after buddha’s death, zeal of kathaba in upholding genuine doctrines—he selects five hundred elders to become members of a council or assembly—radzagio is fixed upon for the holding of the council—he repairs thither with a portion of the appointed members—behaviour of the amiable ananda previous to his departure for radzagio—king adzatathat supports kathaba in his views—the hall for holding the council is prepared by his orders—ananda is qualified in a miraculous manner for sitting as a member of the council—holding of the council under the presidency of kathaba—establishment of the religious era—destruction of wethalie by adzatathat—the successors of that prince—in the days of king kalathoka a second council is held at pataliputra, under the presidency of ratha—causes that provoked the holding of a second assembly.
having completed the narrative of all that relates to the relics, we have to trace back our steps, and give an account of the development and spread of buddhism into various countries.
after the cremation of buddha’s mortal remains and the distribution of the relics, peaceably managed by the pounha dauna, kathaba, on account of the high esteem buddha ever had for him—esteem which he had manifested in a striking manner when he invested him with his one robe—considered himself as having been thereby especially appointed to provide effectual means for placing the law on an unshaken foundation. as a monarch before his death appoints his son to succeed him, to wield the supreme power and keep it in his family, in a like manner buddha had appointed his eldest spiritual son to take his place. being, therefore, the acknowledged head of the assembly, he had but one object in view, the maintenance of the doctrines and institutions of his great master in their original purity, and the establishment of religion on[102] a firm basis. when on his way from the town of pawa to that of kootheinaron, to be present at the funeral of buddha, he had met with a rahan, who had given him particulars respecting the last moments and death of gaudama, and at the same time had dared to express feelings of satisfaction on that mournful occasion in the following manner: “now that our master has gone to neibban, he will be no longer amongst us, to tell us, ‘you must do this, you have to shun that; such a regulation ought to be observed; such a duty is to be performed.’ we shall hear no longer the reproaches he was wont to address to us. at present we are at liberty to do what we like, and to follow our own inclinations.” such unbecoming, nay, impious language, stung to the quick the ardent soul of the venerable kathaba. from that moment he was daily engaged in revolving in his mind, and examining within himself, what would be the best course to be entered upon, in order to keep intact the doctrines he had heard from the mouth of buddha himself, and establish upon a firm basis the religious institutions he so much valued. “as soon,” said he within himself, “as the funeral of the most excellent phra shall have been performed with a becoming solemnity, i shall congregate together the most zealous and learned members of the assembly, and, with their united efforts and energy, i will oppose the spreading of false doctrines, which obscure the true ones. i will put down the newly-invented erroneous disciplinary regulations, by setting in a strong light the genuine ones. to prevent, in future, the re-occurrence of similar evils so detrimental to religion, all the preachings of buddha as well as the disciplinary rules shall be arranged under several heads, and committed to writing. the books containing the above shall be held up as sacred.”[30]
[103]
agreeably to the plan he had fixed upon twenty days after buddha’s demise, the great kathaba, profiting by the circumstance that had brought together so many rahans from all parts to the town of kootheinaron, communicated his views to all the rahans congregated in that place. having received from all his brethren a suitable encouragement, kathaba selected from among them four hundred and ninety-nine of the most learned. they were all rahandas, that is to say, they had all reached the last degree of perfection, with the exception of ananda, who was but a thautapan, and, therefore, had only entered into the current that was to drift him to perfection.
it may be asked why ananda was selected as a member of the future council, since, in point of spiritual attainments, he was very inferior to all his brethren upon whom kathaba’s selection had fallen. let it not be believed that he owed this distinction to his royal extraction, or to his being first cousin to buddha and the friend of kathaba, or to the venerable appearance which grey hairs imparted to his person. his brethren were full of love and esteem for him. they had the greatest regard for all that he said, because, having always attended on buddha’s person during[104] twenty-five years, lived with him in the greatest intimacy, and followed him as the shadow does the body, he was perfectly conversant with the doctrines of gaudama, which he had heard expounded on all occasions and to all sorts of people. all the religious were unanimous in declaring him worthy to be associated with those who were to compose the synod. kathaba was delighted at such an opinion, which agreed so well with his own.
