It was at Kosambi that the first serious crisis occurred in the Sangha. Two monks were living together in the same hut. One monk went to the toilet and when finished, failed to refill the water pot. The other monk sharing the hut scolded him and accused him of breaking a rule. A bitter argument gradually developed, the second monk insisting that the first had broken a rule and the first insisting that he had not. Eventually all the monks in Kosambi got involved, taking either one side or the other, and the whole community became disputatious, quarrelsome and contentious, wounding each other with the weapon of the tongue.
Meanwhile, the lay people of Kosambi decided to withdraw their support for the monks, who started coming back from their alms rounds with their bowls empty. Eventually, a delegation of monks went to Shravasti to see the Buddha to ask for his forgiveness, which he gave, thus bringing the Kosambi dispute to an end.