His teachings soon began to attract followers, and over the course of his forty-five-year teaching career, the Buddha had many students and disciples, including members of his family. The Buddha’s first disciples played a critical role in recording and preserving his teachings, so much so that the significance of the Buddha’s teachings often depends on whom he was talking to. 

Get to know some of his disciples who appear throughout Buddhist texts. 

Discover Level 2, Deck 8: 

Who was the Buddha’s family? Siddhartha Gautama was the son of Suddhodana and Maya, the king and queen of the Shakya clan, but he was largely raised by his aunt Prajapati. 

Who was Ananda? One of the Buddha’s first disciples, Ananda, the Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, played an important role in preserving the teachings for future generations. 

Who were Sariputra and Maudgalyayana? These two important disciples are often pictured at the Buddha’s right and left side, and are prominent figures in Mahayana texts, including the Heart Sutra. 

Other Notable Disciples of the Buddha From Kasyapa to Ksema, these are some of the most notable of the Buddha’s disciples over his forty-five-year teaching career.  

Why do Buddhists talk about many buddhas? There are many awakened ones of the past, present, and future in Buddhist tradition. 

Recommended Reading: 

• Three Forgotten Stories About the Buddha’s Mother, by Wendy Garling
• A Garland of Flowers, by Mindy Newman and Kaia Fisher 
• The Life of Ananda, Guardian of the Dhamma, by Hellmuth Hecker and Nyanaponika Thera 
• Taking Refuge in Tara, by Liz Kineke 
• Wake Up, by Jack Kerouac

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Parents
The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was the son of Suddhodana and Maya, the king and queen (or chief and chieftainess) of the Shakya clan. That is why he is often called Shakyamuni, or Sage of the Shakyas.

Suddhodana was warned by a wise man that his son would either renounce the world or become a powerful ruler, so he tried to keep him enclosed in a world of pleasure. Nonetheless, Siddhartha learned about suffering and became a renunciant. After the Buddha attained enlightenment, Suddhodana sent messengers to ask his son to come home, but the messengers all joined the sangha as Buddhist converts. Eventually, the Buddha returned and taught his father, who became an arhat shortly before his death.

Little is known about Maya. Before her son’s birth she was visited by dreams predicting an unusual child. She died seven days after giving birth to Siddhartha in a garden at Lumbini, where she had stopped on the way to her parents’ home.

Aunt and foster mother
Maya’s sister Prajapati, who was also married to Suddhodana, raised the infant Siddhartha alongside her children. When Suddhodana died, Prajapati played a pivotal role in convincing the Buddha to ordain women and became the first Buddhist nun. She is a revered figure in Buddhist history, called Mahaprajapati Gautami. 

Wife and son
Before Siddhartha set out on his spiritual journey, he married a young woman named Yasodhara. Little is known about her, but she is said to have had golden skin and been born on the same day as the Buddha-to-be. They were married at 16, and at 29 Yasodhara gave birth to their son, Rahula, whose name is often said to mean “fetter.” Shortly thereafter, Siddhartha left his family and princely life to become a wandering ascetic. Later, when the Buddha returned home, Rahula, was urged by his mother to ask his father for his inheritance. The Buddha told his son he had something far more valuable than riches to give him—the dharma. As a monk Rahula was called “lucky Rahula,” known for his eagerness for training, his patience, and his dedication to the monastic code. Rahula’s ordination pained Suddhodana and led him to rebuke the Buddha for hurting his family twice. However, many of the Buddha’s relatives eventually joined him in the sangha, including Yasodhara, who became an arhat.

Cousins
Two of the Buddha’s cousins were particularly prominent monks: the brothers Ananda and Devadatta. Ananda became the Buddha’s attendant and was renowned for his keen memory. He is credited with preserving many Buddhist discourses. Devadatta, on the other hand, caused much trouble. He tried to usurp the Buddha’s position as the head of the sangha, proposed reforms that the Buddha rejected, and even tried to kill the Buddha by various means. Devadatta eventually repented and has since served as an example of how anyone can be redeemed, regardless of past behavior.

Other Relatives
There were many other relatives who played a role in the early sangha. The most prominent were Sundari, the Buddha’s half-sister, said to be the foremost meditator among the early nuns; Nanda, the Buddha’s half-brother, famous for his beauty and love of beautiful women; Aniruddha, the Buddha’s cousin, who was criticized for sleeping too much, causing him to give up sleep for 25 years; and Mahanaman, Aniruddha’s brother, one of the earliest monks, said to be present at the Buddha’s first sermon.

