The Second Council


Location: Vaishali - Map Location

Brief Account: A century after the First Council, the sangha again found a need to gather to ensure the integrity of the Buddhadharma. As the teachings continued to expand throughout India, questions arose regarding the conduct of monks. In particular, there were several monks in Vaishali that had been accused of going against the Vinaya. There were ten acts in question, mainly regarding how much and at what time monks should eat, whether or not certain beverages were considered intoxicants, and how monks were to handle of money. The last topic, the handling of money, was of particular importance at this council. According to the literal interpretation of this rule, monks were not even allowed to touch money. Some monks in Vaishali had been handling gold and silver that was being offered by the townspeople, which they felt was necessary and not against the Buddha's teachings. To rectify these varying interpretations, eight senior monks from varying parts of India where the Dharma had spread gathered in Vaishali. The members of the council were split. While some were in favor of a strict observation of the Vinaya, others leaned towards a certain degree of flexibility. The debate led to the formation of two distinct monastic traditions: the Theravada’s, who favored for a close observation of each and every rule, in order to ensure that the monastics would not fall prey to worldly activities, and the Mahasanghika’s, who favored an adaptability of some of the vows in order to allow monastics to adapt to their living situations.


Next stop on The Journey: Third Council at Pataliputra