Today Is Navam Poya

An overview of loving-kindness meditation

Ven. Pannyavao

---Daily News

Loving-kindness meditation can be brought in to support the practice of ‘bare attention’ to help keep the mind open and sweet. It provides the essential balance to support your insight meditation practice.

Monks performing religious rites

It is a fact of life that many people are troubled by difficult emotional states in the pressured societies we live in, but do little in terms of developing skills to deal with them. Yet even when the mind goes sour it is within most people’s capacity to arouse positive feelings to sweeten it. Loving-kindness is a meditation practice taught by the Buddha to develop the mental habit of selfless or altruistic love. In the Dhammapada can be found the saying: “Hatred cannot coexist with loving-kindness, and dissipates if supplanted with thoughts based on loving-kindness.”

Loving-kindness is a meditation practice, which brings about positive attitudinal changes as it systematically develops the quality of ‘loving-acceptance’. It acts, as it were, as a form of self-psychotherapy, a way of healing the troubled mind to free it from its pain and confusion. Of all Buddhist meditations, loving-kindness has the immediate benefit of sweetening and changing old habituated negative patterns of mind.

Empathy

To put it into its context, Loving-kindness is the first of a series of meditations that produce four qualities of love: Friendliness (metta), Compassion (karuna), Appreciative Joy (mudita) and Equanimity (upekkha).

The quality of ‘friendliness’ is expressed as warmth that reaches out and embraces others. When loving-kindness practice matures it naturally overflows into compassion, as one empathises with other people’s difficulties; on the other hand one needs to be wary of pity, as its near enemy, as it merely mimics the quality of concern without empathy. The positive expression of empathy is an appreciation of other people’s good qualities or good fortune, or appreciative joy, rather than feelings of jealousy towards them. This series of meditations comes to maturity as ‘on-looking equanimity’.

This ‘engaged equanimity’ must be cultivated within the context of this series of meditations, or there is a risk of it manifesting as its near enemy, indifference or aloofness. So, ultimately you remain kindly disposed and caring toward everybody with an equal spread of loving feelings and acceptance in all situations and relationships.

How to do it

The practice always begins with developing a loving acceptance of yourself. If resistance is experienced then it indicates that feelings of unworthiness are present. No matter, this means there is work to be done, as the practice itself is designed to overcome any feelings of self-doubt or negativity. Then you are ready to systematically develop loving-kindness towards others.

Four Types of Persons to develop loving-kindness towards:

* a respected, beloved person - such as a spiritual teacher;

* a dearly beloved - which could be a close family member or friend;

* a neutral person - somebody you know, but have no special feelings towards, e.g.: a person who serves you in a shop;

* a hostile person - someone you are currently having difficulty with.

Starting with yourself, then systematically sending loving-kindness from person to person in the above order will have the effect of breaking down the barriers between the four types of people and yourself. This will have the effect of breaking down the divisions within your own mind, the source of much of the conflict we experience. Just a word of caution if you are practicing intensively. It is best if you choose a member of the same sex or, if you have a sexual bias to your own sex, a person of the opposite sex. This is because of the risk that the near enemy of loving-kindness, lust, can be aroused. Try different people to practice on, as some people do not easily fit into the above categories, but do try to keep to the prescribed order.

Method

Ways of arousing feelings of loving-kindness:

1. Visualisation - Bring up a mental picture. See yourself or the person the feeling is directed at smiling back at you or just being joyous.

2. By reflection - Reflect on the positive qualities of a person and the acts of kindness they have done. And to yourself, making an affirmation, a positive statement about yourself, using your own words.

3. Auditory - This is the simplest way but probably the most effective. Repeat an internalized mantra or phrase such as ‘loving-kindness’.

The visualisations, reflections and the repetition of loving-kindness are devices to help you arouse positive feelings of loving-kindness. You can use all of them or one that works best for you. When the positive feeling arise, switch from the devices to the feeling, as it is the feeling that is the primary focus.

Keep the mind fixed on the feeling, if it strays bring it back to the device, or if the feelings weaken or are lost then return to the device, i.e. use the visualisation to bring back or strengthen the feeling.

The second stage is Directional Pervasion where you systematically project the aroused feeling of loving-kindness to all points of the compass: north, south, east and west, up and down, and all around. This directional pervasion will be enhanced by bringing to mind loving friends and like-minded communities you know in the cities, towns and countries around the world.

Non-specific Pervasion tends to spontaneously happen as the practice matures. It is not discriminating. It has no specific object and involves just naturally radiating feelings of universal love. When it arises the practice has then come to maturity in that it has changed particular, preferential love, which is an attached love, to an all-embracing unconditional love!

Loving-kindness is a heart meditation and should not to be seen as just a formal sitting practice removed from everyday life. So take your good vibes outside into the streets, at home, at work and into your relationships. Applying the practice to daily life is a matter of directing a friendly attitude and having openness toward everybody you relate to, without discrimination.

There are as many different ways of doing it as there are levels of intensity in the practice. This introduction is intended to help you familiarize yourself with the basic technique, so that you can become established in the practice before going on, if you wish, to the deeper, systematic practice - to the level of meditative absorption.

Venerable Sujiva’s clear and comprehensive presentation in BuddhaNet of Metta Bhavana (which is the Pali term for the cultivation of loving-kindness) is a step-by-step explanation of the systematic practice. This section, based on the Visuddhimagga, The Path of Purification, is for meditators who are prepared to develop loving-kindness meditation to its fullest and thereby experience the deeper aspects of the practice.

A benefit of developing the five absorption factors of concentration through the systematic practice is that it will counteract the Five Mental Hindrances of the meditator: Sensuality; that is, all forms of Ill Will, Mental inertia; Restlessness and Skeptical Doubt. When the meditator achieves full concentration, five absorption factors are present: the first two are casual factors: Applied thought and Sustained thought, followed by three effects: Rapture, Ease-of-mind and One-pointedness or unification of mind. The five absorption factors have a one-to-one correspondence to the five mental hindrances, or obstacles, to the meditator: Applied thought, by arousing energy and effort, overcomes the hindrance of sloth and torpor; Sustained thought, by steadying the mind, overcomes skeptical doubt which has the characteristic of wavering; Rapture with its uplifting effervescence, prevails over feelings of ill-will; Ease-of-mind, by relieving accumulated stress, counteracts restlessness or agitation of mind; while One-pointedness restrains the mind’s wanderings in the sense-fields to inhibit sensuality.

The benefit of achieving deep concentration with this positive mind set is that it will tend to imprint the new positive conditioning while overriding the old negative patterns. In this way, old negative habits are changed, thereby freeing one to form new, positive ways of relating.

We also have, in BuddhaNet’s Loving-Kindness Meditation section, inspiring instructions by Gregory Kramer of the Metta Foundation on teaching loving-kindness to children within the family context. Gregory gives practical advice to parents on how to bring the practice of loving-kindness within the home. In this way, we can hope that loving-kindness meditation will become a natural part of the Buddhist family’s daily practice, and that one day it will be adopted universally as a practice to uplift human hearts.

May you be happy hearted!

Courtesy: Internet: Buddhism

Why Navam Poya is important?

Why Navam Poya is important?

by Premasara Epasinghe

- The Island.

This year’s Navam Pura Pasalosvaka Poya falls today. In the English calendar, the first month is known as January and in the Sinhala calendar this is known as Duruthu or month of Duruthu.

Since Duruthu Pura Pasalosvaka fell on December 31 2009, we call the Poya as Navam Full Moon Poya Day, celebrated by Buddhists of Sri Lanka and abroad.

As this is the first Pura Pasalosvaka of this year, especially for Sri Lankan Buddhists, it is a significant event. The temples, the epic centres of the Buddhist activities, will be full to capacity. Many lay Buddhists are involved in religious activities such as Seela, Samadhi, Barana, listen to Dhamma sermon and discussions, engaged in religious activities.

According to Buddhist traditions and literature, the first two utmost significant incidents that took place on Navam Purapasalosvaka Full Moon Poya Day were:

(a) Appointment of Buddha’s two chief disciples - Saraputta and Moggallana

(b) The first-ever Buddhist Council - meeting was held on this important Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day.

As mentioned earlier, the appointment of Sariputta and Moggallana as the two main disciples - "Aggrasavaka" took place on this significant day of Navam Poya.

