The Buddhism is the numerically strongest religious community in Sri Lanka. 70.2% of the population profess this belief, and its symbols and buildings are an integral part of public life, as are the sometimes very colorful festivals and celebrations.
from history
The teaching of the Buddhism goes back to Siddharta Gautama, he was born around 560 BC. In Lumbini today Nepal born as the son of Prince Suddhodhana from the house of Shakya. After an initial life in material abundance, he left his family at the age of 29 in search of inner fulfillment. After a few years in asceticism and meditation, he reached enlightenment under a Bodhi tree. Together with some students he founded monastic orders, wandered around and spent the following years spreading his teachings. According to the accounts of the Mahavamsa Chronicle, he visited the island of Sri Lanka three times. After he went into nirvana at the age of 80, his body was cremated according to custom, his ashes and the remains of his bones were divided up by his disciples and initially buried under 8 stupas. Later these were reopened and the relics distributed under the symbolic number of 84,000 stupas.
Fundamentals of teaching
Four noble truths
- In addition to joy, life always includes suffering: old age, illness and death are inevitable sufferings.
- The causes of suffering lie in the passions, in the desire for pleasure.
- When the causes cease to exist, suffering ceases
- The way to remove suffering is this Eightfold Path:
- Right view, right attitude, right speech, right action, right life, right striving, right thinking, right immersion
The help three jewels
- Buddha the enlightened one
- Dharma, the teaching that leads to enlightenment
- Sangha the helpers on the way (religious community, monks)
Development of Buddhism
Immediately after the death of Gautama Buddha (483 BC), a first council with 500 monks was convened; it served to establish the discourses and the rules of the order. The second council was held about 110 years later, because there were disputes within the denomination and a split developed into Theravada, Followers of the ancient teaching and in Mahayana, Teaching of the great church. The third council took place in 253 BC. In Paliputra. It was under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka, who had converted to Buddhism a few years earlier. At this council only they took Theravada-Buddhists participate. The aim was to formulate a uniform Buddhist teaching. She ended up being im TipitakaThree basket and later in the language for the first time Pali written down.
Buddhism comes to Sri Lanka
A few years after the third council, Emperor Ashoka sent his son Mahinda, accompanied by some monks, to Tamrapami, as the island was then called. There he met near the city Anuradhapura the king Devanampiya Tissa. Mahinda managed to convince the king of the Buddha's teachings. He founded at Mihintale a first Buddhist monastery. Finally Mahinda brought his sister Sanghasmitta to the island, she brought an offshoot of the Bodhi tree under which Buddha had once found his enlightenment. This offshoot was in a temple complex in Anuradhapura planted and is today as Sri Mahabodhi one of the most important sanctuaries and at the same time the oldest documented tree.
Aluvihara and the Pali Canon
By the 1st century BC. the Pali canon was only passed on orally. At that time a Tamil invasion took place, the Sinhalese king had to leave Anuradhapura and fled to Dambulla. The Buddhist monks saw the transmission of their teachings in danger and gathered in the cave monastery Aluvihara near Matale, and it was here that the text of this canon was recorded in writing on Ola sheets for the first time. For this purpose, the leaves of a Talipot palm are treated with coconut oil, the text is scratched and colored with charcoal.
The tooth relic arrives in Sri Lanka
After Gautama Buddha's body was cremated, its remains were distributed. Some of them were soon assigned special abilities. This also includes the upper left canine tooth, which the nun Khema saved from the stake. Around 330 AD. this tooth was in the possession of an Indian king who, however, was threatened by Hindus. His daughter Hemamela hid the tooth in her hair clip and fled to Sri Lanka with her husband. The Sinhalese kings there gladly took the miraculous tooth into their care and in the following years always showed themselves to be protectors of the relic of the sacred tooth. So they had a temple built for this tooth in their residence in Anuradhapura. The Sinhalese kings were repeatedly forced to flee from attacks by South Indian Tamils, and the residence was repeatedly relocated to another city. There were also tooth temples in Polonnaruwa, in Dambadeniya and other cities, currently the tooth is in the temple in Kandy housed.
Even the Portuguese did not succeed in destroying the myth about the sacred tooth. It is said that when they tried to destroy the tooth, they caught a copy. The last attempt to destroy the tooth was in 1998 during a bombing of the Tamil Tigerswhich damaged the temple. In the meantime it has long been renovated again, the sacred tooth is still well protected. The shrine of the tooth in the temple is opened only three times a day, and on the feast of Esala Perahera the tooth relic is the focus.
