The Fifth Buddhist council took place in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar) in 1871 A.D. in the reign of King Mindon. The chief objective of this meeting was to recite all the teachings of the Buddha and examine them in minute detail to see if any of them had been altered, distorted or dropped. It was presided over by three Elders, the Venerable Mahathera Jagarabhivamsa, the Venerable Narindabhidhaja, and the Venerable Mahathera Sumangalasami in the company of 2,400 monks. Their joint Dhamma recitation lasted five months. Mandalay (Burmese: ) is the second largest city in Myanmar (formerly Burma) with a population of 927,000 (2005 census), agglomeration 2,5 million. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Media:Example. ...

It was also the work of this council to cause the entire Tipitaka to be inscribed on 729 marble slabs for posterity in the Myanmar script after its recitation. Each marble slab was 5 1/2 feet high, 3 1/2 feet wide and about 5 inches thick. This monumental task was done by many skillful craftsmen. Upon completion, each slab was housed in beautiful "miniature Pitaka" pagodas on a special site in the grounds of King Mindon's Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill. It is the World's largest book that stands to this day. The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... Mindon Min (1808 1878) was King of Burma from 1853 to his death. ... Kuthodaw Pagoda (Burmese: , officially titled ) is a Theravada Buddhist stupa located in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) that contains the worlds largest book. ... Mandalay Hill is a 240 metre (790 feet) hill that is located to the east of Mandalays city centre. ...

The Fifth Buddhist council was a Burmese affair, and other Buddhist countries were not involved in it. The Theravadin multi-national Sixth Buddhist council was also held in Burma, and this council received the name of 'Sixth Buddhist council', thereby implicitly recognizing the fifth, even though no other nations were involved in the fifth council, and the results of the fifth council were limited to the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon only. Theravada (Pāli: theravāda, Sanskrit: sthaviravāda → English: The Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and parts of southwest...

See also

• Buddhist councils
  • First Buddhist council
  • Second Buddhist council
  • Third Buddhist council
  • Fourth Buddhist council
  • Sixth Buddhist council