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3. The Third Rehearsal consisted of 1,000 Arahants having Venerable

Moggamalliputtatissathera the leader of practice. The venue was at

Asokārama, Paṭaliputta City, in approximately 234 B.E. King Asoka was

the Patron. The Rehearsal took 9 months.
4. The Fourth Rehearsal had 68,000 Buddhist monks, having Venerable

Manindathera the leader and the one to ask. Venerable Ariṭṭha was the

one to answer. The Rehearsal was performed at Thuparama, Anurajapuri
City, Sri Lanka, in 236 B.E. King Devanampiyatissa was the Patron. The

Rehearsal took 10 months.

5. The Fifth Rehearsal consisted of 500 Arahants, assembled to rehearse and

afterwards to write with an iron stylus the Buddha Doctrine in palm

leaves. The Rehearsal was performed at Ālokalenasathan in
Malyajanapada, Sri Lanka, 450 B.E. King Vaṭṭagam Vaṭṭagamaṇīabhaya

was the Patron.

The rehearsals after the Fifth Rehearsal, that is having been performed after
centuries of the Buddha Great Decease up to present time, are not counted as

written forms. It can be, then, concluded that the transmission of the Buddha

Teachings since the Buddha Era up to the present time for more than 2,500 years,

has been succeeded. It is remarkable that Tipiṭaka, which is the Theravada Buddhist

Text, is supposed to be the Buddha Teachings that are oldest, original, and most
perfect. They are the texts succeeded sustainably up to the present time.

The concept that the Buddha Teachings are Dhamma-Vinaya has been

described in “Characteristics of Buddhism” by Phra Brahmagunabhorn (p.2) in
concise terms.

Characteristics of Dhamma-Vinaya Criteria

In considering which Dhamma or Teaching is the Buddha Teaching, Phra

Brahmagunabhorn in his book “Characteristics of Buddhism” has described “the
eight characteristics of Dhamma-Vinaya” with concluded concept. According to

Venerable explanation, the 8 characteristics of Dhamma-Vinaya justification that the

Buddha said to Queen Mahapajagotami meant for: