Story of Ananthapindika

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The following talk was given by Ying Chen, 陈颖 at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on July 16, 2023. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Story of Ananthapindika

Introduction

It is so good to be with you all again. The sound is working well. Welcome to those who are joining us on YouTube from afar.

Today, I brought a story. For those of us who like to read the ancient Pali suttas, there are often specific names and locations that show up. If you're like me, you get curious. Who are these people? Where did they live? What were their lives like, and how did they practice? Today, I would like to share the story of a person named Anathapindika.

The story I am sharing is based on a compilation by Hellmuth Hecker^[1], who collected various pieces of information from the suttas, commentaries, and Jataka tales, putting them together to give us a picture of what this person's life was like. Usually, when you read the suttas, you get a little glimpse of who a person is, but you don't quite get their full story. I am grateful that Hecker brought this together.

Often, a sutta will have an opening line that sounds like this: "Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery." This shows up a lot. So, who is this guy, Anathapindika?

He was born into a very wealthy family in Savatthi. We don't know exactly what his profession was, but he is sometimes referred to as a wealthy merchant or a banker. He is known for his boundless generosity. The name Anathapindika actually means "one who gives to the poor" or "one who gives to those who are unprotected." That was not his birth name; his birth name was Sudatta. However, even before he met the Buddha and became a disciple, he was already known as Anathapindika. People had forgotten his birth name.

Encountering the Buddha

Let's start by telling the story of how he encountered the Buddha. This was in the first year after the Buddha's awakening. The Buddha had a very small monastic order—maybe just a handful of people who had joined him, practiced, and become awakened individuals as well. They didn't have a permanent place to live.

This took place around a city called Rajagaha. Often, the monastic order would live in the nearby forest, staying on mountaintops, by the river, or in open meadows. They wandered about. Anathapindika had a brother-in-law who lived in Rajagaha, who was also from a wealthy household. Being close by, this brother-in-law had become a faithful disciple of the Buddha. He saw how the monastics lived and asked the Buddha, "Is it okay if I build some dwelling places for your order right around Rajagaha?" The Buddha said yes. I love that the Buddha recognized the challenging living conditions, and when the offer arose, he agreed that it would be nice to have a more permanent space to stay.

The brother-in-law began to build a monastery and dwelling places. One day, Anathapindika, traveling to Rajagaha on business, came to see his brother-in-law. Apparently, they had a very warm and caring relationship. But when Anathapindika showed up at his door, his brother-in-law was so busy making preparations for a big, elaborate event that he almost didn't pay attention to him. That was very unlike him. Anathapindika asked, "What are you so busy doing? Are you preparing for a wedding? Are you going to see a king?"

His brother-in-law replied, "I'm inviting the Awakened One, the Buddha, and his order to come for alms tomorrow."

Anathapindika thought, "What? The Enlightened One, the Buddha, is coming to your door tomorrow just for alms?" It's not like that happened every other week. In their culture, they understood the notion of an enlightened being, but for one to just show up next door was unheard of. He asked his brother-in-law three times, "Is he really the Enlightened One?" and his brother-in-law confirmed, "Yes, the Buddha is coming tomorrow morning."

That caught Anathapindika's attention. That night, he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, so intrigued by the idea of seeing an enlightened individual that he eventually decided to get up in the middle of the night. He walked out of the city and headed toward where the monastic order was staying in the countryside.

He walked out into the dark. Being born into a wealthy family with a lot of support, he had probably never had to walk out of the city in the dark all by himself. He got scared, but his desire to see the Buddha was so strong that he managed to calm his mind and kept walking.

In the misty dawn, he saw a person walking back and forth. He stopped. Then, he heard this person call out in an indescribably harmonious voice: "Come, Sudatta."

What? No one knew him by the name of Sudatta at that time. He thought, "That must be the Buddha. Who else would know?" He immediately bowed down at the Buddha's feet and asked in a shaky voice, "How are you, Buddha?" That was a conventional greeting back then.

The Buddha answered in a very unconventional way: "The Arahants^[2], the awakened individuals, are always well, and they are beyond the possibility of suffering."

You can just imagine Anathapindika's jaw dropping. Beyond the possibility of suffering—is that even possible?

In that first encounter, the Buddha offered a step-by-step teaching. He went from generosity, to Sīla^[3] (ethical behavior)—which I imagine Anathapindika was already very steeped in—to the heavens, the perils and harmful nature of sensual pursuits, and the benefits of renunciation. This is known as the gradual training of the Buddha.

