Disciple or founding teacher
Mokuren
目連
One of the Ten Great Disciples, a disciple of Shaka called "foremost in supernatural powers."
This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
The name and role of Mokuren
One of the Ten Great Disciples, a disciple of Shaka called "foremost in supernatural powers." In the tale from the Urabon Kyō introduced by Kongōbu-ji, Mokuren, in order to help his mother suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts, sought Shaka's teaching and made offerings to the monks. This tale is handed down as the origin of the Urabon-e.
Source: 高野山真言宗 総本山金剛峯寺・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Tracing the form and traditions
He is said to have become Shaka's disciple after having been in Sanjaya's group together with his childhood friend Sharihotsu. He is known for having built the Eastern Monastery (東寺), also called the Rokushimo Lecture Hall; from records that he served as Shaka's guard, he is imagined to have been of sturdy build, and he is said to have been killed by the disciples of those who plotted to kill Shaka.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
People who learned the teaching and passed it on
The Ten Great Disciples are those among Shaka's disciples who are regarded as having excelled in fields such as wisdom, preaching and the precepts. The practice or work in which each excelled is expressed in the title "foremost" (daiichi).
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Until the sutras were handed down
After Shaka's death, the disciples are said to have held a council (ketsujū) to gather and confirm the teachings. A Sōtō school explanation says that Makakashō led the assembly, Ānan recited the teachings, Upari recited the precepts, and the other disciples checked them.
Source: 曹洞宗