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The “I” in that phrase is Ananda, the Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, whose prodigious memory allowed him to recount the discourses after the Buddha’s death and thus preserve the teachings for later generations. Even the sutras that scholars believe were composed long after the Buddha died often include this opening line attributing the text to Ananda.

Ananda was one of the Buddha’s first disciples. The Buddha visited his hometown of Kapilavastu a few years after his enlightenment (accounts vary from two to twenty years) and convinced many of his family members, including his cousin Ananda, to join the sangha. 

For the first 20 years of his teaching career the Buddha did not have a consistent personal attendant. But as the sangha grew and its management became more complex, the Buddha needed more reliable help, and he asked for volunteers from his sangha. Legend has it that all the monks offered their services except Ananda, who was confident that regardless of who volunteered, the Buddha would choose the right attendant.

The Buddha, of course, chose Ananda. But when he did, Ananda laid out certain conditions. He did not want special treatment in terms of food or accommodations. Rather he asked for the privilege of bringing visitors before the Buddha, for permission to ask the Buddha any questions that occurred to him, and for any teachings given in his absence to be repeated. The Buddha agreed, and Ananda served as the Buddha’s devoted assistant, secretary, and spokesman for the next 25 years.

Shortly after the Buddha’s death, at which a sorrowful Ananda was present, Mahakasyapa called a council to recite the teachings and monastic rules and determine what must be preserved for future generations. Although Ananda’s power of recall was well known, he was not yet an arhat (Pali, arahant)—enlightened—and therefore was not invited to attend. The most popular account holds that the night before the council, he attained enlightenment as he lay down to sleep. 

At the council Ananda is said to have repeated 15,000 stanzas of what are now called the sutras without omitting a single syllable. But while he was praised for his accurate memory of the teachings, Ananda was not among the foremost monks in his understanding of them. Still, because of his role in preserving the teachings, he was named Treasurer or Guardian of the Dharma.

Another of Ananda’s major achievements was helping convince the Buddha to ordain women. The first was Mahaprajapati Gautami, the Buddha’s aunt and stepmother. Ananda gave teachings to the fledgling order of nuns, as well as several teachings to the sangha at large.

Ananda is one of the best-loved figures in Buddhism, not for his wit or wisdom but for his faithful service to the Buddha, his advocacy on behalf of women, and the debt all Buddhists owe to his amazing memory.

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Sariputra was first among the Buddha’s disciples in wisdom and understanding. He is featured in many sutras in discussion with the Buddha or teaching on his own and was known by the title Dharma General for his leadership role in the sangha. Sariputra is said to have played an important role in the creation of the Vinaya, the monastic rules, and the Abhidharma, scholastic commentaries on the dharma.

Maudgalyayana was foremost among the Buddha’s disciples in the use of supernatural powers. It was said that he could shape-shift, see ghosts, and fly. He is the subject of many tales describing his magical abilities, which he used only in service of other beings. He once flew to a distant mountain to obtain medicine when Sariputra was ill and offered to roll up the crust of the earth like a mat in order to uncover food to alleviate a famine. Like Sariputra, Maudgalyayana is credited with a role in creating the Abhidharma texts.

The two disciples were childhood friends who together decided to renounce the world and pursue the holy life. They traveled separately, each vowing that if he discovered the truth, he would inform the other. One day Sariputra met Asvajit, one of the Buddha’s first followers, and asked what his teacher taught. Asvajit answered:

Of those things that arise from a cause,
The Tathagata has told the cause,
And also what their cessation is:
This is the doctrine of the Great Recluse.
–Great Disciples of the Buddha, Nyanaponika Thera & Hellmuth Hecker

Upon hearing this, Sariputra immediately sought out Maudgalyayana and together they joined the sangha. Based on their devotion in previous lives, the Buddha declared them his chief disciples the day they ordained. Maudgalyayana attained enlightenment a week later, while Sariputra took an additional week.

Sariputra and Maudgalyayana are highly venerated in Theravada Buddhism and are prominent figures in Mahayana texts. In the Heart Sutra, for instance, Sariputra converses with the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. In the Vimalakirti Sutra, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana become foils for the enlightened layman Vimalakirti, with the two wise monks appearing foolish next to the titular figure.

Together for much of their life, the two friends were apart at the time of their deaths. Sariputra passed away on a visit to his childhood home, during which he managed to convert his mother, while Maudgalyayana was killed by brigands hired by a rival sect. Both monks died shortly before the Buddha, because, it is said, they could not bear to witness their master die.

