First Buddhist Council

Since the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "sangha", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist canons.^¹ Referred to as Buddhist "councils", the famous First Buddhist Council is recorded in Buddhist texts as being held one year after the Buddha's passing, when Ananda recited all of the spoken sutras, which were recorded in Rajagriha.^¹ The two next major Councils were held more than 100 years later.^¹