INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Immediately after the Buddha death, a monk named Subaddha cried out that they don&t need to worry about discipline any more
This Subaddha should not be misunderstood with the other monk who was ordained at the old age.This was a clear indication that there was
some unrest in the monk order
The monk order had the royal patronage and received a warm welcome whenever they went on alms
Like today some people must have entered the monkhood for the sake of benefits and perks
The monks in the urbanity lived a luxurious life.
This luxurious life was much criticized among other sects of religion
Emperor Asoka brother Veethashoka was an ardent follower of Jainism and did not have a good opinion about the Buddha disciples
He always cited that the Buddhist monks had all royal luxuries.This fell on the emperor ears too
Asoka had a plan for his brother
While Veethasoka was dallying with his mates, the minister approached him and said that its time he should practice the kingship
Veethasoka was not interested
But the minister insisted that as the brother of the emperor he should be ready to take over in any case of emergency.
Veethasoka was
forced to sit on the throne
That when the emperor approached and saw his brother on the throne
This led him to rage and ordered execution immediately
Veethasoka was helpless, and within a few moments, the emperor said he would lessen the punishment.He will be given seven days of the
kingship before the execution
During the period, he will be getting every benefit an emperor is entitled to
Veethasoka, though he had every power and things, was not happy even for a single moment within his seven days
Upon the completion, Asoka asked his brother if he enjoyed the royal perks
Veethasoka said he didn&t enjoy it even a single moment, for the fear of death
Asoka then said there was no plan to behead him, but that was carried out to show that though monks live in royal luxuries they constantly
That no comfort then, the emperor said.
The discipline of Buddhism has been such
The Buddha always encouraged the middle path, though this itself is difficult to understand
This kind of discipline did not appeal to some monks who ordained for benefits
The Buddha instructed that his teachings will be the teacher following his death.The only way to preserve Buddhism was to protect the
teacher - the teachings, in this case
But teachings were not arranged into one place
The Buddha had taught on many occasions
That teaching had to be assembled
This is how the first Dhamma convention starts.
Monk Ananda was only Sotapanna when the Buddha passed away
That became an issue when the first Dhamma convocation was to be held; it comprised only of arahants
When the scripts state monk Ananda became an arahant just the night before the convocation, it seems a little unbelievable
But it can be so since the monk has already entered the path.Even before the lapse of three months, Buddha teachings faced the threat of
Many attempted to infiltrate and misinterpret the teachings
The first Dhamma convocation had to come to pass on Nikini Poya, thought Arahant Maha Kassapa.Subaddha remark was the immediate thing that
signalled a disaster & something really to mourn over
Many non-arahants including Ananda genuinely lamented.The need for convocation was bad because the teachings were facing threats even during
His cousin Devadatta caused ripples by trying to introduce new amendments.Arahant Maha Kassapa spent most of his life in the forest, mainly
because he did not want to be mistaken as the Buddha: they had similar physical features except that the Buddha was four inches taller
Apparently, as an arahant, he did not mourn the passing away but was concerned about arrangements
He had to shoulder many responsibilities as he was the third chief disciple of the Buddha: the two chief disciples, Sariputta and
Moggallana, had passed away before the Buddha
The convocation was his brainchild.He must have been sure about monk Ananda capacity of achieving the arahanthood when he handpicked only
499 arahants for the convocation
The event occurred in the city of Rajagaha in Magadha state.
onk Ananda role was significant not merely because he was the Buddha chief
attendant, but he had a powerful memory of the teachings
In addition, he enjoyed good intelligence and common sense.The Buddha praised him when he delivered a sermon to King Mahanama eloquently
As the chief attendant, his service was unsurpassable
He nearly sacrificed his life to elephant Nalagiri, who came to attack the Buddha under the Dutch courage
This must have been the sole reason & that he led an extremely busy life - monk Ananda could not concentrate on further mental
developments.
He was struck by emotions when he heard the Buddha was about to pass away
He leaned against a column and wept silently
Consoling his chief attendant, the Buddha prophesied Ananda had done enough merits to become an arahantThe convocation was in full swing for
The Dhamma was classified into Sutta and Vinaya
The Sutta section contains Nikayas: Digha (lengthy), Majjhima (middle), Samyuktha (compact), Anguttara (sections) and Khuddaka (small).Monks
learnt them by heart, and they were known as bhanaka
Monks were divided according to the relevant section of the Dhamma.Arahant Ananda and followers & Digha NikayaArahant Sariputta followers &
Majjhima NikayaArahant Ananda and his followers were entrusted with the responsibility for Digha Nikaya
The followers of Arahant Sariputta were entrusted with Majjhima Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya was entrusted to Arahant Maha Kassapa and his followers
Anguttara Nikaya was the responsibility of Arahant Anuruddha and his followers
All the arahants, in general, were made responsible for the Khuddaka Nikaya
Vinaya Pitaka was entrusted to Arahant Upali Thera.
This convocation was known as Pancha Sathika Sangikthi as it was held with the
participation of 500 monks who had attained arahantship
