DHAMMA SCHOOL SESSION: 31ST MAY 2025
KING ASHOKA
⚔️ King Ashoka became the head of the Maurya Empire in the central region of North India around 218 years after the passing away of the Gautama Buddha in 483 BC.
⚔️ Following the demise of his father, King Bindusara, Ashoka ascended to the throne and, in order to protect his right to the throne, is said to have killed 99 of his father’s sons sparing only his own brother, Tissa, who had ordained as a Buddhist monk.
😡 King Ashoka was a ruthless ruler earning the nickname “Chanda Ashoka” meaning “The cruel Ashoka,”
☸️ He converted to Buddhism following an encounter with a very young novice Buddhist monk by the name of Nigrodha
☸️ King Ashoka made Buddhism the state religion, and ruled his kingdom in accordance with the Buddhist principles of compassion and non-violence. Hence, he came to be known as “King Dharmashoka”
🛕 He is said to have built 84,000 temples and stupas throughout India.
👶 He had two children, Mahinda and his younger sister Sanghamitta.
ARAHANT MAHINDA
✒️ When King Ashoka became the king, Mahinda was aged fourteen years. He ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of twenty as a pupil of Arahant Moggaliputthatissa.
BUDDHIST MISSION TO SRI LANKA
✒️ Though the decision was made following the third Buddhist council to send Arahant Mahinda to Sri Lanka, the mission was postponed for about six months until the suitable time arose to do so.
✒️ At that time the ruling king in Sri Lanka was King Mutasiva who they thought was too old to understand the Buddha’s deep and complex teaching.
✒️ To mark the time, Arahant Mahinda, accompanied by four bhikkhus named Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambala and Bhaddasala and a novice monk named Sumana, visited Dakkhinagiri and Vedisagiri to visit his mother and the other relatives.
✒️ Following the death of King Mutasiva, his second son Tissa became the king and it was considered to be the right time for Arahant Mahinda to visit Sri Lanka.
✒️ Arahant Mahinda left Vedisagiri accompanied by six others. They were; Bhikkhu Itthiyam Bhikkhu Uttiyam Bhikkhu Sambala, Bhikkhu Bhaddasala, Novice monk Sumana and Bhanduka upasaka (a lay disciple)
✒️ The novice monk Sumana was the son of Arahant Mahinda’s sister Sanghamitta and Bhanduka was a grand-niece of his mother Devi.
✒️ Arahant Mahinda was aged 32 years when he made this historic visit to Sri Lanka in 247 BC.
ARRIVAL IN SRI LANKA
✒️ Arahant Mahinda and the party arrived on the rock called Mihintale (Missaka pabbata), situated about 12 km away from the then capital city of Anuradhapura on the full moon day of June (Poson poya).
✒️ The day being a national holiday, King Devanampiyatissa was on a hunting expedition to Mihintale accompanied by an entourage of 40,000 people.
✒️ While chasing after a deer, the king came across the party of shaven headed monks in yellow robes
✒️ Arahant Mahinda wanted to check whether the king was wise enough to understand the Buddha’s teaching and presented the following two riddles
The first riddle:
Arahant Mahinda: “What name does this tree bear, O king?”
The king: “This tree is called mango”
Arahant Mahinda: “is there yet another mango tree besides this?”
The king: “There are many mango trees”
Arahant Mahinda: “And are there any other trees besides this mango tree and the other mango trees?”
The king: “There are many trees Sir, that are not mango trees”
Arahant Mahinda: “And are there besides the other mango trees, and those trees which are not mango trees, yet other trees?”
The king: “It is this mango tree Sir”
The second riddle:
Arahant Mahinda: “Have you got relatives, king?”
The king: “There are many Sir”
Arahant Mahinda: Are there some people who are not your relatives, king?”
The king: “There are more people than my relatives”
Arahant Mahinda: “Is there anyone besides your relatives and the others?”
The king: “There is myself, Sir”
✒️ Having established that the king was wise enough to understand the Buddha’s teaching, Arahant Mahinda delivered the Culahatthipadopama sutta: the shorter discourse on the simile of the elephant’s footprint, from the middle length discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya).
✒️ Having listened to the discourse, the king and the entourage of 40,000 people embraced the Buddha’s teaching and became disciples
✒️ Mihintale Maha Seya (big stupa) was where the Buddha’s relics brought from India were enshrined while in a smaller stupa known as the Mihindu Seya (stupa of Mahinda), the relics of Arahant Mahinda had been enshrined.