Various Incidents

Neither the suttas nor the commentaries offer us abundant biographical information about the Venerable Maha Kaccana's life in the Sangha. They focus, rather, on his role as teacher, especially on his detailed expositions of the Buddha's brief statements. From the settings (nidana) to the suttas in which Maha Kaccana appears, we can infer that after his ordination he spent most of his time in Avanti. Usually, it seems, he dwelt quietly in seclusion, though when occasion arose he gave instruction to others. Periodically he would go to visit the Buddha at his main places of residence, and it seems likely that he also sometimes accompanied him on his preaching tours. The three suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya in which Maha Kaccana appears in the role of expositor open at three different locales — in Kapilavatthu, Rajagaha, and Savatthi. As these cities were, relative to the geographical extent of the Ganges Valley, widely separated from each other, and as all were far from Avanti, this suggests either that the Venerable Maha Kaccana spent long periods accompanying the Buddha on his journeys or that he would travel to the different monastic centers where the Buddha resided when he heard that the Master intended to stay there for some time.

We do not find in the texts indications that Maha Kaccana entered into close friendships with the other leading monks, as for instance Sariputta, Maha Moggallana, and Ananda did with one another. He seems to be one who generally lived aloof, though he did not place a strict emphasis on seclusion in the manner of one like the Venerable Maha Kassapa, nor did he seem especially stern in his asceticism.[10] He was ready to assume teaching duties on request, as we shall see, but we find that he always appears in the suttas in the role of expositor and elucidator of the Dhamma to others. We do not see the Venerable Maha Kaccana engage in person-to-person dialogues with other monks, as we see in the case of all the above-mentioned elders; neither do we see him address inquiries to the Buddha, as even the wisest of the bhikkhus, the Venerable Sariputta, often did. His absence is conspicuous in the Mahagosinga Sutta (MN 32), wherein the other outstanding disciples gather on a full-moon night to discuss the ideal bhikkhu who could illuminate the forest. On that occasion six great elders — Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda, Maha Kassapa, Anuruddha, and Revata — each describe the ideal bhikkhu according to their particular dispositions, and at the end the Buddha offers his own picture of the most worthy monk. Surely if Maha Kaccana was present on that occasion he would have described such a monk as one skilled in the detailed exposition of brief sayings.

Maha Kaccana did grant ordination, as we saw above in the case of Sona, though his pupils were probably not very numerous, despite the words of the Anguttara Commentary. One of his pupils was the bhikkhu Isidatta, who even while very young had impressed many of the older monks with his incisive replies to difficult questions on the Dhamma.[11] There can be little doubt that Isidatta's adroitness in tackling subtle points of doctrine reflects the rigorous training he must have received from the Venerable Maha Kaccana.

On one occasion when the Venerable Maha Kaccana visited the Buddha he received special homage from Sakka, the king of the gods.[12] This occurred when the Buddha was dwelling at the Eastern Park at Savatthi, in the Mansion of Migara's Mother. The Lord was sitting surrounded by a company of great disciples on the occasion of the pavarana, the ceremony of mutual criticism among the monks which ends the annual rains retreat. Because Maha Kaccana regularly used to visit the Buddha in order to hear the Dhamma, coming even from a long distance, the other chief elders would always reserve a seat for him in case he should unexpectedly turn up.

On this occasion Sakka, along with his celestial retinue, drew near to the holy assembly and prostrated himself before the Blessed One. Since he did not see the Venerable Maha Kaccana, he thought to himself: "It would be good indeed if the noble elder would arrive." Just at that moment Maha Kaccana approached and took his seat. When Sakka beheld him, he grasped him firmly by the ankles, expressed his joy over the elder's arrival, and honored him with gifts of scents and flowers. Some of the younger monks were upset and complained that Sakka was being partial in his display of reverence, but the Buddha reproved them with the words: "Monks, those monks who, like my son Maha Kaccana, guard the doors of the senses, are beloved both among gods and humans." He then pronounced the following stanza of the Dhammapada (v.94):

    "Even the gods hold him dear,
    Whose senses are subdued
    Like horses trained well by a charioteer,
    Whose pride is destroyed,
    And who is free from corruptions."