Sariputta was appointed to the prestigious position of "Dharmasenadipathi" and Moggallana as "Dharmapurohita" respectively. Some monks were discussing as to why some of the senior monks were overlooked in making these key appointments. The Exalted one - Gautama Buddha with HIS divine eye saw what the disciples or Buddhist monks were contemplating and explained to them the appropriateness of those two appointments. In order to clear the doubts of the monks and to elucidate or to make clear, Buddha explained the fact that seniority was not the only criteria or qualification that had been taken in to consideration in these two key appointments. To clear all doubts of the Monks, the blessed One, related the interesting story woven round Sariputta and Moggallana during the time of Anomadassi Buddha.

The story of Sariputta and Moggallana

The Arahat Sariputta was born during the period of Anomadassi Buddha. He was known as Sarada. He was a man who had about 74,000 followers. He inherited massive wealth after the death of his parents. Sarada, as a "Good Samaritan" distributed by wealth among the poor, needy people. Through meditation, he developed his mental faculties, and gained "Attasamapatti" - the eight attainments. Sarada’s, intimate friend was a person by the name of Siriwardane. With HIS divine eye Buddha Anomadassi, met Sarada with his chief disciples namely Nisaga and Anoma. Buddha Anomadassi, preached about the merits of offering seats and flowers to HIM. At the end of the sermon or Dharmadesana, except Sarada, all others attained Arahatship. Sarada’s ambition was to be become one of the chief disciples of incumbent Gautama Buddha. Anomadassi Buddha gave Sarada the assurance or "Vavam" to be one of the chief disciples of the future Gautama Buddha.

In the meantime, his close friend Siriwardena too offered alms to Anomadassa Buddha for seven days, and aspired for the other position of chief disciple - Aggrassawaka.

During the period of Gautama Buddha, there were two villages known as Kolitha and Upatissa, in Rajagaha. There were two young men, who were very close intimate friends. They were known as Upatissa, and Kolitha. Upatissa, was the son of Brahmini Sari. Upatissa was later known as Sariputta or Sariputra and Kolitha was known as Moggalana or Mugalan.

These two close friends one day attended a festival held on a basin. A gigantic sports festival called the festival of Giraggasamajja. While witnessing this festival, they realised that lives were impermanent and how transient were all sensual pleasures. Two of them first went to Sanjaya, as Ascetic to discover the path of Emancipation or Vimukthi, which they could not achieve.

One day, Kolitha’s friend Upatissa met an Arahat - Assaji, one of the first five disciples of Gautama Buddha. Through Assaji Thera, those close associates met Gautama Buddha and the Blessed One, by mere utterance of the following words - "Ehi Bhikkhu Bhawaya" and entered the Sasanaya. Within a week Moggallana, attained Arahatship. Later Sariputta attained Arahatship on listening to Vedana Pariggan Sutta, expounded by the Enlightened one.

In the Buddhist Sasana history, it was on the Navam Full Moon Poya Day the first ever Buddhist Sangayanawa or Buddhist congregation was held, under Maha Kassapa Thera. Physically, Maha Kassapa resembled very much the Gautama Buddha. As a very senior monk, after the passing away of the Blessed one, Mahakassapa had the distinction of presiding over this important congregation. According to Zen school Buddhism, Mahakassapa was considered as the first Patriarch.

Vinaya - Discipline

In the modern world, Management plays an important rule. Administration of business concern or public undertaking can be defined on Management. Bhikku order too maintained Management principles 2,500 years ago. This was known as Vinaya or Discipline. It was well established with the first Buddhist council which was held on Navam Purapasalosvaka Daya at Veluwanaramaya, Rajagaha.

There are two important Discourses in Buddhism. They are "Ovada Prathimoksha" which means to give advise. Through this, you develop self-discipline. It was on Navam Poya Day, Buddha delivered a sermon on "Ovada Prathimoksha" to Sariputta and Moggallana.

Many lay Buddhists observe the Eighth Precepts (Atasil) on Navam Poya Day. On this day (today) temples will be filled to the capacity on this day. It is heartening to note, today many youths actively participate in Buddhist activities.

May the Triple Gem Bless You!

TODAY IS NAVAM POYA DAY

Religion and governance in Sri Lanka

Religion and governance in Sri Lanka

- Lakbima News

By Prasad Mapatuna and Mahasen Bandara

According to a recent survey conducted by Gallup Consultants, (an international consulting body http://www.gallup.com) Sri Lanka is one of the topmost religious countries in the world. This survey was based on a few simple questions such as “is religion an important part of your daily life” asked from a sample of around 1000 individuals from each country. According to this survey, Sri Lanka is at 2nd place where 99% of the participants acknowledging that religion is an important part of their daily lives, just behind Egypt where the percentage was 100%. It is also interesting to note that according to this survey, the United States of America has unusually high religiosity among the developed countries of the world. However when you take the world as a whole, the median religiosity is around 82% and USA is well below this mid point being at 65%. Almost all the topmost religious countries belong to “developing/underdeveloped” category of nations in the world.
What do these figures tell us? It tells us that when the socio-economic status of a country improves religiosity drops! Does this mean religion is a phenomenon associated with something that goes away when the socio-economic status improves? In support of that theory, aggressive evangelical religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses seem to flourish mostly on socio-economically “challenged” layers of society. We can contrast that with countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway where the socio-economic conditions are favourable for the majority, with less inequality in wealth distribution. These countries have the lowest religiosity among developed nations.
I am more interested to find out what religious people think and how their religion affects others; Especially “others” that do not follow their religion. I would have been more interested in the results of a survey, where a poll questions were as follows:

1. Is religion an important part of your daily life?
2. Should your government amend existing civil law based on religious views of your denomination?
3. Do you agree that active measures should be taken and new laws be passed to stop followers of your faith considering adopting other faiths, or letting go of all faiths?
4. Should religion be a mandatory subject in primary and secondary school education?
5. Do you think someone not following any religion can be a moral person?
I cannot rule out Sri Lanka ending up being a Buddhist-government in the same way that Afghanistan was being an Islamic-government under theTaliban regime.

Organized religion

I see evil in all forms of organized and institutionalized religion that meddle with affairs concerning governance. I like to support the worldwide movement to separate governance and religion. In the western world, this concept is called “separation of church and state”. This does not necessarily suggest that I am an opponent of religion per se. What I am opposing is the use of institutionalized ‘dogma’ to determine matters of governance. It is however, worrisome that there are also ongoing attempts by the Buddhist lobby to curb some of these freedoms, and bring about Afghan style Talibanism into our governance.

Personal belief vs. Institutionalized belief

By the way, I need to underscore the difference between personal belief vs. institutionalized belief. A harmless (or even useful) religious belief or a religious practice can become a dreadful dogma when used in governance. For example the ‘five precepts’ in Buddhism is a rather simplistic but useful personal value guide. However, if we adopt the five precepts into civil law, and punish people for breaking the five precepts; it will be an extremely hostile form of governance. However, we know that Buddhism in its practical form is very much a religion having the subjects of a regular world religion. In my opinion, without much argument, we can place all other major world religions and Buddhism in the same group.

Fight against Abrahamic religious hegemony

Loads of literature have already been written and there are very active and enthusiastic people like Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher, etc fighting the Judeo-Christian (Abrahamic) religious lobby (i.e. many denominations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam).
Well-meaning
religious people
No doubt that a well-meaning religious person who guides his/her life according to his/her own religion will very honestly see no harm in adopting religious values into the governance. First of all, interpretation of religion-based-value-system is extremely subjective, and is at the mercy of the interpretation by the so called religious leaders. Even a religion like Buddhism, that talks a lot about ‘change’ at the core of its philosophy, have not bred lot of followers open for change.
In a multicultural setting, (like in Sri Lanka) giving ‘foremost places’ or state sponsorship to a particular religion will only alienate people of other faiths from the governance model. They will not be able find a sense of belonging to a country giving special treatment to a religion which they find no allegiance with. Those people become susceptible to anti-state forces and will likely have their own agendas that they like push, rather than contributing to a common goal. We have already seen 30 years of bloody and devastating war where a community that could not find a sense of belonging with the state went on their own tangent. There is no guarantee that it will not happen again unless we do the right thing.
We also need to question the advocates that campaign for a marriage of governance with religion, the purpose of doing so. In their opinion, if the basis for ‘good’ human conduct is associated with any particular religion, then we immediately have a problem with accommodating multi religiosity. So such opinions are not in the interest of harmony between communities. If that is not the case, and if they agree that we can find common moral values amongst all religions, then all we need to do is recognize that morality has an existence outside of religion. If I may quote Sir Arthur C. Clarke here;
“one of the greatest tragedies in human history was the hijacking of morality by religion.”
It should not matter whether it is “Thou shall not kill” or whether it is “Panathipatha Veramani...”. Giving any particular religious version of that moral code the limelight will only help to get a few cheers from religious hardliners, but alienate a lot of people from the governance model.

