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Buddhism
Introduction
A major world
religion founded in north - eastern India and based on the teachings of
Gauthama, who is known as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.
Originating
as a monastic movement within the dominant Brahman tradition of the day,
Buddhism quickly developed in a distinctive direction. The Buddha rejected
significant aspects of Bhrahmanic philosophy, but also challenged the authority
of the priesthood, denied validity of the Vedic scriptures, and rejected
the sacrificial cult based on them. Moreover, he opened his movement to
members of all castes, denying that a person's spiritual worth is a matter
of birth.
Buddhism today
is divided into two major branches known as to their respective followers
as Theravada, the way of the Elders, and Mahayana, the Great Vehicle. Buddhism
has been significant not only in India but also in Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Cambodia, Burma and Laos, where Theravada has been dominated. Mahayana
has had its greatest impact in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia,
Korea and Vietnam, as well as in India. The number of Buddhists worldwide
has been estimated more than 300 million.
Theravada
Buddhism in Sri Lanka
Sri
Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country, Theravada Buddhism being
the major religion in the island since its official introduction in the
2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka of India
during the reign of King Devanampiya- Tissa. Later, the nun Sanghamitta,
the daughter of Asoka, was said to have brought the southern branch of
the original Bodhi tree, where it was planted at Anuradhapura. From that
day up to the present, the Buddhists in Sri Lanka have paid and are paying
the utmost reverence to this branch of the Bodhi Tree under the shade of
which the Master achieved Enlightenment.
Monks from Sri
Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana
throughout South-east Asia. It was in Sri Lanka, in the 1st century AD
during the reign of King Vatta Gamini that the Buddhist monks assembled
in Aloka -Vihara and wrote down the Tripitaka, the three baskets of the
Teachings, known as the Pali scriptures for the first time. It was Sri
Lankan nuns who introduced the Sangha of nuns into China in 433AD. In the16th
century the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka and savagely persecuted Buddhism,
as did the Dutch who followed them.
When the British
won control at the beginning of the 19th century Buddhism was well into
decline, a situation that encouraged the English missionaries that then
began to flood the island. But against all expectations the monastic and
lay community brought about a major revival from about 1860 onwards, a
movement that went hand in hand with growing nationalism. Since then Buddhism
has flourished and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been
prominent in spreading Theravada Buddhism in Asia, the West and even in
Africa.
Some of the
most marvellous monuments in the Buddhist world belong to Sri Lanka, and
her sculpture is closely associated with the early art of the Krishna valley
and the later Pallava and Chola kings, owing to the close relationship
that existed between south India and Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lankan
chronicles, the Mahavamsa, one of Ashoka's sons, the monk Mahinda, supervised
construction of monastic buildings near Anuradhapura. Simultaneously, he
sent to India for relics. These, say the histories, included the Buddha's
alms bowl and his right collarbone. Later a hair relic, and in the 4th
century AD, the Buddha's tooth would be taken to Sri Lanka. The tooth is
still preserved in Kandy where daily rituals venerate the Buddha's tooth
relic in Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy 16th Century.
To house the
relics, stupas were built. For the collarbone, the Thuparama Dagaba was
constructed at Anuradhapura in north-central Sri Lanka: the first stupa
in the country. Much restored, the great dome, circled with old columns,
is still to be seen in Anuradhapura, now a great park. During major festivals
it is crowded with hundreds of thousands of devotees in family groups,
who picnic happily among the ruins and offer puja at the Bodhi tree. There
are other important monuments nearby at Mihintale, the site of Mahinda's
first sermon to King Devanampiya - Tissa. The ruins of the later capital
at Polonnaruwa (9th century AD onwards), showing Hindu and Mahayana cultic
influence, are yet more elaborate.
The stupa in
Sri Lanka is a circular drum on a square base with a long succession of
compressed umbrellas forming a conical top over a box-shaped harmika, of
which the Thuparama Dagoba at Anuradhapura (3rd century BC) is a fine example.
It is said to enshrine the Buddha's collarbone and an eating bowl relic.
Buddha's Life
Birth of Bodhisathwa
On a bright Wesak
full moon day,
To Maya Queen
a son was born,
In Lumbini the
royal park,
On her way to
her dear parents.
With thrice
the tremor of the earth,
The prince walked
seven graceful steps,
At each step
a lotus sprang up,
To receive Prince's
tender foot.
"I will be the
queatest on earth !"
He announced,
"This is my last birth."
In all splendour
Sidhartha grew up,
Yasodara being
his wife destined.
Enlightenment
Soon he began
deeply to think,
Of the suffering
humanity,
Hence he left
his dear wife and little Rahula,
To save the
more loved mankind.
Six year of
deep meditation,
Away from all
princely comforts,
In the dawn
of that Wesak morn,
On him dawned
of the Supreme Knowledge
Desire, hatred
and ignorance,
As the cause
of sorrow in man,
And the away
to end suffering,
Bodhisathwa's
Enlightenment.
Parinibbana
of Loard Buddha
For five and
forty years long,
Buddha preached
this Eternal Law,
And the noble
unfailing path,
Leading to blissful
Nirvana,
Which any one
could achieve,
With diligence
and perseverance,
As some day
all things would decay,
The Greatest
life came to an end.
In the midst
of tears and laments,
Of disciples,
kings and peasants,
Leaving us his
immortal doctrine,
Buddha passed
away on wesak day. |
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