English
Then, as days and nights passed in succession, a hundred years after the Blessed One’s final Nibbāna, the Vajji-puttaka bhikkhus of Vesālī declared in Vesālī that it is permissible to keep salt in a horn, it is permissible to take two fingers’ worth of food, it is permissible to go to another village for food, it is permissible to stay in a dwelling, it is permissible to accept a permission, it is permissible to follow a custom, it is permissible to drink unchurned milk, it is permissible to use a mat without a fringe, it is permissible to accept gold and silver—these ten points. King Kāḷāsoka, son of Susunāga, was on their side. At that time, the Venerable Yasa, son of Kākaṇḍaka, while wandering in the Vajji country, heard that the Vajji-puttaka bhikkhus of Vesālī were declaring ten points in Vesālī. He thought, “This is not proper, that I, having heard of the decline of the Dispensation of the Ten-Powered One, should be unconcerned. I will suppress those who speak against the Dhamma and declare the Dhamma.” Thinking thus, he arrived at Vesālī. At that time, the Venerable Mahāyasa, together with seven hundred Arahants such as Revata and Sabbakāmī, came to the Vālukārāma in Vesālī, intending to hold a recitation. The Vajji-puttaka bhikkhus, with a mind to complain, approached King Kāḷāsoka and reported, “Mahārāja, we reside in this Mahāvana monastery, guarding the Fragrant Hut. Now, Mahārāja, other bhikkhus, speakers of un-Dhamma, have come, intending to plunder and destroy.” King Kāḷāsoka, the great king, was for the visiting bhikkhus. to prevent the monks from entering, he sent his ministers. And the ministers, going to prevent them, due to the power of the deities, did not see the monks. And at that very night, King Kāḷāsoka dreamed of falling into the Lohakumbhī hell. His sister, the nun named Nandā, coming through the sky, rebuked the elder monks who upheld the Dhamma, and revealed the great fault in supporting the monks who upheld the non-Dhamma, and gave advice for the upholding of the Dispensation. And King Kāḷāsoka, filled with emotion, apologized to the venerable elder Mahāyasa and others, and like King Ajātasattu, he gave support to the Council. And the elder Mahāyasa and others, relying on King Kāḷāsoka, in the Vālukārāma, broke the non-Dhamma points proclaimed by the Vajji monks, and held the Second Council in eight months. And at that time, in the Middle Country, in the city of Pāṭaliputta, ten years had passed since the excess of King Kāḷāsoka, son of King Susunāga. In the country of Paramma, in the city of Sirikhetta, it was one year before the anointing of King Dvattagoṅkassa. But the Dispensation of the Conqueror was one hundred years old. And in this Second Council, Mahāyasa, Revata, Sabbakāmi, and other great elders, numbering seven hundred, counted the Dhamma for the second time, and upheld the Dispensation for the second time. The venerable elder Mahāyasa, was a pupil of the elder Ānanda, who was praised by the Blessed One for five excellent qualities. The exposition of the non-Dhamma points of the Vajji monks was the very cause of the Second Council. And King Kāḷāsoka, though previously a supporter of the monks who upheld the non-Dhamma, later became a supporter of the monks who upheld the Dhamma, and gave his patronage. Therefore, the upholding of the Second Dispensation should be known as royal. In the Second Council, the lineages of pupils of the seven hundred great elders, led by the elder Mahāyasa, Revata, and Sabbakāmi, were numerous, exceeding the path of counting. What is to be said hereafter, that It should be understood in the way stated in the commentary. And those great elders, having held the second council, attained final Nibbāna. Here it is said: The wise elders, Having held the second council, Having upheld the Dispensation, Reached the power of death. Even the powerful elders, Came under the sway of death; How then can we be free, And be far from that freedom? This is a summary of the story of the second council. Thereafter, for two hundred and thirty-eight years, the Dispensation of the Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, the Fortunate One, was undisturbed and unblemished. But when two hundred and thirty-eight years had passed, in the city of Pāṭaliputta, during the time of King Siridhammāsoka, due to the novice Nigrodha, the Buddha's Dispensation became prosperous, and there was an abundance of gains and honors for the community of bhikkhus. At that time, sixty thousand sectarians, desiring gains and honors, though not ordained, acted as if they were ordained, and entered into Uposatha and Pavāraṇā ceremonies, just as cranes among swans, and as wild cattle among cows, and as donkeys among thoroughbred horses. Then the community of bhikkhus, considering that the assembly was now impure, did not hold the Uposatha. A blemish arose in the Dispensation, and Uposatha and Pavāraṇā ceremonies were interrupted for seven years. King