Ancient Indian History - Four Buddhist Councils

 

FOUR BUDDHIST COUNCILS

 

Notes for Civils Services Exam 2021(Prelims) for G.S.PAPER

SUBJECT : ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

Notes Prepared by P.Potayya Sarma,MA,LLB,PGDIRPM

                                                            Wrtier : Yojana (Telugu) & Andhra Jyothi

                                                                            

 

BUDDHISM:

1)Founded by Gautam Buddha (563 – 483 BC). His original name was Siddharth.

2)Born  at  Lumbini  (Rummindei) in  Kapilavastu  (presently in Nepal )

3)Passed away in 483 B.C. at Kusinagar in the district of Deoria of Eastern Uttar Pradesh )

4)He belonged to Shakya Kshatriya clan

5)His Father : Suddhodhana (He was elected ruler of Kapilavastu)

6) His Mother: Mayadevi  (a princess from Kosalan dynasty ). Maya died in child birth and the little Siddhartha was brought up by his step mother and aunt Goutami.

7) Siddhartha married to Yasodhara and begot a son Rahul.

His favourite charioter was Channa and his favourite horse was Kanthaka. 

8)He left his home, when he was 29 years old. Thus Siddhartha performed his ‘Great Going Forth’(Mahabhinishkramana, to become wandering ascetic, owning nothing but the robe he wore). 

 

Before leaving home, Buddha saw four things i.e., An old man, a diseased person, a dead body , a happy monk.

Buddha said “the world is full of sorrows and people suffer on account of desires”.

 

9) After leaving home, Buddha met for the following :

i)Alara Kalama at Vaishali . From Alara Kalama, Buddha learnt the technique of meditation and later joined with 5 ascetics  -- Kondana , Vappa, Bhadiya, Mahanama and Asangi and soon became their leader. 

ii)He went to Rajgriha and met saint Rudrakramputra

iii) He went to Uruvela (Bodh Gaya in Bihar ).

iv) He went back to Saranath

v) After six years of penance, at the age of 35 he got enlightenment,  the divine knowledge under a Pipal tree at Uruvela, ( Buddha Gaya) on the bank of Niranjana river . He got the reason of sorrow. So he was called Buddha.   Buddha got ‘Nirvana’ . The literal meaning of ‘Nirvana’ is blowing out of desire and a peaceful state of mind .

His preachings and philosophy :

1)Buddha decided to spread his message , so he came first to Rishipattan (Saranath) from Uruvela. He gave his first sermon to those 5 ascetics. This phenomena came to be known as ‘Dharmachakrapravartana ‘ in Buddhism.Later he gathered together a disciplined body of monks to be called Bhikshuk.   

2)From Saranath he came to Varanasi

3)From Varanasi , he came to Rajgriha. He met King Bimbisara.  Here met Sariputta, Moggallana, Upali, Abhay.

3) Later he went to Kapilvastu

4) Later he went to Vaishali.  Here famous dancer Amrapali became his follower. In Vaishali itself, for the first time, women were given entry into Buddhist Sangha. The first woman was his mother Prajapati Gautami, who reached there from Kapilavastu.

5) From Vaishali, he went to Sumsumargiri.

6) In Kosala mahajanapada, he made Angulimala a famous robber his discipline at Shravasti.

 

7)At last he reached Pava, the capital of Malla. Here he was offered ‘Sukarmaddava’ in dinner by one person. Buddha got infected by it. He reached Kushinara with all this pain.     Here he died in 483 BC, at the ge of 80 years.  It is called mahaparinivarana’ in Buddhism.

 

After cremation, the ashes of Buddha’s body were distributed among 8 groups namely :-

1)Licchvis of Vaishali

2)Koliya of Ramgrama

3)Shakyas of Kapilvastu

4)Brahmana of Vethdwipa

5)Malla of Kushinara

6)Moriya of Piplivan

7)Bulli of Alkappa

8) Ajashatru of Magadha

 

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY – MAJOR ELEMENTS: -

1)It denies existence of soul.

2)  Three  main components of Buddhist philosophy :-

i)the world is full of sorrow

ii)the world is not eternal but transient

iii)the world is soulless

3)It accepts the theory of Karma and Rebirth. Pratiyasamutpada  -- Law of causation or chain of dependent originatiion.

