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Riding out through the four gates: he sees an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a renunciant

Recorded by two schools

The Bodhisatta has his charioteer drive him out of the city for pleasure. Leaving by the eastern gate he sees an old man, and on questioning the charioteer learns that no one escapes old age; he returns to the palace in sorrow, and the king, to cheer him, adds all manner of pleasures. Later he sees in turn a sick man and a corpse, and finally a renunciant with shaven head, wearing the robe of one gone forth and carrying a , walking with lowered gaze; the Bodhisatta praises him again and again and conceives the wish to go forth. This event is found in the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya; the Pali canon of the itself does not record the story of the Buddha riding out.

Different Accounts

Age: the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya and the Buddha biography Taizi ruiying benqi jing have fourteen; the Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing and Xiuxing benqi jing place it after the marriage at seventeen; the Fo benxing ji jing places it after ten years of pleasure in the palace, around the eve of the going forth at twenty-nine; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition also place it on the eve of the going forth, which on a going forth at twenty-nine makes it twenty-nine.

More differences between accounts (3)

Apparitions created by the gods: several Buddha biographies and the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say the old man, the sick man and the others were created by the gods; the Chinese Mahīśāsaka and Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayas do not say so.

A woman's verse: the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya says a woman who saw the Bodhisatta spoke a in praise, “A woman with such a husband has joy beyond ” (a woman with such a husband has a happiness greater than nirvana), and the Bodhisatta rejoiced at hearing the word “nirvana” (the state in which the defilements are stilled); the later commentaries of the Southern tradition have a similar episode of a woman speaking a verse.

Order: the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya places the ride out before the watching of the ploughing and the entry into absorption; most Buddha biographies place it after the marriage, immediately before the going forth.

Dating

The Buddha aged fourteen; this age is stated in the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya and the Buddha biography Taizi ruiying benqi jing; other accounts place it after seventeen or on the eve of the going forth; the year is uncertain.

Related Entries

Year
The Buddha at 14
Places
Kapilavatthu
People
Not recorded
Discourses
Not recorded
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
How Reliability Is Assessed

Recorded by two schools, the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü) and the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Recorded by two schools.

Dating Evidence and Precision

Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: year uncertain.

Sources

Back to The Buddha at 14

Source text

日期怎麼讀

成道第幾年
從佛陀成道開始，每經過一次雨季安居算一年，每一年算到安居結束為止；所有年歲一律依二十九歲出家、三十五歲成道推算。
年份依據
區分經文自己明記、後世註解書記載、先後順序推定及年歲換算。
時間精確度
分別說明確定到日、月、年，或只能放入某幾年之間。
可信度
多派共傳、兩派記載、單派記載與後世補述，表達記載的共傳範圍；與時間及位置是否確定分開閱讀。