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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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