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Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c23.s2: Sources

Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c23.s2

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English

Sources

v1.c23.s2.1

Of the Pāli accounts the most exhaustive and probably the earliest is the one given in the *Cullavagga*, XI, from which are derived the traditions preserved in the Ceylonese chronicles and Buddhaghosa’s commentaries.

v1.c23.s2.2

Of the extant Sanskrit accounts there are left only two short notices, one in the *Mahāvastu* and the other in the *Manjuśrī-mūlakalpa*, and the rest are all in Chinese but derived from the Sanskrit sources. These are:—

v1.c23.s2.3

(a) Vinaya of the Mahīśāsakas;
(b) ,, ,, ,, Dharmaguptas;
(c) ,, ,, ,, Mahāsaṅghikas;
(d) ,, ,, ,, Sarvāstivādins;
(e) *Kāśyapa-saṃgīti-sūtra* (Kai-ye-kie-king) (tr. A.D. 148-170);
(f) *Aśokavadāna* (A-yu-wang-king) (tr. about 300 A.D.);

v1.c23.s2.4

(g) *Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra* (tr. A.D. 402-405);
(h) *Parinirvāṇa-sūtra* (tr. A.D. 290-306).
(i) Account of the compilation of the Tripiṭaka and of Tsa Tsang by Kāśyapa and Ānanda after the nirvāṇa of Buddha in the kingdom of Magadha, on the north of the town of Saṃkāsya; (this work is in verse of five Chinese characters, dated between 317 and 420);
(j) The commentary on the first chapter of the *Ekottarāgama*.¹

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*Tibetan sources*

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(k) Bu-ston’s *Chos. hbyung* (History of Buddhism) translated into English by Obermiller.
(l) Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism.

v1.c23.s2.7

The story of the Council may be split up into seven parts thus:

v1.c23.s2.8

(a) *Reasons adduced for convening the Council*

v1.c23.s2.9

Immediately after Budhda’s death an aged monk called Subhadda or Upānanda, who was ordained towards the end of Buddha’s life, gave out that Buddha, so long he had been alive, was a source of trouble to the monks for he constantly admonished the monks to do a certain act and not to do certain others. Now that he was dead, the monks would be free to do as they liked.

v1.c23.s2.10

This event is related with slight variations in all the Vinaya texts (*a, b, c, d*)¹ but not in any of *Sūtras* (*e, f, g, h, i, j*)

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¹ Relevant portions of all these texts (*a-j*) are translated into French by Prof. Przyluski.

v1.c23.s2.12

and *k*),² in which it is said that the suggestion for convening the Council came from the devas who were aggrieved at the state of the world being thrown again into evil days at the absence of Buddha or his great disciples. In the *Aśokāvadāna* (*f*), it is said in the fashion of Mahāyānic sūtras that Buddha just before entering into parinirvāṇa requested Mahākāśyapa to make a collection of the Piṭakas after his disappearance; he asked the gods to protect them, and to which request the gods readily acceded. In the *Parinirvāṇa-sūtra* (*b*), the account is realistic—Mahākāśyapa, Anuruddha and Kātyāyana deliberate over the matter of collecting Buddha’s sayings with Ānanda’s help and decide to write them on bamboo pieces and silk-rolls. In the works (*i* & *j*) there are no such prefatory remarks; Mahākāśyapa straightaway strikes the *gaṇḍi* (gong) to collect the monks and then announces that he wishes to compile the Piṭakas.

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² In the *Mahāsaṃghika Vinaya*, the bhikkhu is not named but is simply pointed out as old (*mahallaka*), the word *Mahallaka* transliterated in Chinese was taken by Mr. Suzuki as a proper name, and strangely enough this mistake of his is repeated by Dr. R. C. Mazumdar (*Buddhistic Studies*, p. 30). In the text *Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa* also the same mistake has been committed; in it the name of the bhikṣu is given as *Mahallaḥ* as well as *Mahallakaḥ* (see pp. 593, 596).

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