Siridhammāsoka, hearing this, sent an minister saying, "Resolve this dispute and have the Uposatha performed!" The minister, being unable to decide what to do since the bhikkhus were unwilling to perform the Uposatha, became confused himself. He consulted with another confused person, and hearing a confused statement from a confused person, "If the community of bhikkhus does not perform the Uposatha, the great king wishes to kill the community of bhikkhus," he himself became confused. He went to the monastery and killed the community of bhikkhus who were unwilling to perform the Uposatha. The king, hearing this, thought, "This fool, without my command, has performed such a cruel deed. Will I be free from this evil deed or not?" Being greatly distressed, he went to Mahāmoggali-putta Tissa He brought the elder back from the river against the current, and asked the elder about that matter. The elder replied that he would be freed from evil deeds due to unconsciousness, by the Jātaka of the Partridge on the Island. He also taught the doctrines of the sectarians to King Siridhammāsoka for seven days. Weighing doctrine against doctrine, he made sixty thousand sectarians outside the Dispensation. Then he performed the Uposatha. He also expounded the Kathāvatthu in the midst of the assembly of bhikkhus, just as prescribed by the Blessed One. And a thousand great elders chanted together for nine months in the Asokārāma. At that time, eighteen years had passed since King Siridhammāsoka had attained kingship in Pāṭaliputta city in the Middle Country. And twelve years had passed since King Ramboṅkassa had attained kingship in Sirikhetta city in the Maramma country. And in this Third Council, the being who was born in the womb of the brahmin woman named Moggalī, having descended from there in the manner requested by the great Brahmā named Tissa, who had been implored by the great elders of the Second Council, who had gone to the Brahmā world for the sake of upholding the Dispensation, was the great elder named Mahāmoggaliputtatissa. The making of sixty thousand sectarians into recluses, expecting gain and honor, and their entry into Uposatha and Pavāraṇā ceremonies, and the non-performance of the Uposatha for seven years due to the impurity of the assembly, were indeed reasons for upholding the Dispensation. Mahāmoggaliputtatissa, Majjhantika, Mahārevappa, and other leading great elders recited the Third Council and upheld the Third Dispensation. And King Siridhammāsoka, having considered the doctrines of the sectarians, is to be known as the king who upheld the Dispensation by making the sectarians outside the Dispensation and other such acts. The lineages of disciples of the thousand great elders led by Mahāmoggaliputtatissa, Majjhantika, and Mahārevappa are numerous, beyond calculation. What is to be said further here is to be understood in the manner stated in the commentaries. And those great elders, having recited the Third Council, attained final Nibbāna. And here are these: Even those elders of great psychic power Having chanted the teaching; They went under death's sway, Like the sun into cloud-womb. As these go, So too shall we go; Who indeed escapes death, Beings whose end is death. Therefore, a wise person, And Nibbāna, the deathless, For its realization, Should always do good deeds. This is a summary of the account of the Third Council. After that, having pondered where the teaching of the Fully Enlightened Buddha, the Blessed One, would be well established, the Elder Mahāmoggalliputtatissa, seeing the potential for the establishment of the Victor's teaching in the border regions, sent great Elders to nine different places for the establishment of the Victor's teaching. Namely: He sent the Elder Mahāmahinda to the island of Sihala, saying, "You go to this island and establish the teaching there." The Elder Soṇa and the Elder Uttara to Suvaṇṇabhūmi, The Elder Mahārakkhita to the Yona country, The Elder Rakkhita to the Vanavāsī country, The Elder Yonakadhammarakkhita to the Aparanta country, The Elder Majjhantika to the Kasmīra-Gandhāra country, The Elder Mahāreva to the Mahiṃsaka region, The Elder Mahādhammarakkhita to the Mahāraṭṭha, And the Elder Majjhima to the Cīna country. And he sent them there with a Sangha capable of giving higher ordination. And those great Elders, going separately, established the teaching in those respective places. And having established it, in those places, with the saffron robes of the bhikkhus shining brightly, the Victor's teaching was established without hindrance, like the moon freed from the clouds, dust, and Rāhu. Among those nine places, Suvaṇṇabhūmi is indeed the present-day Sudhammanagara. If it is asked, "How is this known?" By inference from the route, or by inference from the place. How by inference from the route? From here, Suvaṇṇabhūmi is indeed about seven hundred yojanas, A ship that does not go with the wind travels in seven days and nights,