Entering Senānigama at Uruvelā in the morning, the Buddha recalls that as his austerities were coming to an end the headman's two daughters had offered him milk-rice, ghee and honey, and so he goes first to their house to teach. The two in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, become female , and prepare a meal for the Buddha. This event is found only in the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Tibetan Vinaya.
Different Accounts
Names: the Saṅghabhedavastu of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has Nandā and Nandabalā (Huanxi and Huanxili), as does the Tibetan Vinaya; the Pravrajyāvastu of the same Vinaya has Nanda and Nandabala (Nantuo and Nantuoboluo).
More differences between accounts (2)
The later commentaries of the Southern tradition place the offering by Sujātā before the Awakening, and do not record a return visit by the Buddha after it.
The Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas and the Buddha biography Fo benxing ji jing place a similar episode of “village women offering food and taking refuge” in the first weeks after the Awakening.
Dating
Year 2 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-six, before the ; inferred from the order of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, after the conversion of the thirty young men and before the Buddha went to Kassapa's dwelling; known only to fall roughly in this period.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded only in the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Recorded by one school.
- 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
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.130c–131a
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1444 p.1027a
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 53b6–55b7
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 ka 31a1
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 nga 55b2–55b3