Two Fourth Buddhist Councils were held. The first one was held in the First Century BC, in Sri Lanka. In this fourth Buddhist council the Theravadin Pali Canon was for the first time committed to writing, on palm leaves. The second one was held by the Sarvastivada school, in Kashmir in the First Century AD. Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. ... The Sarvastivada (roughly, Proclaiming that all exist) --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of the three times (past, present, and future). ... Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ...

Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka

The first Fourth Buddhist Council (Theravada tradition) was held in response to a year in which the harvests in Sri Lanka were particularly poor, and many monks subsequently died of starvation. Because the Pali Canon was in that time solely remembered by heart, the surviving monks recognized the danger of not writing the teachings of the Tipitaka down, so that even if some of the monks (whose duty it was to study and remember parts of the Tipitaka for later generations) died, the teachings would not be lost. This Fourth Buddhist Council took three years, and its mission was completed at around 30 BC. Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ... Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ...

The Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Tambapanni (Sri Lanka) in 29 B.C. under the patronage of King Vattagamani. The main reason for its convening was the realization that it was now not possible for the majority of monks to retain the entire Tipitaka in their memories as had been the case formerly for the Venerable Mahinda and those who followed him soon after. Therefore, as the art of writing had, by this time developed substantially it was thought expedient and necessary to have the entire body of the Buddha's teaching written down. Tambapanni is a name derived from Tamira Varni (in Sanskrit). ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... Mahinda was the son of Emperor Ashoka. ...

King Vattagamani supported the monk's idea and a council was held specifically to commit the entire Tipitaka to writing, so that the genuine Dhamma might be lastingly preserved. To this purpose, the Venerable Maharakkhita and five hundred monks recited the words of the Buddha and then wrote them down on palm leaves. This remarkable project took place in a cave called, the Aloka lena, situated in the cleft of an ancient landslip near what is now Matale. Thus the aim of the Council was achieved and the preservation in writing of the authentic Dhamma was ensured. In the Eighteenth Century, King Vijayarajasiha had images of the Buddha created in this cave. The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... Clock-tower Hindu temple in Matale Memorial over the 1848 rebellion Matale town Matale is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka, 142 kilometres (90 miles) from Colombo. ... The word dharma (Sanskrit; धर्म in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, Dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...

After the Council, palm leaves books appeared, and were taken to other countries, such as Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. The Tipitaka and its commentaries were originally brought to Sri Lanka by the missionary monk Mahinda of the Third Buddhist Council. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir

The second Fourth Buddhist Council (Sarvastivada tradition) is said to have been convened by the Kushan emperor Kanishka, around 100 CE at Jalandhar or in Kashmir. The Fourth Council of Kashmir is not recognized as authoritative in Theravada; reports of this council can be found scriptures which were kept in the Mahayana tradition. The Mahayana tradition based some of its scriptures on (refutations of) the Sarvastivadin Adhidharma texts, which were systematized at this council^{[citation needed]}. The Sarvastivada (roughly, Proclaiming that all exist) --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of the three times (past, present, and future). ... Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Kanishka (Kushan language: , Ancient Chinese: 迦腻色伽) was a king of the Kushan Empire in South Asia, ruling an empire extending from Northern India to Central Asia in the 2nd century of the common era, famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. ... (Redirected from 100 AD) For other uses, see number 100. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ...

It is said that for the Fourth Council of Kashmir, Kanishka gathered 500 monks headed by Vasumitra, partly, it seems, to compile extensive commentaries on the (Sarvastivadin Abhidharma, although it is possible that some editorial work was carried out upon the existing canon itself. The main fruit of this Council was the vast commentary known as the Mahā-Vibhāshā ("Great Exegesis"), an extensive compendium and reference work on a portion of the Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma. Kanishka (Kushan language: , Ancient Chinese: 迦腻色伽) was a king of the Kushan Empire in South Asia, ruling an empire extending from Northern India to Central Asia in the 2nd century of the common era, famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. ... Vasumitra or Sumitra (as per d manuscript of Matsya Purana) (131 - 124 BCE) was the fourth Sunga ruler. ... The Sarvastivada (roughly, Proclaiming that all exist) --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of the three times (past, present, and future). ... The abhidhamma is the name of one of the three pitakas, or baskets of tradition, into which the Tipitaka (Pali; Sanskrit: Tripitaka), the canon of early Buddhism, is divided. ...

Scholars believe that it was also around this time that a significant change was made in the language of the Sarvāstivādin canon, by converting an earlier Prakrit version into Sanskrit. Although this change was probably effected without significant loss of integrity to the canon, this event was of particular significance since Sanskrit was the official holy language of Brahmanism in India, and was also being used by other thinkers (regardless of their specific religious or philosophical allegiance), thus enabling a far wider audience to gain access to Buddhist ideas and practices. For this reason, all major (Mahayana) Buddhist scholars in India thereafter wrote their commentaries and treatises in Sanskrit. Therevada however never switched to Sanskrit, partly because Buddha explicitly forbade translation of his discourses into Sanskrit because it was an elitist religious language (like Latin was in Europe before). He wanted his monks to use a local language instead; a language which could be understood by all. Over time however, the language of the Theravadin scriptures (Pali) became a scholarly or elitist language as well. Prakrit (also spelt Pracrit) (Sanskrit: , original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual, i. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Brahmanism, also Brahminism, is the name given to Hinduism by some authors in the 19th century CE.[1] The term is considered derogatory by many Hindus. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Pali (IAST: ) is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ...

See also

• Buddhist councils
  • First Buddhist council
  • Second Buddhist council
  • Third Buddhist council
  • Fifth Buddhist council
  • Sixth Buddhist council