Ājnāta Kaundinya [阿若憍陳如] (; Pali Annā Kondanna; Anya-kyōjinnyo): Also known as Kaundinya. One of the five ascetics who heard Shakyamuni Buddha’s first sermon and thereupon converted to his teachings. He was born to a Brahman family of Kapilavastu in northern India. When Shakyamuni renounced the secular world, Kaundinya and four other men accompanied him at the order of Shakyamuni’s father, King Shuddhodana, and practiced austerities together with him. When Shakyamuni discarded his ascetic practice, however, they abandoned him and left for Deer Park. After Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, Kaundinya and the others again encountered the Buddha at Deer Park and embraced his teachings. The “Five Hundred Disciples” (eighth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra predicts that he will become a Buddha named Universal Brightness. See also five ascetics.