Today is Il Pasalosvaka Poya :

Thai royal Katina ceremony

by Ven. Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Nayaka Thera

"Vassana Vassan Upaganthung". This precept is observed by the Ven. bhikkhus who follow the Theravada Buddhist Tradition. This is the period where Buddhist devotees dedicate their time and energy to practice religious observances. At the end of the three months of Vassana people divert their attention to conduct the Katina Ceremony on an elaborate scale, Buddhists consider this to be a great, significant and a very meritorious act.

The ancient chronicle "Mahawamsa" and other ancient historical journals of Sri Lanka describe how the ancient rulers celebrated this event. Likewise the kingdom of Thailand which is headed by a kind and a benevolent ruler conduct these affairs for the satisfaction of all and sundry.

Once upon a time the monks of Sri Lanka took the Upasampada Karma (Higher Ordination) to the kingdom of Siam.

When the Upasampada was not in existence it was revived in the year 1753 under the able guidance of Asarana Sarana Pindapathika Walivita Siri Saranankara Nayaka Thera who went to Thailand and came back with Ven. Upali Maha Thera to restore the Upasampada Karma in Lanka once again. The King of Thailand devotes major part of his time for the uplift of Buddha Sasana by initiating the development of Vihara Building and inculcating the values of Buddhist Principles and morals among the Thai people.

This is a great impetus to Buddha Sasana. The full moon day of the Buddhist era 2,500 was named as the "Day of Sangha" on an approval by this benevolent king.

This poya day is the beginning of the Vassana period. The day before the poya the lay supporters visit the temples and donate all the requisites and invite the monks to observe the Vassana. A special feature of this is sending large candles to the temples and it is kept lighting during the rainy season. In some temples it is lighted on the first day and is blown off and kept as souvenirs.

At the conclusion of the vassana period the King of Thailand and the people from all rungs of the society take a keen interest to conduct the Katina ceremony on a grand scale.

The king who is unable to attend to all the functions, orders his Ministers and top State Officials to represent him at these ceremonies. Various State Institutions and other Institutions, mercantile establishments and societies give a great helping hand to this event and it is a very beautiful sight to see people from all walks of life get-together and work unitedly. The King of Thailand and people assemble in the temple the day before the Katina ceremony and make all kinds of musical fiestas and enjoy themselves. This brings an additional income to the temples.

The King of Thailand does not offer Katina Robes only to temples of his country but also to the other neighbouring Buddhist countries as well. Of these the King pays special attention to Sri Lanka. The temple for the Katina ceremony will be selected considering the historical value and the close connection with Thailand.

Accordingly the temple at Kotahena, Colombo which has the name Dipaduttamarama Purana Thai Raja Maha Viharaya takes the pride of place. Reason for this is that it is the first temple in the city of Colombo which was built according to the ancient Thai Tradition and the Pagoda named Ratana Chetiya was built by the Royal Prince Priest Prisdang Chumsai.

In addition he was ordained under the name Ven. P. C. Jinawarawansa and became the chief-incumbent of this temple (This is the first instance that a member of the Thai Royalty and a Thai National become a Chief-incumbent in a temple in Sri Lanka).

Many members of the Royal family have graced their presence at this temple during the last few years. Among them were King Rama the VIII who is also known as His Majesty Ananda Mahidol, Mother Queen, Prince Bhumibol, Princes Galayani and etc., King Rama the IX also known the present as His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Majesty the Queen visited this temple in 1950 and 1953 and a plaque has been installed to mark their visits.

The younger daughter of the present King of Thailand Prof. Princess Chulabhorn visited this temple in 1999. Many Thai Bhikkhus have taken residence in this Thai temple. The present Prime Minister of Thailand Hon.

Thakshin Shinawattra too graced this temple with his presence on his last visit to Sri Lanka. Taking into consideration all these factors the Royal Thai Katina is to be offered at this temple.

The decision of the venue for the offering of the Katina was taken by the Foreign Ministry of Thailand, The Royal Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka and others concerned after collecting the necessary data and information.

The data and the participation of the Thai delegation is decided thereafter. The Royal Thai Embassy keeps the temple informed of the day-to-day developments and visit the temple the day prior to the offering of the Katina and make the necessary arrangements. On the day the Katina Robe is offered, the Special Envoy of the King and the delegates together with His Excellency the Royal Thai Ambassador and the staff dressed in special white uniform join the Katina procession.

The Chief Guest invited for the occasion together with the members of the Dayaka Sabha and the special Thai Representative receives the special Katina Robes sent by the King of Thailand and offer it to the special envoy of the Royal Thai delegation.

