Ten principal disciples
[9][10] For example, the Heart Sutra, widely considered to be of utmost centrality to the Mahayana worldview and practice, is framed as an extended discourse delivered to Śāriputra.
[15][14] As chief disciple Śāriputra assumed a leadership role in the Sangha, doing tasks like looking after monks, giving them objects of meditation, and clarifying points of doctrine.
[5] He was known for his strict adherence to the Buddhist monastic rules, as well as for his wisdom and teaching ability, giving him the title "General of the Dharma" (Sanskrit: Dharmasenapati; Pali: Dhammasenāpati).
[27] Maudgalyāyana (Pali: Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of the Buddha's closest disciples.
[34] In many early Buddhist canons, Maudgalyāyana is instrumental in re-uniting the monastic community after Devadatta causes a schism.
[25] This violent death is described in Buddhist scriptures as a result of Maudgalyāyana's karma of having killed his own parents in a previous life.
[31] Through post-canonical texts, Maudgalyāyana became known for his filial piety through a popular account of him transferring his merits to his mother.
[40] Mahā Kāśyapa or Mahākāśyapa (Pali: Mahākassapa) is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple, being foremost in ascetic practice.
Mahākāśyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community following the paranirvāṇa (death) of the Buddha, presiding over the First Buddhist Council.
In Buddhist texts, he assumed many identities, that of a renunciant saint, a lawgiver, an anti-establishment figure, but also a "guarantor of future justice" in the time of Maitreya[41]—he has been described as "both the anchorite and the friend of mankind, even of the outcast".
[42] In canonical Buddhist texts in several traditions, Mahākāśyapa was born as Pippali in a brahmin family,[43] and entered an arranged marriage with a woman named Bhadda Kapilani.
[44] Pippali later met the Buddha, under whom he was ordained as a monk, named Kāśyapa,[45] but later called Mahākāśyapa to distinguish him from other disciples.
[50] Despite his ascetic, strict and stern reputation, he paid an interest in community matters and teaching,[51] and was known for his compassion for the poor,[52] which sometimes caused him to be depicted as an anti-establishment figure.
[54] He is depicted as hesitatingly allowing Ānanda to participate in the council,[55] and chastising him afterwards for a number of offenses the latter was regarded to have committed.
[60][61] Regardless, it is clear that Mahākāśyapa had an important role in the early days of the Buddhist community after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, to help establish a stable monastic tradition.
[65] This further amplified the idea of him being the primary heir and elder son of the Buddha, which came to be symbolized by the robe Mahākāśyapa had received.
[66][67] In many post-canonical texts, Mahākāśyapa decided at the end of his life to enter a state of meditation and suspended animation, which was believed to cause his physical remains to stay intact in a cave under a mountain called Kukkuṭapāda, until the coming of Maitreya Buddha in a next age.
[72] Apart from having a role in texts and lineage, Mahākāśyapa has often been depicted in Buddhist art as a symbol of reassurance and hope for the future of Buddhism.
[78][79] For instance, the Diamond Sutra is framed as a question-and-answer between the Buddha and Subhūti, resulting in the latter's deepened insight into emptiness, a core philosophical component underlying the entire Mahayana worldview.
[87][88] A notable case he decided about was that of the monk Ajjuka, who was accused of partisanship in a conflict about real estate.
[90][60] Later, Upāli and his pupils became known as vinayadharas (Pāli; 'custodians of the vinaya'), who preserved the monastic discipline after the Buddha's parinibbāna (Sanskrit: parinirvāṇa; passing into final Nirvana).
[92][93] The technical conversations about vinaya between the Buddha and Upāli were recorded in the Pāli and Sarvāstivāda traditions,[94] and have been suggested as an important subject of study for modern-day ethics in American Buddhism.
[100] This long gestation period is explained by bad karma from previous lives of both Yaśodharā and of Rāhula himself, although more naturalistic reasons are also given.
[101] As a result of the late birth, Yaśodharā needs to prove that Rāhula is really Prince Siddhārtha's son, which she eventually does successfully by an act of truth.
[102] Historian Wolfgang Schumann [de] has argued that Prince Siddhārtha conceived Rāhula and waited for his birth, to be able to leave the palace with the king and queen's permission,[103] but Orientalist Noël Péri considered it more likely that Rāhula was born after Prince Siddhārtha left his palace.
[98] He teaches the young novice about truth, self-reflection,[99] and not-self,[106] eventually leading to Rāhula's enlightenment.
[118] Ānanda performs his duties with great devotion and care, and acts as an intermediary between the Buddha and the laypeople, as well as the Saṅgha (monastic community).
Ānanda has an important role in establishing the order of bhikkhunis, when he requests the Buddha on behalf of the latter's foster-mother Mahāpajāpati Gotamī (Sanskrit: Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī) to allow her to be ordained.
[129] During the same council, however, he is chastised by Mahākassapa (Sanskrit: Mahākāśyapa) and the rest of the Saṅgha for allowing women to be ordained and failing to understand or respect the Buddha at several crucial moments.
[137] In the Sanskrit textual traditions, Ānanda is widely considered the patriarch of the Dhamma, who stands in a spiritual lineage, receiving the teaching from Mahākassapa and passing them on to his own pupils.
