阿難

Ānán 阿難 (Ānanda)

Canonical cousin and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni; in the Mahāyāna tradition, the rememberer (bhāṇaka) of the sūtra-piṭaka, conventionally invoked by the formula rúshì wǒ wén 如是我聞 (“Thus have I heard”) that opens almost every Buddhist sūtra. Foremost in bahuśruta (extensive learning).