294. Q. _What absolute proofs exist as to his noble character?_
A. Within recent years there have been discovered, in all parts of India, fourteen Edicts of his, inscribed on living rocks, and eight 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.
29.5. 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 pandits of western countries.
296. Q. _What most precious gift did Dharmāshoka 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. Yes, it is all recorded in the Mahāvansa, by the keepers of the royal records, who were then living and saw the missionaries.
298. Q. _Is there some proof of Sanghamitta's mission still visible?_
A. Yes; she brought with her to Ceylon a branch of the very Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat when he became Enlightened, and it is still growing.
A. At Annrādhapura. 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. Dēvanampiyatissa. His consort, Queen Anula, had invited Sanghamitta to come and establish the Bhikkhuni branch of the Order.
A. Many other Bhikkhunis. She, in due time, admitted the Queen and many of her ladies, together with five hundred virgins, into the Order.
302. Q. _Can we trace the effects of the foreign work of the Emperor Ashoka's missionaries?_
A. His son and daughter introduced Buddhism into Ceylon: his monks gave it to the whole of Northern India, to fourteen Indian nations outside its boundaries, and to five Greek kings, his allies, with whom he made treaties to admit his religious preachers.
A. ANTIOCHUS of Syria, PTOLEMY of Egypt, ANTIGONUS of Macedon, MARGAS of Cyrene, and ALEXANDER of Epiros.