After Mahakasyapa's passing

• When Mahakasyapa died shortly after the First Council, Ananda became head of the sangha.
• During the 40 years he led the Buddhist monastic order, Buddhism spread throughout India.
• The Buddha had directed his disciples to teach "for the welfare of the many, out of compassion for the world," and this his disciples did.

Second buddhist council

• Along with increasing numbers often comes increasing disagreements.
• Within 100 years of the Buddha's passing, significant disputes arose, primarily in the areas of monastic discipline.
• To deal with these disputes, a Second Council was convened
• Around 270 BC, a man named Asoka became emperor of the powerful Mauryan dynasty in India.
• Emperor Asoka began his reign by expanding the empire his grandfather had established. He was very successful, and soon he ruled a sizeable portion of India.

Spread of buddhism in Asia

• One pair of Asoka's emissaries went to Sri Lanka, an island southeast of the Indian subcontinent.
• Among the emissaries were his son and daughter, who had taken robes
  • Son -Dhantha
  • Daughter - Sanghamittha
• They were well-received by the local ruler, King Tissa, and Theravada Buddhism took hold there.
• The interaction between Hellenistic Greece and Buddhism started when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor and Central Asia in 334 BCE, going as far as the Indus, thus establishing direct contact with India, the birthplace of Buddhism.