ANNA Ebook23

ANNA KONDANNA
BY PRIM PANYATHANYA 5/16 NO.23

Anna Kondanna, the first Buddhist monk,
was the first one of the five ascetics who reached the first stage
(Sotapanna ) of insight
toward absolute wisdom (Arahanthood) upon hearing Buddha's
first teaching called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
Kondanna was a young Brahmin who mastered the there Vedas
and excelled in the science of physiognomy. He was among eight
scholars invited to predict the destiny of Prince Siddhartha and
the only one who predicted that the prince would become a
Buddha while the other scholars offered a twofold prediction that
Siddhartha would either become a great king or a supreme
religious leader.
After Prince Siddhartha had begun his ascetic life, Kondanna
along with Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama and Assaji, who were
sons of those
scholars followed him. "The Group of Five" had attended to the
prince throughout his six years of self-mortification. But when the
prince realized it was not the path, he immediately stopped. This
upset Kondanna and his peers and they left him to reside in Deer
Park.
After the prince had become enlightened, he sought to find his
former teachers.
Realizing that they had died, the Buddha decided to find
Kondanna and the others and gave them the first sermon.
It was at the end of the sermon that Kondana reached the
insight... "All that is subject to arising is subject to ceasing...Don't
look for your refuges, in which you want to abide and trust, in
anything that arise - become those things will cease. "

The Buddha asked acknowledged this by uttering "annasivatabho
Kondanna ", meaning " you have realized, Kondanna. " Due to
this,
"Anna Kondanna " (Kondanna -who -knows )
has become his name since.
At that time, Anna Kondanna was the only one with perfect
understanding of what the Buddha was staying. Through this
insight, he immediately grasped what the whole whole world is all
about. It was this realization that nothing is permanent and
therefore not worth holding onto that freed his mind enough to
gain the first stage of enlightenment.

He was the son of a very wealthy brahmin family of Donavatthu
near Kapilavatthu and was born before the Buddha. He came to
be called by his family name Kondañña. He was learned in the
three Vedas, excelling in the science of physiognomy.

When the Buddha was born he was among the eight brahmins
(the others being Rāma, Dhaja, Lakkhana, Mantī, Bhoja,
Suyāma and Sudatta. In the Milinda (236), where the eight
names are given, Kondañña appears as Yañña) sent for to
prognosticate, and though he was yet quite a novice he
declared definitely that the babe would be a Buddha. Thereafter
he lived awaiting the Bodhisatta's renunciation. After this
happened he left the world with four others, and the five later
became known as the Pañcavaggiyā (J.i.65f.; AA.i.78-84;
ThagA.ii.1ff). When, after the Enlightenment, the Buddha visited
them at Isipatana and preached the Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta, Kondañña and eighteen crores of brahmas won the Fruit
of the First Path. As he was the first among humans to realise
the Dhamma the Buddha praised him saying "aññāsi vata bho
Kondañño" twice; hence he came to be known as Aññata
Kondañña. (Vin.i.12; UdA.324, 371; Mtu.iii.333).

It is interesting to note that in the Burmese MSS. the name
appears as Aññāsi-Kondañña. The Cy. explains Aññāta-
Kondañña by "pativedha Kondañña." In the ThagA. he is called
Añña-Kondañña. Mrs. Rhys Davids suggests that Aññā was his
personal name (Gotama the Man, p.102).

Five days later when the Anattalakhana Sutta was preached he
became arahant (Vin.i.13-14). He was the first to be ordained
with the formula "ehi, bhikkhu" and the first to receive higher
ordination. Later, at Jetavana, amidst a large concourse of
monks, the Buddha declared him to be the best of those who
first comprehended the Dhamma (AA.i.84). He was also
declared to be pre-eminent among disciples of long-standing
(rattaññūnam) (A.i.23).

In the assembly of monks he sat behind the two chief disciples.
Finding that his presence near the Buddha was becoming
inconvenient to himself and others (For his reasons see
AA.i.84; SA.i.216), he obtained the Buddha's permission to go
and live on the banks of the Mandākini in the Chaddanta-vana,
where he stayed for twelve years, only returning at the end of
that period to obtain the Buddha's leave for his parinibbāna.
The elephants in the forest took it in turns to bring him his food
and to look after him. Having bidden farewell to the Buddha, he
returned to Chaddanta-vana, where he passed away (SA.i.218;
AA.i.84). We are told (SA.i.219) that all Himavā wept at his
death. The obsequies were elaborately performed by eight
thousand elephants with the deva Nāgadatta at their head. All
the devas from the lowest to the highest brahma world took part
in the ceremony, each deva contributing a piece of sandalwood.
Five hundred monks, led by Anuruddha, were present. The
relics were taken to Veluvana and handed over to the Buddha,
who with his own hand deposited them in a silver cetiya which
appeared from the earth. Buddhaghosa states that the cetiya
existed even in his time (SA.i.219).

Several verses attributed to Kondañña are given in the
Theragāthā, admonishing fellow celibates to lead the higher life,
because everything is impermanent, bound to ill and void of
soul (Thag.674-88).

On one occasion he preached to Sakka at the latter's own
request; Sakka expressed himself as greatly pleased because
the sermon was worthy even of the Buddha."

Vangisa once extolled his virtues in the presence of the Buddha
(Thag.v.673; ThagA.ii.3).

In Padumuttara's time Kondañña had been a rich householder,
and, seeing one of the monks given preference in seniority, he
wished for a similar rank for himself in the future. Towards this
end he did many acts of piety, one of them being to build a
golden chamber over the Buddha's relics. In Vipassī's time was
a householder, Mahākāla, and gave to the Buddha the first-
fruits of his field in nine stages of their produce (ThagA.ii.1;
DhA.i.80).

According to the Apadāna (i.48f.; The Divy 430 mentions
another previous birth of Kondañña), he offered the first meal to
Padumuttara after his Enlightenment.

Punna Mantānīputta was his nephew and was ordained by him.
ThagA.i.37.

Mantānī was Aññāta-Kondañña's sister.