Two merchants passing through Uruvelā, prompted by a god, offer the Buddha barley meal and honey. The Four Great Kings (the four gods who guard the four directions) each present a stone bowl, and the Buddha merges the four into one to receive the food. The two men at once and become the first male in the world. The Pali canon of the Southern tradition names them Tapussa and Bhallika. Taishō Canon
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Pali Canon
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Different Accounts
Timing: the Pali Vinaya has the fourth week; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition and the Buddha biographies Fangguang da zhuangyan jing and Fo benxing ji jing say day 49 after the Awakening; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka, Mahīśāsaka and Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayas and others all place it after the first seven days, that is, on day 8.
More differences between accounts (3)
Taking refuge: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas say the two took refuge in the Buddha and the Dhamma only (there was as yet no Sangha, that is, no community of monastic disciples); the Buddha biographies Taizi ruiying benqi jing and Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing and the Tibetan Vinaya say they took refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, the Sangha here meaning “the Sangha that will exist in the future”.
The names of the two merchants differ completely between sources, and the number of people and of carts also varies; the Buddha biography Zhongxu mohedi jing, for example, records only one caravan leader.
The Buddha biographies Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing and the Buddhacarita place this event after Brahmā's entreaty, on the road after the Buddha left the Bodhi tree.
Dating
Year 1 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-five, before the ; the Vinaya texts state that it was “after seven days” of some week (the sources range from day 8 to day 28), while the later commentaries say day 49, so the event is known only to fall within seven weeks of the Awakening.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by four schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü), the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü) and the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: fixed to the day, approximate range.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:4.1.1–4.5.4
- Pali Canon巴利 AN 1.248:1.1
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.781c–782a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.782a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.782a–785c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.103a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.125a–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.185 p.479a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.526b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.601c–602c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.643b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.801a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.951b–952a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.28c
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.147c
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 35a7–37a1
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.601c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.801b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.643b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.602c
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 35a7
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.125a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.125b
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 36b4–36b5
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:4.5.3