Buddha in His Later Years
The Travels and Teachings of the Buddha in His Later Years
The story of the Buddha does not end with his enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya. In fact, his awakening was only the beginning of a lifetime of tireless teaching and wandering across the Gangetic plains of northern India. For more than four decades, Siddhārtha Gautama, now revered as the Buddha, lived without a fixed home, walking the dusty roads, crossing rivers, resting in forests, and moving from one settlement to another with the single purpose of sharing the Dharma. His later years stand as a remarkable testament to the power of compassion fused with wisdom. Far from retreating into solitude or seeking comfort, the Buddha chose to spend the remainder of his life teaching people of all backgrounds—kings and merchants, farmers and slaves, courtesans and outcasts—demonstrating in word and deed that the truth he had realised belonged to all beings.
This essay explores the later period of the Buddha’s life, focusing on his travels, the encounters he had, the diverse audiences he addressed, and the institutional foundations he laid for the preservation of his teaching. By examining this stage of his life, we not only glimpse the historical journey of an extraordinary teacher but also appreciate how the Dharma was embodied, transmitted, and secured for posterity.
A Life on the Road
The Buddha’s ministry lasted approximately forty-five years after his enlightenment, which scholars generally place around the fifth century BCE (Gethin 23). Unlike many spiritual teachers of his time, who sought patronage at the courts of kings or built hermitages for solitary retreat, the Buddha maintained a lifestyle of continual movement. His choice to wander was itself a statement: wisdom is not the possession of an elite few but a truth that must be carried to towns and villages, fields and forests, wherever human beings live and suffer.
The Vinaya Pitaka records that the Buddha and his monks generally followed the rhythm of the seasons. For most of the year, they wandered freely, going wherever conditions allowed and wherever people were open to hearing the Dharma. During the heavy monsoon rains, however, travel became difficult. At such times, the Sangha would take shelter in designated monasteries or groves, supported by lay donors who provided food and shelter. These vassa retreats became the basis for monastic settlements, which gradually grew into more permanent institutions (Warder 85).
The itinerant character of the Buddha’s life had profound symbolic significance. It reinforced his teaching that attachment to permanence, wealth, or comfort is a hindrance to liberation. To see the Buddha himself walking barefoot along the roads, begging for alms, and sleeping beneath trees was to see the Dharma enacted. His life was not separate from his teaching; it was the teaching itself.
Encounters with Kings and Nobles
A striking feature of the Buddha’s later life is his interaction with political rulers. Far from avoiding seats of power, he entered into conversations with kings and ministers, offering counsel not only on spiritual matters but also on ethics and governance. These interactions underscore the Buddha’s role not only as a personal teacher of liberation but also as a moral guide for society.
Among the earliest royal supporters was King Bimbisāra of Magadha. According to tradition, Bimbisāra encountered the Buddha shortly after his awakening and offered him land near Rājagaha for the establishment of a monastery. This became the famous Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana), one of the first monastic residences of the Sangha. Bimbisāra’s patronage provided legitimacy and material support for the growing community, while the Buddha offered guidance on righteous kingship, known as dharmarāja. The emphasis was always on ruling with compassion, avoiding violence, and ensuring justice for subjects (Harvey 61).
Another important royal disciple was King Pasenadi of Kosala. Their recorded conversations, preserved in the Saṃyutta Nikāya, reveal the Buddha’s willingness to speak frankly to those in power. When Pasenadi boasted about his wealth and armies, the Buddha reminded him that such worldly measures of success cannot prevent old age and death. Yet the Buddha did not reject kingship outright; rather, he urged rulers to embody generosity, moral discipline, and fairness. These dialogues demonstrate the Buddha’s pragmatism: instead of retreating from political life, he sought to influence it towards ethical ideals (Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi 218).
Even more striking is the Buddha’s acceptance of diverse patrons, including those of controversial backgrounds. The courtesan Ambapālī, renowned in the city of Vesālī, became a devoted lay follower. When she offered a meal to the Buddha and his disciples, he accepted without hesitation, and she later donated her mango grove for use as a monastery. In a society that stigmatised courtesans, the Buddha’s acceptance of Ambapālī highlighted the radical inclusivity of his teaching: one’s social status or occupation did not bar access to the Dharma (Strong 117).
Teaching Across Boundaries
The later years of the Buddha’s ministry were marked by his remarkable ability to address audiences of vastly different backgrounds. His discourses were never abstract lectures but living conversations, tailored to the needs and capacities of his listeners.
For ordinary villagers, the Buddha often began with simple, practical advice. He would speak of the benefits of generosity (dāna), the importance of ethical conduct (sīla), and the cultivation of mindfulness in daily activities. These preliminary teachings were known as the gradual instruction (anupubbikathā), a step-by-step method that prepared listeners for deeper truths. Only when the audience was ready did he expound on impermanence, suffering, and non-self, leading them towards the path of liberation (Gethin 97).
