After his going forth Sudinna lives in a village in the Vajjian country (an ancient country north of the Ganges); when famine strikes, he returns to his home village of Kalanda near Vesālī for alms. A maidservant of the household recognizes him, and his parents urge him to return to lay life, which he refuses; his mother, worried that there will be no heir to the family property, asks him to leave the family a descendant, and so Sudinna has intercourse with his former wife, who later bears a son. The Vinaya texts of every major school record this event. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
Year: the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say Sudinna went forth in “the Blessed One's twelfth year” and returned home for alms in “the twentieth year”, having then been gone forth eight years; the Chinese Shanjian lü says much the same, but if one calculates by its “went forth after twelve years” and “trained for eight years”, it falls around Year 21; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says the thirteenth year; the Chinese Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya says the Buddha laid down the rule over this event in the winter of Year 5 after the Awakening. Taishō Canon
More differences between accounts (3)
The Pali Vinaya says his son was named “Seed”, and that mother and son both later went forth and attained .
Name: the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya has Yasa Kākaṇḍakaputta; the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya has Suzhenna. Taishō Canon
The Chinese Sarvāstivāda Vinaya says Sudinna kept the in Kosala, and returned to Vesālī only after the retreat ended and the robes had been made.
Dating
Year 20 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged fifty-four, whether before or during the rains retreat is unclear; the year is given by the later commentaries (the eighth year after Sudinna's going forth), and only the year is known.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by five schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü), the Chinese Mahīśāsaka Vinaya (Wufen lü), the Chinese Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Shisong lü) and the Chinese Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. 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: year only.
Sources
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.569c–570c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.2b–3c
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.229a
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1435 p.1a–c
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1442 p.628a–b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-a，§31
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sp-ṭ，§30
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 《Vajirabuddhi-ṭīkā》，§36
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1462 p.712b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1442 p.628a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.238a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vajirabuddhi，§36，VRI 0.65，緬甸版 0.71
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sp-ṭ，§37
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Vin-ṭ〈Sāratthadīpanī〉，VRI 2.13