RE: The Early Schools of Indian Buddhism Series

I will teach you how to help yourself when I become a Bodhisattva, at this time we are good friends and we can help each other.

Once the Buddha’s disciple Ananda asked him about friendship. Ananda knew that having good and encouraging friends was very important for the path. He even wondered whether having good friends is half the path.

“No, Ananda,” the Buddha told him, “having good friends isn’t half of the Holy Life. Having good friends is the whole of the Holy Life.”

Ananda is my favorite out of all the Buddha's friends. He was the champion for women attaining enlightenment and joining the sangha as a monastic. I always wondered what happened to Ananda and it looks like his foremost student went to Kashmir, which means Ananda influence is strong within the Mahayana traditions which are more accepting of women and lay people attaining enlightenment.

Good Friends