When the Buddha had attained "parinirvāṇa" (death), and when Mahākāśyapa was reportedly 120 years old, the number of disciples that had once met the Buddha or had attained enlightenment was shrinking. Some monks, among them a monk called Subhadra (), expressed satisfaction that they could now do as they pleased, because their teacher the Buddha was no longer there to prohibit them from anything. Some Chinese and Tibetan texts state that there was "doubt and consternation" among many disciples. The Sanskrit "Aśokavadāna" and the Chinese "Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra" say that many enlightened disciples wished to stop teaching, leave the world behind and attain "paranirvāṇa". This alarmed Mahākāśyapa, and he successfully attempted to stop his fellow disciples from leaving the world. To record the Buddha's discourses and preserve monastic discipline, Mahākāśyapa set up the First Buddhist Council. According to the texts, the First Buddhist Council was held in a cave called Saptaparṇaguhā in Rājagṛha (, present-day Rajgir), which was the site of many Buddhist discourses. In the first rains retreat (, ) after the Buddha had died, Mahākāśyapa called upon Ānanda to recite the discourses he had heard, as a representative on this council. There was a rule issued, however, that only "arhats" were allowed to attend the council, to prevent bias like favoritism or sectarianism from clouding the disciples' memories. Ānanda had not attained enlightenment yet. Mahākāśyapa therefore did not yet allow Ānanda to attend. Although he knew that Ānanda's presence in the council was required, he did not want to be biased by allowing an exception to the rule. The Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition adds that Mahākāśyapa initially allowed Ānanda to join as a sort of servant assisting during the council, but then was forced to remove him when the disciple Anuruddha saw that Ānanda was not yet enlightened.