Zen story for reflection

1. Zen Stories for Management students-Ananda’s Enlightenment Prepared by Prof.K.Prabhakar prabhakar.krishnamurthy@gmail.com

2. Ananda was the Buddha’s personal attendant for approximately twenty years. After attending to the Buddha’s personal needs, his other duties included representing Buddha on occasions, memorizing for the Buddha.

3. He was so busy that he didn’t even have time for his own practice. So by the time the Buddha died, Ananda had still not attained Enlightenment. When the Buddha was dying, Ananda cried. In contrast, enlightened monks accepted it with calmness.

4. After Buddha died , Ananda found time for his own practice. Arahat Maha Kassapa, another one of Buddha’s main disciples, was organizing the First Buddhist Sangha , a gathering of all Buddhist monks to organize and consolidate all of Buddha’s teachings. Ananda was determined that he wanted to be Enlightened by the time of the Council. So everyday, he meditated very hard.

5. As the day of the Sangha was drawing closer and closer, Ananda still seem nowhere near Enlightenment.

6. The night before the Sangha, Ananda tried hard. But still, he was getting nowhere. It was getting late. Finally, he decided, “Maybe I’ll relax and work for Enlightenment after the Sangha. “ There is no need to hurry now ”. Thinking so, he laid down to rest.

7. It was said that the moment his head touched the pillow, he attained Enlightenment.