda alone by his Buddha-power to the Tāvatiṁsa Realm. The magnificence of the Deva realm was purposely impressed on Nanda so as to make him take up, as an object of his goal, the task of the threefold training of a monastic which he would consider enjoyable and worthwhile.
At the Tāvatiṁsa Realm, the Buddha showed him Devakaññā, or divine maidens, who had crimson feet like the colour of the feet of the pigeon, who were entertaining Sakka, the Lord of the Devas. Then followed a dialogue between the Buddha and Ven. Nanda:
Buddha: Nanda, do you see those 500 Devakaññā whose feet are crimson like the colour of pigeon’s feet?
Nanda: I do, venerable sir!
Buddha: Now, answer my question honestly. What do you think of this: who is more beautiful, these Devakaññā or your one-time wife the Sakyan Princess Janapadakalyāṇī? Who is more attractive?
Nanda: Venerable sir, compared to these Devakaññā, Janapadakalyāṇī would seem to me just like the decrepit old female monkey we saw on our way here. She cannot stand beside these girls who are much too superior to her, who are much more lovely, much more attractive.
Buddha: Nanda, take up your monastic practice well. Make yourself happy in the teaching. I assure you that if you do so, you will have these 500 Devakaññā.
Nanda: Venerable sir, if the Fortunate One assures me of getting these lovely girls with crimson feet, I will make myself happy in the teaching and stay with the Fortunate One.
After that dialogue in the Tāvatiṁsa Realm, the Buddha brought along Ven. Nanda instantly to the Jetavana monastery as if taking him by the arm.
The Buddha’s strategy needs to be understood here. As a good physician would administer some purgative to purge out the toxic waste inside his patient, before administering milder medicine, so as to vomit out the remaining harmful matter
Again, the reason for setting up some sexual object, such as divine maidens for Nanda, whom the Buddha wishes to get established in the noble practice marked by celibacy, needs to be understood. The Buddha is giving a temporary visual object of a much greater attractiveness so that Nanda could readily forget his erstwhile wife. By giving his assurance to Nanda to get that objective, the Buddha sets the mind of the youthful monastic at ease. Incidentally, the course of the Buddha’s discourse, which usually progresses from attainment of celestial glory on the part of a supporter towards path and fruit, should also be understood likewise.
From the time he got back to the Jetavana monastery, Ven. Nanda arduously pursued monastic practice, with the object of getting Devakaññā. Meanwhile, the Buddha had given instructions to the monastics to go about Ven. Nanda’s meditation place and say: “A certain monastic is said to be striving hard in monastic practice to get Devakaññā under the assurance of the Fortunate One.” The monastics said: “Very well, venerable sir.” And they went about within earshot of Ven. Nanda, saying: “Ven. Nanda is said to be striving hard in monastic practice to get Devakaññā. The Fortunate One is said to have given him the assurance that 500 Devakaññā with crimson feet like the colour of pigeon’s feet will be his prize. What a mercenary monastic Ven. Nanda is! What an undignified trader Ven. Nanda is!”
When Ven. Nanda heard those stinging epithets, “mercenary” and “undignified trader,” being applied to his name, he was greatly agitated, thinking: “Ah, how wrong I have been! How unbecoming for a monastic! Due to a lack of control of my sense-faculties, I have become the laughing stock of my companion monastics. I must guard my sense faculties well.” From that moment, Ven. Nanda trained himself to be mindful with clear comprehension in all things that he looked at, whether looking east or west, south or north, upwards or downwards, across or at any intermediate point of the compass, not to allow any thought of greed, hatred, or any other demeritorious thought arise in him due to whatever he saw. By restraining himself with respect to his sense-faculties to a most exacting degree, his pursuit of monastic practice culminated in Awakening not long afterwards.
Then at about midnight, a Brahma went to the Buddha and gave the good news that Ven. Nanda had become an Arahat. The Buddha directed his mind to Ven. Nanda and confirmed that what the Brahma had said was true.
The Buddha’s Freedom from Obligation
The thought that he was practising the noble path with the object of getting divine maidens, brought to his rude awakening by his companion monastics, made Ven. Nanda remorseful and the sense of spiritual urgency corrected his attitude and made him ever more ardent in the right practice culminating in Awakening. Then he remembered how he had made the Buddha a guarantor to get him the Devakaññā. He thought it necessary to relieve him of that undertaking. So the next morning he went to the Buddha, made obeisance, and sitting in a suitable place, said: “Venerable sir, the Fortunate One had undertaken to see that I get the 500 Devakaññā with crimson feet like the colour of the feet of the pigeon. Venerable sir, I do not want the Fortunate One to be bound any more on that account.”
The Buddha said: “Nanda, I know, in my own mind, by reading your mind, that you are now established in the Arahat fruition (Arahatta-phala). Moreover, a Brahma also brought this news to me. Nanda, from the moment of your freedom from the pollutants (āsava), from your attainment of Awakening, I have been released of that bond. This is a natural thing. You need not free me from it.” The Buddha saw the unshakable nature of an Arahat, in the face of the vicissitudes of life rendered possible through the extinction from the pollutants,
Yassa nittiṇṇo paṅko, maddito kāma-kaṇṭako,
mohakkhayaṁ anuppatto sukha-dukkhesu na vedhatī sa bhikkhu.
The Arahat has crossed over the mire of rebirth by means of the noble path which serves as a bridge. He has completely destroyed with the noble path as the weapon the darts of sensuality that torment Devas and humans alike. He has reached by progressing along the four stages of the path-knowledge the end of delusion, and attained Nibbāna. That enlightened monastic, unlike a worldling, does not flutter when faced with pain or pleasure.
Foremost Title Achieved
On another occasion, when the Buddha was in congregation with the monastics at the Jetavana monastery, he declared:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
indriyesu gutta-dvārānaṁ yad-idaṁ Nando.
Monastics, among the male monastic disciples who guard their sense-faculties well Nanda is the foremost (etad-agga).
Other monastic disciples also guarded their sense-faculties well. Ven. Nanda excelled all others in that whenever he looked in any of the ten directions to look at something, he did so only after making sure that he had the four kinds of clear comprehension: Clear and wise comprehension as to the pros and cons of an action beforehand (sātthaka-sampajāñña); clear and wise comprehension as to whether an action, even though beneficial, would be proper for oneself to do (sappāya); clear and wise comprehension so as not incur fault in one’s going about various places (gocara); clear and wise comprehension so as to avoid any action influenced by delusion (asammoha).
He applied the rigorous self-discipline because he felt repentant about his lack of such control which lay at the root of his unhappiness in the monastic life. Moreover, he had an innate sense of shame to do evil and dread to do evil. And above all, there was also his past aspiration to attain this distinction which he expressed before Buddha Padumuttara 100,000 aeons previously, which was now fulfilled.