Information about First Buddhist council

Early
Buddhism

Scriptures

Pali Canon
Agamas
Gandharan texts

Councils

1st Council
2nd Council
3rd Council
4th Council

Schools

First Sangha
├ Mahāsāṃghika
└ Sthaviravāda
    ├ Sarvāstivāda
    └ Vibhajjavāda
        ├ Theravāda
        └ Dharma-
             guptaka

• • [ edit]

The Sattapanni Cave in Rajgir, where the First Buddhist Council was held.

King Ajatashatru (Sanskrit अजातशत्रु) sponsored the First Buddhist council. It was convened in 544 B.C. (c. 460-7 BC according to Western estimates) in a hall erected by Ajatasattu outside the Sattaparnaguha Cave (Pali: Sattapanniguha) in Rajgir, three months after the Buddha had passed away. A detailed account of this historic meeting can be found in the Cullavagga of the Vinaya Pitaka.

According to this record the incident which prompted the Elder Mahakassapa to call this meeting was his hearing a disparaging remark about the strict rule of life for monks. This is what allegedly happened. The monk Subhadda, a former barber, who had ordained late in life, upon hearing that the Buddha had expired, voiced his resentment at having to abide by all the rules for monks laid down by the Buddha. Many monks lamented the passing of the Buddha and were deeply grieved. However, the Elder Mahakassapa heard Subhadda say: "Enough your Reverences, do not grieve, do not lament. We are well rid of this great recluse (the Buddha). We were tormented when he said, 'this is allowable to you, this is not allowable to you' but now we will be able to do as we like and we will not have to do what we do not like."

Mahakassapa was alarmed by his remark and feared that the Dhamma and the Vinaya might be corrupted and not survive intact if other monks were to behave like Subhadda and interpret the Dhamma and the Vinaya rules as they pleased. To avoid this he decided that the Dhamma must be preserved and protected. To this end after gaining the Sangha's approval he called to council five hundred Arahants. Ananda was to be included in this provided he attained Arahanthood by the time the council convened.

With the Elder Mahakassapa presiding, the five-hundred Arahant monks met in council during the rainy season. The first thing Mahakassapa did was to question the foremost expert on the Vinaya of the day, Venerable Upali on particulars of the monastic rule. This monk was well qualified for the task as the Buddha had taught him the whole of the Vinaya himself. The Elder Mahakassapa asked him specifically about the ruling on the first offense parajika, with regard to the subject, the occasion, the individual introduced, the proclamation, the repetition of the proclamation, the offense and the case of non-offense. Upali gave knowledgeable and adequate answers and his remarks met with the unanimous approval of the presiding Sangha. Thus, the Vinaya was formally approved.

Ananda reciting the Sutta Pitaka

The Elder Mahakassapa then turned his attention to Ananda in virtue of his reputable expertise in all matters connected with the Dhamma. Happily, the night before the Council was to meet, Ananda had attained Arahantship and joined the Council. The Elder Mahakassapa, therefore, was able to question him at length with complete confidence about the Dhamma with specific reference to the Buddha's sermons. This interrogation on the Dhamma sought to verify the place where all the discourses were first preached and the person to whom they had been addressed.

Ananda aided by his word-perfect memory was able to answer accurately and so the Discourses met with the unanimous approval of the Sangha. The First Council also gave its official seal of approval for the closure of the chapter on the minor and lesser rules, and approval for their observance. It took the monks seven months to recite the whole of the Vinaya and the Dhamma and those monks sufficiently endowed with good memories retained all that had been recited. This historic first council came to be known as the Pancasatika because five-hundred fully enlightened Arahants had taken part in it.

External links

Ancient accounts of the First Council:

Modern descriptions:

BuddhaNet The First Rehersal of Tipitaka, (Part Two) 32. The First Buddhist Council
Buddhism in a Nutshell Archives 37. The First Council
The Illustrated History of Buddhism 54. The First Buddhist Council
Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism Pippali Cave
The Monist The First Buddhist Council, by Teitaro Suzuki
ZenEssays The Riddle of the First Buddhist Council - A Retrospection, by Biswadeb Mukherjee

The term Early Buddhism can refer to:

Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the Teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Gautama Buddha.
The Early Buddhist schools, into which pre-sectarian Buddhism split.

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The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language.^[1] The Canon was written down from oral tradition at the occasion of the Fourth Buddhist Council(in the usual Theravada numbering), 1st century
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The Second Buddhist council took place in Vesali, about one hundred years after the Buddha's Parinibbāna, in order to settle a serious dispute on Vinaya. The orthodox monks were able to convince the monks whose behaviour was under question.
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The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Patiliputta, under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views.
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Two Fourth Buddhist Councils were held. The first one was held in the First Century BC, in Sri Lanka. In this fourth Buddhist council the Theravadin Pali Canon was for the first time committed to writing, on palm leaves.
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The term pre-sectarian Buddhism is used by some scholars^[1] to refer to the Buddhism that existed before the various subsects of Buddhism came into being^[2].
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The Mahāsāṃghika
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Sthaviravāda (Sanskrit; Chinese 上座部) literally means "Teaching Of The Elders". It was one of the two main movements in early Buddhism, the other being that of the
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Sarvastivada is a school of Buddhism. Sarvastivada is a Sanskrit term, meaning literally "the theory of all exists". The Pali equivalent is Sabbatthivada.

Origin of the term

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Vibhajjavāda (Pāli) or Vibhajyavāda (Sanskrit), is an umbrella classification for Buddhist denominations that promote analysis as a primary tool for developing insight. The Vibhajjavadins are claimed to have seen themselves as orthodox Sthaviras.
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Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, "the Way of the Elders") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant
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The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty schools of Early Buddhism, depending on one's source. It originated from another sect, Mahisasaka. It had a prominent role in early Central Asian and Chinese Buddhism, and its monastic rules are still in effect in some East Asian
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Ajātashatru (Sanskrit अजातशत्रु; ruled 491-461 BCE ) was a king of the Magadha empire that ruled north India.

There is not a great deal known about Ajatashatru.
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subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline for Music. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability.
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Coordinates: Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Rajgir (ancient Rajagriha or Rājagṛha; Pali: Rājagaha) was the first capital of the kingdom of Magadha, a state that would
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buddha (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka

Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara

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The Vinaya Piṭaka is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns.
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Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples.
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For a general discussion of the concept, see Dharma.

Dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli: धम्म) in Buddhism has two primary meanings:

the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment

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The Vinaya (a word in Pāli as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning 'leading out', 'education', 'discipline') is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka.
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Sangha (संघ saṃgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly" or "community". It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups.
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arhat (Sanskrit) or arahant (Pali) signified a spiritual practitioner who had—to use an expression common in the tipitaka—"laid down the burden"—and realised the goal of nibbana, the culmination of the spiritual life (brahmacarya).
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Ānanda was one of many principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his remembering of the Buddha's teachings during the
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Upali (Sanskrit उपालि upāli) was a monk, one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha. Before joining the order, he worked as a barber. He asked the Buddha if a person of "low birth" such as he could join the order.
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In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns (bhikkhunis). It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.
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1st Buddhist council (c. 5th century BCE)

Main article: First Buddhist council

According to the scriptures of all Buddhist schools, the first Buddhist Council was held soon after the nirvana of the Buddha under the
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First Buddhist Council

See also

External links

Origin of the term

1st Buddhist council (c. 5th century BCE)