When Shakyamuni passed away, why was only Ananda grief stricken and crying?

When Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, only Ananda was grief-stricken and cried loudly, because when Ananda was by the Buddha's side, because of the Buddha's teachings and guidance, he had a deep relationship with the Dharma, and felt extremely sad and lost for the Buddha's death.

Shakyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism, and through his own practice and enlightenment, he reached the state of liberation and spread the ideas of Buddhism. Ananda was a cousin of Shakyamuni Buddha who served beside the Buddha, listened to his teachings, and practiced with the Buddha. He was well aware of the greatness and importance of the Buddha, and felt extremely sad about the Buddha's death.

In addition, Ananda did not realize the status of an arhat, so after the Buddha attained nirvana, he gradually attained the status of an arhat. He deeply understood his own ignorance and confusion, and his motivation to practice the Dharma was stronger, and his acceptance of the Buddha's death became even more difficult.

Therefore, when Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, Ananda felt extremely sad and lost, and cried out. It also expresses his gratitude and admiration for the Buddha, as well as his firm belief in his own practice.

Because at that time, among the ten venerable beings around the Buddha, only Ananda was not a Goa arhat. It proves that the Goa Arhat is a sage in the whole sense of the word, and has been freed from worldly desires. Ananda is an arhat attained only after the Buddha's nirvana and when he assembled the sutras.

Lengyan Sutra Volume 1 notes 20211101

Original text: Ananda saw the Buddha, bowed and wept, hated that he had no beginning, and he had never heard a lot, and he had not yet completed the power of the Dao. Attentively invite the ten directions to come, smile and become Bodhi, and the wonderful samadha, samadhi, and Zena are initially convenient.

At that time, there were Hengsha Bodhisattvas and the great arhats of the ten directions, the Buddhas of the Bizhi and so on, who were happy to hear it, and retreated silently to accept the holy decree.

Notes: Dao Force: The power of concentration.

Bodhi: It means "enlightenment".

Samadhi: It means "to ascend to the scum", "to be silent".

Samadhi: It means "view".

Dhyana: It means "meditation".

Translation: When Ananda saw the Buddha, he bowed to the Buddha's feet, wept sadly, and regretted that he had only wanted to remember and hear more since the beginning of time, but he did not cultivate wisdom, and he was not strong enough, and he was deceived by this evil curse. So he kindly asked the Buddha to give a compassionate lecture and talk about the first convenience of the Ten Directions of Nyorai Bodhisattva and the practice of the profound methods of samadhi, samadhi, and dhyana.

At that time, many of the bodhisattvas present, as well as the great arhats of the ten directions, and the Buddha's compassion, also pleaded with the Buddha to give a compassionate teaching, and sat around the Buddha, quietly waiting to listen to the teachings.