The History of Buddhist Thought c9.s2.23

c9.s2.23

The rest of the chapter tells of Asoka’s conversion to Buddhism, and how his name became changed from Asoka the fierce (Chaṇḍāsoka) to Asoka the righteous (Dhammāsoka). He reformed the Order, expelling the heretical monks, and the third Council was held in the seventeenth year of his reign. The Chronicle then turns to the history of Ceylon, and tells no more of Buddhism in India beyond Asoka’s sending of missionaries to various countries after the third Council and the official introduction of Buddhism into Ceylon by Asoka’s son Mahinda.