Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c14.s2.t7.2

v1.c14.s2.t7.2

(1) The highest of the hills, the *Gijjhakūṭa-pabbata*.² (Vulture's Peak) was a favourite resort of Buddha. In the first few years after enlightenment, he spent his time frequently at this place with some of his distinguished disciples, viz. Sāriputta, Moggallāna, Mahākassapa, Anuruddha, Puṇṇa Mantāṇiputta, Upāli, Ānanda, and Devadatta, delivering discourses and imparting to them necessary training for their spiritual progress and missionary works.³ To facilitate communication with Buddha and his disciples, it is said that Bimbisāra made a road from the foot to the top of the hill.¹ The peak was the scene of the nefarious attempts of Devadatta supported by Ajātasattu to kill Buddha for not putting him in charge of a body of monks. Besides the hermitages on the Vultures' Peak, there were ten other cave-dwellings of bhikkhus on the hills surrounding Rājagaha² viz.,