Delegates from twenty-seven countries found the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Colombo, the first standing body joining Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhists worldwide; its flag and its conferences give the modern Buddhist world a common institution.
Tagged: Buddhist Mahayana Secular Buddhism Theravada
The Event
- Date
- 1950 (exact)
- Era
- Modern; Standard periodization of Buddhist history
- Location
- Colombo; today Sri Lanka
- Traditions
- Buddhism
- Streams
- Theravada, Mahayana, Secular Buddhism
- Key figures
- G. P. Malalasekera
Primary Sources
- The World Fellowship of Buddhists founding proceedings
Secondary Sources
- Snelling, The Buddhist Handbook (Inner Traditions, 1998)
- Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Cambridge, 2nd ed. 2013)
Provenance: HIST-0433; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-27.
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