According to the Chronicles, the Buddha, who lived in India (Jambudeepa), paid three visits to Sri Lanka. On his first visit a Sri Lankan king named Sumana, together with many of his subjects, embraced Buddhism. This shows that Buddhism had its roots in Sri Lanka in the 6th century BC. At the time of the birth of Buddhism in India, the written word was yet to see the light of the day. Hence, though it originated in India, it was committed to memory before being brought to Sri Lanka. After the Buddha's death, his disciples continued with the propagation of Buddhism.

Three main Buddhist Councils (Sangayanas) were held since his passing away to organize, protect and preserve the purity of the Buddha's teachings, the first one at Rajagaha in India three months after his Parinibbana (death) with 500 Arahants participating and the second hundred years later at Vesali, also in India with 700 Arahants attending. After a period of comparative inactivity Buddhism flourished again in the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Asoka of India. With a view to ensuring the purity of the Buddha's teachings as well as to re-establish discipline that seemed to be on the wane among the monks, he sponsored the Third Council in 234 BC. with a thousand Arahants participating in Pataliputta (Patna in present day Bihar) under the leadership of Venerable Moggulliputta Tissa. This occasioned the establishment of the three Pitakas. This incidentally was the Dhamma that was learnt by heart to be exported through the missionaries.

After the Council, nine missions led by Arahants were sent on Dhamma-promotion tours to distant states of the Indian subcontinent and to foreign countries. Sri Lanka was fortunate to be one of these countries. This mission was led by the King's son, the Arahant Mahinda. On this occasion King Devanam Piyatissa and his subjects became Buddhists. Archeological monuments provide ample evidence to the fact that Sri Lanka had established itself totally as a Buddhist country since then, although Buddhism had disappeared from the other countries as time went on.

However, Chinese teachers such as Fa Scien, Hyung San and others came down to Sri Lanka and carried Buddha Dhamma and related books back to China. From there it journeyed to Korea and Japan where it is known as Mahayana Buddhism.

Very much later it spread through the Tibetan plateau to be known as Vajirayana Buddhism. In the 6th and 7th century AD. Zen Buddhism developed in Japan and China. From that time onwards, Buddhism had begun to unfold throughout the world and according to Goddard & MacKenzie it swiftly reached Greece and northern England.

Buddhism however disappeared from these countries following foreign invasions only to reappear later as a result of propagation efforts of Eastern and Western missionaries.

After the establishment of the Pali Text Society by Professor Rhys Davids in England, Buddhism became popular among English readers. Sir Edwin Arnold's "Light of Asia" did much not only to popularize it but also to give it immense publicity. The efforts of Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka and the Japanese contributed in no small measure to the establishment of Buddhism in western countries in the early 20th century.

In the 1st century BC during the reign of King Vattagamini Abhaya in Sri Lanka, Arahants convened a Dhamma Sangayana and the teachings were documented for the first time in the world albeit on palm leaves. This not only enabled the Buddha Dhamma to be preserved in its pristine beauty but also afforded an impetus to the people who up to this time had to be content with committing the teachings to memory and thus the Dhamma known as Theravada prevailed in Sri Lanka. From that time onwards Buddhism in Sri Lanka maintained its links with Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and other Theravada Buddhist countries.

The order of nuns was established in China by the Sri Lankan nun Devasara and from time to time Sri Lanka, in addition, exchanged monks and nuns with those of these countries. Today Sri Lankan monks preach and teach everywhere in the world carrying the torch handed over to them by their ancestors. Resultantly today almost in every country of the world, there are followers of Buddhism and it has become one of the greatest religions of the world.

In the year 2000 the United Nations recognized Vesak Day as a day to commemorate Buddha's birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana (death) internationally. During the past 28 years, Buddhism has become very popular in the United States. So much so that in a country where not a single book on Buddhism was available in 1962, today more than a thousand books have been published in the United States alone.