King Asoka: Patron of Buddhism : หน้า 155/263

by inviting 60,000 monks for alms in the palace daily. The king wanted to have the chance to pay respect to a fully-enlightened Buddha and with this end in mind, invited the Naga King to come up from under the ground and to transform himself into the appearance of a Buddha so that the king could have the chance to pay respect for seven days. The king had the wish also to revere the Dhamma in its 84,000 parts and so built 84,000 stupas containing the Buddha’s relics to give his subjects the chance to pay respect. Once the king had built the stupas and a temple called Asokārāma¹, he held a ceremony in that temple to pay homage to all 84,000 stupas. Later King Asoka wished that Buddhism have an heir so he had his son Prince Mahindra ordain as a monk and his daughter Princess Saṅghamitä ordain as a nun. The king intended to do his best as a patron of Buddhism and so he organized and sponsored the Third Council. He was an exemplary Buddhist layman for the rest of his life taking the Triple Gem as his refuge. King Asoka even sent a royal message to King Devampiyatiassa of Srilanka imploring him also to take refuge in the Triple Gem. He sent Mahindra Thera to spread Buddhism on the island of Srilanka and sent relics and cuttings of the Bodhi Tree there too. All these good actions of King Asoka must have stemmed from a mind of Right Intention. 3. Right Speech The sort of wholesome speech which arises from a mind which is wholesome at the mundane level is well illustrated ¹. Asokārāma was an important temple at Pātaliputra in the time of King Asoka and was the venue for the Third Council.