The text clearly outlines the history of Buddhism and its spread in Sri Lanka as well as its eventual decrease in influence in both India and Sri Lanka. Buddhism took a turn for the worst in India due to the onset of Islam. A great number of people in India were swept by the Islamic wave thus relegating Buddhism to places such as Sri Lanka and patches of India.
The spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka was relatively easy. The main fact that boosted the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as the fact that Buddha himself had visited Sri Lanka. During such visits Buddha cast out demons and banished them from Sri Lanka. This endeared both Buddha and Buddhism to the people of Sri Lanka. They warmed up to the fact that he had visited them and cast out demons from their island. The people of Sri Lanka were thus ready to listen to the teachings of Buddha paying special attention to the details of his teaching. The casting out of demons also depicted Buddha as powerful to the Sri Lankan people and sympathetic to their plight. Obviously, a man who visited them and did nothing short of good deeds was worth listening to and the teachings he offered worthy of emulation.
Another factor that boosted the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka was the conversion of king Tissa. This happened after the king had an encounter with Mahinda who offered him Buddhist teachings that led to his conversion. Back at the time the king was very influential. The king played a pivotal role not only in social issues but also in spiritual issues. This means that with the conversion of the king to Buddhism the entire island would soon follow suit. The details of the encounter between king Tissa and Mahinda remain the speculations of legends. The fact however remains that the conversion of king Tissa to Buddhism opened the door for Buddhism to enter and spread throughout the island of Sri Lanka. This opens up a very interesting discussion on the relationship between political power and religious influence back then and even in today’s modern society. Even today the most influential political leaders hold some merit in terms of their influence on religion even though their influence is greatly reduced in comparison to the time of king Tissa and Mahinda. Political leaders can still influence the religion of the masses especially those who are their hardcore supporters.
Once it was fully established in SriLanka Buddhism started experiencing some hiccups. There emerged cracks in the religion. Religious leaders started disagreeing on the fundamentals of Buddhism and what the teachings of Buddha truly meant.an example is one where some monks believed that the emphasis point of Buddha’s teachings was seeking wisdom. Other monks believed that practicing the teachings of Buddha was more significant than any other thing. This and many other disagreements led to the fragmentation of the Buddhist faction in SriLanka just as was the case in India years before.
The patterns that are seen in Buddhism are not isolated. They occur in almost every major religion in the world. After a major religion takes root in a given area cracks start emerging in the congregation. Faithful of the religion start interpreting their scriptures in different ways based on their understanding of the scriptures. The result is a religion with large number of factions.in extreme cases of disagreements, some factions may break away completely from the main faction of the religion. The religious doctrines however remain the same. All that varies is some disagreement on certain ideological issues.
References
Mitchell, D. W. (2007). Buddhism: introducing the Buddhist experience. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, B. I. (2005). Tradition and change in Theravada Budhism: essays on Ceylon and Thailand in the 19th and 20th centuries. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Strong, J. (2004). The experience of Buddhism: sources and interpretations. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co..
