Seeing how hard it is to obtain alms, Moggallāna proposes to the Buddha that he turn over the earth by supernormal power and bring up its sweet-tasting substance from below for all to eat, or take the whole community of monks to Uttarakuru (a legendary land of plenty in the north) for alms. The Buddha agrees to neither. The Vinaya texts of every major school record this event.
Different Accounts
Moggallāna's proposals: in the Pali Vinaya, to turn over the earth for its sweet substance and to go to Uttarakuru; in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas, to go to Yudanyue in the north (that is, Uttarakuru) for rice that grows wild; the Chinese Sarvāstivāda Vinaya lists six, including various fruits, heavenly food and the sweet substance beneath the earth.
More differences between accounts (1)
The Buddha's reasons for refusing: the Pali Vinaya says the beings on the earth would be overturned and harmed; the Dharmaguptaka and Mahīśāsaka Vinayas say monastics of the future without supernormal powers would be unable to follow the example; the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya says this was the ripening of the monks' past evil deeds and could not be averted.
Dating
Year 12 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty-six, during the ; the year is given by the later commentaries, and only the year is known.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded in the sutras and Vinayas of several schools. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year only.
Sources
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.569a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.1b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.99a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a，§16 後段