The Chinese Shi'er you jing records that in the twelfth year the Buddha returned to his father's country, Kapilavatthu, first teaching Chamojie at a Sakyan monastery eighty li from the city, then entering the city to teach his father King Suddhodana and the Sakyans, eighty-four thousand of whom attained the . This is the last year of the sutra's year-by-year record. The sources differ on the year in which the Buddha returned home; this entry represents only the account of the Shi'er you jing. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
Other views place the Buddha's return home in Year 2, Year 6 or Year 7 after the Awakening; the related events are collected under “Events of uncertain year”.
More differences between accounts (2)
Who Chamojie was is unknown; no other text has a person of this name.
The year “twelfth” is found only in the Shi'er you jing; the return home itself is also recorded in other sutras and Vinaya texts.
Dating
Year 12 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty-six; the Shi'er you jing states that it was the twelfth year, so only the year is known, but the correspondence between this sutra's year count and the years after the Awakening is not certain, the sources differ on the year of the return home, and the text does not say whether it was before or after the .
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Not recorded in the early sutras and Vinayas of any school; found only in the commentaries or later Buddha biographies. Later addition.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: year only.