The records that the Buddha's sixth was on Mount Makula, and the Chinese Sengqieluocha suoji jing agrees. Apart from the table itself, neither the commentaries of the nor the Chinese texts record anything else the Buddha did on Mount Makula. Taishō Canon
Different Accounts
The spelling of the mountain's name varies slightly between sources; in the Chinese Sengqieluocha suoji jing the name carries the small-character gloss “Baishan”, which the Ming edition treats as part of the main text.
More differences between accounts (1)
The phrase “for his mother's sake” in the Chinese Sengqieluocha suoji jing is placed by the current punctuated edition at the end of the sentence for the sixth year; here it is read as belonging to the next sentence, “for his mother's sake, in the seventh year, in the Heaven of the Thirty-three (one of the heavens where the gods dwell)”.
Dating
Year 6 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged forty, during the rains retreat; the place is given by the later commentaries, and only the year is known.
Related Entries
- Year
- Places
- People
- Discourses
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); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year only.
Sources
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，序分
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.194 p.144b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 AN-a，PTS 2.125
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a