Mahinda

Mahinda ( Sanskrit: महिन्द्र, Mahindra ), at the beginning of the 3rd century BC in Magadha (now Bihar, India) was born, was a Buddhist monk and Arhat. He founded Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

The son of the Indian emperor Ashoka, he grew up in Vidisha, his mother's residence. At the age of 20 he became a monk and a disciple of Moggaliputta Tissa. Twelve years later, after the run by his teacher Third Buddhist Council, it was (then Tamraparni ) sent together with the monks Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambala, Bhaddasāla and Sumanasāmanera as well as the layman Bhankuka by his father to Sri Lanka for the teaching of the Buddha to make the Dharma, known.

According to the Sinhalese chronicles, Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa the group met during a full moon on the island. Tradition has it that King Devanampiya Tissa met the monks when he was out hunting. He knew Ashoka, the two rulers had each made ​​up gifts to her throne ascents and were not disposed towards each other with hostile. After welcoming the guests by the King Mahinda submitted a sutra, the Devanampiya Tissa and his followers the Buddha - Dharma prompted to turn to. The monks were invited to Anuradhapura in the residence of the king to keep there other suttas. Two public lectures Mahinda in the royal city place, accordingly, the foundation for the spread of Buddhism on the island. The royal garden Mahamegha was the monks made ​​available, hence the monastery Mahavira developed, the earliest center of Buddhist culture in Sri Lanka. In Mihintale, where Mahinda himself had withdrawn after a month of training ( cf. Vassa, Khao Phansa ), the Chetiyagirivihara Monastery was founded.

In order to establish a women's order (see Bhikkhuni ) called Mahinda his sister Sanghamitta to his Sri Lanka. They also brought an offshoot of that Bodhi - tree from Bodhgaya, under which, according to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama had attained enlightenment. The tree was planted in the Mahavira Temple, where he is still honored as the Sri Mahabodhi. In the Buddhist Architecture of Sri Lanka as usual came to the temple buildings, a new addition: the Bodhighara, a shrine without a roof in honor of the Bodhi tree. Instead of pictorial representations of the Mahabodhi as they were known in India, here is a living tree in the center of the building.

On the initiative of Mahinda's also the first stupa in Sri Lanka was built around relics of the Buddha, which were brought as the seedling of Sanghamitta from the kingdom of Ashoka, include it. Arittha, a nephew of King Devanampiya Tissas, who had joined the monastic order, the task came to the Vinaya ( monastic rules buddh. ) to teach.

Mahinda died at the age of 60 years. King Uttiya, the successor Devanampiya Tissas, had his ashes with great honors in a specially built Stupa, the Mihindu Seya in Mihintale, beds to rest.

Today Mahinda is revered not only as the founder of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, he is also considered a creator of Sinhala literature, because he translated the Tipitaka into Sinhala and wrote comments on it in the local language.