Mahamaudgalyayana
| Most Venerable Mahā Moggallāna Maha Thero | |
|---|---|
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| Religion | Buddhism |
| Dharma names | Moggallāna, Mahā Maudgalyāyana |
| Personal | |
| Born | c. 568 BCE Kolitha village, Magadha (today in the Indian State of Bihar) |
| Died | c. 484 BCE (aged 84) Kālasilā cave, Magadha |
| Parents | Moggalī Brahmin lady (mother) |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Vāmasāvaka (Left hand side chief disciple of Gautama Buddha) & Dutiyasāvaka (Second chief disciple of Gautama Buddha) |
| Religious career | |
| Teacher | Gautama Buddha |
| Students | Most Ven. Rahula Maha Thera, etc. |
| Translations of Maudgalyayana |
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|---|---|
| Pali | Moggallāna Thera |
| Sanskrit | Maudgalyāyana |
| Chinese |
目連 (Pinyin: Mùlián/Mohemujianlian) |
| Japanese |
目犍連 (rōmaji: Mokuren/Mokkenren) |
| Korean |
摩訶目犍連/目連 (RR: Mongnyŏn/Mokkŏllyŏn) |
| Sinhala | මහා මොග්ගල්ලාන මහ රහතන් වහන්සේ |
| Thai | พระโมคคัลลานะ |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Maudgalyāyana (Pali: Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana, was one of the Sakyamuni Buddha's closest disciples. A contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra, and Mahākasyapa, he is considered the second of the Buddha's two foremost disciples (foremost in psychic powers), together with Śāriputra. Maudgalyāyana became a spiritual wanderer in his youth, together with his friend Śāriputra. After heaving searched for a while, they came into contact with the Buddhist teaching and eventually the Buddha himself. Maudgalyāyana attained enlightenment shortly after that. As a teacher, he became known for his psychic powers, which he used extensively in his teaching methods. He died at the age of eighty-four, being killed through the efforts of a rivaling sect. This violent death has been described in Buddhist scriptures as a result of Maudgalyāyana's karma of having killed his own parents in a previous life.
In Mahāyāna texts, Maudgalyāyana became known for his filial piety through a popular account of him transferring his merits to his mother. The account led to a tradition in China and Japan known as the ghost festival, during which people dedicate their merits to their ancestors. Maudgalyāyana has also traditionally been associated with meditation and sometimes Abhidharma texts, as well as the Dharmaguptaka school. In the nineteenth century, relics were found attributed to him.
In the Pali Canon, it is described that Maudgalyāyana had a skin color like a blue lotus or a rain cloud. Oral tradition in Sri Lanka says that this was because he was born in hell in many lifetimes.(See § Death because of karma, below.) Karaluvinna believes, however, that originally a dark skin was meant, not blue. In the Mahāsāṃghika Canon, it is stated that he was "beautiful to look at, pleasant, wise, intelligent, full of merits..." (translation by Migot).
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