Historic Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara

Rupa Banduwardana

TEMPLE: Miraculous and Marvellous temple referred to as the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya, with a heritage of glorious history, stands out as the most historic and significant among the many temples in the island today.

Situated on the Dehiwela-Maharagama road about two kilometres away from the Colombo-Galle highway in a scenic location, originally surrounded by green fields, this powerful enchanting temple is among the oldest, dating back to the Anuradhapura period.

The earliest available documentary source for the history of the temple is one of the early chronicles - Bodhiwamsa. From what can be gathered the history of the temple dates back to the Anuradhapura period during which time Theri Sanghamitta brought with her a branch of the Sri Maha Bodhi under which the Buddha attained Buddhahood.

Bodhiwamsa speaks of 40 places where the Bo saplings from the original were planted and Bellanwila is clearly stated in the list, leading to a definite conclusion regarding the origin of this sacred temple. Whatever this may mean, it cannot be denied that this temple is a sacred place, as sacred as the place where Buddha attained his enlightenment.

When examining the history of the temple it has been classified into 3 phases. The period associated with the planting of the Sri Maha Bodhi during the Anuradhapura period, is the first phase. The second phase begins with the reign of Sri Sangabodhi Parakramabahu of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, a generous supporter of Buddhism, who patronised the temples of the area.

The third or the modern era begins with the re-discovery of the temple by the Thera Thengodagedasra after the dark ages subsequent to the Portuguese conquest.

According to Professor Nandasena Ratnapala the legend says that tree worship was in existence and it has been the practice of early kings to construct temples on selected land believed to have been dedicated to divine beings, citing Ruwanveliseya as an example.

He is of the view that tree worship as a mark of respect and a sign of prosperity was prevalent at Bellanwila area and the Bo sapling was planted on a land dedicated to deities as a sign of prosperity and blessed by them. It is believed that it had close links with Papiliyane Sunethra Devi Pirivena, due to its close proximity and that both belonged to the same complex as mentioned in the Sandesha Kavya.

There is difference of opinion regarding the name as expressed by researchers of repute. The general accepted view is that Bellanwila literally means a pond consisting of Bellan (a kind of snails) which is supported by a pond located in the centre of lush green paddy land in the east.

There is still another view that it refers to a wela (field) and not wila meaning pond long renowned as a prosperous area of paddy land, it is believed that more appropriate should be wela, Arisen Ahubudu's version is that it denotes a paddy land in a forest rampant with beli (a popular fruit) trees whatever the origin may be, this is and has been a magnificent temple rendering an enormous service to the island at large.

The massive temple plays a vital role in the life of every Sri Lankan Buddhist bringing into focus its miraculous powers.

Conveniently located on the way to Maharagama most prominently displayed at the entrance is a Makara thorana solidly constructed as though every devotee is welcomed in walking through the main gate straight to the top with a flight of steps, at the foot of which you find the statue of Venerable Bellanwila Somaratana Thera, who bravely championed the historic revival of the temple.

To your left is the main Viharageya resembling Polonnaruwa architecture which house the majestic standing Buddha statue, very similar to that of Avukana.

As you enter the most impressive sculpture is the standing image surrounded by Buddhist statues of different postures. Behind is the recumbent Buddha image depicting the passing away. There is also a statue of Bosat Maithree on a side.

There are exquisite paintings adorning every wall inside, depicting various events of the life of the Buddha and illustrating the history of the temple. In the centre outside is the Bell shaped Dagoba though not very large in size, stands as a monumental tribute for the devotees to worship and gain merit.

As you enter the temple premises on your right there is the building which house the dieties of Vishnu, Eeshwara and Ganeshwara. There is a small statue of Buddha too, very similar to the Mahamewna Samadhi Pilima.

Behind this, is the most venerated, historic Bodhiya with its outspreading branches as if it is bestowing compassion, loving kindness and patience to its worshippers. Right round the Bodhiya are found the small Devalayas housing the symbolic images of gods such as Kataragama, Saman, Vibheeshana, Huniam, Dedimunda, Natha and Paththini Matha, once again depicting the architecture of the Polonnaruwa period.

Most Buddhists who visit the temple pray for their blessings and the Kapumahatmayas offer a dedicated service. The devotees are offered the best complying with their requests. Many are there to worship the Bodhiya offer the merit, then make vows as well as to fulfil the vows already made with all kinds of offerings for the favours granted.

Early morning is the best time to worship in quiet serene surroundings and engage yourself in meditation, Pirith chanting and worship to your heart's content.

The place is spotlessly clean with volunteers sweeping with great enthusiasm saying that "this is what keeps you healthy and free of troubles in life".

There are regular worshippers who come on specific days mostly on Saturdays who have been visiting regularly lasting over 10, 15 years. Among them are a few who turn up as early as 5 o clock, engage in cleaning and washing the Mal Aasana fully committed to the task.

There are still others deeply involved in making various pujas - busy arranging offerings of Gilanpasa. As the day dawns one would see the devotees streaming in for Pujas and the venerated Bodhiya is bathed going round it reciting gathas.

On Saturdays it is packed with devotees of all ages. Everyone of them feel at home, feel that it is their own pious pilgrims come in crowds in vehicles from long distances. There is a Pilgrims Rest located close to the temple across the road for those who are on a long journey.

