Ocean Buddha: Monks, Merchants, and Maritime Trade in Ancient Sri Lanka

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In public perception, Buddhism is an introspective religion, removed in both ideology and practice from worldly matters. However, academic research into the historical development of Buddhism not only indicates a connection between Buddhism and political power but a clear symbiotic relationship between Buddhist monastic institutions and mercantile communities. Join us as Sanjyot Mehendale explores issues surrounding the links between the mercantile community and the movement of Buddhism through overland and maritime trade.

This has particularly been demonstrated by an examination of the spread of Buddhism overland from its place of origin, India, into Central Asia and China.  There, Buddhist monastic institutions were very active in encouraging the expansion of the trading network and providing a structure for mercantile activities through a monastery-caravansary system. Merchants provided financial support for Buddhist monasteries and other institutions.  For their part, Buddhists established their communities along trade routes linking important political and economic centers where they could provide hospitality and protection for merchants and other travelers. The Buddhist faith thus positioned itself to spread wherever merchants expanded the geographical range of their commercial activities.

Although there is general agreement that Buddhism spread via the Eurasian overland trading network (or “Silk Road”) from India to China, much less research has been conducted into the role of maritime trade in the diffusion and development of Buddhism.  Yet it is clear that, originating in India, Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka via sea.

Dr. Sanjyot Mehendale is an archaeologist specializing in trade and cultural exchange of the early Common Era. She received her Doctorandus degree in Indo-Iranian art and archaeology from the Rijksuniversity of Leiden. In 2007 she was hired as a consultant by National Geographic Society on the celebrated exhibition “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul” and accompanying catalogue. She has conducted archaeological research in Sri Lanka off and on since 1996 and is currently working on the excavation of a shipwreck off the southern coast of the island.