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The request was complied by handing over the Right Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Thus the Dagoba was erected and named after the Queen Somawathie. It consisted of 4 Viharayas on the four sides, 60 Aramas, walks for meditation, ponds, and orchards.
Although Somawathie belonged to the Ruhuna territory, now it has come under the domain of Rajarata in the Polonnaruwa District with the change of the course of the Mahaweli River.
With the help of the readings of stone inscriptions, carvings on bricks, offering seats and walls, and many clues around, it can be concluded that the Chetiya was built around 2100 years ago.
With the Mahaweli changing its course, there were changes in the natural environment and the thick jungle invaded the areas. Thus, with the ending of the Anuradhapura era, Somawathie got erased from the minds of the people.
It was amazing how the Chetiya was discovered in 1947, by the great prelate Sirimalwatte Piyaratana Thera and a few others. At 11 o'clock in the night, walking through the thick jungle, they sighted a ray of light shining and shooting to the sky. Following the light, they found the Chetiya covered by dense jungle. With the terrorist attacks in 1987, things took a different turn. The place was abandoned. A group of terrorists came to take away the gem on the pinnacle, massacred the caretaker and his family and a great number of civilians. When the terrorist who had seized the gem was about to flee, his own gun fired and was killed on the spot.
Another incident: An unknown monk has informed the police, that the Chetiya was being dug by treasure hunters, when the police went to the spot, they found no monk, but saw, part of the Chetiya had been dug.
As there were no monks in the temple those days, the police was amazed, as to who really informed the police about the robbers.
The gem which was removed from the pinnacle was found lying under a tree in the vicinity. On June 16, 2002, the gem was placed on the pinnacle, and a Bo sapling grown from Sri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura was planted in the temple premises. The rays spread from the gem was witnessed by T.A. Abeywickrema - Government Agent, Polonnaruwa, P.P. Pathirana - ASP, Anura Hemachandra - Director Vogue Jewellers and many more.
Then the Bo sapling planted in 1981 was destroyed by wild elephants and another Bo sapling brought from Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was to be planted on 18th June, 2002. The chief incumbent of the temple Ven. Pahamune Sri Sumangala Thera was to inspect the premises before the planting of the Bo-sapling.
To his great surprise he saw another sapling sprung up from the ground at the same premises surrounded by a wall. On informing, the DIG Pathirana came with officers of the Archaeological Department and thought that it could be a shoot of the Bo-Tree that had been there a long time ago. But the amazing factor was that it sprung up on the very day the other Bo sapling from Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was to be planted. Then on the 24th of June, 2002, the Bo sapling from Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Until the placing of the gem on the pinnacle, the journey to the Chetiya was extremely difficult and the devotees had to face many an obstacle in reaching the destination. It is with reverence and gratitude that we remember the prelate Ven. Sirimalwatte Piyananda Thera, the Chief Incumbent of the Somawathie Chetiya who passed away in 1966 and his successor Ven. Sri Gunananda Thera who also passed away in 1999 and his pupil Ven. Pahamune Sri Sumangala Thera, a senior lecturer of the University of Peradeniya who took over the chief incumbency now.
The ancient Chetiya what is today is mostly due to the untiring efforts of these bhikkus. This Chetiya is one of our greatest and valuable treasures. It is our utmost duty and obligation to protect this cultural and religious treasure. Let's Sri Lankans join hands in protecting and looking after this sacred place in Sri Lanka as well as in the whole world to endeavour and to bring it to its past glory.
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Thangka - The Sacred Buddhist Paintings of India
The Hindu artists began the Thangka paintings to symbolize the power or attribute of single central deity and later diverted their creativity to represent the attributes of Hindu goddess, Tara the consort of Vishnu, Saraswathi, the goddess of learning and music and goddess Bhadrakali or goddess Kali, who inflicts punishments on the sinful.
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With the passage of time Thangka paintings began to represent the Buddha in meditative posture, symbolizing perfection. The Thangka Buddhist paintings signify the Buddha the Exalted One, who attained Enlightenment, so that it would be a role model for Buddhists to attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana, the deathlessness.
Thus the Thangka paintings were regarded by the Indian Buddhist as sacred as they symbolised an overview of Buddhism. The paintings illustrate the life and times of the Buddha. The indian Buddhists commission Thangkas as objects of daily worship and reverence.
Some of the Buddhist Thangkas are not just paintings but printed, embroidered as brocade or woven in to carpets for Buddhist altars, but are very rare. The Thangkas are prepared in numerous ways. The small-sized Thangkas are meant to be kept in homes in order to ward off evil and disease from the householders and to gift them with health, wealth and prosperity. Large Thangkas are used during religious festivals.
The Tibetan Lamas use Thangkas to educate the people on the principles of Buddhism. These can be easily seen in the Tibetan Buddhist Viharas in Buddha Gaya and the Viharas of the Lamas, who are incumbents of the shrine at Uruvela (Dungeswari), the mountain shrine, where Bodhisatva Siddartha Gautama (Gautama) engaged in six long years of self-mortification under various ascetics such as Kalama and Udaka Rama Putra along with his erstwhile fellow travellers in search of the ultimate truth.
The Buddha having organised his first 60 disciples, Arhants at Saranath, where he preached his first sermon, Dhamma Cakka Pavattana Sutta, enjoined his first group of disciples to wander about preaching the Dhamma for the good and welfare of the people and he himself proceeded to Uruvela, as a mark of gratitude to rehearse the Dhamma he had discovered.
When a Thangka is commissioned the patron has to make known to the painter the precise manner of the Buddha or the deities he wishes to be executed. For example his choice may be Sakyamuni in lotus posture in meditative pose, Golden Buddha as portrayed as 'Jeevaka' the Master of Medicine, Tree of Life, Wheel of birth and death (Kalchakra) Green Tara; Goddess Saraswati (Dolma); the Wheel of Life etc.