That the Venerable Maha Kaccana was actually one who devoted much attention to the mastery of the sense faculties is borne out by his discourses, which (as we shall see below) often emphasize the need for guarding "the doors of the senses."

The commentaries record two curious series of events, both of which stemmed from the impression that the elder's physical form made on the minds of others. One of these, reported in the Dhammapada Commentary,[13] involved a young man named Soreyya, who was the son of the treasurer in the city of the same name. One day the youth Soreyya was driving out of the city in a carriage, en route to a bathing spot together with an intimate friend and a merry band of companions. Just as they were leaving the city the Venerable Maha Kaccana was standing at the city gate, putting on his outer robe before entering to walk on alms round. When the youth Soreyya beheld the golden-hued body of the elder, he thought to himself: "Oh, that this elder might become my wife! Or may the hue of my wife's body become like the hue of his body!"

At the very moment this thought passed through his mind, Soreyya was instantly transformed from a man into a woman. Startled by this inexplicable change of sex, he jumped out of the carriage and fled before the others could notice what had occurred. Gradually he made his way to the city of Takkasila. His companions searched for him in vain and reported his strange disappearance to his parents. When all attempts to trace him proved futile, his parents concluded that he had died and they had the funeral rites performed.

Meanwhile the woman Soreyya, on reaching Takkasila, met the son of the city's treasurer, who fell in love with her and took her as his wife. In the first years of their marriage she gave birth to two sons. Previously, while a man, Soreyya had fathered two sons through his wife in his native city. Thus he was the parent of four children, two as a father and two as a mother.

One day the former intimate friend of Soreyya came to Takkasila on some personal business. Lady Soreyya saw him in the street and recognized him. She called him into her house and revealed to him the secret of her mysterious metamorphosis from a man into a woman. The friend proposed that Soreyya should offer alms to the Venerable Maha Kaccana, who was living close by, and then beg pardon from him for having given rise to such a lewd thought.

The friend then went to the elder and invited him to come to the lady's house for alms on the following day. When the Venerable Maha Kaccana arrived, the friend brought Lady Soreyya into his presence, informed him of what had happened long ago, and asked him to pardon her for that transgression. As soon as the elder uttered the words "I pardon you," Lady Soreyya was transformed back into a man. Shaken out of all worldly complacency by this double metamorphosis, Soreyya determined that he could never again lead the household life. He took ordination as a bhikkhu under Maha Kaccana, and after a short time attained arahantship together with the supernormal powers.

Vassakara, the chief minister of Magadha under the parricide King Ajatasattu, was less fortunate, though his misfortune sprang entirely from his own pride and obstinacy and not from some force outside his control. The commentary to the Majjhima Nikaya reports that one day, when Vassakara saw the Venerable Maha Kaccana coming down from the mountain Vulture Peak, he exclaimed: "He looks just like a monkey!"[14] Such an exclamation seems strange, particularly as Maha Kaccana is described in the texts as being especially handsome and graceful in his physical presence. Whatever the reason for the remark, news of the incident spread and eventually reached the Buddha. The Blessed One said that if Vassakara should go to the elder and beg his pardon, all would be well; but if he does not ask pardon he would be reborn as a monkey in the Bamboo Grove in Rajagaha. This was reported back to Vassakara. As the chief minister of the kingdom, he must have been too proud to beg forgiveness from a mendicant monk. Thus, reflecting that whatever the Buddha says must turn out to be true, he resigned himself to his future fate and made preparations for his next existence by planting trees in the Bamboo Grove and setting up a guard to protect the wild life there. It is said that some time after his death a monkey was born in the Bamboo Grove who would draw near when one called out "Vassakara."

The circumstances of the Venerable Maha Kaccana's death are not recorded in the texts, but at the end of the Madhura Sutta (discussed below) Maha Kaccana declares that the Buddha has attained Parinibbana, so it is evident from this that he himself outlived his Master.

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