Abstract:
The propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. as witnessed by
the lithic records and the chronicles was due to the efforts of the Buddhist monks
who spread Theravada or the orthodox tradition of the religion in the first few
centuries. Its spread went parallel wtith the growth of monastic institutions in the
island.
At first the patronage extended by the kings and the people towards the
Buddhist monks was to safe-guard the religion. They were endowed with dwellings
and requisites for their maintenance. To make them self-sufficient the monks were
endowed with permanent and valuable gifts consisting of land, tanks, revenue from
taxes and so forth. When these endowments were made, the monks became landholders
and gained a role of leadership in society. On the one hand, the relationship
with the masses made thc Saitgha an institution which dominated society in its own
way. On the other, it became a major factor to check the royal power.
The monks generally regarded themselves as having a two-fold task;
striving for their own salvation and preaching the Dhamma to lead others to find
their salvation. It was the scholar and the preacher in them that were useful to
society.
Buddhism was flourishing in.the entire island by the second century A.D.
Even before that dissensions among members of the Sattgha were visible in the
premiere establishments such as Mahavihara and Abhayagirivihara. Some
individuals struggled for power and tried to gain favours from the kings. By about
the third century A.D. new trends of thought in Buddhism, coming from the
subcontinent of India, were making headway in the island. By contact with these
new movements, the monks of the Abhayagirivihara were becoming liberal in their
views. The new schools of thought such as Vaitulyavada, described as heresies in
the chronicles, divided them into sects. These schools of new thought had the
backing of some kings though the Mahavihara vehemently opposed them.
By about the fourth century, there were three fraternities, namely,
Mahavihara, Abhayagiri and Jetavana. The inscriptions and the chronicles bear
clear evidence to the manifestation of Mahayana ideals such as the Bodhisattva
worship. The sixth and seventh century inscriptions attach great importance to the
merit-making rituals that accompanied them. Here we find the Safigha in the role
of the priest invoking blessings on the masses and becoming an indispensable figure
in society.
