Editing Sarvastivada (section)

=== Early history ===
According to Charles Prebish, "there is a great deal of mystery surrounding the rise and early development of the Sarvāstivādin school."<ref name="Buddhism 1975. pg 42-432">''Buddhism: A Modern Perspective''. Charles S. Prebish. Penn State Press: 1975. {{ISBN|0-271-01195-5}} pg 42-43</ref> According to Dhammajoti, "its presence, as well as that of its rival — the [[Vibhajyavāda]] lineage — in the time of Emperor Aśoka is beyond doubt. Since Aśoka's reign is around 268–232 B.C.E., this means that at least by the middle of the 3rd century B.C.E., it had already developed into a distinct school."<ref>Dhammajoti (2009), p. 55.</ref>

In Central Asia, several Buddhist monastic groups were historically prevalent. According to some accounts, the Sarvāstivādins emerged from the [[Sthavira nikāya]], a small group of conservatives, who split from the reformist majority Mahāsāṃghikas at the Second Buddhist council. According to this account, they were expelled from Magadha, and moved to northwestern India where they developed into the Sarvāstivādin school.<ref name="Buddhism 1975. pg 42-432"/>

A number of scholars have identified three distinct major phases of missionary activity seen in the history of [[Buddhism in Central Asia]], which are associated with respectively the [[Dharmaguptaka]], Sarvāstivāda, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda,<ref>Cox, Dessein & Willemen, 1998, p. 126</ref> and the origins of the Sarvāstivāda have also been related to [[Ashoka]] sending [[Majjhantika]] (Sanskrit: [[Madhyāntika]]) on a mission to [[Gandhara]], which had an early presence of the Sarvāstivāda.<ref name="Buddhism 1975. pg 42-432"/> The Sarvāstivādins in turn are believed to have given rise to the [[Mulasarvastivada|Mūlasarvāstivāda]] sect, although the relationship between these two groups has not yet been fully determined. According to Prebish, "this episode corresponds well with one Sarvāstivādin tradition stating that Madhyantika converted the city of Kasmir, which seems to have close ties with Gandhara."<ref name="Buddhism 1975. pg 42-432"/>

A third tradition says that a community of Sarvāstivādin monks was established at [[Mathura]] by the patriarch [[Upagupta]].<ref name="Buddhism 1975. pg 42-432"/> In the Sarvāstivādin tradition [[Upagupta]] is said to have been the fifth patriarch after Mahākaśyapa, Ānanda, Madhyāntika, and Śāṇakavāsin, and in the Ch'an tradition he is regarded as the fourth.