King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

it to wither away. But Aśoka managed to nurture and revivewhat was left of it and thus saved the tree. Aśoka is reportedto have died in the year 233 – 232 B.C. in the thirty-seventh yearof his reign, while Tissa was still ruling in Anuradhapura. TheSacred Bodhi Tree still exists in Anuradhapura.Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka continued to rule the islandfor forty years, from 250 – 210 B.C. During the whole of thisperiod Mahinda Thera and Saṅghamittā Theri engaged themselvesin propagating Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Tissa was succeededby his brother Uttiya. Mahinda Thera passed away inthe eighth year of Uttiya’s reign while spending the vassāna(rainy) season at Cetiyagiri (Mihintale). 59 He would then havebeen eighty years old. He may have come to Sri Lanka at theage of thirty-two and lived here for forty-eight years, settingan inspiring example to the people and the rulers. His sisterSaṅghamittā Theri died the following year while she was livingin the Hatthālhaka Vihāra. 609. ConclusionGiven the account of Aśoka’s remarkable activities associatedwith social and religious life in Sri Lanka, he seems to havepaved the way for a truly national consciousness and a uniqueSinhala-Buddhist identity in the island starting with the reignof King Devānampiya Tissa in the year 250 B.C. Aśoka changedafter the Kalinga war as a result of his direct encounter with thesuffering he had wrought. The noble message of the Buddhabrought him consolation and peace of heart. He thereafterstrove for the welfare of the people, whom he treated as hisown children. He spread the teaching of the Buddha throughouthis dominion and beyond it. In doing so he also toleratedthe beliefs and practices of other religions through his new135