Theravada (1) Sri Lanka: Buddhist Temples, Monasteries and Buddha Images Part 4

Buddhism with an Occasional Hindu God

Theravada Buddhism and the Pali Canon

Dharmachakra

Theravada (lit. "School of the Elders") is the oldest existing branch of Buddhism. For more than two millennia, Theravadins have preserved their version of the Buddha’s teaching in the classical Indian language of Pali.

The first Buddhist Council, held some 30 years after the death of Gautama Buddha (he died in either 483 or 400 BCE) adopted the oral testimony of two of his leading disciples to be the guiding scriptures of what would become the Theravada tradition. This testimony became known as the Pali Canon, traditionally described as the ‘Word of the Buddha’. For centuries it was preserved orally by Bhāṇakas (Pali: reciters), monks who specialised in the memorisation and recitation of a specific collection of texts.

During the 4th Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka around 29 BCE, the decision was taken to make a written version of the canon. For centuries the bhānaka tradition existed alongside the written word and there are still monks who memorise vast chunks of the scripture.

The internet does not know, or will not tell me, how many words the canon runs to (in any language) but published versions generally fill around 50 volumes - so not holiday reading, then.

How Buddhism Came to Sri Lanka

The Indian Emperor Ashoka the Great (ruled 268-232 BCE) sought to spread Buddhism throughout South East Asia. His brother (or maybe son) Mahinda converted the Sri Lankan king after they met at Mihintale near Anuradhapura in the north central part of the island (see map below)

Tradition states that Mahinda stood where I was standing to take the photograph while the king's position is marked by the white dagoba. The scene is benevolently overlooked by a modern Buddha statue.

The Upper Terrace, Mihintale, where Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka

For a fuller version of the legend, see the Mihintale post. Suffice it to say here, Buddhism caught on and has been the dominant religion in Sri Lanka ever since.

Temples in Sri Lanka

70% of Sri Lankans self-identify as Buddhists, and although the nation’s constitution guarantees religious freedom for all, it reserves a special place for Buddhism.

Buddhist temples, of course, exist, but they are not as obvious a part of the landscape as they are in Myanmar, Laos or Thailand. Dagoba’s, on the other hand are everywhere, and important Buddha statues can be revered without the need for a surrounding temple.

Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy, Sri Lanka's 3 former capitals
are the corners of the 'Cultural Triangle'

Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa

We spent our first two full days at two of Sri Lanka's former capitals, Anuradhapura (337 BCE - 11th century) and Polonnaruwa (11th-15th century).

There is an adjacent modern town of Anuradhapura, but both ancient towns are respectfully restored ruins. The dagobas are in good repair….

Thuparama Dagoba, Anuradhapura. The oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka, it allegedly enshrines the Buddha's left collarbone

….and the Buddha images are not just gawped at by foreign tourists. Sometime locals come to pray…

The 4th century Samadhi Buddha, Anuradhapura

… or leave offerings.

Gal Vihara (Stone Shrine) at Polonnaruwa with offerings

The Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

The Temple of the Tooth may be Sri Lanka’s most important temple, but from the outside it is disappointing.

The Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

After the Buddha’s cremation in 5th century BCE several body parts were allegedly rescued from the flames, including a tooth. A century later, with Buddhism declining in India, the tooth was smuggled to Sri Lanka wrapped in the hair of a princess.

For 2,000 years the tooth resided in the island’s capital, first at Anuradhapura, then Polonnaruwa and, since the 15th century, in Kandy. The link was broken when the British colonial administration moved the capital to Colombo in 1815.

Inside the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

The gold casket containing the tooth is displayed only two days a month and is very rarely opened.

A Replica of the Casket of the Tooth, photographed in a different temple

Bella Sidney Woolf, a writer and sister-in-law of Virginia Woolf, saw the tooth in 1914 and described it as a ‘tooth of discoloured ivory at least three inches long – unlike any human tooth ever known.’ In 1597 a Portuguese traveller claimed it was a buffalo tooth. To express doubts about the relic’s authenticity is deeply offensive, so I will say no more.

Is the Tooth behind here? The Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

Lankatilake Vihara near Kandy

Lankatilake is one of three temples we visited in a morning from Kandy. Sitting on a rocky outcrop it was built in the mid-14th century.

