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{{short description|Gathering of senior monks of the Buddhist order convened just after the Buddha's death}}
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{{EarlyBuddhism}}
The '''First Buddhist council''' was a gathering of senior monks of the Buddhist order convened just after ] death in c. 400 BCE.{{sfn |Harvey |2013 |p=88}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=When did the Buddha live?: the controversy on the dating of the historical Buddha|date=1995|publisher=Sri Satguru Publications|isbn=8170304695|editor-last=Bechert|editor-first=Heinz|location=Delhi, India|oclc = 33669718|language=English|editor-last2=Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen}}</ref> The story of the gathering is recorded in the ] of the ] and Sanskrit Buddhist schools. It is regarded as canonical by all schools of Buddhism, but in the absence of evidence from outside the Buddhist sutras some scholars have expressed doubts as to the event's historicity.{{fact|date=September 2020}}

==Description==
A council of 500 ] was held at ] (Sanskrit: Rājagṛha) three months following the Buddha's death to agree on the contents of the Dhamma and Vinaya.{{sfn |Harvey |2013 |p=88}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/2_32lbud.htm|title=Life of Buddha: The 1st Buddhist Council (Part 2)|website=www.buddhanet.net|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref> It is said that following the Buddha's death, 499 of the Buddha's top arahats were chosen to attend the council, with one seat reserved for ], then a ]. As the meeting approached, Ananda trained himself until the dawn of day of the council. When the dawn arrived, he decided to lie down and before his head hit the pillow he became an arahant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/2_32lbud.htm|title=Life of Buddha: The 1st Buddhist Council (Part 2)|website=www.buddhanet.net|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref>

The meeting was led by ] under the patronage of the king ]. Its objective was to preserve the Buddha's sayings (]) and the monastic discipline or rules (]). Even though the Buddha allowed the Sangha to abolish the minor rules, the ] made the unanimous decision to keep all the rules of the Vinaya. ] recited the Suttas, such that each begins: ‘]’ (Pali: ''Evaṃ me sutaṃ'').{{sfn |Harvey |2013 |p=88}} The monk ] (Sanskrit उपालि upāli) recited the Vinaya.{{sfn |Harvey |2013 |p=88}}

Regarding the ], the third major division of the ], Western scholarship has suggested that the ] was likely composed starting around 300 BCE because of its contents and differences in language and style.{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p=4}}<ref name="Keown2004p2">{{cite book|author=Damien Keown |title=A Dictionary of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=985a1M7L1NcC |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-157917-2 |pages=2 }}</ref> According to Theravada tradition maintained by the Atthakathā-teachers responsible for its memorization, the six canons of Abhidhamma Pitaka, one of its Matika, and the ancient Atthakathā (commentary) were also included at the first Buddhist council in the Sutta category, but its literature is different from Sutta because the Abhidhamma Pitaka was authored by ].<ref>Dī.A. (sumaṅgala.1) Sumaṅgalavilāsinī dīghanikāyaṭṭhakathā </ref><ref>Saṅgaṇi.A. (aṭṭhasālinī) Dhammasaṅgiṇī </ref>

