When the at Verañjā ends, the Buddha says that one who has kept the retreat at someone's invitation does not set out wandering without taking leave, and so goes with Ānanda to the brahmin's house to take leave. The brahmin regrets having given nothing for three months, invites the Buddha and the monks to a meal at his house the next day, and offers robes; the Buddha teaches him and departs. The Vinaya texts of every major school record this event. The Pali Vinaya and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya go on to record that the Buddha crossed the Ganges and went by way of Bārāṇasī to Vesālī, staying in the Hall with the Peaked Roof in the Great Wood (a storeyed hall in the woods outside Vesālī).
Different Accounts
The brahmin's attempt to detain him: the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya says he asked the Buddha to stay another month and the Buddha refused three times; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says he asked the Buddha to stay another ninety days and the Buddha did not accept; the Buddha biography Zhong benqi jing says the Buddha agreed to stay seven more days.
More differences between accounts (3)
What was offered: in the Pali Vinaya, three robes for the Buddha and a pair of cloths for each monk; in the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya, cloth and shoes; in the Chinese Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, eight kinds of gruel. The Vinayas accordingly lay down rules on accepting offerings at the end of the rains retreat, rainy-season robes and the like.
Destination: the Pali Vinaya and the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya say the Buddha went to Vesālī; the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya says to the country of Sāvatthī; the Zhong benqi jing says to the Vajjian country (an ancient country north of the Ganges).
Only the Zhong benqi jing records that this brahmin attained the at this time.
Dating
Year 12 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty-six, after the rains retreat; that the meal was on the day after the leave-taking is stated in the canonical texts, and the year and the month of arrival at Vesālī (Kattika, a month of the ancient Indian calendar) are given by the later commentaries; it can be fixed to the day after the leave-taking.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “taking leave, regret and the offering” is 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. The “journey to Vesālī” within it is recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü).
- 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: fixed to the day, month only.
Sources
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.630b–631b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.864b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.2a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.99c–100b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.188b–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1464 p.886b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1448 p.47c–48b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.163a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1462 p.709c–710c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a，§22，PTS 1.196；，§23，PTS 1.201；，§24，PTS 1.202
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 《Vajirabuddhi》，§23，VRI 0.61、緬甸版 0.67
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Dhp-a，§82，PTS 2.155
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.2a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.630c
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.100b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.864c
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.100a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.2b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Dhp-a，§82
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.196 p.163b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.99c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a，§22
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a，§24
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vajirabuddhi，§23