Pilgrimage sites
Atamasthana
This term denotes the eight most sacred places that a Buddhist in Anuradhapura should visit. It is sometimes said that these were the eight places that Gautama Buddha himself visited in this city, although it is not certain that he ever visited the island at all. Be that as it may, these eight places are sacred to Buddhists:
- 1 Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (ශ්රී මහා බෝධිය).
Sacred Bodhi tree, oldest tree planted by humans. - 2 Ruwanwelisaya (රුවන්වැලිසෑය).the stupa was once more than 100 m high.
- 3 Thuparamaya (ථූපාරාමය).A clavicle of Buddha is said to be a relic in the stupa.
- 4 Lovamahapaya (ලෝවාමහාපාය).once a huge palace resting on 1,600 columns.
- 5 Abhayagiri Dagoba (අභයගිරි දාගැබ).75 m high stupa in the center of a former monastery.
- 6 Jetavanaramaya (ජේතවනාරාමය).once the highest stupa in the world with a height of over 120 m.
- 7 Mirisawetiya Vihara (mirisawatiya dagaba).Stupa from the 2nd century BC Chr.
- 8 Lankarama (ලංකාරාමය).once a covered stupa.
Solo masthana
The Solosmasthana has a similar meaning, it includes 16 places that are sacred to Buddhists and the destination of pilgrimages. Similar to Atamasthana, these places had been forgotten in the course of time and were only used in the 19th and 20th centuries. Century back to the destination of pilgrimages.
- 9 Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara (මයියංගන රජ මහ විහාරය).allegedly built during the Buddha's lifetime, in it is a strand of Buddha's hair as a relic. Mahiyangana, Uva Province.
- 10 Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya (නාගදීප පුරාණ විහාරය).built during Buddha's second visit to the island. Nagadeepa, Northern Province.
- 11 Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara (කැලණිය රජමහා විහාරය).built on the second visit, Kelaniya, Western Province.
- 12 Sri Pada (ශ්රී පාදස්ථානය).Adam's Peek, Buddha's left footprint, Adam's Peek, Ratnapura District.
- 13 Batatotalena Cave (බටදොඹලෙන).Cave where the Buddha stayed after his stay on the Sri Pada. Ratnapura district.
- 14 Deegavapi Raja Maha Viharaya (දීඝවාපී).Buddhist holy shrine and archaeological site in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka.
- 15 Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara (මුතියංගණ රජ මහා විහාරය).Badulla.
- 16 Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara (තිස්සමහාරාම රජ මහා විහාරය).Tissamaharama, Southern Province.
- 17 Kiri Vehera (කිරි වෙහෙර).Relic is a lock of hair from the time of Buddha as Prince Siddharta, Kataragama, Uva.
- 18 Sela Cetiya.the place where Mahinda converted the king to Buddhism. At Anuradhapura.
.jpg/320px-Adam's_Peak_-_February_2020_(4).jpg)
The remaining sites Jetavaranamaya, Abhayagiri, Thuparamaya, Ruwanwelisaya Mirisawetiya and the Sri Maha Bodhi are already listed in the Atamasthana.
Buddhism in Practice
Buddhist temples
To Buddhist temples, in Sri Lanka often referred to as Vihara, belong to several buildings, the area is often surrounded by a wall, in the past it was used to protect against wild animals.
- Stupa, also Thupa or Dagoba, mostly a circular building standing on a square base, inside there are usually relics. Only a few stupas are accessible inside. The believers walk clockwise around a stupa.
- Buddha figure: Often there is a Buddha figure visible from afar on the site, which by its posture Asana and their hand position Mudra symbolizes an aspect of teaching.
- Main hall, referred to as Gedara, House, often with vestibules. In this hall there are mostly larger than life Buddha figures. There can also be several that differ only slightly. Other images or statues show rulers or protective gods.
- Prayer hall: it serves the teaching and the practice of worship. Religious instruction is often given to children as well.
- Monastery rooms: As a rule, monks live in the temple complex and have their bedrooms and dining rooms in outbuildings.
- Bodhi tree: In Sri Lanka, many monasteries have a Bodhi tree. It is reminiscent of the tree under which Buddha found his enlightenment, and these Bodhi trees are offshoots of that Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, who in Anuradhapura is to be found. Bodhi trees have many offshoots, which in turn can have many offshoots.
- Other buildings or rooms are used to store holy scriptures.