4)Four Noble Truths or Great Truths :-

   i)The world is full of misery .  Sorrow (dukh)

 ii) cause of pain and misery is desire. Reason of sorrow (Dukh samudaya)

iii)pain can be ended by controlling desires. End of sorrow

iv) The desire can be ended by following the eight-fold path.  i.e., Methods of ending sorrow   -- by destroying ignorance. For this one has to follow Eight fold path (Asthangika Marga) 

 

If desires are conquered, nirvana will be attained, i.e., man will be free from the cycle of birth and death.

 

Gautama Buddha recommended an eight – fold path (astangika – marga ) for the elimination of human misery.

1)Right observation

2)Right determination

3)Right speech

4)Right action

5)Right livelihood

6)Right exercise

7)Right memory

8)Right meditation

 

Gautama Buddha laid down Code of Conduct for his followers :-

1)      Do not covet the property of others

2)      Do not commit violence

3)      Do not use intoxicants

4)      Do not speak a lie

5)      Do not indulge in corrupt practices

 

MAGADHA : embraced the former districts of Patna, Gaya and parts of Shabad

 

 

In Buddha cycle, 4 Buddhas appeared as :

1)Karakachayrya

2)Kanak Muni

3)Shakyamuni

4) Maitriya (future Buddha to be born )

 

Four Animals are associated with Buddha :

1)Elephant   -- Buddha in conception by his mother

2)Bull --- Youth

 

3)Horse – Mahabhinishkraman

4)Lion – Prosperity

 

 

Buddha Pilgrimage Centres (  8 Mahasthan )

1)Lumbini   --- Birth

2)Gaya   -- Nirvana

3)Sarnath – Dharmacharkar – pravartana

4)Kushinara – Death

5)Shraasti

6)Rajgirha

7)Vaishali

8)Sankasya

 

Symbolic representation of Buddha in Hinayana :  

1)Bajrasana under a Bodhi tree  -- attaining knowledge

2)Garlanded Chakra

   Dharmachakara pravartana

 

3)Chakram  -- his  journey

4) Stupa  -- Death

Monks who visited china : -

1)Nagarjuna     1^st century AD

2)Dharmakirti    1^st century AD

3)Kumarjeev       4^th Century AD

4)Aryadeva

5)Gunabhadra   5^th century AD

6)Gyanbhadra   6^th Century AD

7)Jeev Gupta in 7^th century AD

8) Prabhakar Mishra  in 8^th century AD

 

 

 

 