There is no originality in Thangka paintings, as they are considered sacred and the painters follow a set of styles as followed from time immemorial. Their creativity is only utilised to embellish the area of decorative parts such as borders and the landscape.
Originally Thangkas were a record and a guide-line for meditative experience. The viewer is instructed to sit before a painting and imagine that he is in the specific setting and the environment and contemplate that one with the picture, thus generating a high degree of contemplative one-pointedness of mind leading to spiritual equilibrium.
In this theme the Thangkas are circumstanced to convey iconographic information in a pictorial manner. These Thangkas are sometimes produced by medication masters. As these paintings are supposed to be influenced by god Visvakarma, they are not signed by the artist, but in exceptional cases some sign themselves.
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The Dragon King Erakapatta
In the time of Kassapa Buddha's Sasana, the dragon king Erakapatta was a Bhikkhu. One day as a young Bhikkhu, he was travelling in a boat along the Ganges when he reached out and held a blade of grass called Erakapatta .
Eraka is the name of the grass and patta means leaf or blade. He did not release his hold on the blade of grass even though the boat was moving speedily along. So naturally it broke into two. Now, according to the Vinaya, it is a light offence to damage vegetation intentionally. But he thought, "Well, it's just a trifle," and did not bother to confess his offence to another Bhikkhu.
If a layperson should intentionally break a precept, all that he needs to do to restore the purity of his sila is to make a resolution, immediately or later, not to break that particular precept again. But it is not so easy for a Bhikkhu.
After having committed a Vinaya offence, a Bhikkhu must atone for it by confessing to another Bhikkhu if it is a light offence, or by undergoing a period of temporary penalty requiring a formal meeting of the Sangha if it is a grave offence, or by expulsion from the Sangha if it is a Defeat or P...r...jika offence.
Only after having gone through the required procedure is his sila considered to be pure again. Moreover, purity of sila is regarded as a prerequisite for meditative progress. But the Bhikkhu who broke the blade of grass thought the act a mere trifle and did not bother to atone for his offence.
He must have completely forgotten about the misdeed for subsequently, he meditated for 20,000 years in the forest! Yet, despite his perseverance, he failed to attain enlightenment. Indeed, when he was dying, he felt as though that erakapatta, that blade of grass was strangling him. Now he realised and he wanted to confess his offence, but there were no Bhikkhus around.
"Oh!, impure is my sila!" he lamented.
At that moment, he died and was reborn as a dragon king by the name of Erakapatta Naga Raja. As soon as he saw his new body, he was again filled with remorse. "After all those years of meditation I am now reborn in a rootless frog-eating species.
Courtesy: Internet
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Notes on a pilgrimage
Day 1: We've decided to walk along the levee at first. We've walked three miles so far, and we're going to try to walk about nine miles a day. We have no idea where we're going to stay tonight, but we did see a couple of plantations up the way with some long, beautiful lawns. - Jotipalo Bhikkhu
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Day 2: It feels like we're pushing the envelope - what are we doing disrupting these people's lives, this Buddhist monk walking into a beauty salon to get a gallon of water?! - JB
Day 4: Though we have met much generosity so far, it is not enough to sustain us day to day, so we have begun to use money that others donated to the monastery for this walk. At first I felt like we were cheating, but then I realized that we are still living on the kindness of others. - Austin Stewart
Day 7: If anybody says they have no fear of death, I challenge them to walk through Mississippi the way that we are dressed. - AS
Day 8: The Natchez Trace Parkway is not a heavily travelled highway right now. We've begun waving at every car that passes. People don't know who, even what, we are; but as soon as they see us smile and wave, they realize, "Okay, they can't be too bad." I think that's creating a positive energy around us. And we feel happier, too. - JB
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Day 11: Last night ants and spiders were crawling on me as I slept, but all I found myself worrying about was not crushing them when I rolled over. I've been tickled (or not!) at how such things aren't bothering me now. These creatures are just part of what belongs here. We put ourselves out here in their place - what do we expect ? - JB
Day 13: At night we didn't have any water and a large thunderstorm was brewing. So Austin and I decided to set up my poncho as a rain catcher. Austin and I are actually starting to have some fun with this survival stuff! - JB
Day 14: Tami Rose drove us to her home in Jackson. This evening I also made contact with Luke Lundemo, who asked if we would meet with a meditation group that gathers on Wednesday evenings ..... It is a bit strange sleeping in a bed tonight, but I remember how to do it. - JB
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Day 16: I started an email conversation with Father William Skudlarek, a Benedictine monk. He gave me some advice and contacts to call in Jackson to see about developing a relationship with Catholic churches along the way. I like the idea of starting to see how this new twist of the walk will unfold. Part of me wants to resist planning anything, but at this point I think we need all the help and generosity we can get. -JB
Day 19: We have been at this for nineteen days now, and if I look to the future, it seems that Canada is an impossible distance away. We have both let go of the idea of walking the whole distance. We are finding that this trip really is taking us. We have so little control. -AS
Day 20: Here we met our second hard-selling Southern Baptist ! I could have kicked Austin when he freely offered up that we were Buddhist. Didn't he see the large painting of the Last Supper right in front of him ? - JB
Day 22: I've carried this belief that you only learn through suffering. No pain, no gain. But this last week I'm finding that I can also learn from joy and happiness. - JB
Day 23: Austin and I have noticed that the goodwill coming our way, even just smiles and waves, seem to be coming more frequently and at closer time intervals. I don't think I will ever cease to be humbled by people's generosity. It makes us feel so good, and those that give tell us they feel such joy in making the offerings.
What will tomorrow bring ? - JB
- Courtesy: Abhayagiri Sangha Calendar
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