kathaba examined afterwards what was the most befitting place for holding the council. having reviewed successively the various cities situated in the neighbourhood of kootheinaron, he was pleased with none of them. radzagio appeared to him in every respect the best place that could be selected. the city and its suburbs were very populous; the people lived in affluent circumstances; alms could easily be procured even for a large assembly during any period of time; monasteries about the city were both numerous and of great extent. all these advantages combined together induced kathaba to give the preference to that city. to this his brethren unanimously assented.
when these preliminaries had been settled, kathaba, on the fifth of the waxing moon of nayon, spoke as follows to the members of the future council: “brethren, you have before you forty days to prepare yourselves, and dispose everything to hold yourselves ready for beginning the great and important affair for which we have to assemble at radzagio. let none of you bring forward any pretext for postponing his going to the place that has been fixed upon, such as sickness, or the consideration of parents, friends, relatives, or even teacher. every one of us must be prepared to forsake everything to promote the great object we have in view, the exaltation of religion.”
when he had spoken in this manner he took with himself two hundred and fifty religious, and shaped his course in the direction of radzagio. some while afterwards anoorouda, attended by nearly a similar number of brethren,[105] went to the same place by following another road. the venerable pounha remained in kootheinaron with seven hundred brethren. the other religious, not designated by kathaba, withdrew into various other localities.
whilst these things were taking place, the ever kind-hearted and affectionate ananda availed himself of a portion of the forty days allowed by kathaba to proceed to radzagio, to give full scope to the feelings of love he entertained for the person of buddha. he employed a part of that time in revisiting the various places that had been the favourite resorts of his beloved departed master, the dzetawon monastery in particular. full of love for the memory of buddha, he was seen entering into the monasteries where he was wont to serve him daily with a most affectionate regard, his eyes bathed in tears, and doing, out of respect for him, the same humble but devoted services. he swept the room, made the bed, brought the water in the same way as if buddha had been present. with a low tone of voice, often interrupted by sobs, he was heard repeating, with the accent of a deep sadness, tempered by love, “this is the place where the most excellent phra sat down; this is the bed upon which he slept; this is the verandah through which he paced to and fro; this is the place where he bathed;” and on each spot he stood awhile and shed abundant tears. at such a sight the people felt their love towards buddha’s person increasing tenfold. they accompanied his loving disciple, joined him in his pious offices, and with him wept as bitterly, in remembering the person of the great teacher, his manners and his preachings, as they did when they heard of his death. having performed all these pious duties, ananda left that place, and hastened to the city of radzagio.
when all the religious had congregated, the occupants of the eighteen monasteries that were spread in the neighbourhood of radzagio had to leave them, and make them over to the new-comers. all the five hundred religious spent the festival day of the full moon of watso together[106] with the occupants of those places. after the performance of the usual devotions they were left alone in the undisturbed possession of the above-named monasteries. but the buildings were found in such a bad order that they required important and immediate repairs. moreover, they were in a state of unbearable uncleanness, and it was deemed necessary to have them well rubbed and washed. the cause of this disordered state was this: when the occupants of those places heard of the approaching death of their great teacher, they had hastened to kootheinaron, and there was no one left to take care of the dwellings and keep them in good order. to have the evil remedied, kathaba, accompanied by a large retinue of his most remarkable brethren, went on the second day after the full moon of watso to the palace of king adzatathat, who received him with every mark of respect, and immediately inquired about the object of his visit. kathaba explained to the monarch the purpose of his coming to radzagio with five hundred of the most distinguished religious. “i desire,” said he, “to confute error and to proclaim truth. my greatest wish is to promote the sacred cause of our holy religion. for that purpose i have, with the concurrence of all my brethren, resolved to hold a synod composed of the principal members of the assembly. we ask from you, o king, the favour of causing the eighteen monasteries of radzagio to be repaired for our dwelling, and also to give orders for the erection of a spacious hall, which shall be the place of our meetings for discussing various subjects relating to religion.”
