I read with great interest, and much agreement, Upali S.Jayasekera’s letter "Buddhism Misintrepreted" in The Island of 10/1. However, USJ’s interpretation of "Thauthisa" as the mountain resort of Persian King Darius where the Buddha spent the retreat of ‘Vas’ is almost as incredible as the traditional view that it is a heaven in the sky. It is accepted that the Buddha always journeyed on foot [never by carriage or cart] and only within the territory of Magadha. Persia is many thousands of miles away to the West and He could never have traversed there, and back, on foot unless He employed supernatural means - which UJS does not believe in. I am also curious as to the source of his  statement that this "Thauthisa" was "the mountain resort palace of Sakka, king of the Deva clan named Darius who was close to the Buddha". No history or encyclopaedia I consulted carries this [mis?] information about Sakka/Darius or that ancient Persia had a "Deva"[or any] clan.   

Tissa Devendra