[3] The island has been a centre of Buddhist scholarship and practices since the introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE producing eminent scholars such as Buddhaghosa and preserving the vast Pāli Canon.

Some of the most important Hindu gods worshipped by some Sinhalese Buddhists include Vishnu, Murugan, Pathini, Nata, Gambara, Dedimunda, Saraswati, Ganesh, Lakshmi, Shiva, Kali, etc.

[5][9] As they became established in Sri Lanka (at Anuradhapura), they also started to become known as the Tambapaṇṇiya (Sanskrit: Tāmraśāṭīya, Tāmraparṇīya), the name refers to a red copper-like colour.

According to the Mahavamsa, they arrived in Sri Lanka during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (307–267 BCE) who converted to Buddhism and helped build the first Buddhist stupas and communities.

While there are few artistic or architectural remains from this initial period, there are hundreds of Buddhist caves that have survived that contain numerous Brahmi inscriptions which record gifts to the sangha by householders and chiefs.

This happened during the reign of the Sinhala king Dutugamunu (161 BC to 137 BCE), who was the first to truly unite the various Sri Lankan states on the island into one polity by defeating the Tamils who had conquered the north.

[26] During the reign of Voharika Tissa (209–31 CE), the Mahāvihāra tradition convinced the king to repress the Mahāyān teachings, which they saw as incompatible with the true doctrine.

These include (possibly) Upatissa (who wrote the Vimuttimagga), Kavicakravarti Ananda (authored the Saddhammopåyana), Aryadeva, Aryasura, and the tantric masters Jayabhadra, and Candramåli.

These Mahāvihāra Theravāda monks also produced new Pāli literature such as historical chronicles, hagiographies, practice manuals, summaries, textbooks, poetry, and Abhidhamma texts.

[52] The state of Sri Lankan Buddhism was so bad at this time that he could not find five bhikkhus in the whole island to ordain more monks and restore the monastic tradition; therefore, he sent an embassy to Burma, which sent back several eminent elders with Buddhist texts.

De Silva notes that this significant reform event was traditionally seen as the triumph of the Mahāvihāra and the repression of the other schools, but that "recent research has shown this to be quite inaccurate.

[66] During the Polonnaruva era, Theravāda also saw the increasing popularity of ārannavāsin (forest dweller) monks, who gained prominence in scholarship and took the lead in reform movements.

[68] After the death of Parākramabāhu I, his realm disintegrated into warring factions, and South Indian invaders resumed their attacks on the island, eventually leading to the swift decline of the Polonnaruva kingdom.

[73] In spite of all the instability, Sri Lanka was seen by Buddhists in Southeast Asia as a new holy land, since it contained relics of the Buddha which were accessible, in contrast to India which had seen the disappearance of Buddhism and the Muslim invasions.

[77] It is clear from sculptural evidence alone that the Mahāyāna was fairly widespread throughout [Sri Lanka], although the modern account of the history of Buddhism on the island presents an unbroken and pure lineage of Theravāda.

[78]Kings of Sri Lanka were often described as bodhisattvas, starting at least as early as Sirisanghabodhi (r. 247–249), who was styled a "mahāsatta" ("great being", Sanskrit mahāsattva), an epithet used almost exclusively in Mahayana.

[88] The most successful attempt to revive the sangha was led by Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero (1698–1778), who restored the higher ordination on the island by inviting monks from Thailand (thus founding the modern Siam Nikaya which survives to this day).

With the support of the Kandyan king Kirti Sri Rajasinha, Weliwita also worked to establish the primacy of Buddhist ritual, and the modern form of the Festival of the Tooth Relic dates to this time.

[89][90] It was also during this period that Kirti Sri Rajasinha issued a decree stating that only those of the govigama caste could join the Siam Nikaya, and those non-govigama bhikkhus which did exist were exiled or prevented from participating in higher ordination.

[102] However, the rebellion did cause the British government to become much more conservative in matters of religion and social change, and in the latter half of the 19th century it backed away from its support of missionary efforts they felt would anger the Sinhalese.

[110] The Sri Lankan Theosophical society under Olcott also had its own publications to promote Buddhism; the Sinhalese newspaper, Sarasavisandarasa, and its English counterpart, The Buddhist.

[112] Another important figure in the revival is Anagarika Dharmapala, initially an interpreter for Olcott, he then travelled around the world preaching Buddhism and associating with clerics, Theosophists, scholars, elites and other interested folks.

Nyanaponika (who worked in the Buddhist Publication Society along with Bhikkhu Bodhi) were responsible for many important translations of the Pali Canon and other texts on Buddhism into English and German.

[126] Senanayake's UNP and his opponents in the left-wing parties all promoted the idea of Sri Lanka as a secular state with a plural multi-racial society.

Rahula draws from the Mahavamsa to argue that the Sinhala Buddhist monk had always been socio-politically engaged (in the past, this meant close ties with kings).

[140] The influences on this militancy include Anagarika Dharmapala, who had also spoken of Muslims as a dangerous "barbarous race", who wiped out Buddhism in India and had often preached against Christianity.

[144] One particular episode in the Mahavamsa involving the warrior king Dutugāmunu seems to allow for killing one's enemies as long as one is acting with the intention to defend the Buddhist religion.

[151] One of the leading BBS monks, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, has given speeches inciting violence against Muslims and was even arrested and sentenced in 2018 for his issuing personal threats.

One such figure is Watareka Vijitha Thera, the secretary general of the Jathika Bala Sena (National Power Force, JBS) which promotes peace and co-existence.

[157] Jinavamsa along with Matara Sri Ñāṇārāma founded the Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā, an association of forest meditation hermitages such as Nissarana Vanaya and Nā Uyana Aranya.