Since the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities ("sangha") have periodically convened to settle doctrinal and disciplinary disputes and to revise and correct the contents … See more

All six of the surviving Vinaya sources of various early Buddhist schools contain accounts, in whole or in part, of the first and second councils. The story of the First Council seems to be … See more

Theravada sources contain narratives of a Third council of the Theravara school which occurred during the reign of Ashoka at Pataliputra, emperor Ashoka's capital.
According to the … See more

Fifth Burmese Council (1871)
Another Buddhist Council, this time presided by Theravada monks, took place in Mandalay, Burma, in 1871 in the reign of King Mindon. In the Burmese tradition, it is commonly known as the "Fifth Council". The chief objective … See more

Second council
The historical records for the Second Buddhist Council derive primarily from the canonical Vinayas of various schools. It was held 100 years … See more

By the time of the Fourth Buddhist Councils, Buddhism had splintered into different schools in different regions of India. Scholars have also questioned the historicity of these … See more

The Thai Theravada tradition has a different way of counting the history of Buddhist councils and names many other councils besides the ones listed above. A common Thai … See more