Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c32.169

v2.c32.169

2. Yasa.—Called Kākaṇḍakaputta. He was the son of the brahmin Kākaṇḍaka and was a pupil of Ānanda. It is said he was fortunate enough to see the Buddha alive.¹ When he arrived at the Kūṭāgārasālā in the Mahāvana, he discovered that the Vajjian monks had raised the “Ten Points” (dasavatthu) contrary to the Buddha’s teachings, and that they were publicly asking for money from their lay disciples. Yasa thereupon protested against such misdemeanours, and the Vajjian monks, hoping to win him over, offered him a share of the money they had collected. This offer he rejected with scorn, and the monks passed on him the Paṭisāraṇiyakamma (craving of pardon from lay folk). This necessitated that Yasa should be sent among the laymen, accompanied by a messenger, presumably to ask their pardon for having misinformed them. But instead of this, Yasa told the lay people that the behaviour of the Vajjian monks was completely at variance with the rules laid down by the Buddha, and quoted the Buddha’s discourses to prove his charge. When the Vajjian monks heard of this, they pronounced on him the Ukkhepaniya-Kamma (Act of Suspension), but when they assembled to carry it out, Yasa disappeared through the air to Kosambī, from where he sent messengers to the monks of Avanti, of the west (Pātheyyakā or Pāveyyakā) and of the south (Dakkhiṇāpatha), asking for their assistance in checking the corruption of the religion. With them he visited Sambhūta Sāṇavāsī at Ahogaṅgapabbata, and there they decided to consult Revata who lived in Soreyya. Yasa, therefore, went to Revata, following him through Saṅkassa, Kaṇṇakujja, Udumbara, Aggalapura and Sahajāti. Having found Revata, he questioned him regarding the ten points, and obtained from him promise of assistance. Together they returned to Vesālī, where lived Sabbakāmī, the oldest Thera of the day. After obtaining his opinion on the matter, an assembly of the monks was held and a committee was appointed (to settle the matter by an Ubbāhikā) of four from the East: Sabbakāmī, Sāḷha, Khujjasobhita, and Vāsabhagāmika ; and four from the West: Revata, Sambhūta-Sāṇavāsī, Yasa and Sumana. They debated the question at the Vālikārāma, Revata acting as questioner and Sabbakāmī answering his questions. At the end of the enquiry the decision was given against the ten points of the Vajjian monks, and this decision was conveyed to the assembly. Then the recital of the Vinaya was held in which seven hundred monks participated; this recital was called the Sattasati.² The monks who refused to accept the findings of the committee held another convocation, which was called the Mahāsangīti.³ The Sattasati Recital (also called The Second Recital) was also named⁴ Yasathera-sangīti, evidently because of the prominent part played by Yasa.