The Fifth Buddhist council (Pali: Pañcamasaṃgāyanā) took place in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar) in 1871 CE under the auspices of King Mindon of Burma (Myanmar). The chief objective of this meeting was to recite all the teachings of the Gautama Buddha according to the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism and examine them in minute detail to see if any of them had been altered, distorted or dropped. It was presided over by three elder bhikkhus, Mahathera Jagarabhivamsa, Narindabhidhaja, and Mahathera Sumangalasami in the company of two thousand four hundred (2400) monks. Their joint Dhamma recitation lasted five months.
 
It was also the work of this council to approve the entire Tripitaka inscribed for posterity on seven hundred and twenty-nine marble slabs in the Burmese script before its recitation. This monumental task was done by the monks and many skilled craftsmen who upon completion of each slab had them housed in beautiful miniature pitaka pagodas on a special site in the grounds of King Mindons Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill where it and the so called largest book in the world, stands to this day.
 
This Council is not generally recognized outside Burma. The Fifth Buddhist council was a Burmese affair, and most other Buddhist countries were not involved in it. It is not generally recognized outside Burma.
 
The results of the fifth council were limited to the Burmese edition of the Pali Canon only. However, there were a number of other councils held in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Siam (Thailand) between the fourth and sixth, so the total can be made up in other ways.