King Asoka and Buddhism: Historical and Literary Studies

King Aśoka and Buddhism — Historical & Literary Studies
The Contributors
     Editor’s Preface
     Editor’s Note
     Acknowledgements
 1  Aśoka — The Great Upāsaka
Richard Gombrich
     1. Aśoka’s Inscriptions
     2. Aśoka in Buddhist Tradition
     3. The Missions: Interpreting the Evidence
     Notes
 2  Aśoka and Buddhism as Reflected in the Aśokan Edicts
Romila Thapar
 3  Emperor Aśoka and Buddhism: Unresolved Discrepancies between Buddhist Tradition & Aśokan Inscriptions
Ananda W.P. Guruge
     1. Introduction
     2. Conversion of Aśoka to Buddhism
     3. When, How and by Whom?
     4. Major Discrepancies in Events and Dates
     5. Historical Reliability of Rock Edict XIII
     6. Aśoka’s Role in the Propagation of Buddhism in his Empire
     7. Foreign Missions of Aśoka
     8. Conclusions
     Notes
 4  Aśoka’s Edicts and the Third Buddhist Council
N.A. Jayawickrama
     Notes
 5  Aśoka and the Emergence of a Sinhala Buddhist State in Sri Lanka
Anuradha Seneviratna
     1. Introduction
     2. Sources
     3. The Mission to Sri Lanka: Brief Account
     4. The Political Background
     5. The Sri Lanka-Kalinga Tie
     6. Aśoka and Tissa
     7. The Advent of Mahinda
     8. Sanghamittā and the Bodhi Tree
     9. Conclusion
     Notes
 6  Images of Aśoka: Some Indian and Sri Lankan Legends and their Development
John S. Strong
     A. The Early Traditions
          1. The Gift of Honey and the Gift of Dirt
          2. The Fate of the Bodhi Tree
          3. The Gathering of the Relics
          4. The 84,000 Stūpas or Vihāras
     B. Later Developments
          1. The Gift of Dirt Reconsidered
          2. The Legends of the Queens
          3. The Collection of Relics: A New Story
          4. The 84,000 Stūpas Once More
     Conclusion
     Notes
 7  Emperor Aśoka’s Place in History: A Review of Prevalent Opinions
Ananda W.P. Guruge
     1. Introduction
     2. Aśoka in the Mainstream Indian Tradition and Literature
     3. Aśoka of the Northern Buddhist Sources
     4. Aśoka of the Sri Lankan Pali Sources
     5. Aśoka of Edicts and Inscriptions
     6. Aśoka in the Eyes of Recent Writers & Scholars
     7. Aśoka and the Decline and Fall of the Mauryan Empire
     8. Conclusion
     Notes
     Maps
          Aśoka’s Indian Empire
          Areas to which Buddhist Missions were sent