While the Buddha is staying in the Banyan Park at Kapilavatthu, Mahāpajāpatī comes to see him and asks that women too be allowed to go forth in the Buddha's order. Three times the Buddha does not agree, and Mahāpajāpatī bows and leaves. Her formal going forth and the founding of the community of is a separate event that took place at Vesālī; see Year 5 after the Awakening. Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
More sources (1)
Different Accounts
The season of the request: the Qutanmi jing (Discourse to Gotamī) in the Chinese Madhyama Āgama says it was during the Buddha's at Kapilavatthu, with three requests (during the retreat, near its end, and on the road afterwards); other sources do not give the season.
More differences between accounts (3)
The Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya says Mahāpajāpatī first offered the Buddha two new robes she had woven with her own hands, and the Buddha told her to give them to the Sangha; only then did she ask to go forth, and the Buddha replied that women could shave their heads and wear the robe while practising at home. The Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Tibetan Vinaya say the Buddha told her to wear the white clothes of a lay person at home and lead a pure life for the rest of her days. Taishō Canon
Where the Buddha went after refusing: the Pali Vinaya says to Vesālī; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas say to the Jetavana at Sāvatthī; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Tibetan Vinaya say to the village of Fanwei (a village). Taishō Canon
How the place is written: the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has the Banyan Park in Shichishou (that is, the Sakyan country); the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has the Many-Rooted Tree Park at the city of Jiebiluo; the Chinese Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya has the Sakyan monastery (a dwelling for monastics) in the country of Kapilavatthu.
Dating
Year uncertain. The later commentary on the Aṅguttara Nikāya of the Southern tradition says this happened on the Buddha's first return home, so it is in the same year as the other entries in this group: possibly before the rains retreat of Year 2 after the Awakening, around Year 6, Year 7, or Year 12 (the Buddha aged thirty-five to forty-six); all the sources say this request came before Mahāpajāpatī's formal going forth.
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 Madhyama Āgama. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 20:1.1.1–1.1.2
- Pali Canon巴利 AN 8.51:1.1
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.26 p.605a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.922c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.185b
- SuttaCentral 對應表SuttaCentral 對應表 lzh-mi-kd17#t0185b19
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.350b
- SuttaCentral 對應表SuttaCentral 對應表 lzh-mu-kd18b#t0350b10
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.471a
- SuttaCentral 對應表SuttaCentral 對應表 lzh-mg-bu-pn7#t0471a25
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 100a4–100b7
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a，§49–50，PTS 4.131