Meera, a student from Pune, visits a monastery in Ladakh with her teacher. On the shelves she sees books in Pali and in Chinese. The teacher tells her that the Buddhist tradition did not begin as a library. It grew among people who gathered to hear the teacher and talked among themselves about what they had heard. Over the centuries it moved into new lands, monks and lay followers there composed further works, and visitors came to India from far away. Meera notes down a few questions to check later in her History textbook.
On one shelf Meera finds the Pali text Dipavamsa, composed as Buddhism travelled to new regions. What does the title Dipavamsa literally mean?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The chronicle of the island
Option (1) The chronicle of the island — Correct. The Dipavamsa was written in Sri Lanka as Buddhism spread there, and its title literally means the chronicle of the island.
Option (2) The great chronicle — Incorrect. The great chronicle is the meaning of Mahavamsa, the other Sri Lankan history of Buddhism.
Option (3) The three baskets — Incorrect. The three baskets is the meaning of Tipitaka, the collection of the Buddha's teachings compiled after his death.
Option (4) The verses of the elder nuns — Incorrect. The verses of the elder nuns is the Therigatha, a text of the Sutta Pitaka composed by bhikkhunis.
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