Background
Emperor Ashoka convened the third Buddhist council around 250 BCE at Pataliputra (today's Patna). It was held by the monk Moggaliputta.
The Pali canon (Tipitaka, or Tripitaka in Sanskrit, lit. the "Three Baskets"), which are the texts of reference of traditional Buddhism and considered to be directly transmitted from the Buddha, was formalized at that time. They consist of the doctrine (the Sutra Pitaka), the monastic discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) and an additional new body of subtle philosophy (the Abhidharma Pitaka).
Another objective of the council was to reconcile the different schools of Buddhism, and to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from opportunistic factions which had been attracted by the royal patronage.
Finally, the council also reported on the proselytizing efforts of Emperor Ashoka, who sought to expand the Buddhist faith throughout Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The contemporary stone inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka also relate this activity in detail.
Following these efforts, the Buddhist faith seems to have expanded among Greek communities under the rule of Ashoka, and tens of thousands were converted. About 50 years laters, the Greco-Bactrians invaded northern India as far as Pataliputra and founded the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to show their support for the Mauryan empire, and to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the new dynasty of the Sungas (185–73 BCE). Greek Buddhist monks continued to play a key role during the time of Menander, as far as Sri Lanka.
Read more about this topic: Greco-Buddhist Monasticism
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