An Arahant. Son of the Buddha’s paternal aunt, Amitā. He entered the Order and dwelt in a woodland settlement, but he was proud of his rank and irritable and captious in his conduct. He once came to the Buddha in tears because his colleagues had teased him on account of his talkativeness.²⁰ On another occasion, the Buddha, with his celestial eye, saw Tissa sleeping with open mouth during the siesta and, sending a ray of glory, woke him. Tissa’s heart was filled with anguish and when he confessed to his colleagues his mental laziness and distaste for religion, they brought him to the Buddha. The Buddha taught him the Tissa Sutta, at the end of which he became an Arahant.²¹

In the time of Tissa Buddha he swept the leaves from the foot of the Bodhi-tree. He is evidently identical with Bodhisammajjaka of the Apadāna.²²

The Dhammapada Commentary ²³ says that he was fat (thūlasarīro). He entered the Order when old and became fat through idleness. He spent most of his time in the Waiting-hall draped in rich robes. Monks, taking him for a Mahāthera, begged the privilege of performing various services for him, such as massaging his feet. However, when they discovered his attainments, they reviled him and he sought the Buddha. The Buddha, however, asked him to obtain their pardon for having failed to show them due honour, and when he refused, related to him the story of Nārada and Devala.