At some point, the Buddha sensed that Anathapindika's heart and mind were ready, receptive, open, and available. So, he offered him the liberative teachings of the Four Noble Truths. Upon receiving this teaching, the Dharma eye opened for Anathapindika. He knew the truth of what the Buddha said right there. He received it and felt it in his being. He had no doubt anymore that this was the way. It is said that he entered the stream that would take him onward toward awakening in future times.

This touched him quite deeply. At the end of that encounter, he invited the Buddha and his monastic order for alms food the day after his brother-in-law had done so.

Building Jeta's Grove

After that meal offering, Anathapindika asked the Buddha if he could build a monastery in his hometown of Savatthi. The Buddha replied, "The enlightened ones love peaceful places." Anathapindika took that as a yes. He was overjoyed.

That was the conception of Anathapindika's monastery in Savatthi. Once he returned to his hometown, he immediately began to search up and down for a peaceful place where the monastics might be able to stay. He found a place that belonged to Prince Jeta^[4], the son of King Pasenadi.

He asked Prince Jeta if the place was for sale. Jeta firmly replied, "No, this place is not for sale. Even if you give me 18 million gold coins, it is not for sale." Eighteen million sounds like a lot, but Anathapindika, being a businessman, didn't budge. He said, "I'm going to give you 18 million right now." Prince Jeta still didn't budge.

Anathapindika didn't give up. The two of them went to an arbitrator who managed to get them to agree on terms. It was agreed that Anathapindika would get the amount of land that could be covered by laying out 18 million coins, one by one. Anathapindika pulled carts and carts of coins and started to lay them on the ground. It just so happened that there was only a little corner left uncovered.

Throughout this whole process, Prince Jeta was so inspired. He thought, "Wow, this is unheard of." So he came forward and said, "Okay, even though there are not enough coins to cover this corner, I'm going to build the gateway for this monastery for free." Prince Jeta spent the 18 million coins to build these gateways and offered them as part of the monastery.

After that, Anathapindika spent a lot more to furnish it, construct buildings, and host a huge celebratory event, inviting all the monastics and everyone to come and share the joy. He continued to support the monastic order and his broader community. In this way, he became known as foremost in generosity among the great disciples of the Buddha.

I also want to mention that Anathapindika's Monastery in Jeta's Grove was a place where the Buddha spent a vast amount of his time. Out of the 45 or so years of his teaching career, he spent between 19 and 25 rains retreats at Anathapindika's Park. So many teachings flowed out of this place due to the generosity of this one being. I feel deep gratitude for this.

Family and Relational World

I want to say a little bit about Anathapindika's relational world. He had a family and friends. He was happily married, and his wife was also a devoted disciple of the Buddha. She was very kind to their large household and to everyone who worked in the family business. They had four children: three daughters and one son.

Two of his daughters were steeped in the Dharma and happily married. His youngest daughter was very sharp and wise, possessing a deep understanding of the Dharma. However, she struggled in profound ways. Seeing that her two sisters were happily married, and finding herself unable to marry for whatever reason, she became very sad, lonely, and depressed, and eventually starved to death.

It is very touching to hear that Anathapindika's family had to deal with a loss like this. Just like many of us go through all kinds of ups and downs, even with his immense wealth and good living conditions, he had to endure tragedy.

He also had a son who had his own ups and downs. For a long while, his son didn't want anything to do with the Dharma. He had inherited the big family business and was always busy. It took a while. The story goes that at some point, Anathapindika actually had to bribe his son with a thousand coins just for him to observe an Uposatha Day^[5].

I thought, "Wow, poor parents. That's kind of what we have to do sometimes." [Laughter]

But there was a happy ending. The bribe worked. Because the son was so busy, observing the Uposatha Day meant he actually stopped working for a day and finally took a break. That wasn't so bad. Then, Anathapindika bribed him with another thousand coins to spend an afternoon at the monastery. That is where he met the Buddha, received the teaching, and deeply connected with it. Over time, he too became a devoted Buddhist disciple and was known as "Little Anathapindika."

It wasn't straightforward for Anathapindika. You can imagine the many years his son was too busy with business to listen, and the frustration Anathapindika might have felt. But he persisted.

Friendship and Equanimity

Anathapindika's broader social circle consisted of many different kinds of individuals. As a businessman, he had like-minded peers, but he also had friends who drank—perhaps business associates he traveled with. It was said that Anathapindika never diminished them or tried to fix them. He simply modeled what he could model and maintained his friendships without forcing his way onto them.

I was very touched by this. Anathapindika wasn't just generous in a material way; he had a generous heart. He let people be, while doing the best he could to model a moderate way of living in the world.

