This is a series of talks given by the Canadian monk Ajahn Punnadhammo in which he speaks about Early Buddhist History. The talks, which are very well presented, have many maps and other graphics, which warrants their inclusion in this collection.
In the 6th of these videos Ajahn talks about how Buddhism came to Sri Lanka, and the variable history it had in the country, barely surviving at times, and flourishing at other times.
There is a lot of history to compress into just over 1/2 hr, but Ajahn does a good job of explaining most of the major events, including the arrival, the establishment of the Bhikkhuni order there, the establishment of the Mahāvihāra, the troubling history of Duṭṭhagāmanī, the arrival of Ven Buddhaghosa, the reforms of the Middle Ages, and the re-establishment of the Bhikkhu order with help from Thailand.
If you are interested in Ajahn and his work, a short biography can be found here. He also has a youtube channel with many talks and presentations. He lives in the Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Northern Ontario.
if the video does not appear on the page, try reloading the page; and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)
to see an album of screenshots click here