VISIT SRI LANKA
(Sathyage Travels)
History of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
Conversion to Buddhism
At around 5th century BCE, the Indo-Aryans who immigrated from northern India spoke Indo-Aryan languages that later developed to Sinhalese, which is the most commonly spoken and one of the official languages in Sri Lanka to date. Tamils who settled in Sri Lanka later on came from eastern, central and southern India, where Drividian languages were commonly spoken. The Drividians migrated and their time lasted from about 3rd century BCE to about 1200 CE.
Sri Lanka’s history with tradition and Buddhism was written by Buddhist scholars in around 4th and 5th centuries CE in preserved chronicles. These chronicles were named ‘Dipavamsa’ (which means Island’s Chronicle) followed by the ‘Mahavamsa’ (which means the Great Chronicle) and was continued in the ‘Culavamsa’ (which means Little Chronicle). Together these three chronicles compose of a literary record of Sri Lankan Buddhism and the establishment and growth of the Sinhalese political power.
According to the tradition of the Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka, Buddhism was first brought to the island during the reign of a Mauryan emperor named Ashoka. His son, named Mahinda, led the mission to Sri Lanka. He and his troop travelled to Mihintale hill which is 8 miles from the city of Anuradhapura (a site known to have some of the earliest inscriptions regarding Buddhism). They by chance met King Tissa, a Sinhalese King, to whom they preached a sermon on Buddhism. The King was amazed by the sermon and invited Mahendra and his colleagues to the city. Thereafter, they preached first to the royal family members and then to the public. Many people embraced the new religion and joined the community of monks (Buddhist Sangha). In the meantime a monastery was established named Mahavihara and it became the prime location of Buddhism in the island.
Mahinda then sent for his sister, named Sanghamitta. She arrived to the country with a branch of the Bo Tree (from Bodh Gaya), under which Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment. The sapling was ceremoniously planted in the city. Thereafter, Sanghamitta founded an order of nuns and a shrine (stupa) was built. Thus, Buddhism became an established and widely followed religion in the country.