There is also a story about a friend he befriended at a very young age who had the unfortunate name "Unlucky Bird." I suspect this friend may have been from a lower caste, as the caste system was very prominent back then. When this friend needed money, Anathapindika helped him out and offered him a job that took care of his family. His other friends criticized him, saying, "This is very unfortunate and inauspicious." But Anathapindika wasn't concerned and gave him the job anyway.

One time, Anathapindika was on a business trip. Some thieves heard he was away and schemed a robbery. The vigilant Unlucky Bird heard about this and started drumming loudly in the middle of the night just as the robbers were circling the house. The loud drum sound scared everybody away. When Anathapindika came back and heard about this, he said, "Look, you tell me this is unlucky? I'm very fortunate that he helped us out in this way." He had a heart that was wide open, receiving all different forms of beings around him.

Relationship with the Buddha

Regarding his relationship with the Buddha, after the monastery was built, the Buddha came to Jeta's Grove very often. As a great disciple, Anathapindika would go to see the Buddha twice a day. Interestingly, he would usually just sit quietly to one side. It is said that he did not ask the Buddha questions because he didn't want to create the impression that he was getting special treatment for having contributed to the community so much. He was a truly humble being.

He would come to see the Buddha, sit to one side, and wait to see if the Buddha would say something, give a Dharma talk, or ask him a question. If the Buddha didn't say anything, Anathapindika might mention a situation he was in or what he had been doing outside, and then wait for the Buddha's response or approval. That was his way of engaging with the teachings.

During the times they spent together, the Buddha gave a wide range of teachings, ranging from how to behave in very mundane situations all the way up to liberative teachings. In this way, the teachings flow down to all of us today.

The Deathbed Teaching

Perhaps the most profound teaching Anathapindika received was on his deathbed. There is a sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya^[6] (MN 143) that speaks about the time when he was really sick. He was probably very old and just not getting any better. There is a horrific description of the unbearable physical pain he had to endure—like carts pulling his limbs apart.

He asked Ananda and Sariputta^[7] to come and see him. Sariputta was an Arahant, and Ananda, at that time, was not quite yet. They came to see Anathapindika, knowing that he was near death.

Sariputta offered a whole set of profound instructions that were perfectly appropriate for what Anathapindika was experiencing. He invited Anathapindika not to cling to the six senses: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body (touch sensations), and the mind. He went through this instruction one by one. Then, he went through the Five Aggregates^[8]—the collections of body and mind—saying not to cling to them. He told him not to cling to the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and air) that make up our bodies, and not to depend on them. He went through all the immaterial realms, saying not to cling to any of those either. He ended by saying not to cling to this world, the other world, or anything in between.

Reading the sutta, I get the sense that Anathapindika was ready for this. He knew he was dying, and holding any form of clinging to his fading body made no sense. As Sariputta was offering this—almost like a guided meditation—Anathapindika probably rode the wave with him. He felt the truth of it.

At the end, Anathapindika burst into tears. Ananda didn't quite know what was happening and asked, "Householder, are you failing? Are you sinking?"

Anathapindika responded, "No, venerable Ananda, I am not failing. It is just that for a long time I have paid homage to the Buddha and the esteemed monastics, yet I have never before heard such a Dharma talk."

Despite being around the Buddha so much, he had never heard this. Ananda explained, "Well, these instructions usually aren't given to laypeople."

Anathapindika asked them, "Please let these teachings be offered to lay practitioners as well, because there are people with little dust in their eyes who can understand this."

For this, I am forever grateful. These teachings were no longer kept strictly for the monastics; they were offered to those who were ready, lay or monastic.

I remember the first time I heard this sutta, I thought, "I'd like someone to read this to me on my deathbed." I actually went ahead and recorded myself reading it. If somebody isn't there to read it to me, I'm going to listen to my own recording.

We hold that possibility for each of us. There were great beings like Anathapindika 2,600 years ago, and there are great beings now who come to be through the practice. May the story of Anathapindika be an inspiration for all of us.

Thank you for your kind attention. I have a few minutes if there are any reflections, sharing, or comments.

Q&A

Question: Thank you for the really beautiful Dharma talk. What was the name of the sutta? Ying Chen: Let me look it up. I'll give you the number—it is 143 of the Middle Length Discourses.

Question: How many suttas are in the Middle Length Discourses? Ying Chen: 152. So it is towards the end.

Question: I especially appreciate your talking about Anathapindika's family. That really put it in a broader context for me. Ying Chen: That's right. Knowing that people back then had families and went through all kinds of ups and downs just like us brings what is being taught alive. It's true that they may have been living in a very different way than how we live, but there is also a lot in common. It was so special for this layperson to receive the teachings in this way.

Well, maybe that's enough then. I'll be around if there are questions and comments you'd like to come up and chat about. Thank you, everyone.