Buddhist influence

Again, during the 90s, Buddhist pressure groups successfully campaigned against and managed to dismantle a government initiative to support inland fisheries industry. Their claim was that livelihoods dealing with raring animals for food is against Buddhist principles. This is an example of religion seeking help from the government to instil a religious moral code on followers and affecting the country’s economy and the much- needed protein intake for the rural underprivileged. Fortunately, flying kites, producing movies and playing cricket were not against Buddhist principles or we would have seen an outcry to withdraw government sponsorship for those as well.
To draw another parallel with Talibanism where the change of Islamic faith was punishable by death; sometime ago Buddhist pressure groups campaigned for a new law that prevents “conversion of faiths”. Although this campaign is low key at the moment, it is just in the backburner and at a suitable time it will be brought into the front again. This so- called anti-conversion law is the Buddhist lobby’s solution to prevent evangelical religions (e.g. Jehovah’s Witnesses) from eating into the Buddhist follower base. However, on the surface, it sounds really a bad idea. First of all, such a law can be abused not only to control evangelical groups but also any secular group campaigning for free thought. It can create an environment where anyone who goes against the wishes of Buddhist leaders can be prosecuted. For example, under such a law, writing this kind of article might become illegal. This article forces the Buddhists that read it to rethink . Since what I am trying to do here is to change them to being more sensible people, which might count as “conversion”

Religion vs. scientific reasoning

It should be made clear that I am not against introducing new laws to ban things that have been liberally practiced by society for a long time. I am not advocating anarchy! On the contrary, I am in favour of new laws that ban harmful practices in society. The issue with ‘religious scripture motivated’ laws is that scripture is not something subjected to scientific inquiry. Religious scripture is not something continuously challenged and changed based on new knowledge. In that sense, a religious scripture is highly unscientific. For that matter, any concept that is accepted as an unchallengeable and unquestionable truth can never be a scientific concept. That said, I am sure Buddhist scholars would now point me to “Kalaama Sutta” and assert that Lord Buddha himself advised that his teaching should not be accepted without inquiry, and promoted healthy scepticism as a virtue. (Probably the only religious leader to praise intelligence, promote scepticism, and advice inquiry). However, my point is slightly different. It is true that Lord Buddha promoted scepticism and inquiry. However, that does not mean Buddhists in Sri Lanka today are willing to accept any other interpretation of Buddhist scripture, other than what is accepted and institutionalized .
For example, if we are to analyze the current drive to ban alcohol, which is said to be inspired by the fifth of the five precepts “Sura-meraya-majja-pamadathana”, it is evident that other than going by the popular interpretation of the fifth precept, there is no other scientific inquiry into the pros and cons of such a ban on liquor. How many of us even know that several countries in the world, including Canada, Iceland, Norway, Finland, the Soviet Union, and the USA tried banning alcohol in the first half of the 20th century with disastrous outcomes that prompted lifting of such bans? When society is not ready for such a substance ban, what happens is that rather than the substance going away from use, it goes underground and gets associated with criminal culture. This situation is aptly summarized by following comment from a then-supporter of the alcohol prohibition in the USA.

Conclusion

To contrast and draw attention to the governance model of our neighbouring nation; the preamble to the Constitution of India proclaimed India a “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”. The word “secular” was inserted into the Preamble by the Forty-second Amendment Act of 1976. It mandates equal treatment and tolerance of all religions.
Even with the same religious and cultural background, each individual will have different tastes and personal values. A single minded governance model will inadvertently suppress personal freedoms and personal expression. Such governance, although will seem to succeed in the short-run, will crumble due to various forces both internal and external, acting on it. Also the close minded nature of such governance will hinder the progress of the community as ‘change’ will not be a virtue encouraged by religion. Failure of such religious states throughout world history and the failure of the former Soviet Union that followed “communist religion” is a testimony of that. In another example; I am sure that members of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, when they rose to power might have felt the same way that some of the Buddhist leaders in Sri Lanka feel today. They must have thought that they are doing a good thing for their country by establishing good governance, guided by a religion that is close to their hearts. In less than six years, they were thrown out of power making Afghanistan one of the messiest places on earth. Yes,a lot of external factors outside of Afghanistan played a hand in that mess. However, that is exactly the point! No country is isolated and self-contained to do whatever they please. We need to be smart and understand how the world works, or accept dire consequences.If it is not obvious from what I have written, I do have a Buddhist background and a Buddhist upbringing. Whatever personal beliefs that I may or may not have should not matter in the topic of separation of governance and religion. In my opinion, one’s own religion should only be discussed among the likeminded. It should not be a public affair. In Sri Lanka, and all over the world, there are billions of people who believe in astrology. It is a classic example for a personal belief system that survived without any official patronage from any government. We do not see many people openly discussing their beliefs in astrology. We certainly do not see any group demanding state patronage. We do not have ‘astrology’ as a mandatory or optional subject in primary or secondary education. In fact, even suggesting that would be met with ridicule by even those who believe in astrology. There are healthy debates between believers and non-believes but (hopefully) no one ever got killed due to those differences in opinion. However, we all know that the belief in astrology will be passed down many more generations to come, and there will be believers and practitioners despite astrology often being an easy target for ridicule. If astrology can survive and thrive, despite being low profile in public discourse, and despite lack of state patronage; so can religion.

ත්‍රිපිටකය සිංහලෙන් Tripitaka In Sinhala

I've found out a site in Sinhala. a wonderful work of a person that's a historical one.

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The Temple Of Tooth Relic ! Web Site Launched.

Sri Dalada Maligawa Web site
Launched.


***************************
The Home Of Buddhism in
Our Era.
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Sri Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Tooth Relic, is the holiest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. It is located in the city of Kandy, the ancient capital of the Kandyan kingdom. During my visit to Kandy with a small group of AsiaExplorers members, I had the privilege not only to visit the temple, but also to enter the holy sanctuary. Our tour guide was able to arrange with the temple escort for us to be ushered to the inner sanctuary, a place where normal pilgrims would not have a chance to visit. Directly before us is the doorway to the holy of holies. However, as I am not a Buddhist, the visit is merely of cultural rather than religious value to me.

The The temple enshrines relics of what is believed to be the actual teeth of the Buddha. After Buddha was cremated, his four canine teeth were taken from the ashes. These teeth are regarded as the holiest relics of Buddhism. The worship of Buddha's remains has been going on throughout the centuries. It was recorded in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta (the Record of the Demise of the Buddha), and was sanctioned by the Buddha himself as he was about to die.



AsiaExplorers members at the Sri Lankan Buddhist Holy of Holies, awaiting to view the Sacred Tooth Relic.


After the cremation, Buddha's relics were distributed among various kingdoms that sought them. The relics were enshrined in funerary mounds called the stupa. However, Buddha's four canine teeth were separately enshrined and worshipped. I am reporting here stuff which is a mixture of history and legend. According to what I have read, the right canine was worshipped by the king of gods, Sakra. Another tooth relic was worshipped by the king of Gandhara, which is located in modern-day Pakistan. The third tooth relic was taken away by the Nagas who worshipped it in a golden shrine room. The fourth, the left canine was given to the king of Kalinga in Eastern India.

It's the fourth tooth, the tooth relic of the Kalinga, that is today enshrined at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. It had become an object of great veneration by generations of Kalinga kings until it earned the wrath of brahmanical followers. Fanatical rulers attempted many times to destroy the Relic. Yet it miraculously survived all such atrocities. For this reason, many kings tried to get hold of it for personal veneration. The last Indian ruler to possess the Tooth relic was Guhasiva of Kalinga (c.4th century AD).

When a neighboring kingdom made war with Guhasiva to get hold of the Tooth relic, for its safety, the tooth relic was taken out of India. At that time, Buddhism was already well established in Sri Lanka, and the island's rulers maintained close relations with the Indian states that fostered Buddhism. So when the Kalinga ruler were under threat from loosing the teeth, he decided to send it to his friend, the king of Anuradhapura, the ancient Sri Lankan capital.

By the time the tooth relic arrived in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan king who was supposed to receive it had passed away, and the reign has passed to his son, King Kirti Sri Meghavanna. King Kirti Sri Meghavanna happened to be a pious Buddhist. He received the Tooth Relic and placed it on the throne with much veneration. He then built a special shrine for it.

The Tooth Relic was kept at the Abhayagiri Vihara in northern Anuradhapura from the 4th century until the end of the 10th century when the capital Anuradhapura was shifted to Polonnaruwa. Accounts of the tooth relic were documented by a travelling Chinese monk, Fa-Hsien, who recorded the worship and rituals connected with it.

