What is Poson?

June 21, 2011

Hello Readers!

This newsletter will answer the question: "What is Poson?" Poson is a celebration of when Buddhism first came to Sri Lanka. Poson is always celebrated on the full moon day of June. In the 3rd century BC, Bante Mahinda was sent to Sri Lanka to preach the Dhamma. The story of how King Tissa, the king of Sri Lanka at the time, and Bante Mahinda met is as follows:

King Tissa was hunting when he first met Bante Mahinda. Bante Mahinda called the king by his name, and the king was shocked that someone would dare call him by his name. Before Bante Mahinda could preach the Dhamma to the king, he decided to test the king's intelligence. Pointing to a nearby tree, he asked the king, "What kind of tree is that?" The king answered that it was a mango tree. Bante Mahinda then asked "Are there other mango trees around here?" The king said, "Yes, there are many other mango trees in this country." "Are there any other kinds of trees in this country?" asked Bante Mahinda. "Yes, there are many other kinds of trees in this country," replied King Tissa. "And other than those many mango trees and the other trees, are there any other trees?" asked the Bante. King Tissa intellegently answered, "Why yes, there is this mango tree right here." Satisfied with the kings answer, Bante Mahinda began to preach the Dhamma to King Tissa.

From then on, Buddhism became a large part of life in Sri Lanka, and to this day, it is important to celebrate when it all started. Today, you can even visit the place where this meeting happened in Sri Lanka. Perhaps if you get the chance to travel to Sri Lanka, you can go visit this historical site.

Thanks for reading!

Written by: Naoka