The monk Buddhaghosa works at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, translating the Sinhala commentaries into Pali and writing the Visuddhimagga, the Path of Purification; his system becomes the standard of Theravada doctrine and meditation for the whole tradition.
The Event
- Date
- c. 5th century (approximate)
- Era
- Classical; Standard periodization of Buddhist history
- Location
- Anuradhapura; today Sri Lanka
- Traditions
- Buddhism
- Streams
- Theravada
- Key figures
- Buddhaghosa
- Key texts
- Visuddhimagga
Primary Sources
- Buddhaghosa, Visuddhimagga
Secondary Sources
- Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo (Routledge, 2nd ed. 2006)
- Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Cambridge, 2nd ed. 2013)
Provenance: HIST-0411; confidence 0.85; accessed 2026-10-27.
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