tolerance of religious differences, equity of government, kindness to the sick, to the poor, and to animals. His name is revered from Siberia to Ceylon.

292. Q. Was he born a Buddhist?

A. No, he was converted in the tenth year after his anointment as King, by Nigrodha Samanera, an Arhat.

293. Q. What did he do for Buddhism?

A. He drove out bad bhikkhus, encouraged good ones, built monasteries and dagobas everywhere, established gardens, opened hospitals for men and animals, convened a council at Patna to revise and re-establish the Dharma, promoted female religious education, and sent embassies to five Greek Kings, his allies, and to all the sovereigns of India, to preach the doctrines of the Buddha. It was he who built the monuments at Kapilavastu, Buddha Gaya, Isipatana and Kusinara, our four chief places of pilgrimage, besides thousands more.

294. Q. What absolute proofs exist as to his noble character?

A. Within recent years there have been discovered, in all parts of India, 14 Edicts of his, inscribed on living rocks, and 8 on pillars erected by his

orders. They fully prove him to have been one of the wisest and most high-minded sovereigns who ever lived.

295. Q. What character do these inscriptions give to Buddhism?

A. They show it to be a religion of noble tolerance, of universal brotherhood, of righteousness and justice. It has no taint of selfishness, sectarianism or intolerance. They have done more than anything else to win for it the respect in which it is now held by the great pan.dits of Western countries.

296. Q. What most precious gift did Dharmashoka make to Buddhism?

A. He gave his beloved son, Mahinda, and daughter, Sanghamitta, to the Order, and sent them to Ceylon to introduce the religion.

297, Q. Is this fact recorded in the history of Ceylon?

A. O yes, it is all recorded in the Mahavansa, by the keepers of the royal records, who were then living and saw the missionaries.

298. Q. Is there some still visible proof of Sanghamitta's mission?

A. Yes: she brought with her to Ceylon a branch ref the very Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat when he became Enlightened, and it is still growing.

299. Q. Where?

A. At Anuradhapura. The history of it has been officially preserved to the present time. Planted in 306 B C., it is the oldest historical tree in the world.

300. Q. Who was the reigning sovereign at that time?

A. Devanampiyatissa. His consort, Queen Anula, had invited Sanghamitta to come and establish the Bhikkhuni branch of the Order.

301. Q. Who came with Sanghamitta?

A. Many other bhikkhunis. She, in due time, admitted the Queen and many of her ladies, together with 500 virgins, into the Order.

302. Q. Can we trace the effects of the foreign work of the Emperor Ashoka's missionaries?