When the South Indian Cholas invaded Anuradhapura, the Tooth Relic once again faced another period of risk and uncertainty. Nevertheless, it remained in the custody of the Anuradhapura rulers, until king Vijayabahu I shifted the capital to Polonnaruwa in the 11th century.

In Polonnaruwa, the Tooth Relic was housed in the Atadage in the Sacred Quadrangle (Dalada Maluva). It is identical to the Tooth Relic temple built by Vijayabahu. The Tooth Relic, together with the Bowl Relic (alms bowl), was brought down from the Uttaramula Ayatana monastery of the Abhayagiri Vihara and installed in the Atadage shrine.

After King Vijayabahu's death, the kingdom went though a calamitous period, and many Buddhist shrines were destroyed. Fearing the destruction of the sacred Tooth and the Bowl Relics, monks secretly removed them to safer locations in the southern country, Rohana, and only returned it after King Parakramabahu I ascended to the throne in the year 1153 AD. With King Parakramabahu I came a renaissance in Buddhist religious activities.

The next great ruler to build a Relic shrine to house the sacred Tooth and Bowl Relics was Nissankamalla (1187-1196). Nissankamalla built the Relic Shrine Hatadage and, having offered his son and daughter to the Relics, redeemed them with the completion of the shrine. This edifice is situated next door to the Atadage, and is a larger version of the Atadage. You are able to view them all in AsiaExplorers pages on Polonnaruwa heritage sites.

The glory of Polonnaruwa has started to wane by the beginning of the second quarter of the 13th century. When the Kalinga Magha invaded, the capital of the ancient Sri Lankan kingdom had to be shifted further south, to the south-western part of the country. The Tooth Relic and the Bowl Relic were once again spirited away by the monks for safekeeping. This time they were kept in Kotmale in the central hills.

When King Vijayabahu II ascended the throne, he had these relics taken down and enshrined in a building on the hilltop of Beligala. King Vijayabahu II was succeeded by his son, who took the throne under the name Parakramabahu II (1236-1270). An erudite scholar, Parakramabahu II complied some of Sri Lanka's classical literary texts, including the Kavusilumina.

Parakramabahu II enshrined the relics near his palace at Damabadeniya rock. However, the Chandrabhanu of Java launched an invasion of Sri Lanka, shattering the peace and prosperity under Parakramabahu II. However, the king was able to expel the enemy and bring stability back.

According to legend, there was once a severe drought. The Tooth Relic was taken out of its shrine and a great procession was held for seven days. This ended the drought, and started the tradition of the Perahera Festival.

During the reign of Parakramabahu II, his son Vijayabahu who was sub-king renovated and enlarged the Relic shrine and conducted great ritual services. As the chronicles recorded, he restored the ruined religious edifices at Polonnaruva, including the Tooth Relic shrine. After placing the Tooth Relic in the shrine, he conducted an a coronation ceremony for it. When Chadrabhanu of Java invaded ancient Sri Lanka for a second time, they defeated the local sub-ruler and demanded the tooth relic. However the Sri Lankan ruler was able to defeat them and once again the island was peaceful. When King Bhuvanekabahu came to power, he built a shrine for the sacred Tooth Relic at Yapahuva with a grand stairway. He continued the tradition of paying homage to the sacred Tooth Relic daily. Almost immediately after his reign, Sri Lanka was again faced with severe droughts. At the same time, the rulers of the Pandyan country in South India invaded under the great warrior Arya Cakravarti. He devastated Sri Lanka and plundered much of its wealth and treasure, taking with him the Tooth and Bowl Relics, which he handed over to the Pandyan king Kulasekera.

The next Sri Lankan king, Parakramabahu III, visited the Pandyan capital and after friendly discussions, managed to get back the Relics and initiated the traditional rituals. The king brought the relics back to Polonnaruwa and enshrined them at the old Tooth Relic shrine of the ancient capital which had been abandoned for some time.

According to Marco Polo, Kublai Khan sent a messenger to obtain the Tooth, Hair and Bowl Relics from the Sri Lankan king. However, the king was able to please the Chinese Emperor by dispatching two fake teeth, which were graciously received by the Emperor who established ritual worship of the objects.

King Bhuvanekabahu II (1293-1312) brought the Tooth Relic from Polonnaruwa and placed it in a shrine at his capital, Kurunagala. Under the next ruler, Parakramabahu IV, there was a religious revival. King Parakramabahu IV reorganized the rituals connected with the sacred Tooth Relic in a systematic manner as recorded in the text Dalada Sirita.

The next ruler, King Bhuvanekabahu IV, selected a new capital, Gampola, in the central hills. However, it wasn't mentioned whether he brought the tooth relic into the new city. In all possibility, it was King Vikramabahu III who shifted the relic to this hill capital and held a festival in honor of it. He is credited with the building of the shrine at Niyangampaya in Gampola.

The next king, Bhuvanekabahu V (1372-1408), shifted the capital to Jayavardanapura Kotte which is closer to Colombo. Although he did not bring the tooth relic to his capital, he conducted many ritual performances for it. His successor, King Virabahu, brought down the tooth relic to Jayavardanapura Kotte.

During King Virabahu's reign, the great Chinese eunuch Zhenghe (Admiral Cheng Ho) arrived in Sri Lanka. He took the king and his family and presented them to the Chinese emperor of the time. Conflicting reports documented that the tooth relic was also taken to China, or that it was left on the island. In all likelihood, the tooth relic did not leave, for subsequent reports documented of processions, festivals and rituals conducted by later rulers like Parakramabahu VI. He is said to have built a three-storey shrine for the tooth relic and had four golden caskets enveloping it.

The subsequent period saw the arrival of the first colonial power, the Portuguese, in 1505. This brought about a deterioration inn Buddhist activities. Missionary activities by the colonial powers made the Buddhist monks nervous, and they secretly spirited away the relics to safer locations. Thus, the relic was shifted to the next kingdom, Sitawaka, ruled by King Mayadunne. Prior to bringing the tooth relic to Ratnapura, it was taken as far south as the Mulgirigala Vihara and then to the Ridivihara in the Kurunegala District. The Tooth Relic was finally hidden in a cairn in the Delgamuva Vihara in Ratnapura. It was from this temple that the Tooth Relic was finally brought to its present resting place in Kandy, by King Vimaladharmasuriya I (1592-1603).

King Vimaladharmasuriya I built a new three-storey shrine for the relic near to the royal palace. The Dutch Plan of 1765 shows the ground plans of two shrines. The one at the back should be the original one built by the king. When King Vimaladharmasuriya I died, the kingdom was again plunged into difficult times. Finally King Senarat (1603-1634), the king's brother, occupied the throne. He had to face severe opposition from other contenders to the throne. As a result, the king has to live at a remote place in Mahiyangana. He took the tooth relic to a safe location at Madamahanuvara in the hills enveloped with thick forest cover. Even under these difficult conditions, King Senarat was able to place the relic in a suitable shrine.

King Rajasimha II (1634-1686) succeeded King Senarat. At that time, the Portuguese was intensifying their interference in local politics. King Rajasimha sought the aid of the Dutch, despite objection from the people. The political climate was so turbulent that the annual Tooth Relic festival was disrupted.

The next king was Vimaladharmasuriya ll (1686-1706). He was able to maintain harmonious relations with the Dutch and attend to many religious activities. He built a new three-storey relic house. The king also prepared a grand golden casket for the sacred Tooth Relic and held great festivities in honor of tooth relic. The next king was Viraparakrama Narendrasimha (1707-1739). He was the last Sinhalese king. King Narendrasimha rebuilt the Tooth Relic shrine.

A recent bomb blast by the Tamil Tigers caused much damaged to the Dalada Maligawa, but the shrine known as Vadahitina Maligava was miraculously saved.



Tim at the Maligawa, the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
www.asiaexplorers.com

Science and Buddhism

Science and Buddhism

by Keerthi Wijayatunga
B.Sc. (Eng)

http://www.island.lk/2009/12/01/features4.html
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There have been a lot of efforts from various individuals to compare science and Buddhism. Some say Buddhism starts where science ends. Some say the most scientific religion is Buddhism. Science is ever-changing, is still growing and diversifying. Buddhism is 2,500 years old; Buddha never wrote his teaching and over the years it had undergone a lot of upheavals and split into sects, i.e. Theravada and Mahayana. However, the original teachings of the Buddha has prevailed to the present time and is often referred to as authentic Buddhism or Buddha Dhamma. Therefore, is it correct or possible to compare science and Buddhism?