	Buddhist Council	Place/ Held at	Year	Presided by	Patronised or during the reign of	Agenda			Language		Remarks/ Additional information
1	First Buddhist Council (Sangiti)   Purpose:To compile the i)Dhamma (religious doctrine) and the ii)Vinaya (monastic code)	Sattapanni Caves in Rajgirha,	About 487  BC (A few weeks after the death Buddha)	President: Monk Mahakasyapa	King Ajathashatru   Dynasty : Haryanka	To reserve the teachings (Sutta) of the Buddha and the monastic  disciplines for Monks/Vinaya	It was held just after the death of Buddha	Suttas and Vinaya were recited by the monks.  1)Ananda recited ‘Sutta Pitika’.    2)Upali recited ‘Vinaya Pitaka’.	Religious doctrines were compiled and embodied in Pali canon.		The discourses of Buddha were collected, classified  and adopted as authoritative canonical texts by an assembly of 500 mons representing the varous Sanghas. The teachings of Buddha were divided into two parts called Vinaya Pitaka and Dhamma Pitaka. Upali and Ananda were authorities for Vinaya Pitaka and Dhamma Pitaka.
2	Second Buddhist Council (Sangiti)	Vaishali	About 387 BC (100 after the death of Buddha)	President: Yaksha or Sabakami or Sarrakamini	King Kalasoka	Second Buddhist Council was to settle the disagreements of different subdivision   1)Mahakasyap was  leader for Mahasanghika sect	The council rejected the Mahasangikas as canonical Buddhist texts. Hence, the council is considered historical	Here Buddhism divided into Sthaviras (Orthodox)  and Mahasanghikas     1)Mahakacchayana founded Sthaviravadin (Avanti group)   2)Rahulbhatra IVaishali groups) founded Sarvastivadin sect			The monks of Vaisali had adopted certain practices which were contrary to the rules of Vinaya Pitaka. In the Council, Vaisali monks refused to change their views. The orthodox came to be known as Mahasamghikas     Two groups,  Eastern and Western formed  on  the issue of 10 rules of discipline.
3	Third Buddhist Council	Pataliputra in the Magadha Kingdom     Council of Theavadas	250 BC (According to the Ceylonese chronicals, the Council was held 236 years after death of Buddha)	Moggalikputta Tissa	Emperor Ashoka   Dynasty: Mourya	To analyse the different schools of Buddhism and to purify them.	Decision was taken to send missionaries. Ashoka several groups to different countries to spread Buddhism after this council	Here a new classification of the Buddhist canonical texts was made by the addition of a Third Pataka Abhidamma Pitaka. Secondly, canonical literature was precisely, definitely and authoritatively settled.			Abhidhamma Pitaka  contained the philosophical interpretation of the doctrines of the two already existing Pitaks. The canonical literature was definitely and authoritatively settled so as to eliminate all disruptive tendencies, making all schisms within the Buddhist monastery / church  punishable      Kathavatthu was added to Abhidhamma Pitaka.
4	Fourth Buddhist Council   Gathering of Hinayanists	At Kundalavana , Kashmir (Some say it was  in Jalllundur)	78 A.D.	President: Vasumitra     Vice- Presidnet:  Aswaghosha	Emperor Kanishka     Dynasty: Kushan      Kaniksha was advised by Parshava to convene this council	For reconciliation of various conflicts between different schools of thought	Here Buddhism was divided into two broad sects i.e., Hinayana and Mahayana sects of Buddhism .   Mahayana or Greater vehicle supported the philosophy of worship of Buddha iodl as a God and soon became popular in India Hinayana or lesser vehicle supported the traditional phinilosophy of the Buddhism and became popular in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand and other parts of South East Asia.	Mahayana or  Greater Vehicle supported the philosophy of worship of Buddha idol as a od and soon became popular in India		Hinayana or lesser vehicle supported the traditional philosophy of the Buddhism and became popular in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand and other parts of South East Asia	The council settled certain controversial questions arising out of some differences of opinion between the Sarvastivada teachers of Kashmir and Gandhara. Three large commentaries on the Pitakas known as Vibhashas were also prepared.     Huien Tsang and Lama Taranath described this Fourth Council meeting Mahabibhasa.     Formal split between Hinayani  &  Mahayani.

 

 

‘Pali’ canon (script) has Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka ,  Abhidhamma Pitaka.

 

1)Sutta Pitaka : The summary of the teachings of Buddha.

 

            *It has 5 Nikayas or collection of Suttas or Suttantas i.e., religious discourses

 

*It includes Digha Nikaya, Majjihma Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Kudduka Nikaya.

 

*The fifth Nikaya of the Sutta-Pitaka includes famous ‘Dhammapada’ , the psalms of the breather and sisters (Theragatha and   Therigatha ) and ‘Jatakas’ or ‘Buddhist Birth Stories .

 

2)Vinaya Pitaka : deals with the disciplinary rules and regulations for leading a monastic life. The texts contains in it are Sutta Vibhaga, Khandakas, and Parivara. It has rules of monastic discipline.

 

3)Abhidhamma Pitaka : Deals with the doctrines of the Buddha in a scholastic manner, it contains 7 texts.

                                           It has disquisitions of a philosophical character.

 

 

 

Dhammapada : It is a collection of 423 sayings of Lord Buddha.

 

 

Theragatha : It is a collection of poems composed by the Buddhist monks

 

Therigatha : ¨It is collection of poems composed by the Buddhist nuns.

 

 

Buddhavamsa : It is a collection of legends depicting the 24 lives of Buddha.

 

Visuddhimagga: Wrriten by Buddhaghosha who lived in Ceylon in the 5^th Century A.D.

 

 

‘Magadhanam Nirutti’ is the  the idiom of the people of Magadha.

 

 

‘Pali’ is the language in which texts were written.