San Lo Mvu 83The Going Forth of the Five Hundred Śākyans

Vinaya Piṭaka Commentary: The Going Forth of the Five Hundred Śākyans

Background

This sūtra records an important stage in the history of the early Buddhist Sangha, when a large number of the Śākyan people, the clan of the Buddha Gotama, decided to leave worldly life and follow the Buddhist path. This was not a random event, but the inevitable result of the impermanence (anicca) and suffering (dukkha) they witnessed in family relationships.

According to the Pāli Vinaya Piṭaka, this event occurred after the Buddha Gotama had established the Sangha. Members of the Śākyan family, the brothers, wives, and children of various persons, gradually recognized that attachment to family affection only brings suffering. When they heard the Dharma taught by the Buddha or by senior disciples, most attained deep understanding of the nature of suffering.

Main Content

The going forth of the five hundred Śākyans did not occur all at once, but as a continuous process. Each time some family members decided to leave lay life, this inspired others also to long for the path of liberation. This is an expression of the true power of the Dharma: it does not arise from compulsion or persuasion by words, but from faith and direct recognition of spiritual benefits.

In the Vinaya Piṭaka, the rules concerning the admission of new trainees and the management of the Sangha are made clear. These Śākyans, whether male or female, all had to follow the rules of practice, the discipline (Sīla), and participate in the communal life of the Sangha. Through their actions, Buddhism was not only a group of religious adherents, but a community living according to humane and awakened principles.

The going forth of these people also had political and social meaning: it showed that the Buddha-Dharma goes beyond the boundaries of clan and caste. The Śākyans, whether of high or low status, were accepted into the Sangha equally.