The Buddhist Connect

Buddhism travelled to Sri Lanka in the 3^rdcentury B.C. from India, where it had been founded by Siddartha Gautama three centuries earlier. Indian emperor Asoka, nurtured the new comprehensive religio-philosophical system in the third century B.C. According to the Mahavamsa, Asoka’s son and emissary to Sri Lanka, Mahinda, introduced King Devanampiya Tissa of Lanka (present Srilanka) to Buddhism. Devanampiya Tissa became a powerful patron of Buddhism and established the monastery of Mahavihara, which became the historic seat of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The connection between religion, culture, language, and education and their combined influence on national identity consequently evolved as a pervasive force for the Sinhalese Buddhists.The roots of Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism however lie in the Buddhist revival of the late nineteenth century, which began as a response to the marginalization of Buddhist education under British colonialism.  Sinhalese Buddhists currently constitute around 70% of the country’s population with over 6000 Buddhist monasteries and Buddhism continues to be one of the principal bonds between the two neighbouring nations with its genesis firmly rooted in history.