At the Hall with the Peaked Roof in the Great Wood at Vesālī the Buddha assembles the monks and teaches the Dhamma he has realized for himself, the thirty-seven practices from the four establishments of mindfulness to the , telling the disciples to uphold and practise them for the benefit of beings. He also announces that he will pass away in three months, speaking verses such as “My years are ripe”. Pali Canon
Different Accounts
Place: the Chinese Youxing jing has the hall near the Fragrance shrine; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has the refectory near the Bow-Taking shrine; the Tibetan Vinaya says Ānanda assembled the monks near the Cāpāla shrine in the hall. The Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra also says the monks staying near the Cāpāla shrine gathered in the hall.
More differences between accounts (1)
The Chinese Youxing jing also lists the names of the twelve genres of the Buddha's teachings; the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra translated by Faxian says the Buddha returned that evening to the Hall with the Peaked Roof and set out only the next day.
Dating
Year 45 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-nine to eighty, after the , on the day of the relinquishing of the life force or shortly after; “in three months” is stated in the canonical text; fixed only to about three months before the passing.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by five schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dīrgha Āgama, the Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, the Chinese Fo bannihuan jing and Bannihuan jing and the Chinese three-fascicle Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: month only.
Sources
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 250b6–251a7
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》（Waldschmidt）§19.1–19.10
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.16c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.193b
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 250b6–251a2
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 251a7
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》§19.1–19.5
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:3.49.1–3.51.20
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.16c–17a
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.165b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.6 p.181a–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.6 p.181a
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.192c–193b
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.193a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.388b–c
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:3.48.8–3.50.1
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.165b
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.192c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.388b