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A Review of Scholarship on the Buddhist Councils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Charles S. Prebish
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Extract

The problem of Buddhist councils has haunted western Buddhological research through almost all of its last one hundred years. At once, we see that a twopronged approach is necessary if we are to ever have any hope of arriving at a resolution. The first of these involves a consideration of the relationship between the Vinaya council accounts and the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, this latter text preserved in the Sūtra Piṭakas of the various schools and providing a detailed account of [1] the Buddha's travels immediately prior to his death, [2] the actual passing into parinirvāṇa, and [3] the funeral arrangements. Here the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra account concludes, but the details which are associated with the next allegedly historical events, namely, the council narratives, are found in the Skandhakas of the various Vinayas. Scholars began to question why the council proceedings, logically following the Buddha's death and funeral, are preserved in a separate text.

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Articles
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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , February 1974 , pp. 239 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1974

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References

1 Oldenberg, Hermann [ed.], The Vinaya Piṭakaṃ [5 vols., reprint; London: Luzac & Company, Ltd. (for P.T.S.), 1964], I, p. xxviiiGoogle Scholar.

2 Finot, Louis, “Mahāparinibbāna-sutta and Cullavagga,” Indian Historical Quarterly, VIII, 2 [June, 1932], pp. 241–246Google Scholar.

3 Frauwallner, Erich, The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature [Rome: Instituto per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (Serie Orientale Roma), 1956], pp. 44–45Google Scholar.

4 Ibid., p. 45. The parentheses are mine.

5 See Prebish, Charles S., “Theories Concerning the Skandhaka: An Appraisal,” Journal of Asian Studies, XXXII, 4 [August, 1973], p. 674Google Scholar.

6 This article was also published in Le Muséon, VI [1905], pp. 213–323.

7 This summary is condensed from Przyluski, Jean, Le Concile de Rājagṛha [Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1926–1928], pp. 133–235Google Scholar, and also de La Vallée Poussin, Louis, “The Buddhist Councils,” Indian Antiquary, XXXVII [1908], pp. 1–6Google Scholar.

8 According to La Vallée Poussin, “The Buddhist Councils,” pp. 4–5, the number of these faults varies with the different schools. He records: Theravādins—5, Mahīśāsakas—6, Dharmaguptakas—7, and Mahāsāṃghikas—7.

9 This account is most thoroughly preserved in the Chinese translations. See, for example, Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, pp. 195–198 [Dharmaguptaka Vinaya].

10 La Vallée Poussin, “The Buddhist Councils,” pp. 17–18. The italics are mine.

11 Ibid., pp. 15–16.

12 Franke, R. O., “The Buddhist Councils at Rājagaha and Vesālī as Alleged in Cullavagga XI., XII.,” Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1908, p. 68Google Scholar.

13 Ibid. The parentheses are mine.

14 Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, Avant-Propos, p. I.

15 Journal Asiatiqne, Série XI, Tome XI [Mai-Juin, 1918], pp. 485–526; Série XI, Tome XII [Novembre-Décembre, 1918], pp. 401–456; Série XI,, Tome XIII [Mai-Juin, 1919], pp., 365–430; Série XI, Tome XV [Janvier-Mars, 1920], pp. 5–54.

16 Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, p. 372.

17 Ibid., pp. 373–374. The italics are mine.

18 Ibid., pp. 375–376.

19 Ibid., p. 377.

20 Bareau, André, Les premiers conciles, bonddhiques [Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1955]Google Scholar.

21 Ibid., p. 1.

22 Ibid., p. 2.

23 Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, p. 171. I have previously noted Mahākāśyapa as the selector simply because he fulfills this role in the majority of the Vinayas.

24 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bonddhiques, p. 5.

25 Ibid., p. 7.

26 Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, pp. 298–305.

27 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 13.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Taken from Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, pp. 333–365, but also see Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 24.

31 See my forthcoming article, “The Prātimokṣa Puzzle: Fact Versus Fantasy,” in Journal of the American Oriental Society.

32 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 26.

33 These three statements are taken from Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 27, 29, and 28, respectively. The last statement is very reminiscent of Frauwallner's position.

34 This summary is taken from Hofinger, M., Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī [Louvain: Bureaux du Muséon, 1946], pp. 22–148Google Scholar, and also La Vallée Poussin,. “The Buddhist Councils,” pp. 81–85.

35 He is specifically charged with unauthorized preaching, a pāyantika offense.

36 For these rules, as well as their interpretation in the various Hīnayāna schools, see Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 67–78, Pachow, W., A Comparative Study of the Prātimokṣa, in Sino-Indian Studies [Volumes IV, 1–4 and V, 1 (1951–1955)], IV, 1, pp. 40–43Google Scholar, and Dutt, Nalinaksha, “The Second Buddhist Council,” Indian Historical Quarterly, XXXV, 1 [March, 1959], pp. 54–56Google Scholar. I am following the Pāli terminology, used by all the above authors as a base.

37 Hofinger, Étude sur le concile. de Vaiśālī, p. 218.

38 Pachow, , A Comparative Study of the Prātimokṣa, IV, 1, p. 43Google Scholar.

39 Franke, R. O., “The Buddhist Councils at Rājagaha and Vesālī as Alleged in Cullavagga XI., XII.,” Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1908, p. 70Google Scholar. The parentheses are mine.

40 See: Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, p. 169, and also Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 31.

41 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 32.

42 See: Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, pp. 109–111 and 145, and also Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 32–33.

43 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 33.

44 Geiger, Wilhelm [tr.], The Mahāvaṃsa, or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon [reprint; London: Luzac & Company, Ltd. (for P.T.S.), 1964], p. lixGoogle Scholar. The parentheses are mine.

45 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 67.

46 Ibid., pp. 68–71 and 74–77, where the points are arranged in two charts.

47 Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, pp. 216 [and nn. 1–3] and 217 [and nn. 1–6].

48 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques,. p. 73.

49 See the account in Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, pp. 145–148.

50 Demiéville, Paul, “À propos du concile de Vaiśālī,” T'oung Pao, XL [1951], p. 275Google Scholar.

51 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, PP. 75–78.

52 Ibid., p. 78.

53 Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, p. 249.

54 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 87.

55 Demiéville, “À propos du concile de Vaiśālī, p. 258.

56 Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, pp. 183–195.

57 Przyluski, Le Concile de Rājagṛha, pp. 309–314.

58 These statements can be found in Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 82–83 and 83–84, respectively.

59 See: Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, p. 256, and also Bareau, Les Premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 86.

60 Dutt, “The Second Buddhist Council,” pp. 52–53.

61 Frauwallner, The Earliest Vinaya, pp. 59–65.

62 Dutt, “The Second Buddhist Council,” p. 54.

63 Demiéville, “À propos du concile de Vaiśālī,” pp. 283–284.

64 Ibid., pp. 259–260.

65 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 86.

66 Ibid., p. 88.

67 Ibid.

68 Ibid., p. 89.

69 See: Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, p. 173, which presents a convenient chart, as well as Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, p. 92.

70 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 89–92.

71 Hofinger, Étude sur le concile de Vaiśālī, p. 173.

72 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 95–96. The italics are mine.

73 Ibid., p. 104.

74 Ibid., pp. 105–106.

75 Ibid., p. 109.

76 Ibid.

77 Edited by S. A. Strong in 1891, and published by The Pali Text Society.

78 Edited by Junjirō Takakusu and Makoto Nagai in 7 volumes between 1924 and 1947, and published by The Pali Text Society.

79 Bareau, Les premiers conciles bouddhiques, pp. 115–118.

80 Ibid., pp. 119–131.

81 lbid., pp. 131–132.