Moggallana and Sariputta were childhood friends who wandered together as ascetics, vowed that whoever found the deathless first would tell the other, and became the Buddha's two chief disciples — Sariputta at his right hand for wisdom, Moggallana at his left for supernatural power.
The Buddha designated ten monks as his principal disciples, each declared foremost in a specific quality — Sariputta in wisdom, Moggallana in supernatural powers, Mahakashyapa in ascetic practice, Ananda in learning, Anuruddha in divine eye, Subhuti in dwelling without conflict, Purna in preaching, Maha Katyayana in detailed exposition, Upali in monastic discipline, and Rahula in desire for training.
In the Heart Sutra, Avalokiteshvara perceives the emptiness of the five skandhas and teaches Sariputta that form is emptiness and emptiness is form.
Gautama Buddha named Sariputta his right-hand chief disciple and declared him foremost in wisdom — the one who could turn the wheel of dharma almost as the Teacher himself did, marshalling the Abhidhamma with a precision none among the sangha could match.
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