Sixth Buddhist Council

The Sixth Buddhist Council (Pali: Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana; ဆဋ္ဌမသင်္ဂါယနာ; Sinhalese: ඡට්ඨ සංගායනා) was a general council of Theravada Buddhism, held in a specially built cave and pagoda complex at Kaba Aye Pagoda in Yangon, Burma. The council was attended by 2500 monastics from eight Theravada Buddhist countries. The Council lasted from Vesak 1954 to Vesak 1956, its completion coinciding with the traditional 2500th anniversary of the Gautama Buddha's Parinibbāna. In the tradition of past Buddhist councils, a major purpose of the Sixth Council was to preserve the Buddha's teachings and practices as understood in the Theravada tradition.

Over the two-year period, monks (sangīti-kāraka) from different countries recited from their existing redaction of the Pāli Canon and the associated post-canonical literature. As a result, the Council synthesized a new redaction of the Pali texts ultimately transcribed into several native scripts.

The Council was convened 83 years after the Burmese Fifth Buddhist council was held in Mandalay. The Council commenced proceedings on Vesak, 17 May 1954, in order to allow sufficient time to conclude its work on Vesak, 24 May 1956, the day marking the 2500-year celebration of Gautama Buddha's Parinibbāna according to traditional Theravada dating.

The Sixth Council was sponsored by the Burmese Government led by Prime Minister U Nu. He authorized the construction of the Kaba Aye Pagoda and the Mahapasana Guha or "Great Cave" in which the work of the council took place. This venue was designed to be like the cave in which the First Buddhist council was held.

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