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Based on the sutras, the Vinaya and later commentaries
About the Sources

In the famine, the Buddha and his disciples live on horses' barley through the rains retreat

Attested across multiple schools

There is famine at and alms are hard to come by. A party of horse traders who have brought their horses there for the rainy season share out barley to the monks in the horse enclosure, and the Buddha and his disciples live for three months on this barley meant for the horses; grinds the barley and offers it to the Buddha. The brahmin who invited the Buddha gives nothing during these three months. The Vinaya texts of every major school record this event.

Different Accounts

The traders and the amount of barley: the Pali Vinaya says the traders came from the north and each monk received one measure; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas say the traders came from the Boli country; the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya records five sheng for each monk and one dou for the Buddha (sheng and dou are Chinese measures of grain); the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya records two sheng for the Buddha and one for everyone else.

More differences between accounts (3)

The Chinese Mahīśāsaka and Sarvāstivāda Vinayas and others say the monks first asked the Buddha whether they might eat the horses' barley, and only then did he allow it; the Pali Vinaya and the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya do not have this passage.

Why the brahmin gave nothing: the Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas and the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say he was deluded by ; the Mahīśāsaka and Sarvāstivāda Vinayas and others say he withdrew into his inner palace to enjoy himself; the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says a diviner told him to shut his doors for three months to avert misfortune.

The Apadāna of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Xingqi xing jing and others say that the Buddha ate horses' barley as the result of a past life in which he had spoken rudely, saying that a renunciant deserved only barley to eat.

Dating

Year 12 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty-six, during the ; the “three months” are stated in the canonical texts and the year is given by the later commentaries; known only to fall within the three months of this retreat.

Related Entries

Year
Year 12 after the Awakening · The Buddha at 46
Places
Verañjā
People
Ānanda
Discourses
Apadāna 39.10Xingqi xing jing (Sutra on the Buddha’s Past Deeds and Their Results)Thera-apadāna 392
Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
How Reliability Is Assessed

Recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü). Attested across multiple schools.

Dating Evidence and Precision

Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: month only.

Sources

Back to Year 12 after the Awakening · The Buddha at 46

日期怎麼讀

成道第幾年
從佛陀成道開始，每經過一次雨季安居算一年，每一年算到安居結束為止；所有年歲一律依二十九歲出家、三十五歲成道推算。
年份依據
區分經文自己明記、後世註解書記載、先後順序推定及年歲換算。
時間精確度
分別說明確定到日、月、年，或只能放入某幾年之間。
可信度
多派共傳、兩派記載、單派記載與後世補述，表達記載的共傳範圍；與時間及位置是否確定分開閱讀。