Lankatilake

A great deal is known about the king who commissioned it, the minister charged with the work, the architect who designed it and many other details as they were chiselled into the surrounding rock in a lengthy Pali inscription.

Lynne, Lankatilake and the railed off Pali inscription (as seen on the 50 Rupee note)

Inside, is the main Buddha image with two attendants…

Main Buddha image, Lankatilake

…and also (sorry, no photograph) images of Upulvan, Ganapathi, Vibhishana and Saman.

These survivors from Sri Lanka’s Hindu past (Upalvan is an avatar of Vishnu) are still revered within Buddhism. Saman is associated across South East Asia with the rising morning sun and is considered a special protector of Sri Lankan Buddhism.

They provoke this digression:

Gods in Sri Lankan Buddhism

Gautama Siddhartha became the Buddha on achieving enlightenment, he never claimed to be god nor a messenger of god. Buddhism has no gods, it is mainly a philosophy, but is included as a religion because it answers one of the great religious questions: ‘What happens to us when we die?’

But people like gods. The Buddha himself is often treated as if he were a god, and in Theravada Buddhism particularly, vestiges of pre-Buddhist religions live on – the Great Nats in Myanmar, and Hindu deities in Sri Lanka.

The monks at ancient Anuradhapura had not only had sophisticated ways of dealing with bodily waste, they also had an image of Kubera, the god of wealth on every latrine. Each squatting, straining monk could look Kubera in the eye and know that money and greed were in their rightful place.

We have now met the Hindu Gods at Lankatilake and will arrive at Kataragama (also known as Kartikeya, Murugan and Subramanhya) immediately after Dowa Temple.

Dowa Temple, Bandarawela

Driving us south through the central highlands, just beyond Bandarawela,...

Southern Sri Lanka

... Ravi pulled over unexpectedly. 'Dowa Temple and a rock carving of the Buddha,' he said pointing to a track dropping into a small ravine.

Following the track, we reached a set of concrete steps leading down to a small temple. At the bottom we were met by the smiling guardian wielding a huge key.

Dowa Temple, Bandarawela

Unlocking the door, he let us into not so much a building as a cave temple. There were the inevitable statues, a reclining Buddha looking crushed beneath the bulging rock, and paintings on the walls and rocky ceiling. The Rough Guide rather snootily comments that the paintings are of no great merit, but I was impressed by their vigour - and their mere existence in this unlikely spot.

Reclining Buddha under the rock ceiling, Dowa Temple, Bandarawela

There was no entrance fee, only a sign requesting donations. A couple of hundred rupees seemed to delight the already cheerful guardian who insisted on photographing us with his key.

Us with the large key, Dowa Temple, Bandarawela

As we left he directed us up a rocky slope beside the temple. Without our shoes ascending the rough pebble-strewn rock was painful and at the top we could see nothing to explain why we had been sent up there. Disappointed, we turned to descend and found the Buddha, right in front of us.

Unfinished rock carved Buddha, Dowa Temple, Bandarawela

The temple and unfinished carving have not been precisely dated but are thought to be some 2,000 years old.

Kataragama

Kataragama is the name of both a small south-eastern town with a large shrine and the god to whom the shrine is dedicated. An avatar of Lord Murugan, Kataragama is a patron deity of Sri Lanka and Ravi said that when his travels took him there he liked to do Puja - if we did not mind. We didn't.

Outside the shrine, Kataragama

Kataragama is a Hindu god; Puja, the making of an offering, usually of food, is a Hindu practice. Ravi, however, is clear in his own mind that he is a Buddhist. And the shrine we were going to visit? Well, that has something for everyone - there is even a mosque.

From the car park we followed a wide avenue lined with stalls. At the last stall Ravi bought flowers and we all deposited our shoes.

Ravi buys flowers, Kataragama

Kiri Vihara was originally a 6th century dagoba but, as always in Sri Lanka, it has been rebuilt so many times its real age is anybody's guess.

Kiri Vihara, Kataragama

Ravi presented flowers to the dogaba’s Buddha image and insisted that we had a lotus blossom each so that we too could make an offering.

Lynne makes an offering at Kiri Vihara, Kataragama

From the dagoba an avenue of soft sand (our bare feet were grateful) led to a cloister surrounding the temple of Kataragama and two smaller temples.

