Which of the following Buddhist councils saw the final schism of Buddhism into Sthaviravada and Mahasanghika?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Second Buddhist Council, held at Vaishali in the fourth century BCE under the patronage of King Kalasoka, resulted in the first major permanent schism of the monastic order into the Sthaviravadins and the Mahasanghikas over matters of monastic discipline. The First Council merely preserved teachings, while the Third Council under Ashoka focused on purging heretical views.