Assaji

Venerable Assaji
Buddha preaches to Assaji and his four colleagues
Personal
Religion	Buddhism
Occupation	bhikkhu
Senior posting
Teacher	Gautama Buddha

Assaji(Pali:Assaji,Sanskrit:Aśvajit) was one of the first fivearahantsofGautama Buddha.He is known for his conversion ofSariputtaandMahamoggallana,the Buddha's two chief male disciples, counterparts to the nunsKhemaandUppalavanna,the chief female disciples. He lived in what is nowUttar PradeshandBiharin northernIndia,during the 6th century BCE.

Background

Assaji was born into a scholar family. His father was one of the eight scholars who were invited bySuddhodana,the monarch of theSakyankingdom toKapilavastuto read the fortune of his sonSiddhartha.Assaji's father and six of the other had predicted that Siddhartha would either become a great religious leader or a great military monarch.Kaundinya,the youngest was the only one to confidently state that Siddhartha would become aBuddha.As a result, when Siddhartha renounced the world, Kaundinya and Assaji, as well asBhaddiya,VappaandMahanama,three sons of three of the scholars joined Siddhartha in the ascetic life. The five joined Siddhartha in self-mortification practices atUruvela.When Siddhartha abandoned this practice to follow theMiddle Way,they left him in disappointment, believing he had become indulgent.

Arahantship

But after the Enlightenment, the Buddha visited them atSarnath,where they had journeyed after the split. The Buddha preached theFour Noble Truthsand theDhammacakkappavattana Sutra,and they became the first fivebhikkhusof thesangha.Assaji was the last to understand the teachings, and the Buddha had to give further explanations to him and Mahanama while the other three bhikkhus went out on alms round. He was the last to reachsotapanna,the first stage ofarahanthood.He became an arahant, together with the others, at the preaching of theAnattalakkhana Sutra.

Conversion of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana

Assaji was on alms round inRajagaha,whenSariputtain his search for enlightenment, spotted him. Being impressed by Assaji's demeanour, Sariputta followed him until he had finished his alms round. After Assaji sat down, Sariputta asked him about his teacher and the teaching he followed. Initially, Assaji was reluctant to preach, explaining that he was inexperienced, but relented at the urging of Sariputta. Assaji spoke a short verse:

Of all those things that from a cause arise,

Tathagata the cause thereof has told;
And how they cease to be, that too he tells,

This is the teaching of the Great Recluse.

Sariputta comprehended, gainingsotapanna,the first stage ofarahanthoodafter hearing the teachings, which implied theFour Noble Truths.He went off to tell Mahamoggallana, his friend since childhood that he had been successful in his search for enlightenment. Both then became bhikkhus in the sangha and went on to become the two chief disciples of the Buddha.

Assaji was highly venerated by Sariputta, and in whichever quarter Assaji was residing, Sariputta would extend his clasped hands in an attitude of reverent supplication in the direction, as well as turning his head when he lay down to sleep in the direction.

One day when Assaji was going throughVesalifor alms, the Nigantha Saccaka, who was looking for ascetics to debate, questioned him regarding the Buddha's Dharma because Assaji was a prominent disciple (ñātaññatara-sāvaka). Assaji delivered a summary of the doctrine contained in the Anattalakkhana Sutta. Confident of his ability to refute these views, Saccaka went with a large concourse ofLicchavisto the Buddha and questioned him. This was the occasion for the preaching of the Cula-Saccaka Sutta.