The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra translated by Faxian records: on the day after the relinquishing of the life force, the Licchavis hear that the Buddha will pass away and go out of the city to ask him to remain in the world; the Buddha teaches them seven things that lead to growth. The Licchavi women and Ambapālī also come with offerings, and the Buddha teaches the fruits of keeping the precepts; a vast number of gods and humans attain the , and sixty monks attain . Unwilling to part, the crowd follows him, and the Buddha conjures a river to separate them. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
The Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Youxing jing, the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the Fo bannihuan jing, the Bannihuan jing and the Tibetan Vinaya do not have this passage.
More differences between accounts (1)
The Chinese Ekottarika Āgama records the Buddha looking back at Vesālī and speaking a verse, conjuring a great pit to separate the people, and throwing his bowl to the people as an object of offering; the Buddha biography Buddhacarita also has a chapter on the Licchavis' farewell.
Dating
Year 45 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-nine to eighty, after the , on the day after the relinquishing of the life force; the “next day” is stated in the canonical text; known only to be a certain day in this year.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “the Licchavis' farewell after the relinquishing of the life force” is recorded only in the Chinese three-fascicle Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Recorded by one school. The “conjured river or pit” within it is recorded only in the Chinese three-fascicle Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 251a7–252a2
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.193b
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.193c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.194b
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.194c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.195a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.44a
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.748c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.749a