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PALI AND OTHER SOURCES OF “THE BUDDHA AND HIS DHAMMA”
P AGE V ERSE
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Note No. (14) 113 1 Note Brahma Sahampati’s rightwise circuit around the Buddha.
Note No. (15) 119 5 One of the five ascetics who blamed Gautama for abondoning austerities was Upaka by name according to Saunders (p. 33) (Thomas p. 83).
In Majjhima Nikaya, the whole story of his welcome by five parivrajakas is in the first person, whereas, in this book it is in the third person.
Note No. (16) 138 17 Muchalinda, a Naga King of the Mandakini lake near Gaya had shielded Buddha after enlightenment and protected him from the storm.-Buddhist Records of the Western World, vol. I p. LXIII, Vol. 2, p. 19 (Hardy’s mannual of Buddhism p. 136).
Note No. (17) 555 29 The date of Buddha’s death as given in Pali canon is full moon day of Vaishakha, which is also the traditional date of the birth and of the enlightenment of the Lord Buddha. Hiuen Tsiang also gives this date as the general tradition but also mentions that the Sarvastivadins observed the day of Buddha’s death as on Kartika Shuddha Ashtami i.e. a week before full moon in the month. Mr. Fleet has tried to establish this day as historical which according to him fell on
13th October 483 B.C. (E. J. Thomas; Life of Buddha as Legend and History) Dr. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism on
14th October 1956 probably accepting Mr. Fleets conclusion that the Buddha’s death completed 2500 years on 13th October 56. He however mentions in this treatise Vaishakha Purnima as Buddha’s day of death.