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The traditional Theravadin account provided by the Mahavamsa stands in contrast to the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian, who journeyed to India and Sri Lanka in the early 5th century (between 399 and 414 CE). He first entered Sri Lanka around 406 CE and began writing about his experiences in detail.
Theravāda (/ ˌ t ɛr ə ˈ v ɑː ð ə /; [a] lit. 'School of the Elders') [1] [2] is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. [1] [2] The school's adherents, termed Theravādins (anglicized from Pali theravādī), [3] [4] have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia.
According to the Mahavamsa chronicle, they arrived in Sri Lanka during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (307–267 BCE), who converted to Buddhism and helped build the first Buddhist stupas. According to S. D. Bandaranayake:
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. [1] [2] He worked in the Great Monastery (Mahāvihāra) at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in the lineage of the Sinhalese Mahāvihāra.
Mahavamsa - "The Great Chronicle" (6th century) by Mahanama; A Cambodian Mahavamsa, almost twice the length of the original, and including numerous additions. [21] Culavamsa - "The Lesser Chronicle" Vamsatthappakasini, a commentary of the Mahavamsa (6th century) Thupavamsa by Vacissara, a chronicle of the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura (12th century)
The Mahavamsa is believed to have originated from an earlier chronicle known as the Dipavamsa (4th century CE; lit. ' Island Chronicles '). The Dipavamsa is much simpler and contains less information than the Mahavamsa and probably served as the nucleus of an oral tradition that was eventually incorporated into the written Mahavamsa.
The traditional Theravadin account provided by the Mahavamsa stands in contrast to the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian (Ch. 法顯), who journeyed to India and Sri Lanka in the early 5th century (between 399 and 414 CE). He recorded that the Mahavihara was not only intact, but housed 3000 monks.
The Mahavamsa also refers briefly to the writing down of the canon and the commentaries at this time. [42] According to Sri Lankan sources more than 1000 monks who had attained Arahantship were involved in the task. The place where the project was undertaken was in Aluvihare, Matale, Sri Lanka. [16]