Moggallana- Buddhist FigureMortal"Foremost in Psychic Powers"

Friendship with Sariputta

Moggallana and Sariputta were childhood friends from neighboring brahmin villages near Rajagaha. They made a pact: whoever found the path to liberation first would tell the other. After years wandering through various teachers, Sariputta encountered the monk Assaji and heard a single verse on dependent origination. He became a stream-enterer and rushed to Moggallana, who attained stream-entry upon hearing the same verse. Together they went to the Buddha and were ordained. Sariputta became foremost in wisdom, Moggallana foremost in psychic powers.

Journey to the Hungry Ghost Realm

Moggallana's psychic vision revealed that his deceased mother had been reborn as a hungry ghost, suffering from unrelenting hunger and thirst. He traveled to her realm and offered her food. It turned to flames before she could eat. He returned to the Buddha in distress. The Buddha instructed him to make offerings to the sangha at the end of the rains retreat, transferring the collective merit to his mother. Through this act, she was released and reborn in heaven. The story gave rise to the Ullambana Festival, still observed across East Asia on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month.

Foremost in Psychic Powers

In the Maratajjaniya Sutta, Mara slipped into Moggallana's belly to torment him. Moggallana felt the heaviness and knew at once what had happened. He told Mara to leave. Mara, thinking himself hidden, refused. Moggallana then recounted in detail what Mara had done in a previous cosmic age. His sight reached further than any spirit's disguise. Mara fled through his mouth.

He visited the heavens and hells and told the monks what he found there. He spoke with devas and hungry ghosts. No realm was closed to him.

Death and Karma

In a previous life, Moggallana had killed his own parents. Lifetimes of practice had burned through most of that karma, but not all. A group of hired assassins came for him. Each time, he used his powers to vanish. Finally, understanding the debt must be paid, he sat still and let them beat him to death. The Buddha confirmed this was the exhaustion of his ancient karma.