Two stories are found only in some accounts. The Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Tibetan Vinaya say that the Buddha took the form of a celestial musician and went to the heavens to compete on the harp (a stringed instrument) with Supriya, king of the celestial musicians (the gandhabba king), subduing his pride; he taught him the , and Supriya attained the , as a and took the five precepts. The Chinese Ekottarika Āgama says that the nun Junchaluo hurried from Vesālī to see the Buddha, attained and passed away before him.
Different Accounts
No other account has these two events.
More differences between accounts (1)
The conversion of Supriya is found only in the Vinaya of the Sarvāstivāda (one of the schools of ancient Buddhism), in Chinese and Tibetan; Junchaluo passing away first is found only in the Chinese Ekottarika Āgama.
Dating
Year 45 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-nine to eighty, after the , on the day of the passing; the canonical text states that it was on the day of the passing; it can be fixed to the day.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded only in the Chinese Kṣudrakavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Recorded by one school.
- 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 277a5–279a6
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 277a5–279a1
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.395b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.750b–c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ap-a，§82
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.395c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.750c