Hand-drawn Buddha symbol and buddha chronicle wordmark
Based on the sutras, the Vinaya and later commentaries
About the Sources

The “ninth year” as recorded in the Shi'er you jing

Later addition

The Chinese says: “In the ninth year, in the Foul Marsh, he taught Tuojuemo.” That is, in the ninth year he taught Tuojuemo in the Foul Marsh; the Yuan and Ming editions have “mountain” in place of “in”. The place this sutra records differs from in the later commentaries and in the Chinese Sengqieluocha suoji jing.

Different Accounts

Where the Buddha was in the ninth year: the later commentaries and the Chinese Sengqieluocha suoji jing have Kosambī; the Chinese Shi'er you jing has the Foul Marsh (or Foul Marsh Mountain).

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 sets out the record of the ninth year in the Chinese Shi'er you jing, placed in Year 9 after the Awakening (the Buddha aged forty-three); the year number is stated in the text, but the text's “years” are counted differently from the method used here.

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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); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: year only.

Sources

Back to Year 9 after the Awakening · The Buddha at 43

Source text

日期怎麼讀

成道第幾年
從佛陀成道開始,每經過一次雨季安居算一年,每一年算到安居結束為止;所有年歲一律依二十九歲出家、三十五歲成道推算。
年份依據
區分經文自己明記、後世註解書記載、先後順序推定及年歲換算。
時間精確度
分別說明確定到日、月、年,或只能放入某幾年之間。
可信度
多派共傳、兩派記載、單派記載與後世補述,表達記載的共傳範圍;與時間及位置是否確定分開閱讀。