Lanka According to tradition, Buddhism was introduced in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE by Indian missionaries under the guidance of Thera Mahinda, the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. Prior to the expansion of Buddhism, the indigenous population of Sri Lanka lived in an animistic world full of superstition. The assimilation and conversion of the various pre-Buddhist beliefs was a slow process. In order to gain a foothold among the rural population, Buddhism needed to assimilate the various categories of spirits and other supernatural beliefs. The earliest monastic complex was the Mahāvihāra at Anurādhapura founded by Devānampiyatissa and presented to Mahinda Thera. The Mahāvihāra became the centre of the orthodox Theravāda doctrine and its supreme position remained unchallenged until the foundation of the Abhayagiri Vihāra around 89 BCE by Vaţţagāmaņĩ. The Abhayagiri Vihāra became the seat of the reformed Mahāyāna doctrines. The rivalry between the monks of the Mahāvihāra and the Abhayagiri led to a further split and the foundation of the Jetavanarama near the Mahāvihāra. The main feature of Sinhala Buddhism was its division into three major groups, or nikāyas, named after the three main monastic complexes at Anurādhapura; the Mahāvihāra, the Abhayagiri, and the Jetavanārāma. This was the result in the deviations in the disciplinary rules (vinaya) and doctrinal disputes. All the other monasteries of Sri Lanka owed ecclesiastical allegiance to one of the three. Sri Lanka is famous for its creations of Buddhist sculptures made of stone and cast in bronze alloy. Myanmar A neighbor of India, Myanmar (Burma) was naturally strongly influenced by the eastern part of Indian territory. The Mon of southern Burma are said to have been converted to Buddhism around 200 BCE under the proselytizing of the Indian king Ashoka, before the schism between Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. Early Buddhist temples are found, such as Beikthano in central Myanmar, with dates between the 1st and the 5th centuries. The Buddhist art of the Mons was especially influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta and post-Gupta periods, and their mannerist style spread widely in Southeast Asia following the expansion of the Mon Empire between the 5th and 8th centuries. Later, thousands of Buddhist temples were built at Bagan, the capital, between the 11th and 13th centuries, and around 2,000 of them are still standing. Beautiful jeweled statues of the Buddha are remaining from that period. Creation managed to continue despite the