Thereafter it is taken with great honour and placed on the special dais which is prepared for the occasion. All the offerings are displayed together with this. Flowers are offered.

Candles and josticks are lighted. A Nayaka Thera administers Pansil. Thereafter the Royal delegation is received on behalf of the temple.

The Chief Thai delegates then explain the significance of the event. After the address of the special envoy, the Katina Robes to the Maha Sangha and the donations by the H.M. king and the Thai Government are offered to the temple development. After the chanting of Seth Pirith blessings are invoked on the special Thai delegation and those assembled.

The significant feature of this year is that it coincides with the completion of 50 years of diplomatic ties between Thailand and Sri Lanka and 55 years since the planting of a tree at the Dipaduttamarama temple, Kotahena, Colombo by the King of Thailand.

H. E. Karn Chiranong, The Royal Thai Ambassador in Sri Lanka has taken a keen interest in this connection and due to his untiring efforts the Deputy Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Virachai Viramateekul together with a distinguished diplomat who has served in Sri Lanka who is also the present Additional Secretary of this Ministry, H. E. Takur Pranith are participating on this occasion.

Likewise Suwadana Sibunruang, the General Manager of Thai Air Ways International Public Co; Ltd. and officials are expected to join the ceremony.

The Buddha and science

by Kingsley Heendeniya

Physics is the King of science. It is a very esoteric way of thinking. Thus, it was said that when Einstein announced his theory of relativity, only four persons understood him. Bertrand Russell was one of them.

When Siddhartha Gotama taught former five colleagues after Enlightenment, only Kondanna understood him, partly. Therefore, I am not writing to say that the Teaching of the Buddha is 'superior'. Let me discuss this pointedly without getting involved in a dissertation on Science.

Even astrologers these days align with science to gain respectability and legitimacy; and educated persons write that 'Buddha is the greatest scientist of all time'; the 'Dhamma is scientific'; re-birth is scientifically proven - and so on.

To get alongside physicist Capra, may be, a professor in chemistry sent me his book demonstrating the understanding of the four noble truths in terms of ions and chemical bonding! Soon, someone is bound to write that the Buddha knew the binomial theorem and the differential calculus.

The fashion is not new. When the Buddha set rolling the Wheel of the Dhamma, the hub was the doctrine of anatta or 'not self': Not, this is mine; not, this am I; not, this is my self. But no amount of science, logic and scholarship can give insight and private experience of anatta.

'It is only when the peculiar limitations of one's thinking characteristic of this scientific 'age of reason' in which we live are removed that it becomes possible to read and listen to the Dhamma with any degree of sympathetic understanding' wrote Nanavira Thera nearly fifty years ago.

Consider another aspect. 'Without the scientist there is no science; but science cannot, without inconsistency, admit the existence of the scientist; for the scientist is a man, and a man is not to be explained if feeling is ignored; and feeling is outside the domain of science.

For the scholar, the question of personal existence does not arise. His whole concern is to establish the objective truth - a would-be impersonal synthesis of public facts. This essentially horizontal view of things, seeking connexions in space and time disqualify him from any possibility of understanding a Dhamma that the Buddha has himself called akalika, 'timeless'.

Only in a vertical view, straight down into the abyss of his own personal existence is a man capable of apprehending the perilous insecurity of his situation; and only a man who does apprehend this is prepared to listen to the Buddha's Teaching.

Existential philosophies insist that any plain and positive answer is false, because the truth is in the insurmountable ambiguity, which is at the heart of man and of the world.

The scholar or scientist, with his objective method, on principle knows and wishes to know nothing of the self, and nothing, therefore, of its inseparable correlative, the world. The collection of independent public facts produced by the scientific method is inherently incapable constituting a world, since it altogether lacks any unifying personal determinant - which indeed, it is the business of science to eliminate'. [Nanavira Thera].

An eminent scholar turned the four noble truths into propositions, or statements of facts. That they are things not facts can be seen from the Dhammacakkapavatana Sutta [Discourse setting the Wheel of Dhamma rolling.] A fact is just a fact, and one cannot do anything to it, since as such it has no significance beyond itself. It does not imply any other fact not contained in itself.

It just is. But things are significant. They are imperatives. They call for action. The first noble truth is 'to be known absolutely' [parinneyya]; the second 'to be abandoned' [pahatabba]; the third 'to be realized'; the fourth or way 'to be developed.' By transforming things into facts, into propositions and logic, one abdicates performing these tasks just as Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus starts by declaring: 1. The world is everything that is the case. 1.1 The world is the totality of facts, not of things.

