Buddhist Councils & Buddhist Texts

Introduction

Buddhist Councils are simply assemblies set up by the Buddhist communities and monks post the demise of Gautama Buddha. These assemblies are established to recite the Buddhist texts and literature.

This Indian religion cum philosophy is a set of beliefs that is continuously refined and evolving through practice and in this process Buddhist council plays a major role. Buddhism was started in the sixth century B.C. It was the time when there were many more thinkers such as Mahavira, Zoroaster and Confucius along with Buddha. However, among them, Buddhism and Jainism left the most impactful mark in the history of India.

What is a Buddhist Council?

Many Buddhist councils were instituted after the death of Buddha by different kings to strengthen the base structure and principles of Buddhism. It’s still believed as the largest religion in the world which Gautama started it almost 2500 years ago. Buddhism mainly talks about pain, suffering, meditation and the need for proper behaviour to be on the path of enlightenment, which is called nirvana in Buddhism.

However, after the death of Buddha the monastic communities, who believe in Buddhism, came forward to settle doctrinal and disciplinary disputes and to revise them appropriately. This kind of assembly was known as the Buddhist council and Buddhist texts were discussed in those gatherings.

Types of Buddhist Councils

There are mainly four Buddhist councils that hold in India in 483 BC, 383 BC, 250BC and 1st CE, respectively. The fifth and sixth Councils of Buddhists took place in Burma.

• 1st council − King Ajatasatru held the first council of Buddhists in 483 BC after the death of Gautama Buddha in Sattapani caves. The main intention behind this council was to secure the teaching of Buddha. In this council, everyone agreed on the way the teaching should be spread. During this council period, Ananda wrote the Buddhist teachings titled Suttapitaka, whereas, Mahakassapa devised the monastic code titled Vinaypitaka.

• 2nd council − This council was held in 383BC, which was exactly a hundred years after the death of Buddha at Vaishali. It was conducted under king Kalasoka. From here, two groups were divided, one was Thera, which means the elder and the other one is Mahasanghika, which means the great community.

• 3rd council − It was held in 250 BC and under king Ashoka. The main objective of the council was to purify Buddhism and they sent missionaries to other countries.

• 4th council − This council was held under King Kanishka in the 1st century of AD. From here, Buddhism was divided into two groups that believed in different aspects such as Mahayana and Hinayana.

• 5th council − It was held in 1871, under king Mildon in Burma. In the tradition of Burmese, it is known as the fifth council. It was held for 5 months, all the recitations of this council were held in the marble slabs, which are almost 729, and they were housed with care as miniatures.

• 6th council − It was held in 1954 at Kaba Aye. The most unique thing about this council was that all the monks who participated came from 8 different countries.

Buddhist Texts

All the important things related to Buddhism are the Tipitaka, written in Pali. Three Tipitaka is sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Other than that, three other things considered the Buddhist text are- Dhammapada, Milinda Panha and Buddhacharita

The 1st one was the verse and Buddha said them, which were kept as verses. The second one is the conversation between King Menander I and sage Nagasena, where they discussed Buddhism. The last one was a poem and Ashvaghosha, which talks about the life of Gautama Buddha, created it.

Causes Behind the Spread and Decline of Buddhism

Many reasons were behind the spread of Buddhism and its decline and they are–

• Causes of Spread − The main reason was the personality of Gautama Buddha that worked as a magnet. Everything was in not in Sanskrit, but rather in pali, which made it more acceptable. It welcomed everyone without caste discrimination and the sanghas were democratic at the initial stage. The monks reached many places to spread Buddhism and they get help from the kings such as Bimbisara, and Ashoka.

• Causes of decline − The division in Buddhism made it weaker and later the monks became corrupted too. The popularity of Hinduism was also a cause behind the decline of Buddhism. After the end of the Gupta dynasty, Buddhism got affected. The invasions of the Huns were also a cause.

Conclusion

The concept of a Buddhist council was a gathering where all those people took part that had a great belief in the religious views. In those assemblies, all the Buddhist texts were recited to maintain the purify Buddhism and the disciplines. However, not all councils are counted as traditional ones. For true dhamma and Vinaya, the first council of Buddhists was conducted.

FAQs

1. What are the most popular sutras?

There are mainly four well-known sutras or texts which provide information about the rise and nature of Buddhism. Those popular sutras or texts are the Lotus sutra, Diamond sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra and Vimalakirtinirdesa.

2. What are the noble truths said by Buddha?

Mainly 4 types of noble truths are mentioned in Buddhism and the truths are suffering, the reason behind suffering, the end process of the suffering, and lastly, the way that helps to end the suffering.

3. What are the main types of suffering according to Buddhism?

In Buddhism, suffering is mainly divided into three types they are Dukkha-dukkha, which refers to the pain humans feel in their life, Viparinama-dukkha, which refers to the change in suffering and sankhara dukkha, which refers to the existence of the suffering.

4. What is the concept of god in Buddhism?

Buddhism and Buddhists do not believe in any kind of god, however, there is a belief in supernatural figures, which can help in the path of enlightenment.