Buddhism, today, is a religion followed by millions around the world. What the Buddha taught was Buddha Dhamma and was not for everyone like any branch of science, (In this article what is meant by Buddhism is Buddha Dhamma). You cannot make a whole population doctors, engineers or any other professionals. Those who study a particular discipline would only understand the content of each. Likewise, the Buddha had clearly declared his teaching is for those who practice the art of development of wisdom - Panna, (Panna wantassa maya dhamma); and not for those who do not. The unique path for the accomplishment of this objective was discovered by the Buddha and named it the Noble Eightfold Path (NEP), which is the Ariya atthangika magga, Majjima patipada or Dhamma cakka.

The NEP is used to separate mind (Nama) from the body (Rupa). This separation is called Namarupa pariccheda. Body is mundane and made of ever changing (Anicca) physical matter, grows old, catches deceases and dies. Whereas, the mind is super mundane, not made of physical matter, always new, never grows old and passes to a new body at death. As, it is useless to treat the body which cannot be cleaned permanently and protected from disease. The Buddha found the mind can be cleaned permanently and made to live permanently if it is separated from the body.

The ultimate objective of the Buddha Dhamma, therefore, is to grow and fulfil Panna and finally live in Panna or Nibbana without a body (Panna paripurin vepullattanca sayan abhinna sacchikatwa upasampajja viharati). The Buddha further states that what is great for the eternal life in Nibbana is Panna (Pannahu jeevin jeevita mahu setthan).

First of all, science cannot prove itself as scientific. With all ultra modern technology and scientific instrumentation the final decision-making still has to be done through the five senses viz. eye, ear, nose, tongue and body.

Whereas, the Buddha called the five senses as "fools" and said associating with them leads to the delusion of self "I". What he taught was to give up the use of five senses (Asevanaca balanam) and instead use the mind directly, Panna, (Panditananca sevana) for decision making or to see the "truth".

Therefore, according to the Buddha, science is non-science or Avijja. Use of the mind directly (Panna) and avoiding the use of senses, the Buddha called, Vijja or science. The one who is not associating with five senses is said to dwell in science (Vijja carana sampanno). Further, The Buddha has clearly mentioned that there is no science comparable to Samadhi (Samadhi natena samona vijjati). Samadhi is the integration of Samma sati, Samma vayama, Samma Samadhi and Panna is the result of Seela and Samadhi in the practical NEP.

Buddhism is the teaching of mind. It is correct to say the Buddha discovered the mind. Before the Buddha, everybody thought memory (Vinnana) was the mind. Vinnana is what all lay beings (Putujjana) call as mind. It is not the mind but the mind’s store of memory, knowledge and experiences.

The mind is seen in a step-by-step process in the NEP. The first time one sees or experiences the mind he/she becomes the first saint or the first refined person called Sotapanna. The second time the second saint (Sakadagami) etc. The mind is seen and comprehended fully only by the fourth saint or the Arahath. This is called realization of Four Noble Truths. Four noble truths are really the cross-section of the mind.

Every activity, whether bodily, verbal or mental, is done by appearing or rolling the mind from Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankhara to Vinnana (form, sensation, recognition, judgment and memory) called the five aggregates. This can be realized by looking at something in front and closing the eyes and looking at what is automatically memorized. We perceive "the world" by rolling the mind separately in each of five senses. Due to this reason. The Buddha called the body, from head to toes containing mind and Vinnana, as "the-world" (Imasminca byama matte kalebare sasannamhi samanake lokanca pannapemi).

When one practice the NEP it can be seen that the mind cannot move a fraction of a millimetre out from the body and is bound to it by ten bonds called Dasa samyojana. No one can imagine anything which had not been seen or experienced earlier. All what we think is simply accessing the store of memory called Vinnana.

Anything we do is preceded by thinking of how to do (accessing Vinnana) and ends by memorizing what was done (storing in Vinnana). Therefore, this process of mind’s rolling from Vinnana to Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankhara and again to Vinnana is called cycle of Samsara (Samsara cakka) as shown in the diagram.

The lay (Putujjana) mind has no escape from this cycle as each activity, whether good (wholesome) or bad (unwholesome), ends up in continuous accumulation of Vinnana and further extending Samsara.

The continuous process of appearing or rotating in this cycle is always taking place attached to the body (Rupa). Therefore the lay mind is always "attached" to a Rupa and in fact cannot escape from it.

As, the mind first appears (Uppada) in a Rupa it can be seen that this is one field or plane of mind activity called Rupa bhoomi and includes only the five senses. The mind appears in Rupa bhoomi to receive what is coming from outside viz. form, sound, smell, taste and touch. The outside agents are called Kama bhoomi or second plane of mind activity. This takes place during life or existence (Thiti).

Finally, mind leaves (Bhanga) the particular Rupa by storing all what was experienced as Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankhara and Vinnana. Therefore, this is the third plane of mind activity called Vinnana. This is also called Arupa bhoomi since every physical Rupa (matter) is stored as images (Arupa). This attached rolling in three Bhoomis is what the lay mind is only capable of and is called Avijja carana or fifteen Caranas of the mind. Therefore, the Samsara Cakka shown above as a circle can also be drawn as a triangle as shown below.

If the three planes are magnets, the mind is like a steel ball moving from one plane to the other starting from and ending at Arupa bhoomi. The Buddha’s discovery, the NEP was to train the mind to keep away from all three planes and beat the centre of the triangle shown and is hence called Majjima Patipada.

It’s the mind which has the desire to see, hear, taste, etc. But, the mind cannot do them by itself directly. Therefore, it uses the poor, physical sense organs for those purposes. Each and every mind has four desires or requirements viz. to see (Dhitta), hear (Suta), and touch (Muta) and to know (Vinnata). All these are done by "rolling to five" (Papanca) in the respective sense organ.

Science utilizes this mind process of "rolling to five" in all its activities. The rolling to five only yields wrong information hence called Vinnana. Therefore, according to Buddhist doctrine science is an Avijja or non-science.

The Buddha on the other hand clearly mentions utilization of five senses (fools) should be avoided to see the truth. For this, the mind has to be stopped from rolling to five or Samsara cakka and it should be trained to directly see, hear, feel and know without rolling. The only way how to stop the Samsara cakka is by applying Dhamma cakka or Ariya atthangika magga or Majjima patipada or Magga. The result of practicing that is the attainment of Panna or Pancabhinna with which the mind can directly see, hear, touch and declare what is right and wrong.

Without the Magga and Pancabhinna all lay beings are in belief and suspicion. The saints (Ariya), who have developed Pancabhinna, live in truth and reality only.

Stopping of the mind’s rolling to five or Samsara cakka is called Vijja carana or Niccarana the salvation. Only a stopped mind can see truth and reality and any other lay method cannot. As, science is always utilizing a rolling mind and as long as it continues use of such a mind science is a far cry from truth and reality. It will undergo change for ever and will ever arrive at the truth.

Therefore, science is Avijja or non-science and the only science is Buddha dhamma.

Significance of Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day

Significance of Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day

by Premasara Epasinghe

From -www.island.lk

Unduvap is the last full moon Poya day according to the Sinhala Buddhist calendar. This year’s Unduvap Poya falls on Tuesday 01st December.

The unique event of bringing the Bo-sapling of the sacred Jayasiri Maha Bodhi from India to Anuradhapura, took place 2552 years ago on an Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day.

The advent of Buddhism to this resplendent island - Sri Lanka, on Poson Full Moon Poya Day, marked the dawn of a new social order, cultural and spiritual revolution. During the reign of Devanampiyatissa (250-210 B.C) Arahat Mahinda, brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Mahinda Thera, the son of the great Emperor Asoka, was totally responsible in bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Later, it was Arahat Mahinda Thera’s sister, young beautiful, charming Sangamitta, who entered the Bhikkuni Sasana at the age of 18 years, who visited Sri Lanka, was responsible for the establishment of Bhikkuni Sasanaya or Buddhist order for womanhood, in Sri Lanka.

This brother - sister combination, made a great political, social, cultural, economic and religious renaissance in Sri Lanka. No foreigner has created such a cultural and spiritual impact in a country than Emperor Asoka’s son, Arhat Mahinda and his daughter Bhikkuni Sangamitta. Therefore, we, Sri Lankans are indebated to them.

As the Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day dawns, our thoughts and sentiments are woven round the pious and noble Sangamitta Theri. She was like an evening star among the Buddhist Womanhood. The arrival on Uduvap Full Moon Poya Day, along with the Sacred Bo-sapling, under which our blessed one, the enlightened one, attained the supreme bliss of Buddhahood. This is an event of supreme importance in the annals of Buddhist history. This is second only to the arrival of her brother, Arahat Mahinda to Missakapabata or Mihintale, on the historic Poson Poya Day.

