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There were many who commanded vidyācārana labdhi; by a slight upaşaţambha, in two stages, they could reach the eighth isle named Nandis vara or the summit of Mount Meru.
There were many who commanded ākāśātipāti labdhi; they could fly into the sky and shower from there silver and many other wholesome and unwholesome objects.
It is, however, stated that Moggallana had a very tragic end. People of other faiths became so very jealous of him that they beat him to death like a beast. His bones were smashed to small particles so that no single particle was bigger than a grain of rice. It is further stated that he could have saved himself by dint of his spiritual powers, but he did not do that. He submitted to the torture silently taking it to be the outcome of his past karma (13).
4. Ananda - In several respects, Ananda was more intimate with the Buddha than either Sariputta or Moggallana. His relation with the Master makes an interesting and inspiring account. He was associated with many historic events which have become immortal in the Buddhist tradition. The inclusion of nuns in the Buddhist order was the outcome of his zeal. The Buddha was never in favour of it. He saw many faults in it. It was at the suggestion from Ananda that he initiated Mahāprajāpati Gautami as a nun. But at the same time, the Buddha said,
"If, without nuns, this order would have lasted for a thousand years, now it will remain for not more than 500. The initiation of a woman in my order has knocked out half its life-span".
The Tripitakas were compiled at the first Buddhist Council. Among the 500 ar hat bhikṣus who attended, Ananda was the only one who had an authoritative knowledge of the Sūtras. It was on his exclusive authority that the Sutt
z was compiled. It is, however, interesting that for not obtaining the necessary clarifications about the texts from the Buddha during his life-time, Ananda had to make atonements before the whole Sangha. But by far the most surprising thing is that the Sangha penalised him on
