5)The compiler of the Cullavagga had to imagine fitting sequels to the episodes of Channa and the khuddanukhuddakani sikkhapadani mentioned in the MPS.

6)Conversely, if an episode is recorded in both the Culla vagga XI and the MPS it should be regarded as authentic. For example, the Buddha's instructions about Channa and the minor rules as well as Kassapa's report to the monks about the Ajivika monk and Subhadda mentioned in both the MPS(14) and the Cullavagga XI (15) have not been marked out as legends by Oldenberg.

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　　   (14) MPS VI, 19～20.

　　   (15) CV XI, 1.

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Before we start our examination of the theory propounded by Oldenberg we would like to enumerate the following principles which should guide us in our investigation:

a)Any tradition mentioned not only in the Vinayas of the Buddhist sects which developed out of the Sthaviras, but also in the Mahasamghika Vinaya can be reasonably taken to have originated before the Sthavira-Mahasam ghika schism. Such an early tradition should be regarded as authentic unless there is some strong evidence to the contrary. The rejection of such a tradition without unassailable arguments cannot be justified.

b)On the other hand, if a tradition finds mention only in the canon of the Sthavira sects or of the Mahasamghika, it can be said to have become a part of the canon at the hands of the Sthaviras or the Mahasamghikas, but cannot be taken for granted to have been known to the undivided Buddhist community before the Sthavira-Mahasamghika schism. The mention of a tradition in this stage should not, under normal condition, affect adversely the authenticity of a tradition belonging to the earliest period.

c)According to earliest traceable classification of the Buddhist literature ‘dharma' and 'krtya' belonged to mutually exclusive categories, the former referred to the suttas while the latter dealt with the collection of krtyas or Formal Acts. A tradition belonging to one category did not form a part of another category. (16) The MPS was included in the category of dharma while the Cullavagga is basically a collection of krtyas.(17) The accounts of the chanting of the dharma and vinaya, the discussion of the minor rules etc. are all Formal Acts performed by the Samgha, though in some cases all the steps in the procedure of a fully developed Formal Act are not mentioned. There is no doubt, that if the early Buddhists wanted to group together such events, they could have done so only under the category of 'krtya'.

d)According to the ancient Buddhist law each krtya is to be regarded as

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　　   (16) Biswadeb Mukherjee, The Schismatic Matt ers and the

　　　　   Early Buddhist Literature especially, pp.89, 90, 95

　　　　   ( Journal of  Research  V.  B.  vol. 1, part I,

　　　　   Humanities and Social Sciences, 1977).

　　   (17) Ibid, p.94.

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separate from or independent of other krtyas, each of them being introduced by a separate proposal and concluded by a particular resolution. So the incidents described in the Culla vagga XI are to be treated as independent Formal Acts performed separately by an identical group of competent monks within the legal boundary of a Samgha. It also follows that to the early Buddhists the Cullavagga XI is neither an account of a Council nor that of a tribunal but represents merely a collection of Formal Acts.

We may start our criticism of Oldinberg's view by pointing out that there is no decisive reason to hold that the MPS is earlier than the Cullavagga XI. It is true that the MPS deals with events that took place before the holding of the First Council. However the fact that the MPS records earlier events does not by itself prove that the MPS was composed at an earlier date. The possibility that the MPS might have been composed at a later date cannot be ignored. The MPS not only describes the last days and the funeral ceremony of the Buddha but also records the distribution of the relics and the construction of the stupas over the relics which certainly took place quite some time after the death of the Buddha. On the other hand the First Council, took place, according to the tradition of the undivided Buddhist community during the first rainy season after the Buddha's Parinirvana. The time gap between these two events is quite short, and it is obvious that the MPS could not have been composed before the First Council or discussed during the Council. In short, the MPS or rather the genuine traditions exclusively recorded in the MPS had not yet become a part of the official canon fixed during the First Council. On the other hand, the Culla vagga XI records different Formal Acts performed during the First Council and so the core of this account must be contemporaneous with the Council.