The Buddha delivered many teachings to his followers but most often they were very brief and not unpacked. It was left up to Ananda to provide a more detailed exposition. Hence, Ananda gained a reputation of being able to expound the teachings of the Buddha.
I think most of us would have appreciated an Ananda because a teaching in brief can sometimes be too brief. It is somewhat like Jōshū’s famous Mu 無 reply to the question, “Does a dog have Buddha-Nature?" For most of us, his reply proves to be a barrier 関 that we cannot pass through. We are left stymied. Thankfully our Ananda is Mumon Ekai (1183–1260) who put together the Mumonkan which is a collection of 48 Zen or Chan koans compiled in the early 13th century. He explains how to approach koans.
As students of Buddhism and in particular Zen or Chan we are left pretty much in the dark most of the time as to Buddhism’s big picture. We often don’t have an Ananda. Even if we came across the big picture many of us would not recognize it. When we read that someone asked Jōshū what is it like “not mistaking the Way.” He said. "Know your mind. See into your true nature. This is, 'not mistaking the way’.” Jōshū was right. But what is this mind? We read that this mind is luminous which is not the same as the mind between our ears. This ‘luminoisty’ is something we have to personally experience or know. It is certainly beyond our mental conceptions (here I am being an Ananda).
I think teachers need to be more like Ananda when it comes to the teaching. It is their job to unpack the often recondite words of the Buddha and Zen masters. For many of us it is too much. We have jobs and families. What we bring to the Dharma center is our faith that our teacher will be more like Ananda!
Comments