After entering the Order, Sangamitta residing in the capital city - Pataliputra, when Kind Devanampiyatissa, cordially invited her to Sri Lanka to promote Buddhism in Sri Lanka among the womanhood.

Queen Anula and her companions were keen to enter the Buddhist order. Arahat Mahinda, informed the Royalty that it was not possible. Acting on the advise of Arahat Mahinda, the King Devanampiyatissa, send, I presume, his Foreign Minister Aritta, to meet Emperor Asoka, and through his good office, to persuade his daughter Sangamitta Theri to come to Sri Lanka and established Bhikkuni Sasanaya. (The order of the nuns).

Sangamitta Theri, after seven days of sea journey, accompanied by eleven other Bhikkunis (Buddhist nuns) arrived at the Jambukole Port in the North. She brought along with her, one of the greatest gifts that India could provide, to Sri Lanka, Jayasiri Maha Bo-Tree Sapling, to be planted in Sri Lanka soil. Jayasiri Maha Bo Tree is supposed to one of the oldest trees in the world, where the great Gautama Buddha attained the enlightenment.

According to Mahavamsa, the King Devanampiyatissa, with all pomp and glory and glamour, paying the highest respect and honour, wading neck deep into the sea, received the bowl containing the Jayasiri Maha Bodhi Sapling, which is respected and honoured as the living Gautama Buddha.

This Bo-Sapling was planted in the "Mahamevuna Uyana", the headquarters of Buddhism in ancient Sri Lanka. This event symbolises that Buddhism took deep root throughout the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. Later, there were many saplings planted in Sri Lanka, from the main Jayasirimaha Bo-Tree. A disciplined system of worshipping, rituals connected to this great religion began. Today, the Buddhists all over the world, consider the Jayasiri Maha Bodhiya at Anuradhapura and the Dalada Maligawa, the Tooth Relic Chamber in the Hill Capital Kandy, as two important places of worship.

The second most important mission or the purpose of Sangamitta’s arrival, was the establishment of Bhikkuni Sasanaya or order of the Buddhist nuns. Queen Anula, was the first to be ordained. Later thousands of ladies from all walks of life entered the Buddhist order as Bhikkunis.

The advent of Arahat Mahinda on Poson Full Moon Day marked men entering the Buddhist order, as Bhikkus and the arrival of Sangamitta signalled the establishment of Bhikkuni Sasanaya of females. Therefore, Uduvap Full Moon can be considered as the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Buddhism, and Sri Lankan womanhood. It paved way to a disciplined and a peaceful civil society. The Buddhist learning, art and architecture, construction of gigantic stupas and tanks began. The agricultural economy flourished. It was the duty of all Buddhist to pay homage to the Great Mahapurisha - Gautama Buddha, Dhamma, Sanga, the Noble Triple Gem become the order of the day, before the commencement of any auspicious Buddhist activity which we follow up to date.

They recite "Vandana Gathas", took refuge in the Triple Gem (Tisarana). The mark of respect of the great Virtues and Wisdom of the Buddha helped the Buddhists to gain confidence, and inspiration in their day to day life.

The Buddha was the holiest, most virtuous, wisest and spiritually perfect personality, who had ever lived. His Dhamma is the ultimate truth about universe, which explains the real nature of the world and of life as well.

The Sangha refers to all disciples of the Buddha who attained sainthood. Everyone must have some guidance for his spiritual development. One must never give up one’s right to think freely, intelligently, and respectfully in response to whatever is taught in the name of the religion.

On Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day, the centre of Buddhist attraction will be Anuradhapura and Mihintale.

The city of Anuradhapura, nestling in the banks of Malwatu Oya was founded in the 4th century. It is believed that the Sinhala culture and civilization in this country began at Mihintale during the reign of Devanampiyatissa. (250-210 BC)

On Unduvap Full Poya Day, there will be many thousand who will be engaged in Buddhist religions activities Dana, Seela, Bhavana in the vicinity of Jayasirimaha Bodhi and in various temples throughout the country.

Devotees flock to pay homage to the Bodhi very specially on the Full Moon Day of Unduvap, (December) in Anuradhapura, as it was on Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day, Sangamitta Theri, brought the Sacred Bodhi to Sri Lanka from India.

As true Buddhists let us follow the Pancha-Sila, on the Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day and abstain from destroying living beings, taking things not given, abstain from sexual misconduct and false speech, abstain from taking anything that causes intoxication or heedlessness.

Every Buddhist should observe these Five Precepts in order to elevate himself morally and spiritually.

I will wind this article from a quotation from late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

Quote: Buddhism will last as long as the sun and moon last and the human race exists upon the earth,for it is the Religion of Man, of Humanity as a whole.

Miyuguna Seya the first Dagaba in Sri Lanka

Miyuguna Seya the first Dagaba in Sri Lanka www.dailymirror.lk

The Mahaweli Ganga the longest river in Sri Lanka which flows wild and fast through the central hills moves slowly and calmly through the plains of Bintenna where the country’s earliest dagaba --Miyuguna Seya-- or Mahiyangana Chethiya is situated. The Pali term for Bintenna is Mahiyangana which is “Miyuguna” in Sinhalese. Hence, Bintenna, Mahiyangana and Miyuguna are names used to identify the same place where the famous dagaba stands. At present the name commonly used is Mahiyangana. During the Anuradhapura period Mahiyangana was a strategic point on the route to the north from Magama in the south of the country. The war waged against the Tamil invaders by King Dutugemunu for the unification of the country was initiated from Mahiyangana. The inhabitants of the area provided their fullest support to the King encouraging him to win the war. Earlier it was a stronghold of the Tamil king Elara. Kings belonging to the “Lambakarna” dynasty: Sanghatissa, Sanghabodhi (Sirisangabo) and Gotabhaya had come to Anuradhapura from Mahiyangana. Mahiyangana Willupitiya was the birth place of king Rajasinghe II. There is evidence that Mahiyangana or Bintenna had been the land of royal dynasties. During the Kandyan period Mahiyangana (Aluthnuwara) remained one of the most important places in the country. During this period Mahiyangana was developed and used as a fortress, an armoury and a granary. Thus it was a place of military equipage. The above were not the only reasons which contributed to the importance of Mahiyangana, most importantly Mahiyangana is sacred to Buddhists being the first place purified by the Enlightened One by setting foot on it. Nine months after his enlightenment the Buddha subdued the arrogant Kassapa brothers, Uruwela Kassapa, Nadi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa and after instituting them and their one thousand followers on the path to emancipation, left Uruwela to visit Lanka for the first time. This took place on the first Duruthu full moon Poya Day after his enlightenment. Buddha with his divine eye saw the need to subdue the Yakkhas and to establish Buddhism in the land of Lanka. At the invitation of God Sumana Saman the Enlightened One appeared at the Mahiyangana, Maha Naga Uyana at a time the Yakkhas had assembled for a meeting. The Minipe Mahanaga Uyana was a grove three yodunas --around 50 miles-- from the Mahaweli River. The Buddha stood there radiating rays of light from his body more pleasant than moonlight forming a rainbow-like halo around his body. When Yakkha soldiers saw the Buddha they were angry mistaking him for an invader and immediately took up arms. Since they were not prepared to listen to the Buddha or understand the dharma it was time for him to tame them. The Enlightened One sent forth a terrible drought, heavy rain and thunderstorms which the Yakkhas could not face. They were terrified, realized the Buddha was a supernatural being and turned submissive. They obeyed the Buddha and begged pardon. Having come to know of the Buddha’s visit to Mahiyangana the Devas and Brahmas came in great numbers. The Exalted One preached the dharma to them. God Sumana Saman who understood the dharma attained Sowan --the first of the four paths or stages leading to Nirvana. In response to God Sumana’s request for an article of worship the Buddha gave him the hair relic which God Sumana enshrined in a dagaba seven cubits in height which he had constructed at the place where the Buddha sat to preach Dharma. According to legend this is the first ever place of worship in Lanka. Arahant Sarabhu Maha Thera, a pupil of Arahant Sariputta Maha Thera brought the ‘Collar Bone Relic’ and enshrined it in the Mahiyangana Cetiya which was constructed by God Sumana Saman. The dagaba was reconstructed to the height of twelve cubits by Arahant Sarabha. After the unification of Lanka, King Dutugemunu who appreciated the sacredness of Mahiyangana built an eighty cubit tall dagaba covering the thirty cubit one. During archaeological excavations conducted prior to the recent renovations, valuable paintings were recovered from the relic depository. They are regarded as the earliest paintings recovered in Sri Lanka. Some archeologists are of opinion these paintings belong to the Polonnaruwa period while others believe they are older. A large number of Buddha relics were recovered from the Relic Dome. Devotees visit Mahiyngana in large numbers especially during the month of Duruthu as it is the place purified by the touch of Buddha’s feet more than two-thousand-five hundred years ago. The Miyuguna Seya Bo tree too has a long history. It was at the foot of this Bo tree that Prince Sangabo of the Lambakarna dynasty was entrusted to the Maha Sangha by his father. There is a Devalaya in the Mahiyangana Viharaya premises constructed in the name of God Sumana Saman. At the end of the Sri Dalada Maligawa Esala Perahera, the Mahiyangana Esala Perahera commences and continues for fourteen days. Farmers pay obeisance at this perahera in the belief that by participating in the perahera and by making offerings to god Sumana Saman their crops would be protected from wild animals. -(GJ)

