Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c10.57

c10.57

No positive evidence of the prevalence of Buddhism in Burma is, however, forthcoming till the fourth or fifth century A.D. The most important evidence is furnished by the texts of Pāli canon engraved on gold plates, stone and terra-cotta in scripts which have been referred to A.D. 500. These have been found round about Prome, mostly at Moza and Maungun. They prove the existence of Theravāda sects, but I-tsing tells us that the Mūlasarvāstivāda sect also flourished there. It appears, moreover, that both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna and even Tāntrik form of Buddhism prevailed in Burma in addition to the Theravāda.