- Temple elephants are held by several temples and magnificently decorated in a procession or Perahera used.
- Moonstone: For once, this does not mean the shiny moon-colored gemstone that also occurs in Sri Lanka, but the crescent-shaped appearance (Sandakada pahana) in front of the entrance to a temple, e.g. in Anuradhapura was used in some places. These stones are decorated with plant and animal ornaments.
- Not belonging directly to the temple, but indispensable are the kiosks with flowers, fruits and other offerings
Monks and monastic orders
In Sri Lanka there are both Buddhist monks, called Bhikku, as well as nuns Bhikkuni. As a rule, they come to the monastery at a young age, but they are only allowed to become members of the order after completing school, and in contrast to other Buddhist states, they usually remain so until the end of their lives. This is also related to Theravada Buddhism, which the monks strive for Arhat to break the cycle of rebirth. This can be done in very different ways. There are monks who retire to meditate for a large part of their lives, while others actively mingle in the social life of the country and also try to influence daily politics with the help of modern media, e.g. with their own television channels.
During the missionary work in Sri Lanka, the king's daughter Sanghasmitta had already founded a nunnery, so nuns are accepted here in Buddhism, but they are not particularly common.
Protective deities
Actually, Buddhism is not a religion, it does not know an almighty God, and therefore there is no worship of a god in Buddhism. That’s the theory. In practice, one knows at least the four protective deities in Sri Lanka, that is
- Natha, at the same time he is the embodiment of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
- Kataragama or Skanda, a 12-armed god of war, his mount is a peacock
- Upulvan or also an embodiment of Vishnu
- Pattini, it corresponds to the south Indian goddess Kannagi
At least the last three have their origins in Hinduism. Other Hindu gods can also be found in the Buddhist temples: the monkey god Hanuman and Ganesha with his elephant head are often seen. This is not a contradiction to Buddhism, the gods are located a little higher than humans, have a comfortable life and do not have to enter nirvana. In the temples one can often find images of these Hindu gods, and sometimes they have their own rooms dedicated to them.
In addition to these protective deities, also at the festival Esala Perahera in Kandy participate, there are numerous gods and demons. They belong to the nature spirits, called Yaksa and are thus subject to the god of wealth and the merchants Kubera. In this way the Buddhists know several million gods.
In the south-east of Sri Lanka, belief in demons is also interesting for tourists in another way. About 30 km north of bile is the town Ambalangoda in the center of the Demon land. There are still numerous mask carvers here who make their art not only for the dances to conjure up demons. The ornate masks can be found in practically every major souvenir shop in the area.
Buddhist Holidays
The full moon plays an important role, as Buddha found his enlightenment on the day of the full moon. However, it should be noted that traditionally the full moon day is only determined by observing the new moon and full moon, so there may be deviations from the astronomical full moon. Due to the phases of the moon, it can also happen that there are two full moon days in a month, e.g. on January 2nd, 2018 Duruthu Poya, January 31st is full moon again, then it's called Adhi Duruthu (Adhi = extra).
_2006,_Kandy,_Sri_Lanka.jpg/300px-Esala_Perahera_(Procession)_2006,_Kandy,_Sri_Lanka.jpg)
| month | description |
|---|---|
| January | Duruthu Poya |
| February | Navam Poya |
| March | Medin Poya |
| April | Bak Poya |
| May | Vesak Poya |
| June | Poson Poya |
| July | Esala Poya |
| August | Nikini Poya |
| September | Binara Poya |
| October | Vap poya |
| November | Il Poya |
| December | Unduvap poya |
Conduct in a holy place
Basically, in Sri Lanka you don't go for a walk in the city in beach clothes. This is especially true for temples: shorts are absolutely out of place, the shoulders should at least be covered. Headgear must be removed.
- take off shoes. You never enter holy places with shoes on, even if they are ruins that are difficult to consider holy. At many temples of tourist interest, you can give your shoes for a fee (25 LKR). Often you have to walk over stone slabs, which can get quite hot. In this case, socks are a good alternative.
- taking photos: Do not photograph people who have their backs turned to the Buddha or any other sacred figure. Of course, believers have to be taken into consideration.
- Non-Buddhists are usually expected to make a small donation before entering a temple. Often there are special vessels for this.
- It can happen that a taxi driver suddenly stops at a temple and gets out. Don't worry, after a short prayer for a safe journey, he'll come back quickly.
See also behaviour rules in the article Sri Lanka.
