The history of Buddhism in Myanmar probably extends more than two thousand years.[citation needed] The Sāsana Vaṃsa (Burmese Thathana Win), written by Pinyasami in 1834, summarises much of the history of Buddhism in Myanmar. According to the Mahavamsa, a Pali chronicle of fifth century Sri Lanka, Ashoka sent two bhikkhus, Sona and Uttara, to Suvarnabhumi around 228 BC with other monks and sacred texts, including books.[citation needed]
An Andhra Ikshvaku inscription from about the 3rd century refers to the conversion of the Kiratas to Buddhism, who are thought to have been Tibeto-Burman-speaking peoples of Myanmar.[6] Early Chinese texts of about the same date speak of a "Kingdom of Liu-Yang," where all people worshiped the Buddha and there were several thousand samaṇas.[citation needed] This kingdom has been identified with a region somewhere in central Burma. A series of epigraphic records in Pali, Sanskrit, Pyu and Mon datable to the 6th and 7th centuries, has been recovered from Central and Lower Burma (Pyay and Yangon). From the 11th to 13th centuries, the Bamar kings and queens of the Pagan Kingdom built countless stupas and temples.
The Ari Buddhism era included the worship of bodhisattvas and nāgas.[citation needed]
Theravada Buddhism was implanted at Bagan for the first time as early as the 11th century by the Bamar king Anawrahta (1044-1077).[7] In year 1057, Anawratha sent an army to conquer the Mon city of Thaton to obtain theTipiṭāka of the Pāli Canon. He was converted by a Mon bhikkhu, Shin Arahan, to Theravada Buddhism. Shin Arahan's advice led to acquiring thirty sets of Pali scriptures from the Mon king Manuhal by force. Mon culture, from that point, came to be largely assimilated into the Bamar culture based in Bagan.
Despite attempts at reform, certain features of Ari Buddhism and traditional nat worship continued, such as reverence for the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Lawka nat).
Successive kings of Bagan continued to build large numbers of monuments, temples, and pagodas in honour of Buddhism, and there is inscriptional evidence of a Theravadin vihara for bhikkhunis from 1279.
Burmese rule at Bagan continued until the first Mongol invasion of Burma in 1287. Towards the end of the 13th century, Buddhism declined due to the invading Tatars.[citation needed] In the 14th century, another lineage was imported from Sri Lanka to Ayutthaya, the capital of the Thai Ayutthaya Kingdom. A new ordination line, that of the Thai Forest Tradition, thus entered Myanmar.
The Shan, meanwhile, established themselves as rulers throughout the region now known as Myanmar. Thihathu, a Shan king, established rule in Bagan by patronising and building many monasteries and pagodas.
The Mon kingdoms, often ruled by Shan chieftains, fostered Theravada Buddhism in the 14th century. Wareru, who became king of Mottama, patronised Buddhism, and established a code of law, the Dhammasattha, compiled by Buddhist monastics. King Dhammazedi, formerly a Mon bhikkhu, established rule in the late 15th century at Inwa and unified the sangha in Mon territories. He also standardised ordination of monks set out in the Kalyani Inscriptions. Dhammazedi moved the capital back to Hanthawaddy (Bago). His mother-in-law, Queen Shin Sawbu, was also a great patron of Buddhism. She is credited for expanding and gilding the Shwedagon Pagoda, giving her own weight in gold.
The Bamars, who had fled to Taungoo before the invading Shan, established a kingdom there under the reigns of Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung, who conquered and unified most of modern Myanmar. These monarchs also embraced Mon culture and patronised Theravada Buddhism.
Mandalay's Kuthodaw Pagoda, which houses marble slabs containing all of the Tipitaka scriptures, was constructed during the reign of King Mindon.
In the reigns of succeeding kings, the Taungoo Dynasty became increasingly volatile and was overthrown by the Mon. In the mid-18th century, King Alaungpaya defeated the Mon, expanded the Bamar kingdoms, and established the Konbaung Dynasty. Under the rule of Bodawpaya, a son of Alaungpaya, a unified sect of monks ("Thudhamma") was created within the kingdom. Bodawpaya restored ties with Sri Lanka, allowing for mutual influence in religious affairs. During the reigns of the Konbaung kings that followed, both secular and religious literary works were created.[8] King Mindon Min moved his capital to Mandalay.
After Lower Burma had been conquered by the British, Christianity began to gain acceptance. Many monks from Lower Burma had resettled in Mandalay, but by decree of Mindon Min, they returned to serve the Buddhist laypeople. Schisms arose in the sangha; they were resolved during the Fifth Buddhist Synod, held in Mandalay in 1871.