Then Venerable Ānanda entered a dwelling, and stood there leaning against the door-jamb and crying, “Oh! I’m still only a trainee with work left to do; and my Teacher’s about to become fully extinguished, he who is so kind to me!”

Then the Buddha said to the mendicants, “Mendicants, where is Ānanda?”

“Sir, Ānanda has entered a dwelling, and stands there leaning against the door-jamb and crying: ‘Oh! I’m still only a trainee with work left to do; and my Teacher’s about to become fully extinguished, he who is so kind to me!’”

So the Buddha said to a certain monk, “Please, monk, in my name tell Ānanda that the teacher summons him.”

“Yes, sir,” that monk replied. He went to Ānanda and said to him, “Reverend Ānanda, the teacher summons you.”

“Yes, reverend,” Ānanda replied. He went to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him:

“Enough, Ānanda! Do not grieve, do not lament. Did I not prepare for this when I explained that we must be parted and separated from all we hold dear and beloved? How could it possibly be so that what is born, created, conditioned, and liable to fall apart should not fall apart, even the Realized One’s body? For a long time, Ānanda, you’ve treated the Realized One with deeds of body, speech, and mind that are loving, beneficial, pleasant, whole-hearted, and limitless. You have done good deeds, Ānanda. Devote yourself to meditation, and you will soon be free of defilements.”

Then the Buddha said to the mendicants:

“The Buddhas of the past or the future have attendants who are no better than Ānanda is for me. Ānanda is astute, he is intelligent. He knows the time for monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, king’s ministers, religious founders, and the disciples of religious founders to visit the Realized One.

There are these four incredible and amazing things about Ānanda. What four? If an assembly of monks goes to see Ānanda, they’re uplifted by seeing him and uplifted by hearing him speak. And when he falls silent, they’ve never had enough. If an assembly of nuns … laymen … or laywomen goes to see Ānanda, they’re uplifted by seeing him and uplifted by hearing him speak. And when he falls silent, they’ve never had enough. These are the four incredible and amazing things about Ānanda.

There are these four incredible and amazing things about a wheel-turning monarch. What four? If an assembly of aristocrats goes to see a wheel-turning monarch, they’re uplifted by seeing him and uplifted by hearing him speak. And when he falls silent, they’ve never had enough. If an assembly of brahmins … householders … or ascetics goes to see a wheel-turning monarch, they’re uplifted by seeing him and uplifted by hearing him speak. And when he falls silent, they’ve never had enough.

In the same way, there are those four incredible and amazing things about Ānanda.”