1158
34d: The 20
th
Rains Retreat (Sudinna)
In this way, while fulfilling his five great duties without any interruption, while
distributing the doctrinal and medicinal cool water of deathlessness among gods
and humans, the Buddha departed from Sāvatthī and after travelling in the
company of monks, reached Rājagaha in the kingdom of Magadha, and stayed
at Veḷuvana to keep the twentieth Rains Retreat (
Vassa
).
The Buddha’s Rains Retreat
Of the Buddha’s 45 Rains Retreats (
Vassa
), the first 20, beginning from his
Awakening are called not bound (
anibaddha
) or not settled (
aniyata
) Rains
Retreats because they were spent not at one and the same place but in various
towns or villages, one Rains Retreat here, two Rains Retreat there, three still at
another place and so on.
They are also referred to as the first period after Awakening (
paṭhama-bodhi
) or
the earlier period after Awakening (
purima-bodhi
) Rains Retreats because they
formed the first or former half of the whole series of Rains Retreats in which
gods and men were led to Awakening by the fourfold path-knowledge (
magga-
ñāṇa
).
The remaining 25 Rains Retreats are called bound (
nibaddha
) or settled (
niyata
)
Rains Retreats because they were spent at only one place, in Sāvatthī in the
kingdom of Kosala, in either the Jetavana or the Pubbārāma. They are also
known as the second period after Awakening (
dutiya-bodhi
) or later period after
Awakening (
pacchima-bodhi
) Rains Retreats for they formed the second or
latter half of the whole series of Rains Retreats in which gods and humans were
caused to be Awakened by the fourfold path-knowledge (
magga-ñāṇa
).
Elaboration: For the 20 Rains Retreats of the first period after Awakening,
the Buddha’s stay was not regular, for he observed Rains Retreat (
Vassa
)
in different towns or villages as he pleased. But from the 21
st
Rains Retreat
he stayed regularly at Jetavana or Pubbārāma, relying upon Sāvatthī as his
resort for alms food. This information is from the Chronicles of the
Buddhas (
Buddha-vaṁsa
) commentary.
A different exposition in the Collection of the Numerical Discourses
(
Aṅguttara-nikāya
), however, is as follows: From the 21
st
Rains Retreat,
the Buddha’s use of the two dwellings of Jetavana and Pubbārāma was
permanent because the services, rendered by Anāthapiṇḍika, the wealthy