Following Ravi into the cloistered enclosure, Kataragama

Inside the cloister Ravi went to acquire the offerings for his Puja while we looked around. After a while he re-appeared bearing a cardboard box containing among other things, flowers, a coconut and a pineapple. 'Coming for Puja?' he asked.

Puja queue, Kataragama

We joined the queue for Puja, a dozen people along the side of the locked temple. As the queue began to build a large and officious man came and hooked us and a couple of other Europeans out. Ravi had disappeared so we repositioned ourselves at the front of the temple and waited patiently. The same officious man soon moved us back and strung a rope across to keep us there. Lynne went to sit in the shade while I hung about unobtrusively, trying to look interested, but not entitled.

A bell started clanging and a group of monks processed from the adjacent monastery bearing something hidden but obviously holy. They disappeared into the temple, the door closed behind them and the Puja queue continued to wait.

Carrying something holy, Kataragama

Another group of monks processed across, one with his ears and mouth covered with cloth.

Monk with his mouth and ears covered, Kataragama

A red carpet was unrolled from the monastery to the temple and after several more processions I was beginning to wonder if Puja would ever start.

Something holy on a red carpet, Katagarama

My thinking was disturbed by a major clanging of bells. The doors were flung open and the queue lurched forward, though not far, it was a small temple and only a few could fit in. A different official with a more pleasant demeanour came over and beckoned me to follow him. I called Lynne over from her refuge in the shade and he led us back to the Puja queue. After the next clang and shuffle we found ourselves tucked in at the rear of the temple.

There was little to see inside the small, darkened temple. There were a few images, but whatever holy artefacts had been brought in during the processions remained covered. Most importantly, we were in, the only Europeans there, and we were duly thankful to Ravi whose hand was clearly behind it. Along with the faithful, we were blessed as holy water was sprinkled over all, then the priest went round smearing ash to everyone’s foreheads and finally we all received a gift of food, a small parcel of spiced dhal - much tastier than a communion wafer.

As we filed out our benefactor grabbed us and led us into the space between two temples and gestured that we should sit on the wall. He disappeared, returning moments later with a machete and two coconuts. At coconut stalls we always used the straws provided though many locals did not bother. There is a knack to drinking straight from the coconut, and if I had had that knack I would have spilt less on my shirt. As we finished Ravi arrived with a conspiratorial grin on his face and more fruit in his hand.

We shared some watermelon and a pineapple with Ravi and his friend and then, with juice still on our faces, reclaimed our shoes and retraced our steps through the complex.

Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

The area has been settled for 2,000 years, and the name ‘Colombo’ was used by the Portuguese in 1505, but the city is an upstart compared with the ancient cities of the cultural triangle. Our day in Colombo coincided with Poya, the day of the new moon, when no alcohol is served, and the day before the National Day Holiday when everything closes. Colombo hardly had a chance to impress - but it does have a good temple.

Gangaramaya is hemmed in on a city street, so its architecture is hard to appreciate, and it was unclear why we entered through a collection of vintage cars.

Vintage cars, Gangaramaya temple, Colombo

But it has an elegant stupa….

Stupa, Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

….and a large Bodhi Tree, grown from a shoot from the tree at Anuradhapura, itself grown from a shoot of the tree in Bodh Gaya in northern India under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. The devout circumnavigate the tree three times in a clockwise direction and make offerings of oil, incense, fruit or flowers.

Bodhi Tree, Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

There is a museum with an eclectic range of exhibits. I liked the posters warning of consequences of evil-doing – the punishment for adultery is harsh indeed.

Warning poster, Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

Outside an impressive series of panels describes the early life of the Buddha. His road to enlightenment had many twists and turns, and a prolonged fast was one of those twists. This gaunt image is a reminder that the Buddhist way involves moderation in all things. Over-eating is harmful physically and morally – but so is over-zealous fasting.

The Buddha after fasting, Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

It seems appropriate to end this post with idea that Buddhism is about balance. To avoid being accused of hypocrisy, I acknowledge that I am (much) more inclined to over-indulgence than zealous fasting, but I understand the values of Buddhist moderation (or Aristotle’s Golden Mean) here, and in other aspects of life – even if I cannot always live up to it..

Buddhist Temples, Monasteries and Buddha Images

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Mahayana Buddhism
Part 3: Tibetan Buddhism
Part 4: Theravada (1) Sri Lanka
Part 5: Theravada (2) Myanmar
Part 6: Theravada (3) Laos, Cambodia & Thailand