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In other words, within 100 years of Buddha's death there were two groups, Sthaviravada and Mahasanghikas. Thereafter within a further period of 125 years, there were six subdivisions of Mahasanghikas and 12 subdivisions of Sthaviravada. In all there were then 18 nikayas.
Sarvastivāda was included in the Sthaviravāda. All these 18 Nikayas had their own pitakas of sutra, Vinaya and Abhidharma. There were many similarities in the Pitakas of Sutra and vinaya, but there was great difference in Abhidharma Pitaka where the texts were also different. The table given above is according to the commentary on the Katha-Vatthu. Pali sources mention six other sects. Mahasanghikas in due course gave rise to Mahāyanists, whose two sub-schools of Madhyamikas and yogacharins are well-known.
The sthaviravadins and the Sarvāstivädins gave rise to the school of Mula-Sarvastivadas, Haimavatas, etc. From them arose the school of Vaibhasikas who were continuing the traditions of Sarvāstivada. Vaibhashikas relied more on abhidharma literature while another school of Sauträntikas relied more on the sutras and considered abhidharma as no part of the sacred literature.
Sarvastivadins were very close to the school of Sthaviravāda and this school of Sthaviravādin is said to have originated in the third century B.C. They were realists. Their great authority was Vasubandhu, who wrote a treatise called Abhidharma-Kosa. Originally he was a vaibhāsika, but later on he became a prominent yogacharin on the pursuasion of his elder brother Asanga.
The original canon of Buddhist religion appears to be in Magadha. Perhaps no portion of the Original Magadha canon has survived. Howthe Ceylonese canon appears to be very near to it. The Pali canon was reduced to writing in Ceylon in the first century B.C.
ever,
The Sanskrit canon of North India appears to have been derived independently from the original Magadha canon. While all the schools have Vinaya and Sutra Pitakas, only two schools, one of Ceylone and the other of the Sarvästivadins possess Abhidharma Pitaka. Both of them have different texts. The Sarvästivädin school originated in Kashmir and then spread far and wide. Their canon was in Sanskrit. It is not possible to say how far their canon differs from the Sthaviravāda school of which they were a subdivision. As observed by Farquhar, we have to entirely depend for our knowledge of this school upon Chinese and Tibetan translations, only fragments of the original Sanskrit having survived. According to Saravāstivādins, a general Buddhist Council was held during the time of Kanishka in Kashmir where commentaries on three baskets were composed.
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