Contents
38. THE SECOND COUNCIL
38.1 The Background of the Second
Council
A hundred years after the First Council, during King
Kalasoka, a second great assembly in Buddhist community took place, known as
the Second Council. Different from those behind the First Council, it was the
difference of opinions concerning the precepts that led to the convention of
the Second Council.
A group of "liberal" Bhiksus of the Vajji tribe from the prosperous city of
Vaishali put forward a new interpretation of the "Ten Precepts", which were
the basic rules of discipline for the Bhiksus in the Sangha Order, therefore they requested for
relaxation so as to meet the socio-economical changes in society over a
hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni. They found some strict rules
were not practical, therefore they proposed the Bhiksus be allowed, for
instance,
Some Vajji Bhiksus laid golden almsbowl in streets asking people to donate
money for the sake of their merits and virtues.
An elder Bhiksu Yasas reprimanded the "unlawful" acts, but was attacked and
requested to resign by the local Vajji Bhiksus. As the issue was becoming
acute and serious, a council was call upon to discuss the meaning of Vinaya,
and consider the validity of the new interpretation of the "Ten Precepts".
38.2 The Conventions in Vaishali
Most of the elders Bhiksus from all over India came to the assembly in a
garden in the city of Vaishali. Five Bhiksus were elected as representatives.
In the assembly, 700 Bhiksus were selected to perform a group recitation of
the Sutras and Vinaya, just as Mahakashyapa had done at the time of the
First Council. Thus, the Second Council was also known as "Gathering of the
700 Bhiksus".
The proposals of the Vajji Bhiksus were finally rejected by the elders of the
Order. The new interpretation was regarded as the "Ten Unlawful Things".
Having been rejected in the Second Council, the Vajji Bhiksus gathered a group
of 10,000 disciples and held a council of their own, referred as the "Great
Group Recitation". It is around this time that the Buddhist Order appears to
have split into two major divisions, one known as the Sthavira, "Members of the Elders", and the
other known as the Mahasanghika, "Members
of the Great Order".
The early Buddhism existed in the form of several fairly autonomous groups in
India, partly due to the difficulties in communication amongst the groups at
that time, and more importantly, due to the teaching from the last words of
Shakyamuni Buddha.
In the Nirvana Sutra, Shakyamuni had no attempt to keep an Order as a single
unified Order. He asked the disciples to abide by the Dharma, not an individual person. He told the
disciples that the precepts were their master after his death. So, it is not
surprising that a hundred years later there should have appeared subtle
doctrinal and ritual differences among these various Buddhist groups.
Under the influence of the political and religious environment at that time,
the elder Bhiksus treated themselves as a highly disciplined class set apart
from the lay community, carrying out special religious practice for the
purpose of their own enlightenment. They emphasized the omnipotence of the
rules of discipline that the precepts for the Order laid down by Shakyamuni
should be abided by without the slightest deviation.
However, the Vajji Bhiksus disputed and stressed the original intent of the
teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha be allowed for all people in society (lay
community), not just one special class of people (monastic community). They
argued that, so long as there was no violation of the main tenets and precepts
of Buddhism, it should be permitted to adapt to the socio-economical changes,
and the customs and practices of a specific region in which one was preaching
or living. They had the opinion that, if the disciples remained faithful to
the main tenets, e.g. the Four Noble Truths,
and devoted themselves to Threefold Training (i.e. Trisiksa), minor variation
and deviations in the observance of the rules of disciplines should be
accepted. In view of the relatively progressive and cosmopolitan atmosphere
in Vaishali (the house of the famous lay believer Vimalakirti), it is quite
natural that a new movement arising among the members of the Buddhist
community there to break the "obsolete" rules.
With the schism after the Second Council, the process of division continued
until there were as many as eighteen sects, ten of them belonging to the
Sthavira and eight to the Mahasanghika. Buddhism had entered a period of
sectarianism.
38.4 Restoration of the Original Meaning
of Buddhism
From the historical point of view, the schism was an inevitable outcome in the
development of Buddhism. On the surface, the Sthivara Bhiksus would appear
to be the upholders of orthodoxy and the Mahasanghika Bhiksus the heretics.
In ordinary terms, the Sthivara seemed to be the dogmatists and the
Mahasanghika the revisionists.
The question of the greatest concern lies whether these sects preserved the
true spirit of Shakyamuni's teachings. In Buddhism, all reform movements
have, as their starting point, the spirit of striving to return to the
fundamentals of the faith and to restore the original meaning.
In accordance with the Buddhist doctrine of Middle Way, any extreme is a deviant way to
study Buddhism. A strong and healthy monastic order is necessary in Buddhism,
however, if it is established on the basis of rejecting the lay community, it
certainly violates the original meaning of Buddhism. On the other hand, a
wide and popular support in lay community is necessary in Buddhism, however,
if it is not led by the great masters who are enlightened by committing
themselves in serious religious practices, it certainly deviates from the
original meaning of Buddhism too.
Shakyamuni Buddha used to preach the Dharma in different ways depends upon the
background and the capacity of the people he was addressing to understand it.
Different standards in the rules of discipline are obviously required for
different groups of people within the Buddha community. In different periods
of time, one Buddhist sect may be more appealing to the other. The existence
of the development and the extinction of any Buddhist sect has its conditions,
in accordance with the Law of Causal
Condition. Actually, the fate of Buddhism rests upon the ability to
re-establish the fundamental principles of the doctrines, and to apply them
correctly in practice.
The Dharmas expounded by any one sect is only one of many, many ways to attain
Buddhahood. The ultimate truth i.e. the nature of Buddhist Dharma is beyond
thoughts and words, but can be experienced by self-certification. This is the
profound doctrine of One Buddha Vehicle.
38.1 The Background of the Second Council
38.2 The Conventions in Vaishali
38.3 The Origin of the Schism
38.4 Restoration of the Original Meaning of
Buddhism