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天愛帝須王

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Devānampiya Tissa

Senses:

  • 247–207 BCE or 307–267 BCE. A famous king of Śrī Lanka, said to be the first to become Buddhist on the island, and who is said to spread the Dharma throughout the island.　According to the Mahāvaṃsa 大史, and what is recorded in Buddhaghoṣaʼs 佛音 commentaries on the Vinaya 戒律, such as the preface to the Samantapāsādikā 善見律毘婆沙， At the time when Devānampiya Tissa ascended the throne， King Aśoka of India sent his son, Mahinda 摩哂陀 and Sumana 修摩那, to Śrī Lanka 錫蘭， where they settled on Mt. Missaka 眉沙伽山 (Modern day Mihintale). There, they taught for King the Cula-hatthipadupama-suttanta 呪羅訶象譬經， and within seven days, converted 8,500 people. In the forests of Mt. Missaka, the king built the Mahā-vihāra 大寺， dug 608 cave temples at Mt. Cetiya-pabbata 支帝耶山, and built a Thūpārāma (stūpa-park 塔園) as an offering for the relics of the Buddha. Before long, the Kingʼs son, known as Mattābhaya 無畏 and 30,000 people were said to have renounced the world at the same time, so the King built as an offering to the monastics, a place to live in the Thūpārāma. After this, Devānampiya Tissa received Mahindaʼs guidance and took refuge in the triple gem, whereupon he asked Mahinda to construct ordination platforms (Skt. sīmā 戒壇) throughout the country to transmit the precepts, convert the masses, and have them become monks. 〔善見律毘婆沙 T 1462.24.687b07〕 [Thomas Newhall; source(s): FGD]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Fo Guang Dictionary 1362

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    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2012-11-20

    Updated: 2017-10-16