Buddhism in Śrī Lanka | History

Buddhism in Śrī Lanka

Śrī Lanka is home to the world’s oldest continuing Buddhist civilization: The Lankan king Devanāṁpiya Tissa (3rd century B.C.E.), a contemporary of the Indian Emperor Aśoka, is said to have been converted to the Buddha’s teachings by Aśoka’s own missionary son, Mahinda. Brāhmī inscriptions etched in stone on drip ledges indicate that hermitages have been dedicated by Buddhist Laity for the meditation needs of monks

Temple of Tooth relic, Sri Lanka

Theravada Buddhism is the largest and state religion of Śrī Lanka practiced by 70.1% of Śrī Lanka's population. Practitioners of Buddhism can be found amongst the Sinhalese population as well as the Tamil population. Buddhism has been given the foremost place under Article 9 of the Constitution which can be traced back to an attempt to bring the status of Buddhism back old times