Pure Inspiration

33
A Mahākassapa for Our Time
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
It has often struck me that certain Buddhist monks I have known
bear an uncanny resemblance to great disciples of the Buddha, at
least in so far as we know them through the texts. This has
raised in my mind the intriguing question whether the great
disciples represent human archetypes, fixed molds that shape
human character and behaviour, or whether, to the contrary,
Buddhist monks tend to model themselves on their great
predecessors. I have no way to answer my question with any
certainty, but I believe the correspondence I have noted is real
and not merely a figment of my imagination.
In terms of such correspondences, there is no doubt at all which of the
great disciples the late Ven. Ñāṇavimala represents. Ven. K. Nyanananda
(author of Concept and Reality, The Magic of the Mind, and other works)
expressed the fact most succinctly one day when I met him in Colombo.
He said: ‘If you want to get a sermon from Mahākassapa, go see Ven.
Ñāṇavimala.’ The austere deportment, the ascetic bent of character, the
firm self-assurance, the individualistic mode of practice: all these traits
of Ven. Ñāṇavimala are reminiscent of Mahākassapa. And though we
have, of course, no portraits of the great elder, I could not help noting
the resemblance in physical stature and facial features between
Ñāṇavimala and Mahākassapa as he is depicted in Chinese Buddhist
statuary. They even share the same penetrating eyes, the broad
forehead, and the large ears.