1: Mahawanso, ch. lxxii. UPHAM'S version, vol. i. p. 274.
2: Rajaratnacari, p. 99.
Amongst the propagators of a religion whose leading characteristics are its subtlety and thin abstractions, it may naturally be inferred that argument and casuistry held prominent place in the curriculum of instruction. In the story of Mahindo, and the conversion of the island to Buddhism, the following display of logical acumen is ostentatiously paraded as evidence of the highly cultivated intellect of the neophyte king.[1]
1: Mahawanso, ch. xiv. p. 79.
For the purpose of ascertaining the capacity of the gifted monarch, Mahindo thus interrogated him:—
"O king; what is this tree called?
"The Ambo.
"Besides this one, is there any other Ambo-tree?
"There are many.
"Besides this Ambo, and those other Ambo-trees, are there any other trees on the earth?