Duruthu Poya - The Buddha’s first visit to Lanka

Duruthu Poya * The Buddha’s first visit to Lanka

By Gamini Jayasinghe www.dailymirror.lk Duruthu full moon Poya Day is the first full moon Poya Day of the lunar calendar year whereas in the Roman calendar, Duruthu Poya Day falls in the last calendar month of the year. It was on a day like this the Gauthama Buddha set foot on this land for the first time and is considered the most important incident in the history of Sri Lanka after the Rama-Rawana war --said to have taken place in the country more than three thousand one hundred years ago. Before proceeding to Sri Lanka, on an earlier Duruthu Poya Day the Buddha put the very arrogant Kassapa brothers on the correct path. The Kassapa brothers, Uruwela Kassapa, Gaya Kassapa and Nadi Kassapa were presumptuous Jatilas with matted hair who spent ascetic lives at Uruwela with one thousand followers. On the Il full moon Poya Day after enlightenment, the Buddha dispatched sixty Arahants including the five ascetics (Paswagamahana) in various directions to propagate the dharma while he himself went to Uruwela Danawwa to be of service to the Jatila brothers and their followers. After subjugating them and putting them on the correct path the Buddha visited Lanka. This important incident took place during the sixth century B.C. in the ninth month after his enlightenment. At that time of the Buddha’s first visit this country was inhabited by Yakkhas who were humans and descendents of Rawana and his brother Vibhhishana. The descendants of the Naga tribe were the prehistoric inhabitants of Lanka. The Yakkhas and Nagas were in constant confrontation and there is a belief among Buddhists that God Summana Saman invited the Buddha to put an end to this hostility. It was on this invitation that the Enlightened One set foot on the Mahiyangana Mahanaga Grove. At that time the Yakkhas had gathered there for a meeting. The Buddha stood in the sky above Mahanaga Grove where the Yakkhas were meeting. The Buddha stood there radiating rays of light from his body more pleasant, clear, calm and gentle than the moon light. A rainbow-like halo emanated around the Buddha. The Yakkhas thought the Enlightened One was an invader and were not prepared to listen to him. Instead the Yakkha soldiers took up arms. It was time for the Buddha to subjugate Yakkhas. He set forth a terrible drought, heavy rains and thunder storms which the Yakkhas could not endure. They were terrified and realizing the Buddha was a supernatural being and turned submissive. They obeyed the Buddha and begged his pardon. The Buddha laid his piece of cloth –Pathkada-- on the ground, sitting on it he called the Yakkha and Naga leaders and admonished both parties. Thus Buddha was able to create peace among them. According to legends the Yakkhas who dispersed went to ‘Giri Divayina’ not being able to understand the words of the Buddha. Meanwhile legends tell us the Devas and Nagas assembled at the Maha Naga Grove in large numbers and took refuge in the Triple Gem. Among them was God Sumana Saman. Legends say God Sumana Saman was a member of the Deva tribe from the central hills of Sri Lanka. This God attained “Sowan” or the first of the four paths or sages leading to Nirvana. God Saman begged for a relic to worship and the Buddha gave him a lock of his hair –the Hair Relic-- God Sumana Saman received the Hair Relic in a gold casket. Miyuguna Seya which is also known as the Mahiyngana Dagaba was built at the site of the Mahanaga Grove in Minipe where the Buddha subjugated the Yakkhas. This was the first dagaba to be built on this land. God Sumana Saman who built this Dagaba enshrined in it the ‘Kesa Dhathu’ –Hair Relic-- which he received from the Thathagatha. Forty-five years later Arahant Sarabha Thera, a pupil of Arahant Sriputta Maha Thera brought the “Greeva Dhathu” --the Collar bone Relic-- and had it enshrined in the dagaba. He had the dagaba reconstructed to a height of twelve cubits. King Devanampiyatissa’s brother Uddhaculabhaya, constructed the thirty cubit tall Kanthaka Cethiya over the earlier dagaba. King Dutugemunu had it reconstructed to a height of eighty feet. This Dagaba was renovated from time to time by various kings such as Dhatusena, Sirisangabo and Agbo. Recently this Chethiya was renovated by the Mahiyangana Chethiya Wardhana Samithiya. It was on Duruthu Poya Daya the Buddha returned to Uruwela Danawwa to be of service to Jatila brothers. He preached the Dhamma from “Anantha Lakkhana Sutta” and the three brothers and their followers attained Arahantship. Accompanied by Jatila Arahants the Omniscient One proceeded to the Magadha Kingdom. This visit was made on an invitation extended by the Magadha King Bimbisara to the Buddha before his enlightenment. Having seen the Buddha with Arahant Kassapa, King Bimbisara hesitated to believe Arahant Uruwela Kassapa was a disciple of the Buddha. Realizing the king’s misconception Arahant Kassapa performed a perahera to indicate that all the Jatila Arahants including himself were disciples of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. King Bimbisara and his people were very happy and devotedly embraced Buddhism. The Buddha preached Dharma and all of them took refuge in the Triple Gem. King Bimbisara offered Veluvanaramaya to the Enlightened One. The Buddha made a proclamation allowing Bhikkhus to accept monasteries when offered by devotees. King Bimbisara saw in a dream his dead relatives were suffering, having been born as goblins. The Buddha preached Dharma to offer merits to those goblins. It is during the month of Duruthu that the Duruthu Perahera of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya is held. This variegated perahera (with caparisoned elephants, Kandyan, Low country and Sabaragamuwa dancers and other performers) is probably only second to Sri Dalada Mligawa Esala Perahera held in the hill capital. With the first visit of the Enlightened One this country was purified and our motherland was made suitable soil for Arahant Mahinda Maha Thera to establish Buddhism. We, the present population of this country are fortunate to have pure Buddhism in our land.

The Buddha visited Mahiyangana in ninth month of his enlightenment

The Buddha visited Mahiyangana in ninth month
of his enlightenment

by Walter Wijenayake

Today is the Full Moon Poya Day of Duruthu in the year 2553 as for the Buddhist calendar and Thursday December 31, 2009 as for the Gregorian calendar.

The Poya dawns today at 4am and concludes at 00.42am tomorrow (January 1, 2010). The day set apart for the observing of sil is today.

As we have been made to clearly understand in going through our chronicles, Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gauthama Buddha has visited this country thrice - the first to Mahiyangana in the ninth month of his Enlightenment, the second to Nagadeepa in the fifth year of his enlightenment and third and last visit to Kelaniya in the eighth year of his Enlightenment.

The blessed one foreseeing dissension between two factions in Sri Lanka visited the country to settle the dispute. According to the Mahavamsa, the Buddha arrived in the Mahanaga Park on the right bank of the Mahaweli Ganga as the battle gongs were sounded and the battle drums beaten and the Yakkhas poised for combat. They seeing a stranger in yellow robes in their midst, fled to the nearby jungles.

However, later some of them returned and listened to the sermon delivered by the Buddha, paying reverence. After all they renounced evil and hatred in their minds and became followers of the tolerant rational and scientific teachings of the Buddha.

That multitude comprising teeming thousands underwent a complete volte-face and transformed themselves into followers of the Budddha’s way of life. At this occasion, the God Sumana Saman who is the guardian God of Mount Samanala or Samantha Kuta Parwathaya and who attained the State of Sothapanna after listening to the sermons of the Buddha, begged the Buddha to give something to worship on this first visit to the island. Accordingly he, the Buddha gave a handful of hair from his head which the God Sumana placed in a golden casket and later enshrined in a stupa embedded with blue stones, built to the height of seven riyanas (a measure). Mahiyangana Chetiya is given much significance and not only because it is the first dagoba built in the island, but also it is the first one built by a divine being on the spot where the Buddha made his first visit to the island.

