LIKE A SHADOW THAT NEVER DEPARTS

A brief, thorough account of the life of Ananda, the Buddha’s right-hand man who exercised a great influence over his legacy.

By the time Buddha had reached the age of 55, he was physically exhausted by his ceaseless efforts to manage and extend his sangha, or following. He finally decided to take on a “trustworthy chief-of-staff” to organize his daily life. He chose Ananda, a cousin, to assume the role—he had distinguished himself both by his limitless loyalty and a preternatural memory for the recitation of the Buddha’s teachings. Ananda’s position was a multifaceted one—he was the Buddha’s “personal envoy” as well as “zealous protector”— he represented the Buddha and insulated him from frivolous wastes of his time. And over the course of 25 years, he even exerted some influence over the Buddha. He played an instrumental role in convincing him to open the sangha to women, something the Buddha strongly resisted, a controversial subject rigorously examined by author Scott. Moreover, Ananda became a “human repository for all the Buddha’s sermons” and was central to the preservation and transmission of them. As Scott observes: “It is not an exaggeration to claim that Buddhism would not have flourished without Ananda’s precise, accurate oral recitations of the Buddha’s discourses.” The book concludes with a helpfully synoptic account of the Buddha’s core teachings. Scott furnishes more than a concise biography of Ananda—he also limns an evocative picture of the Buddha’s inner circle, often turbulent and acrimonious. Also, he thoughtfully raises the question of what enlightenmentmeans—were the senior monks jealous of Ananda’s proximity to the Buddha really enlightened? And did Ananda’s devotion to the Buddha paradoxically undermine his own efforts to become enlightened? This is an impressively comprehensive account given its brevity, and it doubles as a lucid introduction to Buddhism that should interest both readers with a sophisticated command of Buddhist history and principle and those with only a minor acquaintance.

An exacting but informally accessible biography.