ABSTRACT
Soon after the Buddha died, a meeting is said to have been held in a cave in Rājagṛha to recite and codify his teachings. This is usually referred to as the First Council. According to tradition, Ānanda, the Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, had a prodigious memory and was able to recite all the discourses of the Buddha that he had heard. This is why the discourses of the Buddha typically begin with Ananda’s words ‘thus have I heard’ (Skt. evaṃ mayā śrutam; Chin. 如是我聞).