adzatathat joyfully assented to the proposal and demands of the buddhist patriarch. he gave full liberty for the holding of the council, saying, “my power and that of the law are now at your command.” he gave immediate orders for putting in perfect order the dwelling-place of the rahans. on the southern face of mount webhara there was a cave which had been a favourite place of resort with buddha during the seasons that he spent at[107] radzagio in the weloowon or bamboo-grove monastery. that spot was fixed upon as the fittest for the holding of the assembly. adzatathat summoned to his presence the most skilful workmen, and commanded them to exert all their skill and talents in erecting a hall worthy of the assembly that was to meet within its precincts. the ground was first encircled with a fence. a fine flight of steps, made with the utmost care, led from the bottom of the hill to the spot where was built the magnificent hall, decorated with a profusion of the choicest ornaments, and surpassing in beauty and elaborate work the stately dwellings of princes. five hundred mats for the accommodation of the religious were disposed in the south of the hall. the seat of the president was placed opposite, in the northern part. in the centre, but facing the east, a seat resembling a pulpit was raised; upon it was laid a beautiful fan, made of ivory. when the work was finished, adzatathat informed kathaba that the work was completed, and the hall ready for the projected meetings.
it was on the full moon of the wakhaong (august) that the first conference was to take place and the council to be opened. on the day previous some rahans made a remark on the circumstance of ananda being allowed to become a member of the council, though he was but a thautapan, and had still to ascend the three other steps of thakadagan, anagan, and rahanda before he became an arahat. this remark, made with very little moderation, greatly affected and grieved the tender heart of ananda. no time was to be lost; he knew that on the following day the council would be opened, and he could scarcely hope to be tolerated as an exception in the midst of his brethren. he withdrew to a quiet and retired place, and resolved to do his utmost to obtain that which he felt he was in need of. he began to meditate with much attention; but the desired object of his wishes was as yet far from him. he thought of buddha. whilst he was continuing his mental labour until midnight, he heard a voice[108] telling him to apply himself to the labour of a higher order, to kamatan. this was a flash of light that illuminated his mind. the exercise lasted until a little before daybreak. at that time ananda left the walking place, and went to his room to take a little rest. he sat on his bed. between the short time that it took to raise his feet from the ground and lay the head over the pillow, ananda was delivered from the bands that keep a being in the whirlpool of existences, and he became a rahanda.
on the fifth of the waxing moon of wakhaong the 499 venerable members, attired in their cloaks and carrying the mendicants’ pots, assembled in the hall at the entrance of the webhara cave. each member occupied his own place; ananda’s alone was without its occupant. on a sudden, by the power of the virtue now inherent in his person, ananda appeared among his brethren. the appearance of his face resembled a ripe palm fruit. it was beautiful as the moon at its full emerging from the bosom of a cloud; as a newly polished precious stone on a piece of fine cloth; as the water-lily blooming in the rays of the morning sun. it reflected the inward perfection which had just been communicated to him, and exhibited it in unmistakable signs to the assembled religious.
every arrangement being completed, and the members occupying in silence their respective seats, kathaba three times praised buddha. he then asked the fathers of the assembly which of the three parts—the instructions, the discipline, or the metaphysics—deserved the priority in the discussions that were to begin. they answered that the discipline, being the soul and ornament of religion, deserved the preference. he asked them to appoint him whom they thought the fittest to occupy the pulpit. they were unanimous in selecting oopali, though ananda was worthy of such a distinction. the reason of the selection is the following: on one occasion buddha had openly declared that among all the religious, or the members of the assembly, oopali was the most fervent in observing the regulations[109] of the wini. then kathaba said, “brethren, since you have given the preference to the venerable oopali, let him have it.” the venerable oopali said in his turn, “brethren, hearken to my words: having been selected by the assembly to answer all the questions relating to the wini, i accept the honourable task thus imposed upon me.” when he had spoken he rose from his place, threw a part of his cloak upon one shoulder, bowed to the members of the assembly, went to the pulpit, sat down, and held the ivory fan in his hand.
