Mahākassapa is on the road with five hundred monks when he meets a ascetic holding a mandārava flower (a heavenly flower) and learns that the Buddha passed away seven days ago. The monks who have not yet abandoned desire weep and wail; but one monk who had gone forth in old age says: “At last we are free of that great ascetic (the Buddha); from now on we can do as we please.” Mahākassapa consoles them all. Taishō Canon
More sources (6)
Pali Canon
More sources (3)
Different Accounts
The name of the monk who went forth in old age: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition has Subhadda (another person of the same name as the last disciple); the Chinese Youxing jing, Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and Mahīśāsaka Vinaya have Upananda; other sources have Tantou, Mohela and others.
More differences between accounts (2)
Where Mahākassapa came from: most accounts have him on the road from Pāvā to Kusinārā; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says he set out after feeling the earthquake in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagaha; the Chinese Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya says he was in a cave on Mount Gijjhakūṭa. Taishō Canon
The Chinese Fo bannihuan jing says Mahākassapa had two thousand disciples with him; the identity of the non-Buddhist ascetic he met also differs between sources. Taishō Canon
Dating
The Buddha has already passed away (aged eighty at his passing); this is still counted in Year 45 after the Awakening, after the ; day 7 after the passing, stated in the canonical text, so it can be fixed to the day.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by seven schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dīrgha Āgama, the Chinese Kṣudrakavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü), the Chinese Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (Mohe sengqi lü), 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: fixed to the day.
Sources
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sv，§231
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 6:37.1.0–37.5.8
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 295a2–295b1
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 295a5
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 295a6
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:6.19.1–6.20.10
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 21:1.1.1–1.1.26
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.28b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.28c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.173c–174a
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.173c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.6 p.189b
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.206c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.401a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.966a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.190b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.445c–446a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.490a
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:6.19.1
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.28b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.445c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.966a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.399b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.52a
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:6.19.6