Finally, there are those who call witnesses to certify or testify to the Teaching.

'This detestable practice' says Nanavira Thera, 'of bringing testimonials by distinguished personages to the Buddha's good character is something of an inferiority complex as if it is necessary to prove to the world that one is not ashamed to be a follower of the Buddha. And he hits the nail on the head with this percipient comment:

The European, from excess of panna [understanding] over saddha [faith] rejects things when true.

The Asian, with excess of saddha over panna, accepts things even when false!

The shape of religion in the future

Ven. Binayananda

In the nuclear age Buddhists the world over owe a duty to co-operate and co-ordinate their efforts in spreading the principles of Buddhism which teaches love, peace, happiness and right understanding for all mankind. Buddhism invites anyone to come and see for himself and permits him to accept only those facts which agree with reason, logic and truth.

It encourages the seeker of a new way to discard hereseis, blind faith, miracles and magic. Principles of Buddhism invite criticism and testing. Buddhism is therefore, the most appealing and most compelling factor that leads the modern minds in the East and the West.

Picture of religions

Let us take a brief look at the picture of religions in the future.

According to recent statistics, the global trend of religious population is undergoing change. The Christian population is on the wane, while that of Islam is on rise. It is especially noteworthy that the number of Buddhist and new religious movements is on continuous upward curve. Another destructive trend is the drastic increase in the religious population in China, Australia, Russia and Europe.

Conflict among religions is set to be another major issue in the future. Prof. Samuel P. Huntington predicts that religious conflicts will be a main factor in the clash of future civilization, as we are indeed presently witnessing, around the globe. Especially, he points out that Islam and Confucian civilization will present a big threat to the Western civilization. It is no exaggeration to say that every war now being waged around the world has a historic background in religious conflicts. This trend will be continued in future.

The rapid progress in the commercialization and secularization of religions will be deepened in the future. Accordingly religious symbolism and institution will lose their power and so-called 'alternative religion' like sports, leisure, tour and tourism industry will gain power and what with the fast development of information technology and the internet, technological instruments as their medium?

Religious pluralism and dialogues will become more active and widespread. Henceforth religious imperialism based formerly on self-righteousness will gradually diminish.

Authoritarian religions will be on the wane while humanitarian religions will prevail in the future, people in the 21st century will prefer religions based on reason and independent awareness to ones that emphasize blind obedience and original guilt.

Revolutionary changes

Revolutionary changes are expected within religious culture. For example, revolutionary change will occur in the areas such as religious precepts and discipline, equality in the place of religious hierarchy, the changing status of woman in religion, the new patterns of propagation accompanied by new media, the change of funeral ceremonies, pluralization of religious ritual, a proliferation of religious syncretism, and appearance of national religions etc.

Can Buddhism be a religion that leads the new spirit of the times in the future religious culture? What alternative can Buddhism provide to a new future religious culture?

The Buddha's intention was to solve the mystery of existence through human wisdom. This wisdom he tried to impart to those who sought higher knowledge, never by force, but by compelling them with his 'come and see' (ehipassiko) method. No blind faith was allowed.

Buddhism provides humanistic values that enrich human life spiritually. The Buddhist outlook on the world is quite similar to that of the modern scientific rationalism. Buddhists try to understand the world and universe in terms of combination of both spiritual and material aspects. Henceforth the ethics of modern science can be established through the Buddhist reflection on mind.

Liberation of mankind

Buddhism can provide a fundamental liberation of mankind from all ideologies. Buddhism teaches us to live without hindrances, by returning to the origin of one mind, 'returning to the origin of one mind' philosophy is quite a relevant teaching to the contemporary world where people live in chaos and delusion as a result of ignorance of their true nature.

Buddhist theory of 'kamma' and 'dependent origination' may contribute positively towards solving contemporary hot issues on ecology and of human rights. The theory means that all things exist in mutual interdependence.

It explains the symbiotic nature of all forms of life. Human beings and nature are not separate entities. Buddhist thought is based on the organic views on life.

Buddhist teaching of reconciliation and harmony can provide a way to solve the conflicts between religions and ideologies, which are now facing, and enrich the value of religious pluralism.

Openness of Buddhist thought

Buddhism suggests a way to let go of holding to notion of the absoluteness of truth and to reconcile each ideology and religion. Accordingly, the openness of Buddhist thought should be the spiritual basis of future civilizations. According to Buddhism followers of any religion or even those who have no particular religious labels also can go to heaven.

