Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c23.s2.12

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.