The Trial of Ānanda

Some Thoughts For Modern Times

Authors

  • Donald S. Lopez Jr. University of Michigan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15239/ycjcb.01.01.01

Keywords:

ordination of women, monastic code, prophecy, First Council, disappearance of the dharma

Abstract

At the First Council, held shortly after the Buddha’s passage into nirvāṇa, Ānanda was charged with several crimes, including failing to ask the Buddha what he meant “minor rules,” encouraging the Buddha to ordain women, and failing to ask the Buddha to extend his lifespan. This essay examines each of these charges, asking whether their historical analysis might provide an avenue for the continuing evolution of the dharma.

Author Biography

  • Donald S. Lopez Jr., University of Michigan

    Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. He is the author, translator, and editor of numerous works in the field of Buddhist Studies. He has also written extensively on the European encounter with Buddhism. His recent books include Dispelling the Darkness: A Jesuit’s Quest for the Soul of Tibet (with Thupten Jinpa), Gendun Chopel: Tibet’s Modern Visionary, Seeing the Sacred in Samsara: An Illustrated Guide to the Eighty-four Mahasiddhas, Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side: A Guide to the Lotus Sūtra (with Jacqueline Stone), and, as translator, Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru: A Presentation of Classical Indian Philosophy. Among anthologies, he is the editor of several volumes in the Princeton Readings in Religions series, which he founded. He is also the editor of the Buddhism volume of the Norton Anthology of World Religions and the editor of Buddhist Scriptures for Penguin Classics. In 2008, he was the first scholar of Buddhism to deliver the Terry Lectures at Yale. In 2014, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (written with Robert Buswell) was awarded the Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association for best reference work of the year. In 2000, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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Published

2024-03-26

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Articles