Four friends of Yasa in Bārāṇasī hear that he has gone forth and come to the Deer Park. The Buddha teaches them; the four attain the and go forth, and before long all attain ; there are now eleven arahants in the world. The Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya names the four Vimala, Subāhu, Puṇṇaji and Gavampati (Wugou, Shanbi, Manyuan and Jiafanpoti). Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
Different Accounts
The four names differ between sources, and how the names in the different sources correspond can only be guessed from their meanings.
More differences between accounts (2)
The Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says the Buddha ordained them simply by calling “Come, ”, without first teaching them, and groups the four with Yasa as five sons of wealthy families (sons of householders).
The Buddha biographies Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing, the Buddhacarita and the Fangguang da zhuangyan jing do not have these four friends.
Dating
Year 1 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-five, during the , soon after Yasa's going forth; inferred from the sequence of events, known only to fall within this rains retreat.
Related Entries
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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
Inferred from the sequence of events (neither the canonical texts nor the commentaries give the time; the year is worked out from the order of this event and those around it). Time precision: approximate range.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:9.1.1–9.4.9
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.790b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.105c–106a
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.129c–130a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.149b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.956c
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 50b2–51a4
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 51a4
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 51a5