kathaba, from his own seat, addressed oopali, and said, “venerable oopali, in what place has the most excellent phra enacted the commandment respecting the first of the four sins, called paradzika?” oopali answered, “in the country of wethalie.” “to whom was allusion made when this commandment was published?” “allusion was made to thoudein, the son of tananda pounha.” “what was the cause of such an enactment?” “the sin of fornication he had committed.” the president, addressing the assembled fathers, said, “brethren, you have all heard what regards the circumstances connected with the first paradzika. let this article be noted down, and its admission and sanction be proclaimed aloud.” it was done so. all the members accepted it. at that moment an earthquake was felt. the same method was observed as regards the three other paradzika. they were unanimously accepted by the members of the assembly. oopali was successively questioned by the president upon the other regulations of the wini, viz., the 13 thingaditheit, the 2 donay-a-niga, the 30 niseggi padzeit, the 92 padzeit, the 4 walidathani, the 75 theikkabot, which are named adikarana-thama; in all, 227 regulations. moreover, there were added the 80 (banawara) khandaca and the 25 parawira. these several divisions form the collection called wini pitagat. when the final sanction had been given to all those points a mighty earthquake was felt a second time. the venerable oopali laid down the ivory fan, rose up, came down[110] from the pulpit, reverentially saluted all the brethren, and returned to his own seat.
the president, addressing the company, said, “brethren, hearken to my words. if it be your good pleasure, we shall discuss at present the thoots or the instructions orally delivered unto us by our most excellent master. whom shall we appoint to answer the questions i shall put him on this subject?” they unanimously elected ananda, who, having always and on all occasions accompanied buddha, was better acquainted with his preachings than any other religious. then the president added, “brethren, if it be agreeable to you, i will duly question the venerable ananda.” the latter likewise said, “brethren, hearken to my words. since it is acceptable to you, i will answer all the questions on the thoots which our venerable president shall put to me.” then he rose from his seat, arranged his cloak on one of his shoulders, respectfully bowed to the assembly, and, ascending the steps of the pulpit, he sat down, and held in his hand the ivory fan.
the president, addressing the assembly, said, “brethren, in the thoots there are several parts or divisions. there is the division called thingiti, which has also subdivisions. which shall i fix upon to begin our session?” they answered, “let us begin with the diga-thingiti, which contains thirty-five thoots, and out of this the silakhanda which includes thirteen sermons or thoots.” it was on the first, called bhramadzala, that the questions were put. the president put the following questions to the venerable ananda: “in what place was the bhramadzala thoot preached?” he answered, “in the mingoon hall, situated in the middle of a grove of mango-trees half-way between radzagio and the village of nalanda.” “to whom was allusion made?” “to thouppya, a holder of false doctrines, and to a young man named bramada.” “for what reason was such allusion made?” “because both had been ungrateful to buddha.” similar questions were put for each thoot of this division, and suitable answers[111] were given in a like manner. the same mode of proceeding was observed for each sermon or thoot of the following divisions. when all the explanations had been given by the speaker, all the assembled brethren, with a perfect unanimity, assented to all that had been said.
when the work on the thoots was completed, the whole collection was called the pitagat thoots. ananda rose from the pulpit, placed the ivory fan upon the table, respectfully bowed to the assembly, and returned to his own place.
the president, addressing again the assembly, requested them to designate him who, in their opinion, appeared to be best fitted for answering all questions on the third part of the sacred scriptures, the abidama. they unanimously selected the venerable anooroudha. when the choice had been fixed upon and agreed to, anooroudha accepted the honour conferred on him, rose from his seat and saluted his brethren. he then gravely ascended the pulpit, sat down, and held the ivory fan in his hand.
the president questioned him on the seven divisions of the abidama, following the same order he had observed previously in treating of the two first parts called pitagat. the occupant of the pulpit having returned due answers, and the assembly having testified their approbation in a unanimous manner, the council was brought to a close. it had lasted seven months, from the full moon of wakhaong to the full moon of tabaong.[31]
[112]
the first council is called pitzasatika sangarana, because it was composed of five hundred religious. it is also named terika-sangarana, because it was composed of religious of[113] the first order. the soul of kathaba, at the happy conclusion of this important undertaking, overflowed with the purest joy. he felt that with such a work the religious institutions rested on a strong basis, and would last the whole period of 5000 years assigned to the duration of religion by gaudama himself.
