The Four Councils
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Introduction to the Four Councils
Siddhartha Buddha spent forty-five years tirelessly expounding the Dharma after his enlightenment at age thirty-five. During this period of such profound activity, the Buddha never wrote down any of his teachings, relying on the authentic transmissions he had given to his disciples and trusting their impeccable ability to recall his words as the sole treasury of Dharma in his absence. Upon the Buddha's death, the sangha was in need of a way to ensure these teachings were gathered together and collectively remembered correctly. As some disciples were present for certain teachings that others were not, they wanted a way to ensure nothing was left out from what the Buddha had taught during his lifetime. To keep the Buddha's teachings intact and the vows of the monks pure, a massive gathering of arhats was assembled. Beginning just three months after his passing, the Buddha's close disciple and highly realized being, Mahakasyapa, organized the first large scale meeting of practitioners to ensure a unified understanding and memorization of the Dharma. This was the first of four major assemblies that would occur throughout the history of the Dharma's transmission in our world known as the Four Buddhist Councils.
While there have certainly been countless important meetings of great Buddhist masters throughout the course of the last 2,500 years, these four are of particular importance in the way they have shaped the manifestation of the Dharma in our world today, starting with the Indian Subcontinent, and spreading throughout Asian and the entire world. The outcome of these councils are responsible for creating the core literature of Buddhism known as the Three Baskets (Tripitaka in Sanskrit, Tipitaka in Pali). This massive volume of texts encompasses the Vinaya (teachings related to monastic vows), Sutra (words of the Buddha), and Abhidharma (detailed taxonomy of the teachings). We also see the various schools that would eventually manifest as Theravada and Mahayana evolve from the discussions occurring at these councils. Indeed, without the combined efforts of the early sangha members to preserve the teachings of the Buddha as documented in these councils and the continued dedication of practitioners in the modern age, the Dharma would have vanished into obscurity like many ancient Indian philosophies that ignited and burned out through the centuries. See the links below to learn more about each individual council.
First Council in Rajgir
Second Council in Vaishali
Third Council in Pataliputra
Fourth Council (Theravadin Council in Sri Lanka/ Sarvastavadin Council in Kashmir)
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