Buddhist Councils, Decline of Buddhism and its Significance

At a Glance

• Councils Rajgriha, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashmir
• Canon Tripitakas in Pali
• Sects Sthaviravadins, Mahasanghikas, Sarvastivadins
• Decline By twelfth century
• Late form Vajrayana
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Religious Movements, Mahajanapadas and Foreign Invasions

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixth topic of the category on religious movements. The previous topic covered Buddhist doctrines, and this one covers councils, decline and significance. The next topic covers other heterodox sects. Previous topic: Doctrines and Features of Buddhism and Causes of its Spread.

What Were the Four Buddhist Councils?

In short: after the Buddha’s death, councils of monks fixed his teachings and settled disputes.

After the death of the Buddha, the tenets and other aspects of Buddhism were decided upon in councils of monks. Over time four councils were held. The first was held at Rajgriha after the Buddha’s death, where Upali recited the Vinaya Pitaka and Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka. The second met at Vaishali a century after the Buddha’s death, and the order split into two groups, the Sthaviravadins (believers in the teachings of the elders) and the Mahasanghikas (members of the great community). The third was held at Pataliputra and convened by Ashoka; the Sthaviravadins established themselves strongly and expelled the heretics, and the Kathavatthu was added to the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The fourth was held in Kashmir during the reign of Kanishka, where the doctrines of Mahayana were finalised; the Sarvastivadins, an important sect, compiled their doctrines in the Mahavibhasa.

The Pali canon is called the Tripitakas (three baskets): the Vinaya Pitaka on monastic rules and moral discipline, the Sutta Pitaka of discourses and teachings of the Buddha, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka on Buddhist philosophy. The Sutta Pitaka is divided into five groups or nikayas, which include the Theragatha and Therigatha and the Jataka tales on the Buddha’s earlier births as a bodhisattva. Other important works include the Milinda Panha, a discussion between the Greco-Bactrian king Menander and the monk Nagasena.

Why Did Buddhism Decline in India?

By the twelfth century Buddhism became virtually extinct in India. It continued in an altered form in Bengal and Bihar until the eleventh century. The source argues that every religion begins as reform but succumbs to the rituals it originally denounced, and Buddhism became a victim of the evils of Brahmanism against which it had fought. To meet the challenge the brahmanas reformed their religion, stressing the need to preserve cattle wealth and assuring women and shudras admission to heaven. Buddhism, in contrast, was cut off from people’s lives: monks gave up Pali for Sanskrit, practised idol worship on a large scale from the first century, and received numerous offerings and royal grants. Some monasteries, such as Nalanda, collected revenue from as many as 200 villages. By the seventh century monasteries came to be dominated by ease-loving people, and the new form of Buddhism was known as Vajrayana. The brahmana ruler Pushyamitra Shunga is said to have persecuted Buddhists; the Huna king Mihirakula, a worshipper of Shiva, killed hundreds of Buddhists; and Shashanka of Gauda felled the Bodhi tree at Bodh-Gaya. Hsuan Tsang states that 1600 stupas and monasteries were destroyed, which may not be without some truth. Rich monasteries then became targets of the Turkish invaders, who killed a large number of monks in Bihar, though some escaped to Nepal and Tibet.

The Bhakti movement, in which Buddhism was influenced by Hindu practices and the Buddha came to be considered an avatar of Vishnu in some traditions, is another factor in another account.

What Was the Significance of Buddhism?

Despite its disappearance as an organised religion, Buddhism left a deep impact. It showed awareness of the problems of north-east India from about 500 BC, where iron ploughshare agriculture, trade and coins enabled accumulation of wealth and created inequalities. It advised against accumulating wealth and taught that farmers be provided with grain, traders with wealth and the unemployed with jobs. The monastic code, which barred gold and silver and trade, reflected a reaction against money and private property, though the exclusion of debtors and slaves from the sangha also helped moneylenders and slave owners. Buddhism opened its doors to women and shudras, did not deprecate manual labour, and boosted cattle wealth through non-violence; the Suttanipata calls cattle givers of food, beauty, strength and happiness. It promoted rationalism, enriched Pali, created Hybrid Sanskrit in the first three centuries AD, and its monasteries, such as Nalanda, Vikramashila and Valabhi, were residential universities. In art, the first human statues worshipped were probably of the Buddha; Bodh-Gaya, Sanchi and Bharhut panels, Gandhara art, and rock-cut caves in the Barabar hills and near Nasik followed, with flourishing schools at Mathura and the Krishna delta.

As an analytical point, Buddhism changed from a movement against the dominant order into one that shared many features of the monastic and gift-based order, and this partly explains its absorption. The artistic story continues in Mahayana Buddhism and the Gandhara and Mathura Schools of Art, and the monastic education in Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Councils Chronology and places
• Decline Common Mains question
• Legacy Culture and education

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the Charvaka…">Ajivikas, Charvakas and other heterodox sects. Next topic: Ajivikas, Charvakas and Other Heterodox Sects.

Key People and Terms

• Tripitakas Three baskets
• Kathavatthu Text added at third council
• Sthaviravadin Elders’ school
• Mahayana Great Vehicle
• Vajrayana Late tantric Buddhism
• Hybrid Sanskrit Blend of Pali and Sanskrit

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for decline causes and impact. These points add depth.

• Internal Ritualism and wealth
• External Revival, persecution, invasions
• Impact Society, language, art