it was at the conclusion of the council that king adzatathat, with the concurrence of the buddhist patriarch, did away with the eetzana era, and substituted the religious era beginning in the year 148 of the said era; that is to say, on the year of gaudama’s death, on a monday, the first of the waxing moon of tabaong.
here is inserted, as a genealogical link, the names of the kings who reigned at pataliputra, from adzatathat to kalathoka, under whose reign the second council was held.
agreeably to the prediction of gaudama respecting the calamities that were to befall wethalie on the third year of the religious era, adzatathat, having contrived to sow, through the instrumentality of a famous pounha, the seed of dissension among the princes of that city, flung himself on a sudden with a large force on the devoted city, possessed himself of it, and totally destroyed it. on his return to his own territories, the conqueror carried away[114] as captives three hundred of the princes and nobles of the conquered state. his reign lasted altogether thirty-five years. he died in the year 25 of the religious era. he was slain by his own son oudaia-badda, who succeeded him and reigned until the year 40. he was in his turn murdered by his son anoorouda, who also fell after a short reign by the hand of his son and successor, manta. this prince reigned until the year 49. he met with a similar tragical end. his son nagata-saka killed him and ascended the throne. he reigned until the year 53. the people of pataliputra, justly shocked at the horrible and barbarous murders which incessantly sullied the very steps of the throne, revolted against the race of these bloody princes, and put an end to the line of kings who are aptly called the parricide kings.
among the three hundred princes and nobles whom adzatathat had brought over from wethalie, one of them had a daughter remarkable for the attractions of her person and the accomplishments of her mind. she was by the order of the king raised to the position of a courtezan in radzagio. whilst engaged in that course she had a male child, whom, with unnatural feelings, she ordered to be thrown during the night into the midst of bushes, outside the city. a naga guardian of the place watched over the infant and carefully protected him. on the following morning, the king, happening to pass by, heard the sound thoo-thoo many times repeated. it was the naga who made this noise in order to attract his attention. the king having sent one of his officers to the spot the sound was coming from, was informed that an infant still alive was lying there under the guard of a naga. moved with compassion, he ordered the child to be forwarded to his palace and had him carefully brought up. on account of the sound thoo-thoo which had been heard, and of the naga that had been met on the spot, the child was named thoo-thoo-naga. he grew up and became an accomplished prince. the people, who had rid themselves of the line[115] of parricide kings, unanimously proclaimed him king in 63.
that monarch, not unmindful of his mother’s origin, re-established the city of wethalie, and fixed in it the royal residence. from that time radzagio lost her rank of royal city, which she never after recovered. he died in 81, and was succeeded by his son kalathoka, who, as we shall see subsequently, had a long reign of twenty-eight years.
we must show now how there has ever been a regular and uninterrupted succession of eminent doctors, who have successively communicated to each other the genuine doctrine, from buddha down to the time of the third council, that is to say, during more than two hundred years. the venerable oopali had learned the wini at the feet of buddha himself, and had for his chief pupil the venerable dantaka, who in his turn became the teacher of the venerable thaunaka. the latter was the instructor of the venerable seiggiwa, who also brought up in the knowledge of the true doctrine the venerable and renowned mauggalipatta. dantaka belonged, by birth, to the pounha race of wethalie. having become a patzin, he attained to so great a proficiency in the religious science, that oopali appointed him the instructor of a thousand religious in the three pitagats. thaunaka was the son of a rich merchant. he became a convert to buddhism, and entered as a religious at radzagio. his remarkable mental attainments induced his superior to give him the charge of initiating others into the knowledge of the sacred doctrines. seiggiwa was the son of a nobleman of pataliputra. on a certain day he went with many companions into the monastery of thaunaka, and found him in a state of trance. the young visitor wondered at what he saw. from admiration he passed to respect and love, and wished to become a disciple under him. he succeeded so well in his studies that he merited to become the master of the most celebrated of all, mauggalipatta. previous to his present existence, the latter was in one of the seats[116] of brahmas. he was incarnated in the womb of a pounha woman. when he was born, he grew up and showed a decided inclination to become a buddhist, and tread in the footsteps of gaudama. it was in 163 that the future president of the third council became a patzin.