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Kasyapa, often called Mahakasyapa, or Great Kasyapa, is said to have been the Buddha’s foremost disciple in both ascetic practices and meditative absorption. When he joined the sangha, he asked to trade his fine robe for the Buddha’s robe of rags. In agreeing to that, the Buddha signaled that Kasyapa was his anointed successor, and tradition has Kasyapa presiding over the First Council, where Ananda recited the sutras, and Upali, a barber from the Buddha’s hometown of Kapilavastu who was foremost in knowledge of the monastic code, recited the Vinaya (monastic rules). Mahakasyapa is a central figure in the Chan or Zen school, which regards him as the first patriarch.

Subhuti was said to be foremost in dwelling at peace in remote places and foremost in worthiness to receive gifts. Famous for his kindness and generosity, Subhuti became enlightened through the practice of maitridhyana (Pali: mettajhana), contemplation of lovingkindness. Perhaps because of his reputation for compassion, Subhuti was a favorite figure in Mahayana sutras. 

Ksema was said to be first among the nuns in discernment and understanding of the dharma. She was the former wife of the king of Magadha, Bimbisara, the Buddha’s most prominent royal patron. Ksema is also known for delivering a teaching that removed the doubts of the Buddha’s other prominent royal patron, King Pasenadi of Kosala. 

Utpalavarna, renowned for her beauty, was surrounded by wealthy and powerful suitors. Afraid to offend any one of them, she took up the life of a nun. She was said to possess the strongest supernatural powers of all the Buddha’s nuns.

The Buddha’s first five disciples (known collectively as the pancavargika, meaning group of five, or bhadravargiya, auspicious group) were Asvajit (who converted Sariputra), Ajnatakaundiya, Vaspa, Mahanaman, and Bhadikra. As ascetics, the five practiced extreme austerities with the Buddha before his awakening, and after his awakening the Buddha sought them out as the most likely candidates to understand his new teachings. He found them at the deer park in Sarnath, outside Varanasi. After hearing his sermons and gaining understanding, the five disciples formed the sangha.

Yasa was the Buddha’s first enlightened lay follower (upasaka) and became his sixth disciple. Born into a wealthy family, Yasa was the first sangha member who had not previously known the Buddha. When the Buddha came to Yasa’s home and delivered a teaching, Yasa’s mother Sujata became the Buddha’s first female lay disciple (upasika). Yasa is the precursor to later famous enlightened laymen such as Vimalakirti and Layman Pang.

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Of the many buddhas who preceded Shakyamuni, one of the most important was Dipamkara. His name means “light maker,” and it is said that at his birth many lamps appeared and that he predicted Shakyamuni’s enlightenment. 

After a long period, Dipamkara’s teachings faded and were forgotten. Then came a succession of other buddhas, leading up to Shakyamuni, the buddha of our era. In the distant future, after a similar decline, it is said a buddha named Maitreya will emerge. Dipamkara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya are often depicted in a triad representing past, present, and future. Past buddhas and future buddhas are objects of devotion that exist eternally and are available to those who seek them. 

Although buddhas are infinite in a cosmic sense, the appearance of one in our world is rare. Buddhist cosmology describes a vast array of worlds of which ours is only one. Each of these worlds is overseen by a buddha, and rebirth in these worlds, known as buddha-fields, is the goal of many Buddhists. 

Two of these prominent buddhas are Amitabha (Japanese, Amida), the Buddha of Infinite Light, and Bhaishajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha. 

Amitabha Buddha is central to Pure Land Buddhism. He rules over the Western paradise of Sukhavati, literally “blissful land,” a place where enlightenment is much easier to achieve than elsewhere. 

Bhaishajyaguru is the patron of doctors and healers and rules over an Eastern paradise. Rays of light that emanate from his blue body illuminate the world so that practitioners will never be in darkness. Devotion to him is said to ensure longevity, wealth, and prestige.

The line between buddha, bodhisattva, god, and goddess is sometimes unclear. Tara, an important devotional figure in Tibetan Buddhism, is sometimes called a buddha, sometimes a goddess, and sometimes a bodhisattva. Prajnaparamita, the personification of the perfection of wisdom, is a goddess sometimes called the Mother of Buddhas.

The Eastern and Western paradises are both said to be located trillions of buddha-fields away from our (impure) realm, which gives an idea of the epic scope of Buddhist cosmology. There are many other buddhas residing in Pure Lands across the cosmos who serve as objects of reverence.

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