For ascetics and philosophers, the Buddha engaged in rigorous debate. Northern India during this period was a crucible of intellectual and religious experimentation, with competing schools such as the Ājīvikas, Jains, and various Brahmin traditions. The Buddha did not shy away from dialogue. He challenged fatalism, ritualism, and extreme asceticism, proposing instead the Middle Way between indulgence and self-mortification. His encounters with leaders such as Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta (Mahāvīra of the Jains) or Makkhali Gosāla demonstrate the intellectual vigour of the age and the Buddha’s ability to position the Dharma as a unique and balanced alternative (Harvey 58).
For women, the Buddha’s teaching was groundbreaking. Despite initial reluctance, he eventually agreed, at the request of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (his foster mother), to admit women into the monastic order. This decision created the Bhikkhunī Sangha, the community of nuns, offering women unprecedented access to spiritual authority. Though subject to additional rules, the very existence of an ordained female community reflected the Buddha’s recognition that liberation is not limited by gender. This inclusivity in his later ministry expanded the reach of the Dharma and challenged patriarchal norms (Warder 122).
Growth of the Sangha
As the Buddha travelled, the monastic community grew steadily. What began with a handful of disciples at Deer Park in Sarnath expanded into thousands of monks and nuns spread across the Gangetic plain. Managing such a community required not only spiritual leadership but also practical organisation.
The Buddha established the Vinaya, a code of monastic discipline, which evolved over his lifetime in response to specific situations. Each rule carried a story, often humorous, about a monk’s misbehaviour and the Buddha’s corrective response. The Vinaya ensured harmony within the Sangha and preserved its reputation among lay supporters. It also reflected the Buddha’s pragmatic style: rules were not abstract decrees but flexible guidelines crafted to address real challenges.
Monasteries became important centres of Dharma transmission. Jetavana in Sāvatthī, donated by the wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍika, and the Bamboo Grove in Rājagaha are among the most famous. These places allowed monks to gather during the rains retreat, engage in study and meditation, and provide stable locations for laypeople to visit and hear teachings. They also symbolised the integration of the Sangha into broader society: while monks lived by alms, they depended on lay donors, and in return offered spiritual guidance and blessings.
Compassion in Action
Beyond doctrine and discipline, the Buddha’s later years displayed his boundless compassion. Stories abound of him healing rifts, comforting the sick, and guiding those in despair. When a grieving mother, Kisa Gotamī, brought her dead child to him, begging for a cure, the Buddha gently told her to fetch mustard seeds from a household untouched by death. When she failed, she realised the universality of mortality, and through this lesson found peace. Such stories illustrate the Buddha’s skill in teaching not only through words but also through poignant acts that cut through delusion (Strong 121).
The Buddha also dealt with discord within the Sangha. The case of Devadatta, his ambitious cousin who attempted to create a schism, reveals his patience and restraint. Despite Devadatta’s betrayal and even attempts on his life, the Buddha responded without hatred, reinforcing his teaching that enmity cannot be overcome by enmity, but only by compassion. Such episodes from his later life show the living embodiment of the Dharma in action.
Symbolism of the Wanderer
Perhaps the most striking image of the Buddha’s later life is that of a serene wanderer, bowl in hand, moving among people without attachment. This image contrasts sharply with the opulence of kings or the exclusivity of Brahmin priests. By refusing to settle permanently, by living on alms, and by associating freely with all classes, the Buddha redefined what it meant to be a spiritual teacher.
The wanderer’s life also served as a reminder of impermanence. Settlements may flourish and decline, kings may rise and fall, but the Dharma, embodied in the figure of the Buddha walking the roads, remains a timeless truth. His mobility symbolised the universality of his message: no one place, no one group, no one class could claim ownership of awakening.
Towards the Final Years
The later years of the Buddha’s life prepared the ground for his final teachings and his passing into Parinirvāṇa. By the time he entered his eightieth year, he had established a robust Sangha, secured lay patronage, engaged rival traditions, and taught countless individuals across northern India. His work was not complete in the sense of ending suffering for all beings—that task continues—but he had set in motion a tradition that would endure for millennia.
The Buddha’s later travels thus offer a profound lesson. Enlightenment was not an escape from the world but an engagement with it. By walking, teaching, debating, and consoling, he demonstrated that wisdom is inseparable from compassion. His journeys remind us that the Dharma is not confined to texts or doctrines but is lived wherever human beings confront suffering and seek liberation.
Conclusion
The travels and teachings of the Buddha in his later years reveal the extraordinary depth of his compassion and the universality of his vision. From kings in their palaces to sweepers in the streets, from rival philosophers to grieving mothers, he brought the same message of impermanence, suffering, and liberation. His life on the road embodied the simplicity and humility of his teaching, while the institutions he established ensured the Dharma’s survival beyond his own lifetime.
To study this period is to see the Buddha not as a remote figure enshrined in myth, but as a living teacher who walked, spoke, and lived among people, addressing their struggles and pointing them towards freedom. In his later years, the Buddha not only taught the path to awakening—he embodied it, step by step, mile by mile, across the plains of India.
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References
Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, and Bhikkhu Bodhi, translators. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Wisdom Publications, 2000.
Strong, John S. The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations. Wadsworth, 2008.
Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass, 2000.