‎Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya

  

The Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya was an important mahavihara or large Buddhist monastery for Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. King Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (247–207 BCE) founded it in his capital city of Anuradhapura. Monks such as Buddhaghosa (4th to 5th century CE) and Dhammapala, who wrote commentaries on the Tipitaka and texts such as the Visuddhimagga, which are central to Theravada Buddhist doctrine, established Theravada Mahaviharan orthodoxy here. Monks living at the Mahavihara were referred to as Mahaviharavasins. In the 5th century, the "Mahavihara" was possibly the most sophisticated university in southern or eastern Asia. Many international scholars visited and learned many disciplines under highly structured instruction.

Early history

Three subdivisions of Theravada existed in Sri Lanka during much of Buddhism's early history there: Mahavihara, Abhayagiri vihara, and Jetavana. Mahavihara was the first tradition established, whereas monks who had separated from the Mahavihara tradition established Abhayagiri vihara and Jetavana vihara. According to A.K. Warder, the Indian Mahisasaka sect also established itself in Sri Lanka concurrently with Theravada, into which it was later absorbed. Northern regions of Sri Lanka also seem to have been ceded to sects from India at certain times. According to the Mahavamsa, the Anuradhapura mahavihara was destroyed during sectarian conflicts with the monks of the Abhayagiri vihara during the 4th century. These Mahayana monks incited Mahasena of Anuradhapura to destroy Anuradhapura vihara. As a result of this, a later king expelled the Mahayanins from Sri Lanka[citation needed].

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. He recorded that the Mahavihara was not only intact, but housed 3000 monks. He also provides an account of a cremation at Mahavihara that he personally attended of a highly respected srama?a who attained the arhatship. Faxian also recorded the concurrent existence of the Abhayagiri Vihara, and that this monastery housed 5000 monks. In the 7th century CE, Xuanzang also describes the concurrent existence of both monasteries in Sri Lanka. Xuanzang wrote of two major divisions of Theravada in Sri Lanka, referring to the Abhayagiri tradition as the "Mahayana Sthaviras," an