Attainment to Sotapanna of God Sumana Saman was the other great event of this Duruthu Poya Day.

When the body of the Buddha, after his final passing away was cremated tat the sal grove in Kusinara, Sorabhu Thera retrieved a neck bone and bringing it to this island enshrined it in the Stupa built by God Sumana Saman, increasing its height to 24 feet. Uddha Chulabhya increased the height to 160 feet, a century later Prince Dutugemunu, having passed the spot on his conquering journey to Anuradhapura to vanquish the reigning King Elara, enlarged the Stupa further and we now have a very large, very ancient Dagoba further and we now have a very large, very ancient Dagoba at Mahiyangana.

The significance of Duruthu Full Moon Poya

The significance of Duruthu Full Moon Poya

by Premasara Epasinghe

www.island.lk

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Duruthu is considered as the first month of the Sinhala calendar. Notable feature, this year 2009, is Duruthu Full Moon Poya falls on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Incidently, this year month of December marks two Full Moon Poya days. Unduvap Full Moon Poya fell on Tuesday December 1, 2009.

The important significance of Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day, marks Gautama Buddha’s first visit to Sri Lanka. Twenty-five centuries back, nine months after his Enlightenment, the blessed one visited Mahiyangana, in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. His mission was to restore peace, to create a state of freedom from war or violence. The old chronicle Mahavamsa records and states "To free the beautiful land from the evil doing Yakkas". On his first visit to Sri Lanka, the awakened one, arrived at a spot, where now stand the Mahiyangana stupa. When the great teacher - the Buddha was to depart after the conversion of the Yakkas of Bintenna, Mahiyangana area, for which purpose he had arrived, Sumana - a titular deity who posses a certain title or position but no real authority of this region, requested the Buddha to give him - Diety Sumana, a souvenir to which he could pay his offerings and homage. Thereupon, the Gautama Buddha, the Great Master, offered Deity Sumana, some locks of his hair. He placed it in an urn as a valuable Relic in the Mahiyangana Stupa.

The battle gongs were sounded the battle drums beaten. The Yakkas poised for combat when they noticed a stranger in yellow robes - Buddha appearing in the midst. The Yakkahs fled to the nearby jungles. Later, a few of them returned. They listened to Buddha’s Discourse. They laid aside their battle axes and paid reverence to Gautama Buddha. Having preached his message of PEACE, restored calm among the Yakkas, the incomparable one, returned to Jambudipa or India.

Anyway, the focus of Duruthu Festival is centred round Kelaniya, the hollowed ground where the annual Duruthu Perahera is conducted by the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya. The historic vihara stands on a small mount just by the Southern Bank of Kelani river.

After Buddha passed away at Kusinara, in India, the Arahat Sarabhu Maha Thera, brought the collar-bone Relic of Gautama Buddha, and deposited it in the Mahiyangana Thupa. The Prince Uddachulabhaya, brother of King Devanampiyatissa, further enlarged the stupa.

First visit

Buddha, the exalted one’s visit to Sri Lanka was considered as one of the most unparalleled events in the history of the land. The documentary sources Deepavamsa and Mahavamsa, records the visits of the blessed one. The event of Buddhism took place in 247 BC, with the arrival of Emperor Asoka’s only son Arahat Mahinda. In the pre-Mahindian history, the greatest blessing to this beautiful island was Buddha’s first visit to Mahiyangana in the 9th month of his Enlightenment, on Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day.

Second visit

According to the ancient chronicles, the Buddha’s second visit was to Nagadipa, in the Jaffna District. The awakened one, Buddha, visited nagadipa to settle a dispute between Mahodara and Chulodara, uncle and nephew respectively, who were about to wage war, to gain the ownership of a gem studded throne. Buddha, saw this, and arrived in Nagadipa, emphasising the value of harmony and ill-effects of hatred and settled the dispute without bloodshed.

Third visit

The chronicles states that Northern area in Sri Lanka had been ruled by the Sinhala kings of Anuradhapura. Since the reign of King Devanampiyatissa, people in Nagadipa and around became devotees of Buddhism. As a result a number of Buddhist temples had come up in this area. In his third visit, he, arrived in Kelaniya. It is stated that King Maniakkikha of Kelaniya, met Gautama Buddha, on his second visit to Sri Lanka (Nagadipa) and he was anxious that Buddha visit his kingdom Kelaniya. Through love and compassion to all Sri Lankans, the Great Master, Thathagatha arrived at Kelaniya on a Vesak Full Moon Poya Day. Subsequently, the Buddha arrived at Sri Padana, at the invitation of Deity Sumana Saman.

Royal patronage to Mahiyangana Stupa

King Dutugemunu (BC 161-137) with his four fold army consisting of elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry passing through Gutthalaka (Buttala) and Malayarata Forests country arrived at Mahiyangana, modern Aluthnuwara, where Dutugemunu faced his first encounter with Chattha, whom he detested. When the king saw the great damage to Mahiyangana stupa, he renovated it. Voharikatissa (204-225 AD), built a parasol Mahiyangana stupa. Sena II (885-896), Kassapa IV (896-913), Vijeyabahu I (1059-1114), Parakramabahu I (1410-1468) were some of the kings who save their royal patronage to the improvement, renovations and developments of Mahiyangana Maha Seya.

Sixteen important Buddhist places of worship

The Sri Lankan Buddhists consider 16 important places of Buddhist worship. The devotees recite a stanza. In this stanza or verse, Mahiyangane Chetiya is ranked as the number one place of worship. It reads:-

Mahiyanganan - Nagadipan

Kalyanan Padalanchanan

Divaguh‡n Digavapi

Chetiyan Muthiyanganan

Tissamaha Viharancha

Bodhi Marichavattiyam

Thuparama Bhayagirin

Jethavanam Selachaittyam

Thatha Kalara Gamakan

Ethe Solasa Tanani

Ahan Vandami Muddana.

On the blessed day of Duruthu Poya, the devotees who flock to Mahiyangana Chaitya, will pay their homage to the blessed one reciting the stanza given below.

Lankayan Yattha Pataman

Sugato Nisajja

Yakkhe Dhamesi Nija

Sasana Palanaya

T‡ne Thahi Nihithi

Kuntala Geevadhatu

Vandami Sadhu Mahiyangana Thup‡raja

Morality, panchaseela and tolerance

Let all of us adjust our way of life according to the five precepts; abstain from destroying living beings; abstain from taking things not given; abstain from sexual misconduct; abstain from anything that causes intoxication or heedlessness, they can live happily and peacefully in this world and on the other hand, help others to live likewise. A person without virtue not only endangers himself but also others around him. Even Buddhists should observe these five precepts in order to elevate himself morally and spiritually. Remember, morality is the first step in the path towards eternal bliss. It is the basic spiritual foundation. Without this base, there can be no human progress and spiritual advancement.

Peace

The teachings of Buddha are deeply imbued with the spirit of peace. The two cannot be separated. To live a life free of violence, fear and hatred is the wish of the vast majority of ordinary people; peaceful ways, intentions characterize the way of life of those aspiring to Enlightement; and an Enlightened person is described as a sage of peace and Nibbana as the peaceful state. Buddha’s teachings contain many other states closely related to peace. With the dawn of 2010, let us all aspire Calmness (sama), Tranquillity (samatha), Contentment (santutthi), Harmlessness (ahimsa), non-violence (Avihimsa) and Peacefulness (Vipasama).

Buddhism - a religion of tolerance

Rev. Joseph Wain once remarked that Buddhism taught a life of beauty and as a consequence, it was a religion of tolerance. It was the most charitable system under the sun. Never and nowhere had blood been shed for its propagation. It has never persecuted or maltreated. Those whose beliefs were different.

From glimpses of world history

According to the glimpses of world history written by Indian Prime Minister Pandit Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Buddhism is the religion of the greatest number of people in the world and Prince Gautama Siddhartha, was the greatest son of India. Today, Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. I presume, there are about 600 million Buddhists in the world.

Blessings

To conclude my last Poya article for the year 2009, I quote the following stanza to bless all Sri Lankans and all individuals in the world.

Sabbava Mangala, Mupaddava Dunni Mittam, Sabbiti Roga Gahadosa Mashesa Nihdha, Sabbantarya Bhaya Dussupinam Akantham, Buddhanu Bhava Dammanu Bhava, Sanganu Bhava Pavarena Pyatu Nasam

The above stanza means all ill luck, misfortunes, ill omens, disease, evil planetary influencences, dangers, fears, undesirable dreams, may they all come to nought by the power of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

May all beings be Happy. Wish you a very Happy Prosperous, Peaceful 2010.