Tang Dynasty Sculpture in the Eighth Century Image height: 175.3 cm
Limestone with pigment
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Compiled by Wen/Long Ri
The Venerable Ananda has a plump and round face, gorgeous clothes, and handsome and dignified appearance. Beautiful and noble. The nose is thick and straight, the mouth is thick and the lips are straight, the eyes are like green lotus, and they focus on the front. They are profound and intelligent, and their expressions are very vivid. The body is slender and fit in proportion. Holding the vase with both hands on the chest, wearing a colorful cassock, wearing a long skirt, standing on the lotus throne barefoot, the posture is beautiful and natural. The carvings are fine, and the cassock is very textured. It hangs down naturally along the arm, which is vivid and natural. This is a good performance of Ananda's beauty, dignity, wisdom, compassion, dignity and joy The connotation of the Tang Dynasty sculpture is a very realistic and vivid precious work. This 175cm high life size round stone sculpture of the Tang Dynasty has been in good condition for more than 1200 years, and even most of the traces of color painting remain, which is a miracle.
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[Venerable Ananda]
Venerable Ananda, also known as Ananda, was born in Wang Shecheng, the cousin of Buddha, and also the waiter of Buddha. He is one of the ten disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni, and is known as the most knowledgeable. He proved Arohango after Buddha's Nirvana and once participated in the first assembly. It is said that he became the leader of the Sangha after inheriting Mahakaya.
Ananda, translated into Chinese to celebrate happiness, was born on the day when Buddha became a Taoist, hence its name. The second son of King Baifan, the brother of Tivadatuo. After the completion of the Buddha's path, Sariputra and Mughalian served the Buddha. As the Buddha was getting old and needed a regular attendant, he gathered his disciples together and asked everyone to push one person. Sariputra and Mughalian believed that Ananda was young and had a strong memory, so they elected him as the most suitable person for this position. Ananda put forward three conditions: First, I will not wear Buddha's clothes, old or new. 2、 If believers ask Buddha to offer, I will not serve them. 3、 When I should not see the Buddha, I will not see him. Shariputra and Maghalian told the Buddha about Ananda's conditions. The Buddha sighed with great joy: Ananda is a man of excellent character. His condition is to avoid ridicule and fear that others will criticize him for serving the Buddha in order to dress and eat food. In 513 BC, when the Buddha was 53 years old, Ananda, 19 years old, was officially selected as the waiter of the Buddha in the Bamboo Forest Jingshe. He served the Buddha for 27 years, followed the Buddha's back and went to various places to promote.
Ananda is deeply respected by people in the Sangha, and he treats people with humility and sincerity. When getting along with others, we never highlight our own strengths and show others' weaknesses. Always try to help others and provide convenience for others. Sometimes when talking about Buddhism with a layman, he just shows the good without breaking the evil. For example, in Zhai Shiluo Garden, he influenced Chandra and practiced Buddhism. Instead of conquering each other with eloquence, he slowly dissolved the ice with warm sunshine. In his twenty-seven year life as a waiter, Ananda always arranges appropriate time to meet the wishes of monks, nuns and believers when they come to visit the Buddha. Especially for monks who come from afar, Ananda always comforts them kindly and makes them happy before they see the Buddha. Bithuni was very willing to listen to Ananda's teachings. He often said to Bhikhuni, "You should observe the holy precepts!"! At home, believers also like to listen to Ananda. He taught believers at home to respect the Three Treasures, accept the Five Commandments and Ten Kindnesses, serve their parents, and support the Sangha.
[Venerable Ananda presides over Buddhism]
When the Buddha entered the nirvana between the two trees of Anluo, Ananda sobbed bitterly. The Buddha looked at Ananda with pitying eyes and said to everyone: Ananda has served me very hard for 27 years. He is gentle and generous, never forgets what he hears, and will shine in the world in the future. Three days after the death of the Buddha, he got up and went to the Wang Shecheng to participate in the first assembly of scriptures. After walking for more than two months, we arrived at Wang Shecheng on April 14. The next day, he began to settle down and gather Buddhist scriptures. At this time, Da Jiaye was elected as the chief, and he selected 499 Great Arhats. Because Ananda has not yet proved his success, he was excluded. This greatly stimulated Ah Yi. He practiced hard that night, and at midnight, he became a certificate of Arohango and participated in the gathering. At the meeting, Ananda recited the "Chang Ahan Sutra", "Zhong Ahan Sutra", "Za Ahan Sutra", "Zeng Yi Ahan Sutra", "Metaphor Sutra", and "Fa Ju Sutra". The Buddhist scriptures have been handed down to the world, thanks to Ananda's contributions. Kasyain was the host of the gathering of the King's Sacrifice, and was regarded by the elders as the leader of course. Twenty years later, Kasyapa passed on the Dharma to Ananda and went to Jizu Mountain to die. Ananda was pushed to be the leader of the Sangha. At this time, he was a 66 year old man. After the destruction of Kasyapa, Buddhism, under the leadership of Ananda, was able to be harmonious. There were no major problems. When Ananda was 120 years old, one day on the road, he heard a monk saying:
'If you live a hundred years old, it is better to live one day and see it than to see it.' Ananda earnestly corrected and said:
'If you live a hundred years old and don't understand the law of birth and death, it's better to live one day and understand it'. When the young monk saw Ananda, he went back to tell Shifu. Master said: Don't listen to Ananda's nonsense. He is old and has lost his memory and wisdom. The young man told Ananda what Master said. After hearing this, Ananda thought that I recited the Buddha's Dharma for all living beings, but people's I see that I am stubborn and do not follow the Buddha's Dharma. What's the meaning of my life in the world? I also thought that when the Buddha was alive, all his disciples were killed, leaving him alone, like a cut down forest, leaving only a big tree that could not shelter from the wind and rain. So he went to the sky over the Ganges River at the junction of the two countries, and entered Nirvana. His Holy Communion is divided into two parts, one is left in the Dalin Chongge Lecture Hall, which is far from the north of Visha, and the other is left beside the Bamboo Forest Essence House in Wang Shecheng City, where he builds pagodas to support. Due to Ananda's fate of entering into extinction, the kingdom of Mojieda and Visha leave the country to repair and stop fighting, so that the lives and property of millions of people will not be damaged. It can be seen that Ananda has the spirit of Mahayana Bodhisattva to save people and save the world.
