Shin Arahan Spreads Theravada Buddhism at Pagan

1058

The Mon monk Shin Arahan, who had first arrived at Pagan around 1056, deepened his influence over King Anawrahta's court, teaching Theravada orthodoxy in place of the local Ari Buddhism with its tantra-inflected rituals. Anawrahta, freshly enriched by Thaton's plundered libraries, now had both the doctrine and the texts. Pagan began its transformation into one of Southeast Asia's great centers of Buddhist learning and temple construction.