In the second week after the Awakening the Buddha moves to the Ajapāla banyan tree (the goatherd's banyan) at Uruvelā and sits in meditation. A haughty comes and asks what makes a person a brahmin. The Buddha answers in verse (see the Udāna). This exchange is found mainly in the Pali canon of the Southern tradition. Pali Canon
More sources (1)
Different Accounts
The Pali Vinaya places it in the second week; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition place it in the fifth week and say that it was here the Buddha met the daughters of Māra.
More differences between accounts (2)
The Buddha biography Fo benxing ji jing also records this exchange, but the places and order of the weeks are entirely different, and it notes that other schools tell it otherwise.
The Buddha biography Fangguang da zhuangyan jing says that from the second to the fourth week the Buddha walked slowly back and forth beside the tree (walking meditation) and gazed at the place of his awakening; Māra also came in the fourth week to ask the Buddha to .
Dating
Year 1 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-five, before the , days 8 to 14 after the Awakening; following the “after seven days” stated in the Pali Vinaya, the event is known only to fall within those seven days.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded only in the Pali canon of the Southern tradition. Recorded by one school.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: approximate range.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:2.1.1–2.3.7
- Pali Canon巴利 Ud 1.4:1.2
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.805a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.600c–601a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.804a