The Chinese says: “In the fourth year he taught the nāgas and spirits on Elephant Head Hill.” That is, in the fourth year he taught the nāgas and spirits on Elephant Head Hill, which is Gayāsīsa. The teaching on the top of Gayāsīsa recorded in the of the and in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya was given to a thousand , and is placed here in Year 2 after the Awakening; the audience and the year recorded in the Shi'er you jing both differ. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
The audience of the teaching on Elephant Head Hill: the Pali Vinaya and the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya have a thousand monks, and the teaching is the Fire Sermon; the Chinese Shi'er you jing has nāgas and spirits, and records no title.
More differences between accounts (1)
The Chinese Shi'er you jing counts the time beneath the tree in the year of the Awakening, from the eighth day of the fourth month to the fifteenth day of the seventh month, as “the first year”; its way of counting years differs from the one used here, so the year numbers in that sutra cannot be converted directly into “Year N after the Awakening”.
Dating
This entry only sets out, for comparison, the record for the fourth year in the Chinese Shi'er you jing, and is placed in Year 4 after the Awakening (the Buddha aged thirty-eight); it does not mean the event happened in this year. The year number is stated in the text, but the “year” of that sutra differs from the reckoning used here.
Related Entries
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Not recorded in the early sutras and Vinayas of any school; found only in the commentaries or later Buddha biographies. Later addition.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: year only.