Early Buddhism

Before the royal sponsorship of Asoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism remained centered around the Ganges valley, spreading gradually from its ancient heartland. The canonical sources record two Councils, where the monastic Sangha established the textual collections based on the Buddha's teachings, and settled certain disciplinary problems within the community.

1st Buddhist council (5th c. BCE)

The first Buddhist council was held soon just after Buddha died, and presided by Venerable Mahakasyapa, one of the most senior disciples, at Rajagriha (today's Rajgir). The objective of the council was to record the Buddha's doctrinal teachings (sutra) and to codify the monastic rules (vinaya): Ananda, one of the Buddha's main disciples and his cousin, was called upon to recite the discourses of the Buddha, and Upali, another disciple, recited the rules of the vinaya. These became the basis of the Tripitaka, which is preserved in Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan, and has been the orthodox text of reference throughout the history of Buddhism.

2nd Buddhist council (4th c. BCE)

The second Buddhist council was held at Vaisali following a dispute that had arisen in the Sangha over the relaxation by some monks of various points of discipline. Eventually it was decided to hold a second Council at which the original Vinaya texts that had been preserved at the first Council were cited to show that these relaxations went against the recorded teachings of the Buddha.