This they can do if they have cultivated their humane qualities and if they have not abused their human life and have maintained human dignity and human intelligence.

Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru stated, 'no new path can be found to save mankind through fresh conflicts and wars but by pursuing the old path shown to the world by the greatest pathfinder the Gotama Buddha.

H. G. Wells, distinguished historian, visionary and writer, said these words in praise of Buddhism.

"Buddhism has done more to the advance of world civilization than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind."

Original teachings

He further said, "It is possible that in contact with Western Science, and inspired by the spirit of history, the original teachings of Gotama, may yet play a large part in the direction of human destiny.

The greatest scientist, Albert Einstein stated, "the religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. "It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it is Buddhism."

In a world of darkness and distress, the Buddha Dhamma still shines and it is not yet too late to follow its guiding beams and emerge into a brighter and happier future. The Buddha's contribution to world peace and universal happiness are unparalleled, but for the future, the effort remains ours to achieve these goals.

Let brothers and sisters of the world radiate bondless love towards all living beings and the entire world without illwill and without enmity.

May all beings realize the true teachings of the Buddha.

The Ven. writer is a graduate from University of Chitagong, Bangladesh and presently studying at Pali and Buddhist University Sri Lanka.

Book Review

Food of Bodhisatvas : Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat

Author: Shabkar
Translator: Padmakara Translation Group.
Shambhala Publications 2004, $14.95

Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol (1781-1851) is revered by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Living mostly on retreat in the mountains, surrounded by a few close and hardy disciples, or on pilgrimages to the holy places of Tibet, he led an austere life. He had no fixed abode, only the most meagre of possessions, he was attached to no monastery, adhered to no school, and remained free from dependence upon benefactors.

Shabkar was famed for his concern for animals, and lived by a strict vegetarian diet - a rare accomplishment in the harsh climate of Tibet.

The practice of vegetarianism is still rare, not only in Tibet itself but in Tibetan Buddhism in the West - despite the relative ease of adopting a vegetarian diet here. It is this incongruity that the book addresses.

Food of Bodhisattvas presents two of Shabkar's works along with an introduction by the translators. The introduction is a fascinating work in itself, giving an account of Shabkar and offering an overview of the historical relationship between Buddhism and vegetarianism from a Tibetan perspective.

The translators are anything but impartial on vegetarianism, and advocate a meat-free diet as an expression of compassion for living beings. The first translated text, The Faults of Eating Meat, is a compendium of extracts from Mahayana and tantric scriptures and teachings by Indian and Tibetan masters.

These are of interest primarily in giving a sense of how widespread the advocacy of vegetarianism was throughout the Mahayana and Vajrayana world. Many of these texts, such as the Angulimala Sutra, the Sutra of Close Mindfulness, and various tantras, are not readily available to the average western practitioner, and any exposure to them is welcome.

Moreover, the wealth of material from authoritative sources may well be effective in motivating followers of Tibetan Buddhism to re-examine their relationship to meat-eating. However, because there is minimal material connecting the extracts, Shabkar's voice and personality are only dimly heard, which I found disappointing.

The second text, The Nectar of Immortality, is an engaging essay in which Shabkar addresses in a more personal way the reasons why meat-eating should be avoided by those following the Bodhisattva path.

Many of these arguments are typically Tibetan, such as the idea that all beings have, at some point in the endless rounds of rebirth, been one's own mother, and that in eating meat one is in effect devouring a parent.

Shabkar also warns of a hellish rebirth for those who consume meat and tackles the idea that one can benefit a slaughtered animal by 'compassionately' chanting mantras while eating it. Arguments for or against such propositions will necessarily lack persuasive force for all but the followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

However, for a wider audience there are still arguments that may sway opinions. Shabkar writes, for example, that the notion - formulated originally for bhikkhus who lived by accepting whatever was put into their begging bowls - that it's acceptable to eat meat as long as one doesn't see, hear, or suspect that the animal was killed especially for the recipient, is not applicable in a market economy.

Instead, he argues, the meat-eater creates the demand that the butcher merely fills. Thus it is the meat-eater who is mostly at fault and who must take responsibility for his actions if he sincerely wishes to reduce the amount of suffering his diet entails. The fact that many of Shabkar's arguments are framed in a Tibetan world view does not invalidate the book. Shabkar was a Tibetan writing for Tibetans, and his arguments will remain potent for present-day Tibetan practitioners.

This book will hopefully encourage more Buddhists in the West (and not just followers of Tibetan schools) to become more aware of the suffering that eating meat entails, and begin moving towards adopting a diet that helps to avoid unnecessary pain for animals.