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suppression of heresy, and the solemn affirmation of orthodoxy.

2. The first of these assemblies was convoked after the death of Sákya, in the middle of the year 543 B. C., by the great Kásyapa, on hearing the insidious address of the aged Subhadra.* "Revered ones!" said the dotard, "mourn no more! We are happily released from the control of the great Srámana (Buddha): we shall no more be worried with 'this is allowable,' and 'that is not allowable ;' we can now do what we wish, and can leave undone what we do not desire." Kásyapa reflected that the present was the most fitting time to summon a general assembly for the solemn rehearsal of Dharma and Vinaya, according to the injunction of Sákya. "Ananda," said the dying sage, "let the Dharma and Vinaya, which I have preached and explained to thee, stand in the place of a teacher after my death." Reflecting on this, and on the first of the imperishable precepts, "to hold frequent religious meetings," Kásyapa addressed the assembled Bhikshus. "Beloved! let us hold a rehearsal both of the Dharma and of the Vinaya." "Lord," replied they, "do thou select the Stháviras and Bhikshus." Kásyapa therefore selected five hundred holy mendicant monks who had mastered the Tripitaka, or Three Repositories. By them it was decided that the First Synod should be held at Rajagriha during the rainy Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 512.

Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 513.

season, when the regular pilgrimages of the Buddhist monks were suspended.

3. At the full moon of the month of Asarh (1st July, 543 B. c.), the five hundred monks having assembled at Rajagriha, spent the whole of that month in the repairs of their Vihars, lest the heretics should taunt them, saying, "the disciples of GOTAMA kept up their Vihars while their teacher was alive, but they have forsaken them since his death." With the assistance of Ajátasatra, Raja of Magadha, the Vihars were renewed; and a splendid hall was built for the assembly of the First Synod, at the mouth of the Sattapanni Cave, on the side of the Webhára Mountain. Five hundred carpets were spread around for the monks; one throne was prepared for the abbot on the south side, facing the north, † and another throne was erected in the middle, facing the east, "fit for the holy Buddha himself." Placing an ivory fan on this throne, the Raja sent a message to the assembly, saying, "Lords, my task is performed."

4. On the fifth of the increasing moon (first week of August), the monks, having made their meal, and having laid aside their refection dishes and extra

Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 516.

+ Sthavirásan, the ásan or "seat" of the Sthavira. In the Mahawanso, p. 12, the position of this throne is exactly reversed. The pulpit, or Dharmásan, “ throne of Dharma," was placed in the middle of the Assembly.-See Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 517.

robes, assembled in the hall of the Dharma Synod, with their right shoulders bare. They ranged themselves according to their rank, each in his appropriate place; and the hall "glittered with the yellow robes" of the monks.

5. The Synod was opened with the rehearsal of the Vinaya, superintended by Upáli, whom Buddha himself had pointed out as the most learned of all his followers in "religious discipline." Upáli mounted the Dharmasan, and with the ivory fan* in his hand, answered all the questions of Kásyapa regarding the Vinaya, in which there was nothing to be added or omitted. During this examination, the whole of the assembled monks chanted the Vinaya, passage by passage, beginning with "The holy Buddha in Weranja dwells." This ended, Upáli laid aside the ivory fan, and descended from the Dharmásan; and, with a reverential bow to the senior monks, resumed his own seat. Thus ended the rehearsal of Vinaya.

6. For the rehearsal of Dharma, the assembled Bhikshus selected Ananda (the nephew and companion of Buddha)† who, with his right shoulder bare, and the ivory fan in his hand, took his seat on the pulpit

The "jewelled fan," as a symbol of authority, is mentioned in the Mahawanso, p. 189; and it is still used by the chiefs of religious fraternities in Ceylon, on all state occa

sions.

+ According to some, he was the son of Dotodana, the younger brother of Suddhodan, the father of Sákya.

of religion. He was then interrogated by Kásyapa
on Dharma, beginning with the first words of Sákya,
after his attainment to Buddhahood, under the Bodhi-
tree at Bodhi-Gaya. These words are called-
7. Buddha's "Hymn of Joy:"

"Through a long course of almost endless beings
Have I, in sorrow, sought the Great Creator.
Now thou art found, O Great Artificer!
Henceforth my soul shall quit this House of Sin,
And from its ruins the glad Spirit shall spring,
Free from the fetters of all mortal births,

And over all desires victorious."

8. The examination ended with Buddha's last injunction to his disciples, given under the Sál tree at Kusinára.

"Bhikshus! I now conjure you-earthly things

Are transitory-seek eternal rest."

9. These rehearsals of Vinaya and Dharma lasted for seven months, and were concluded at the beginning of March, 542 B. C., when it was announced that the religion of the "ten-power-gifted Deity" should endure for five thousand years. This synod was known by different names; as the PrathamaSangham, or First Synod, the Pancha-Satika-San

Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 523. In this hymn the Supreme Being is twice called Gahákáraka, the "housebuilder"—that is, the artificer or creator of the human house, or body.

See Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 527; and Mahawanso, p. 11. The "gifted with ten powers."

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gham, or Synod of Five Hundred, and the Sthaviraka Sangham, or Saints'-Synod, because all its members belonged to the higher grade of monks.*

10. From this time until the end of the long reign of Ajátasatra, 519 B. C., the creed of Buddha advanced slowly, but surely. This success was partly due to the politic admission of women, who, even in the East, have always possessed much secret, though not apparent, influence over mankind. To most of them the words of Buddha preached comfort in this life, and hope in the next. To the young widow, the neglected wife, and the cast-off mistress, the Buddhist teachers offered an honourable career as nuns. Instead of the daily indignities to which they were subjected by grasping relatives, treacherous husbands, and faithless lords, the most miserable of the sex could now share, although still in a humble way, with the general respect accorded to all who had taken the vows. The Bhikshunis were indebted to Ananda's intercession with Sákya for their admission into the ranks of the Bauddha community; and they showed their gratitude by paying their devotions principally to his relics.†

* See Fo-kwe-ki, chap. xxv. note 11; and Mahawanso, chap. v. p. 20; and Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 527. See also Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Trans. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xx. p. 92.

+ See Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Res. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xx. p. 90; also Fo-kwe-ki, chap. xvi. p. 101. The Pikhieu-ni, or Bhikshunis, at Mathura, paid their devotions chiefly

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