The teacher Sañjaya in Rājagaha has two hundred and fifty wandering ascetics under him. One of them, Upatissa, sees the Buddha's disciple Assaji going about with serene bearing, approaches him and asks about his teacher's teaching. Assaji briefly speaks a verse: “Of those things that arise from a cause, the Tathāgata has told the cause; and these things cease in dependence on conditions. This is the teaching of the great ascetic.” Hearing it, Upatissa attains the and tells his close friend Kolita, who also attains the first fruit. The two lead the two hundred and fifty to the Bamboo Grove and go forth; they are Sāriputta and Moggallāna. Seeing them from afar, the Buddha says that the two will be the foremost pair among his disciples. Taishō Canon
More sources (2)
Pali Canon
Different Accounts
The teacher's name: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya have Sañjaya; the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya and the Buddha biography Zhong benqi jing have Sharan, and say that this teacher had entrusted his disciples to the two before he died.
More differences between accounts (3)
The speaker of the verse: his name is rendered differently in the sources, as Ashibei, Ebi, Masheng and others; the Buddha biography Zhong benqi jing and the Pravrajyāvastu of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya say the Buddha sent him to convert the two.
Number of disciples: most accounts give two hundred and fifty for the two together; the Pravrajyāvastu gives two hundred and fifty each; the Buddha biography Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing gives one hundred each.
Order of going forth: most accounts have the two go forth together; the Buddha biography Fangguang da zhuangyan jing says Sāriputta went forth first and attained before going to find Moggallāna. The Chinese Shi'er you jing records this event under the fifth year.
Dating
Year 2 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged thirty-six, before the , early in the Buddha's stay in the Bamboo Grove; the later commentaries say within the two months from Phussa to Phagguna (both months of the ancient Indian calendar), and the rest is inferred from the sequence of events; 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 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
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it); 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 1:23.1.1–24.4.5
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.798c–799b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.110b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.138b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1444 p.1027a–1028a
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1444 p.1028a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.533c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.613c–614a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.652a–653a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.873c
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.33b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.153b–154a
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 ka 31a4–35b2
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.153c
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.154a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.195 p.147a
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 ka 35b1
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D1 ka 34b2