Circumstances Leading to the
Founding of Jetavana Monastery

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In Japan, there is a famous passage from The Historic Romance of the Taira Family that reads:  “The sound of the gong at the Jetavana Monastery…” This passage refers to Jetavana Monastery, the Buddhist cloisters at Shravasti, in the kingdom of Kosala. The Jetavana Monastery was one of the three major monasteries built in ancient India, together with the Bamboo Grove Monastery in Magadha, which was the first monastery in Buddhist history, and the Great Grove Monastery in Vaishali.

The wealthy merchant Sudatta wished to purchase a wooded area called Jetavana (Jetri’s Grove), which was owned by Prince Jetri of Kosala. When Prince Jetri saw that Sudatta did not want the land for himself, but instead, wanted to build a monastery for the Buddha, the prince gladly donated the land and helped Sudatta build the cloisters.

However, not everyone wanted to see the Buddha’s mission succeed. There were some individuals, including Shakyamuni’s younger cousin Devadatta, who did their utmost to prevent the Buddha from spreading his teachings, and perpetrated what came to be known as the Buddha’s nine great ordeals. The Buddha’s True Teaching

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