This was primarily a phenomenon among the lay community, as the colonial rulers had silenced the monks. This interesting phenomenon accounts for much of religious syncretism in Theravada Buddhism. Amongst the lay community, this period saw many different tweaks in classic doctrinal Buddhism, which differed from region to region. This decentralization of belief would one day lead to major problems in Sri Lanka. But, thanks to the colonialists and the collapse of the monastic order, basic doctrinal changes of Theravada Buddhism were made in the lay community of Sri Lanka.

Around the turn of the fourth century BCE, the Mauryan dynasty produced its third emperor in India. He was the son of Bindusara, and was called Asoka. He, like his predecessors, had a predilection for conquest. Though he managed to greatly increase the reach of the Indian empire, he did it at great cost to the lives of Indians. Each conflict was fearsome and bloody, despite their general success. It was one of these battles, the Kalinga campaign, that was so devastatingly gruesome that it caused Asoka to completely and drastically change his lifestyle.
	Upon seeing the carnage of the wars he had instigated, Asoka suddenly renounced warfare of all kinds, and converted to Buddhism. He then launched yet another campaign—but this time a nonviolent one. He wanted a “moral, spiritual and social renewal within his empire.” This included a revision of governmental agencies like the judicial system and public works. More importantly, however, Asoka made it a mission to spread Buddhism. Missionaries were sent throughout India to convert citizens—but they also travelled to new territories such as Sri Lanka and much of Southeastern Asia. In so doing they converted a great number of people.
It was Asoka who called for the third council. This council was of great importance for Theravada Buddhism. During this council, varying sects were analyzed—to determine which sects were “heretical.” It was this council that officially accepted a school of teaching that it referred as Theravada. This council also was highly important because it caused Asoka’s son to travel to Sri Lanka with the Tripitaka. The Sri Lankans have, of course, made Theravada Buddhism their official religion since that time. Without Asoka and the third council, Buddhism would not have found its way into the hands of the Sri Lankans.
Asoka was raised a Hindu—outside of the Buddhist community entirely. He began as an external but converted to an internal member of Buddhist society. He was, in any event, a benign force. He was one of the most important forces in all of Buddhism’s long history, but he did not do much to change it. He merely spread it—he allowed people who would otherwise have had no access to the Dhamma to practice Buddhism. Though Asoka could be interpreted as either an external or an internal force for Theravada Buddhism, what is clear is that he was a benign force.
Asoka had a surprisingly marginal effect on the doctrinal aspect of Buddhism. 