186 ann heirmanbecame a strong rival of the Mahvihra, founded during the reign of
Devnampiya Tissa (247–207 BC).^125 With the support of several kings,
the Abhayagirivihra gradually expanded. In his travel account,^126 the
monk Faxian describes the monastery as a very rich place with ve thou-
sand monks, receiving the support of the royal house. The Mahvihra,
according to Faxian, had three thousand monks. He describes it as
the second most important monastery, also frequented by the king. He
does not tell us about any rivalry between the two monasteries. Not
a lot is known about what was particular to the Abhayagirivihra.
Most, if not all their texts have completely disappeared after king
Parakkamabhu I (1153–1186) decided to reunify the three Theravda
groups of Anurdhapura: the Abhayagirivihra, the Jetavanavihra^127
and the Mahvihra. The monks of the rst two monasteries were
re-ordained according to the Mahvihra tradition. Consequently, the
Mahvihra texts gradually became the only ones to survive, while the
Abhayagirivihra viewpoints are only known from a very small number
of quotations in non-Abhayagirivihra Pli texts.^128
In fth and sixth century China, apart from the account of Faxian,
no other texts report on the situation of the Sinhalese Buddhist com-
munities. Also on the Pli Theravda tradition as a whole, the Chinese
had little information since only a few Pli texts were ever translated
into Chinese. Of these, two texts are extant: the Jietuo daolun
(T.1648, Treatise on the Path to Liberation) and the Shanjian lü piposha
(T.1462, “?Good for Seeing” Commentary). In addi-
tion, a translation of a Theravda vinaya (Tapili ) by the monk
Mahyna^129 is mentioned in the catalogues but is no longer extant.
Also the now lost Wubai bensheng jing (S tra of the Five
Hundred Jtakas), also translated by Mahyna was possibly based on
a Pli text.^130
(^125) Geiger 1960, pp. 186, 223; Reat, 1994, pp. 84–92.
(^126) T.2085.51.864c24–865b12.
(^127) In the third century, the Sgalikas, later called the Jetavanavihravsins, split
from the Mahvihra. The role of this school has remained obscure (Bechert 1993a,
p. 11).
(^128) von Hinüber 1996, pp. 22–23. One Pli text, the Saddhammopyana, the date of
which is uncertain, is sometimes attributed to the Abhayagirivihra tradition because
of the title Abhayagirikavicakravart 129 given to its author (von Hinüber 1996, p. 203).
This seems to be a surname given to a monk well-versed in Mahyna texts.
See, for instance, the Indian monk Guabhadra (died 468) who was called ‘Mahyna’
because of his study of Mahyna texts (Huijiao, T.2059.50.344a5–6).
(^130) von Hinüber 1996, p. 57. In addition, the Youpoliwenfo jing (T.1466,