== Historicity ==
Tradition states that the First Council lasted for seven months.{{sfn |Buswell |Lopez |2013 |loc=Council, 1st}} Scholars doubt, however, whether the entire canon was really recited during the First Council,{{sfn |Harvey |2013 |page=88}} because the early texts contain different accounts on important subjects such as meditation.{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|pp=96–7}} It may be, though, that early versions were recited of what is now known as the '']'' and '']''.{{sfn |Hirakawa |1993 |p=69}} Nevertheless, many scholars, from the late 19th century onward, have considered the historicity of the First Council improbable. Some scholars, such as orientalists ] and D.P. Minayeff, thought there must have been assemblies after the Buddha's death, but considered only the main characters and some events before or after the First Council historical.{{sfn |Prebish |2005 |page=226}}{{sfn |Mukherjee |1994 |pp=453}} Other scholars, such as Buddhologist ] and Indologist ], considered it likely that the account of the First Council was written after the ], and based on that of the second, since there were not any major problems to solve after the ], or any other need to organize the First Council.{{sfn |Prebish |2005 |page=231}}{{sfn |Mukherjee |1994 |pp=454{{en dash}}6}} On the other hand, archaeologist ], Indologist E. E. Obermiller and to some extent Indologist Nalinaksha Dutt thought the account of the First Council was authentic, because of the correspondences between the Pāli texts and the ].{{sfn |Mukherjee |1994 |p=457}} Indologist ], following ] and Bhikkhu Brahmali's arguments, states that "it makes good sense to believe ... that large parts of the Pali Canon do preserve for us the '']'', 'the Buddha's words', transmitted to us via his disciple Ānanda and the First Council".{{sfn |Gombrich |2018 |p=73}}

=== Sources ===
All six of the surviving ] traditions contain accounts, in whole or in part, of the first and ] councils and are in agreement regarding their particulars.<ref name=Frauwallner>{{cite book
| last = Frauwallner
| first = Erich
| author-link = Erich Frauwallner
| title = The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature
| publisher = Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente
| date = 1956
| location = Rome
| pages = 42–45
| language = English
| isbn = 8857526798
}}</ref> The story of the First Council seems to be a continuation of the story of the Buddha's final days and death told in the ] and its equivalents in the ].<ref name=Frauwallner/> Based on correlations and continuity between these two texts, ] concluded that they had originated from a single narrative that was later split between the ] and ].<ref name=Frauwallner/> In most schools, the account of the First Council is located at the end of the ''Skandhaka'' section of the Vinaya but before any appendices.<ref name=Frauwallner/>

==See also==
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==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation|last1=Buswell|first1=Robert E. Jr.|last2=Lopez|first2=Donald S. Jr.|author2-link=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.|date=2013|publisher=] |isbn=978-0-691-15786-3|url=http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/files/file-nen/Princeton_Dictionary_of_Buddhism_890707662.pdf}}
* {{Citation |last1=Gombrich |first1=Richard |authorlink1=Richard Gombrich |title=How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings |date=2006 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-415-37123-0 |edition=2nd}}
* {{Citation |last=Gombrich |first=R. |author-link=Richard Gombrich |title=Buddhism and Pali |publisher=Mud Pie Books |isbn=978-0-9934770-4-1 |year=2018}}
* {{Citation |last1=Harvey|first1=Peter|title=An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices|date=2013|publisher=]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-521-85942-4|edition=2nd|url=https://toleratedindividuality.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/an-introduction-to-buddhism-teachings-history-and-practices.pdf}}
* {{Citation |last1=Hirakawa |first1=Akira |authorlink1=Akira Hirakawa |title=A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna |date=1993 |publisher=] |isbn=9788120809550 |url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/A%20History%20of%20Indian%20Buddhism_From%20Sakyamuni%20to%20Early%20Mahayana_Akira.pdf}}
* {{Citation |last=Mukherjee |first=B. |year=1994 |title=The Riddle of the First Buddhist Council{{nowrap| –}} A Retrospection |journal=Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal |volume=7 |url=http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BJ001/07_15.htm |pages=452{{en dash}}73}}
* {{Citation |last1=Prebish |first1=Charles S. |editor1-last=Williams |editor1-first=Paul |encyclopedia=Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 1: Early History in South and Southeast Asia |date=2005 |orig-year=1974 |publisher=] |title=Review of Scholarship on Buddhist Councils |isbn=0-415-33227-3 |url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Buddhism_Critical%20Concepts%20in%20Religious%20Studies_Paul-Williams_Vol_1.pdf |pages=224{{en dash}}43}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* (English translation) - The traditional story of the First Council, as recorded in the ].

{{Buddhist councils}}

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Latest revision as of 13:33, 6 July 2023

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