in the 20th year of the reign of kalathoka, in the year 100, there happened a sort of schism amongst the rahans of wethalie. those of the weitzi district, little regarding the positive injunctions of the wini, indulged in certain practices openly at variance with them. this occasioned strong remonstrance on the part of the rahans living in the western district, called pawera. the dispute among the religious was soon noised abroad and caused some scandal. it was the following incident which revealed all the peril.
the venerable ratha was then living in the monastery, situated in the mahawon, in the district of wethalie. chancing to travel through the weitzi district, he heard that on festival days the rahans were wont to place near the entrance of their monasteries certain vessels half full of water, and advised the people to put therein, each of them, a piece of silver, saying that the produce would be employed in purchasing dresses and the other utensils required by the rahans. they also allowed as lawful the use of spirits, and were not very particular respecting the observance of the law of celibacy. ratha was greatly scandalised at all that he saw. he boldly told the people that it was not good to make offerings of money, because it was unlawful for religious to possess any. he made similar observations respecting the other trespassings.
on the following festival day no money was offered. the rahans were much incensed at such a neglect. ratha said to the people: “laymen, because of such irregularities, the beauty of the days of worship is fading, the glory of religion is darkened. buddha in his days forbade the offering of money, the use of liquors, and several other practices which are now introduced in this place. by the[117] innovators i am held up as a reviler of the rahans, and as one deficient in benevolence towards you. i, as well as the rahans of the royal race, attend only to the prescriptions of the wini, such as they have been laid down and published by buddha.” the people replied to him: “venerable ratha, you are a true rahan, and you follow the right way. pray stay with us and be our teacher; we will abundantly supply you with the necessaries of life.” ratha, going on his way, was always followed by the people, who, in token of their respect and love, accompanied him to the kootagara monastery, in the midst of the forest of sala trees.
the guilty rahans, hearing of all that had been said and fearing the paramount influence of the venerable ratha over the people, said to them: “we shall not join with the rahans of the royal race. we shall hold no intercourse with them. we shall expel ratha from this district.” with these dispositions they encouraged each other in the determination to offer a most decided opposition and maintain their newly invented practices.
on his side, the venerable ratha, anxious for the safety of the genuine practices, and zealous for the exaltation of religion, hastened to kothambi to warn the religious of that and the neighbouring districts against the evil practices of the weitzi rahans. to those whom he could not meet in person he sent letters and messengers to say to them: “brethren, before the evil-doers succeed in their iniquitous efforts to subvert religion, and render doubtful and uncertain the genuine regulations of the wini, ere they have time to set up false tenets, let us assemble, and with our united efforts give strength and confidence to the good and righteous, and crush the wicked and the impious.”
at that time there lived on a mountain, in the upper ganges, a celebrated religious, named samputa-kami. he was 120 years old, and had been a disciple of ananda. to him the zealous ratha applied in order to have the questions at issue with the weitzi rahans finally settled.[118] he minutely explained to him the ten points of discipline on which they were at variance with the wini. samputa-kami fully agreed with the proposal, and was of opinion that there should be held a general assembly, in which the points in dispute should be examined and the schism put an end to.
some religious, about sixty in number, appeared to have a leaning towards the schismatical party. they resolved to go to thaurya, where lived the celebrated rewati, whose extraordinary wisdom equalled the quickness and flash of the lightning. the venerable rewati, hearing of their wicked design, would not, in his abhorrence for their opinions, meet them on any account. he left his own place, and went from thaurya to the town of sankasa. when he had heard that they were following him, and were already close to the place he lived in, he removed to kaiinna-goutra, then to oudampara, subsequently to eggalamoura and to tharaudzati.
