Who was Mahāmoggallāna?

Mahāmoggallāna, often called simply Moggallāna (Sanskrit, Maudgalyāyana), was one of the two chief disciples of the Buddha. The other was his friend Sāriputta. In the early texts, Sāriputta is foremost in wisdom and Moggallāna is foremost in psychic power, the abilities said to arise from very deep concentration.

Two friends

Moggallāna was born into a brahmin family near Rājagaha, in a village close to Sāriputta's. The two were friends from childhood. As young men they left home together to search for a spiritual path, and they promised that whoever found the way first would tell the other.

When Sāriputta heard the teaching from the monk Assaji, he went straight to Moggallāna and repeated it. Moggallāna also gained his first insight. Together they went to the Buddha and were ordained.

Overcoming drowsiness

According to the texts, Moggallāna struggled with sleepiness in his early meditation. In one discourse, the Buddha gives him a series of practical suggestions for nodding off: change the object of attention, reflect on teachings you have learned, recite them aloud, pull your ears, rub your limbs, get up and look at the sky, or do walking meditation. Only if all this fails, he says, should you lie down mindfully to rest. Soon afterwards Moggallāna realised full awakening.

This short, very human teaching is still used by meditators today.

A teacher and helper

The Buddha compared Moggallāna to a nurse who brings up a child, guiding people towards the highest goal after their first insight. In the texts he often helps to settle disputes, protects the community and visits other realms in meditation to learn about the results of karma. These stories have made him a popular figure across Asia.

His death and later tradition

Moggallāna died before the Buddha. According to the commentaries, he was killed by bandits, and he accepted this calmly as the result of a grave deed in a past life. He died shortly after Sāriputta.

In East Asia, Moggallāna is known as Mulian. A well-known story tells how he used his powers to help his mother, who had been reborn in a realm of suffering. The Buddha advised him to make offerings to the monastic community for her benefit. This story is linked with the Ghost Festival and with the Japanese festival of Obon.