Moggaliputta-Tissa
Encyclopedia
Moggaliputta-Tissa (born in Pataliputra, Magadha
(now Patna
, India
) was a Buddhist
monk
and scholar who lived in the 3rd century BC. David Kalupahana sees him as a predecessor of Nagarjuna
in being a champion of the middle-way and a reviver of the original philosophical ideals of the Buddha
.
He was the spiritual teacher of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka
, and his son Mahinda
, who brought Buddhism
to Sri Lanka
. Moggaliputta-Tissa also presided over the Third Buddhist Council
. According to the Mahavamsa
, he had consented himself to be reincarnated as a human in order to chair the council, on the request of the arahants who has presided over the second.
He was the son of Mogalli of Pataliputra, as a Hindu
in the brahmin
caste
as Tissa. According to the Mahavamsa, Tissa, who was thoroughly proficient in the Vedas
, at a young age was sought after by the Buddhist monks Siggava and Candavajji for conversion, as they went on their daily alms round. At the age of seven, Tissa was angered when Siggava, a Buddhist monk, occupied his seat in his house and berated him. Siggava responded by asking Tissa a question about the Cittayamaka which Tissa was not able to answer, and he expressed a desire to learn the dharma
, converting to Buddhism. After obtaining the consent of his parents, he joined the Sangha
as Siggava's disciple, who taught him the Vinaya
and Candavajji the Abhidhamma Pitaka
s. He later attained arahantship and became an acknowledged leader of the monks at Pataliputra. He became known as Moggaliputta-Tissa.
At a festival for the dedication of the Asokārāma and the other vihara
s built by Ashoka, Moggaliputta-Tissa, in answer to a question, informed Ashoka that one becomes a kinsman of the Buddha's religion only by letting one's son or daughter enter the Sangha. Upon this suggestion, Ashoka had both his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta
ordained.
Moggaliputta acted as Mahinda's teacher until Mahinda was sent to propagate Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Later, due to the great gains which accrued to the Sangha through Ashoka's patronage of Buddhism, he perceived that the Order had become corrupt. He committed the monks to the leadership of Mahinda, and lived in self-imposed solitary retreat for seven years on the Ahoganga pabbata. Ashoka recalled him to Pataliputra after some monks had been murdered by royal officials. After some initial reluctance, he traveled by boat to Pataliputra, and was met at the landing place by Ashoka.
Ashoka had a dream on the previous night which royal soothsayers interpreted to mean that an eminent ascetic would touch him on the right hand. As the Moggaliputta touched Ashoka's hand the royal guards were about to carry out an instantaneous death penalty. Ashoka restrained his guards and Moggaliputta took his hand as a sign that he accepted him as a disciple.
On the advice of Moggaliputta, Ashoka convened the Third Buddhist Council
in Pataliputra, in the Asokārāma, which was attended by some 1,000 monks in 253 BC. In his presence, Ashoka questioned the assembled monks on their views of various doctrines, and those who held views which were deemed to be contrary to Buddhism were disrobed. He compiled the Kathavatthu
, in refutation of those views, and it was in this council that this text was approved and added to the Abhidhamma. Moggaliputta later made arrangements arising from the council to send monks outside of the Mauryan Empire to propagate Buddhism, and arranged for a bodhi tree
sapling to be sent to Sri Lanka
.
He died at the age of eighty in the twenty-sixth year of Ashoka's reign and his relics were enshrined in a stupa
in Sanchi
along with nine other arahants.
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
(now Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) was a Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
and scholar who lived in the 3rd century BC. David Kalupahana sees him as a predecessor of Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
in being a champion of the middle-way and a reviver of the original philosophical ideals of the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
.
He was the spiritual teacher of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
, and his son Mahinda
Mahinda
Mahinda was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.- Historical Sources :...
, who brought Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Moggaliputta-Tissa also presided over the Third Buddhist Council
Third Buddhist council
The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Pataliputra, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views...
. According to the Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
, he had consented himself to be reincarnated as a human in order to chair the council, on the request of the arahants who has presided over the second.
He was the son of Mogalli of Pataliputra, as a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
in the brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
as Tissa. According to the Mahavamsa, Tissa, who was thoroughly proficient in the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, at a young age was sought after by the Buddhist monks Siggava and Candavajji for conversion, as they went on their daily alms round. At the age of seven, Tissa was angered when Siggava, a Buddhist monk, occupied his seat in his house and berated him. Siggava responded by asking Tissa a question about the Cittayamaka which Tissa was not able to answer, and he expressed a desire to learn the dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, converting to Buddhism. After obtaining the consent of his parents, he joined the Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
as Siggava's disciple, who taught him the Vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
and Candavajji the Abhidhamma Pitaka
Abhidhamma Pitaka
The Abhidhamma Pitaka is the last of the three pitakas constituting the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravāda Buddhism....
s. He later attained arahantship and became an acknowledged leader of the monks at Pataliputra. He became known as Moggaliputta-Tissa.
At a festival for the dedication of the Asokārāma and the other vihara
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
s built by Ashoka, Moggaliputta-Tissa, in answer to a question, informed Ashoka that one becomes a kinsman of the Buddha's religion only by letting one's son or daughter enter the Sangha. Upon this suggestion, Ashoka had both his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta
Sanghamitta
Sanghamittā was the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and his Buddhist queen Devī. Together with Venerable Mahinda, her brother, she entered an order of Buddhist monks...
ordained.
Moggaliputta acted as Mahinda's teacher until Mahinda was sent to propagate Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Later, due to the great gains which accrued to the Sangha through Ashoka's patronage of Buddhism, he perceived that the Order had become corrupt. He committed the monks to the leadership of Mahinda, and lived in self-imposed solitary retreat for seven years on the Ahoganga pabbata. Ashoka recalled him to Pataliputra after some monks had been murdered by royal officials. After some initial reluctance, he traveled by boat to Pataliputra, and was met at the landing place by Ashoka.
Ashoka had a dream on the previous night which royal soothsayers interpreted to mean that an eminent ascetic would touch him on the right hand. As the Moggaliputta touched Ashoka's hand the royal guards were about to carry out an instantaneous death penalty. Ashoka restrained his guards and Moggaliputta took his hand as a sign that he accepted him as a disciple.
On the advice of Moggaliputta, Ashoka convened the Third Buddhist Council
Third Buddhist council
The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Pataliputra, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views...
in Pataliputra, in the Asokārāma, which was attended by some 1,000 monks in 253 BC. In his presence, Ashoka questioned the assembled monks on their views of various doctrines, and those who held views which were deemed to be contrary to Buddhism were disrobed. He compiled the Kathavatthu
Kathavatthu
Kathāvatthu , translated as "Points of Controversy", is a Buddhist scripture, one of the seven books in the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka...
, in refutation of those views, and it was in this council that this text was approved and added to the Abhidhamma. Moggaliputta later made arrangements arising from the council to send monks outside of the Mauryan Empire to propagate Buddhism, and arranged for a bodhi tree
Bodhi tree
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...
sapling to be sent to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
He died at the age of eighty in the twenty-sixth year of Ashoka's reign and his relics were enshrined in a stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
in Sanchi
Sanchi
Sanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd...
along with nine other arahants.