From the 8th to the 12th centuries Indian Buddhist traditions increasingly spread to Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal trade network. Because of this, before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia were influenced by the Buddhist traditions of India, some of which included the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language. In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in Southeast Asia, all major sects of Indian Buddhism flourished.