at the same time, it happened that ratha, with the venerable tsamputa, wished to go and have a meeting with rewati, in order to place him on his guard and to bring him over to their party. they met him at tharaudzati in the evening, and during the whole night made him acquainted with all the doings of the weitzi rahans, and begged him to declare openly which of the two parties was in the right. rewati at once pronounced in favour of the pawera rahans, and condemned the opposite party on each of the ten points in dispute, and looked upon them as innovators and schismatics.
during that time the schismatic rahans were not idle. they wished also to draw rewati to their party. having ascertained that he lived in tharaudzati, they went by boat and ascended the river as far as that place. they carried with them many presents suitable for religious. having landed, they took their quarters under a large tree. rewati, knowing their wicked intent, would not receive their presents, nor hold communion with them.[119] undismayed by this first check which they had received, they tried to obtain access to the master by means of the disciple. they offered him some presents, which in his simplicity he accepted. meanwhile they urged him to prevail upon his teacher to give them a favourable hearing. he only once made the attempt to introduce the subject with the greatest caution. rewati, however, was on his guard: he administered to his imprudent disciple such a rebuke as to deter him from making any further attempt. his name was outtara. he and all the rahans went to wethalie.
to calm the heat of discussion, and bring the question at issue to a complete settlement, the walikarama monastery in wethalie was selected as the fittest place for holding a general assembly, where both parties would attend, and endeavour to come to a mutual understanding. out of an immense number of religious, 700, the most conspicuous for their learning were selected by ratha and rewati to be members of the assembly. but to render the discussion clearer and easier, it was agreed that each of the ten points should be first discussed by eight rahans, four from each party. rewati, samputa, ratha, and thoumana represented the western or orthodox party: samputa-kami, thala, koudyabantaka, and wathakami acted for the opposite party.
it was evident that in this dispute the question was not about the pitagat itself; this was admitted by both parties. the difficulty affected certain points of discipline, ten in number, which were to be settled by the authority of the kambawa and patimauk. the eight delegates having met in a private hall of the monastery, rewati was desired to question the venerable samputa-kami on the ten points on which there was disagreement. he said: “is it lawful to add to the food that is received some salt or other condiments?” samputa-kami answered: “it is not lawful.” “in what place was that point settled?” “in wethalie, as being contrary to the spirit of the wini.”[120] “what sin is entailed on him who does such a thing?” “the sin of patzeit.” questions of a similar import were put as regards the drinking of milk in the afternoon, the use of waters half-fermented, the drinking of spirits, the receiving of gold and silver. answers were given agreeably to the tenor of the wini regulations.
when the eight delegates had come to a decision upon the ten points of discipline, they went into the great hall where the 700 rahans were assembled. ratha was the president of the assembly. samputa-kami was desired to ascend the pulpit and hold the fan. the president said to the assembled rahans: “brethren, if it be pleasing to you, i will interrogate the venerable samputa-kami on the wini, and on the ten points in discussion.” he followed the same order that had been observed in the first meeting of the eight rahans. the answers were unanimously received and approved of by the whole assembly. then the president said: “all discussion concerning the ten points is now over; let every one accept the decisions of the assembly and act agreeably to them.”
this second council is called thattasakita, or the assembly of the 700 rahans. it was held in 102, under the reign of kalathoka. that prince appears to have favoured the party of the weitzi rahans. the assembly lasted eight months. the canon of scriptures was likewise arranged and determined as it had been done by kathaba in the first council.
among the principal members of the assembly were samputa-kami, thala, koudzasambita, rewati, thauna, and samputa, who had been disciples of ananda. thoumana and wauthabakami had been disciples of the venerable anoorouda.
partly from the countenance given by the king to the condemned party, and partly from the obstinacy shown by the easterners in resisting the decisions of the council, the buddhistic society was divided into two great factions. the latter, that is to say the weitzi rahans, established[121] the great school called the maha thingika. the tera-thaka was that of the orthodox; it never changed in doctrine or in discipline. until the third council, that is to say, during the space of more than a century, eighteen different schools branched off.[32] of these, seventeen offered[122] the sad spectacle of important changes in points of discipline and of doctrine. but the terawada never changed: it retained both doctrine and discipline in their original purity. all the different schools received their denomination from their respective founders.
