While the Buddha is teaching a great assembly, including the king, at Rājagaha, Devadatta rises and says: “The Blessed One is now old; he should enjoy the ease of the present. Let him hand over the monks for me to lead.” The Buddha refuses three times, saying: “I would not hand them over even to Sāriputta and Moggallāna, let alone to you.” The Buddha also has the Sangha at Rājagaha carry out an “act of proclamation” against Devadatta (a public declaration by the Sangha that this person's conduct represents himself alone), with Sāriputta making the proclamation. Devadatta's request to take over the Sangha is found in the Vinaya texts of three schools. Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
Different Accounts
The Saṅghabhedavastu of the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says Devadatta first asked Moggallāna to convey the request, and only after Moggallāna had entered absorption to look into it did Devadatta put it to the Buddha himself; the place is given as the Bamboo Grove (the Bamboo Grove monastery at Rājagaha).
More differences between accounts (3)
The words about the Buddha's age differ between sources: the Pali Vinaya has “old, aged, come to the last stage of life”; the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya has “already old, having lived beyond the span of ordinary people”; the Saṅghabhedavastu has “old and weak, too wearied by teaching the great assembly”.
The Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says this was the first time in his life that Devadatta felt resentment towards the Buddha.
The episode of Sāriputta publicly proclaiming Devadatta's fault is found only in two schools, the Pali Vinaya and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.
Dating
Around Year 38 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-two; the canonical texts state that it was when the Buddha was old, and Year 38 is inferred from the year of Ajātasattu's accession (the alternative reckoning being Year 37, the Buddha aged seventy-one); the tabulations of modern scholars also give the Buddha's age as seventy-two; the season is unknown; inferred from the sequence of events, the year is not certain.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “the request for the Sangha to be entrusted” is recorded by three schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (Sifen lü) and the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Attested across multiple schools. Within it, “Sāriputta proclaims his fault” is recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time); converted from the Buddha's age (reckoned from the Buddha's age). Time precision: year uncertain.