Dipavamsa (study)

by Sibani Barman | 2017 | 55,946 words

This page relates ‘Accounts of Indo-Ceylonese Saddhamma-Sangha’ of the study on the Dipavamsa conducted by S. Barman in 2017. The Dipavamsa is the base material of the Vamsa literatures of Ceylon (Srilanka or Sri-Lanka) writtin the Pali language.

Chapter 2a - Accounts of Indo-Ceylonese Saddhamma-Saṅgha

The Dīpavaṃsa speaks of three Saddhamma Saṅgha or three Buddhist Councils to protect and keep the religion of the Buddha for ever. In the history of development of Buddhism the importance and significance of the Buddhist Councils are immeasurable.The First Buddhist Council is of paramount importance regarding the origin of the Buddhist canon and the Second Buddhist Council is remarkable for the growth of the sects. Mordern researches on the Councils began in the middle of the nineteenth century. Many controversial issues have not yet been settled. The divergent documents of Pāli, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan tradition in regard to time, place, major participants, doctrinal issues and other details of the first two councils made the scholars puzzled. Scholars like H. Oldenberg, R.O. Franke, I.P.Minayeffe, N.Dutt, M.Hoifinger, Andrew Bareau, J.Przylusky and others have dealt with the Councils. Some of the scholars even have raised the question on the genuineness of the councils.

The first two councils are taken as authentic as they have been included in the canonical Vinaya Text, the Cullavagga. Most of the scholars except Oldenberg have accepted them as authentic. But Oldenberg regarded them as inclusion in later dates. The accounts of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Buddhist councils are controversial in many respects-e.g. date, place, proceedings and patrons. Only the sixth council has no controversy which was held in Rangoon (Burma) in 1956, under the patronage of Union Government of Burma (now Mayanmer) and under the leadership of U.Nu, the then Prime Minister. In this chapter we would confine our discussion upto the Third Council.

The word ‘Saddhamma’ implies, ‘the good doctrine’, ‘true religion’, ‘good practice’, the religon of the Buddha.

Beside the wide significance, the term Saddhamma is especially used to signify the ‘Religion of the Buddha’. The word ‘Saṅgha’ means assemblage. In the Buddhist sense the term implies ‘the assembly of Buddha’s priests. It is stated in the texts, that the Buddha at the beginning did not want to preach the Dhamma. He thought that, nobody could understand his high level of philosophy. However with the intervention of Mahābrahmā Sahampatī, he agreed and proceeded towards ‘Isipattana Migadāya’ in Sārnāth where he first converted the five quondam companions known as ‘Pañcavaggiya Bhikkhus’, namely Aññāta Koṇḍañña, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahānāma and Assaji by preaching them the ‘Dhammachakka-pavattana Sutta’.He advised them to avoid two extremes: worldly pleasures and austerities or simply self indulgence and self torture and gave them the sermon on the middle path (Majjhima-Paṭipadā). These five disciples constituted the first Buddhist Saṅgha. Soon Yaśa, ‘the banker’s son’ became a convert with his four friends Bimala, Subāhu, Pannaji and Gavampati. They were followed by fifty of their friends. There were sixty one Arhat Bhikkhus in all. All of them spent their first rainy season (Vassāvāsa) at Isipatana (Samath) and after its solemn close (Pavāraṇā), the Buddha sent out sixty monks in different direction to preach the ‘Dhamma’ for the welfare of mankind.

In this way the first Buddhist Saṅgha was formed within a short period. Gradually the Buddhist Saṅgha developed into a matured missionary order or Saṅgha. The Saṅgha is a great preserver and protector of the Buddhist faith.It played a vital role in the subsequent Buddhist councils or Saṅgīti in preserving the teachings of the Buddha. Dr. Sumangala Barua had rightly said that ‘the Buddhist faith would have hardly progressed without the aid of the Saṅgha and Saṅgīti. Hence they are correlated terms in the Buddhist thought. Buddhist monasteries were also permanent councils. It was the Saṅgha which was instrumental in holding the Saṅgīti’.

‘Saṅgīti’, in general sense means a song, music, concert, a sound of same pitch, choral singing etc. In the Buddhist sense, the term means collective recitation, proclamation of the doctrine. Finally it has come to signify general convocation of the Buddhist monks in order to settle the questions of the doctrine and to fix the text of the scripture. The Pāli term ‘Saṅgīti’ is translated into English as ‘Council’ but this is not perfect.

Memorization and recitation of the text were the only means to preserve the secred texts in early times. Buddha’s discourses were handed down orally through succession of teachers (Ācarya paramparā). In the ‘Mahāparinibbāna Sutta’, Buddha advised his followers to verify his words on the four authorities (Cattāro Mahāpadesā). He solemnly declared that the wrongly arranged words and sense are conductive to the disappearence of his discourses. The monks who get by heart the wrongly arranged text become confused and the meaning would become changed to them. So to preserve the rules of the the Vinaya and the DhammaCattāro Mahāpadesā, had been established. Originating from any of the four Mahāpadesā, the words should be carefully checked by comparison with the Sutta and the Vinaya. Following these instructions, before reciting the scriptures, the learned monks verify the teachings of the Lord word for word. After being satisfied that the doctrine to be studied is in accordance to the Master’s sayings, they permit the recitation. During the lifetime of the Buddha there were instances of misinterpreting his doctrine. Making such a master plan in that remote past, for the first time is possible only by the Lord Buddha and is quite astonishing.

Those who learn the teachings by heart and can recite it without fault are called groups of Bhānakas (reciting monks). Even today we find Theras in Burma, Sri-Lankā and Thiland who memorize, recite and compare the whole scriptures.

Being afraid of the fact that the true words of the Master after his passing away may be lost, theTheras started collecting words of the Buddha. In the modern time also, the Theras of Sri-Lankā, Thailand, Burma regularly meet to protect and preserve the teachings of the Buddha.

Sources of information:

The sources of first two councils are found in Pāli, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese records.

Pāli Sources:

The primary sources of the two councils are found in the Cullavagga (Khandakas XI & XII) of the Vinaya Piṭaka.

The secondary sources of Pāli traditions are Dīpavaṃsa, Mahāvaṃsa, Introduction to Samantapāsāikā of Buddhaghosa, Sumaṅgala-Vilāsinī, Mahābodhivaṃsa and Sāsanavaṃsa.

Sanskrit Sources:

Mahāvastu and Mañjuśrimūlakalpa contain short references of the councils. In Mahāvastu there is no reference of the second one. The Vinayas of the Mahāsaṅghikas, Sarvāstivādins, Mahīsāsakas, Dharmaguptikas and Haimavantas also contain a short narrative of the first two councils. But the original Sanskrit works are lost.

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