This will not be complete if no mention is made of the annual procession the most colourful cultural pageant comprising of traditional drummers, dancers, trumpeteers and elephants etc parading the streets of the neighbourhood which is believed to bless the entire area.

It is our day's routine to set off from home before dawn at 5 every Saturday, worship Viharaya, Dagoba and leave for Bodhiya where we chant pirith gazing at the beautiful Bo tree and pray for my family and near and dear ones here and abroad for their good health and welfare.

Since I am in the evening of my life finally I wish may I be given good health to continue this the longest possible - of course with my husband who accompanies me. Buddhists - Do not fail to visit this blissful place of worship.

Buddhist temple an AIDS hospice

LOP BURI, Thailand: Thailand's primary AIDS hospice at a Buddhist temple here, once a place of certain death, is now becoming overcrowded by the living - people whose lives have been saved by medication but who are rejected by their families or neighbours.

Already an international leader in programs for prevention of HIV infection, Thailand has over the past year become a pioneer in distributing low-cost antiretroviral drugs, which are available to all who need them for less than $1 a treatment.

At the same time, though, Thailand has made little headway in easing a harsh stigma that was fed by its successful campaign against the horrors of the disease. As more people are living longer, more are becoming outcasts in a family-based society where it is difficult to blend into the crowd.

Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, Thailand has been on the front lines, first in the 1980s, when it was hit hard, and then in the 1990s, when it became a model of prevention with public education campaigns.

Illustrating what experts say could be one of the next challenges as low-cost treatments spread around the world, the AIDS temple and a small satellite village have become, in effect, a new sort of leper colony.

"This is our new problem," said the temple's abbot, Alongkot Dikkapanyo, 53, who founded the hospice 14 years ago.

"What should we do with a healthy person who is rejected by their family and can't work? This will be a big burden on society in the future."

In a special annex, the temple stores thousands of white cotton sacks of cremated remains that were never claimed by relatives. Cremations are fewer now, and in their place, hundreds of homeless survivors wander the grounds, sweeping the footpaths, doing their laundry and helping to care for the sick.

Thailand's successes in both prevention and treatment have brought with them another, perhaps predictable problem: the loss of a sense of urgency that has caused a slackening of prevention campaigns and the beginnings of a rise in new infections.

In addition, experts say about 5 percent of drug recipients each year will develop a resistance and need to switch to much more expensive "second line" drug treatments, which are covered by patients and will strain the government's budget for cheap medications.

Since the epidemic arrived in Thailand in 1984, 1 million people have been infected and 400,000 have died. In a report on AIDS in Thailand, published in August, the World Bank estimated that without the vigorous prevention program, a total of 7.7 million people would have become infected.

Fewer than 17,000 new infections are expected this year, said Patrick Brenny, the Thailand's country coordinator for UNaids, the United Nation's agency dealing with AIDS. That compares with 143,000 new infections in 1990, according to the World Bank.

The drug distribution program will save still more lives. The bank estimated that the medications are now reaching 80,000 people, or 90 percent of those who need them, although other estimates say the percentage is somewhat lower. That number compares with about 5,000 people who were receiving the treatments just two years ago.

The infection rate in Thailand peaked in 1994, the report said, with 4 percent of military conscripts testing positive for the virus. The infection rate has been cut to about 1.4 percent, but Brenny said this figure is less meaningful now that many more people are surviving, adding to the overall total.

Some of these numbers have apparently begun to climb again as the epidemic has become a lower priority for the government.

"Public education has basically fallen asleep at the wheel," said Mechani Viravaidya, who heads the privately run Population and Community Development Association and has been the driving force behind the country's dramatic success in combating the disease.

"HIV infections are going up, I believe 30 percent more than before," he said. "Mostly it's young people who are asking, 'Is AIDS still around? There was talk about it before but now there's nothing."

The World Bank study also noted that the effect of past campaigns is waning and that risky behaviour is increasing. Quoting a recent survey, it said that only one in four male army conscripts reported using a condom with nonregular female partners who are not sex workers.

As a result, Thailand faces the need for two seemingly contradictory campaigns, one to re-educate the public about the horrors of the disease, the other to reassure it that infected people are not dangerous to be around.

The two programs - prevention and treatment - are closely linked, the World Bank said. The distribution of low-cost medicine has been made possible by the saving, through prevention, of an estimated $18.6 billion in potential medical costs.

"Prevention efforts allowed Thailand to become one of the few developing countries giving life-prolonging anti-retroviral therapy to people living with HIV," the bank report said.

Some of the results can be seen here at the Phra Baht Nam Phu Temple, 120 kilometres, or 75 miles, north of Bangkok, where families still some-times drop off a dying relative. At the same time, the sprawling temple grounds and its village annex are home to more than 500 people who are living with AIDS.

Ninety percent of patients who come here survive, the abbot said.

But he also said 90 percent of these survivors are unable to return to their homes or to find a place to live where nobody knows them.

"In the past they would come here and die and we would cremate them," he said - some 10,000 cremations over the years.

"The new ones may really stay a long time, a lifetime," he said.

"If they stay here, they are happier. They are with friends. We understand each other. Nobody discriminates against each other."

The discrimination is just a short walk away through the temple grounds, among the visitors who come here to worship and the vendors who sell them food and souvenirs.

Patients here say that the vendors have a rule for them - "You touch it, you buy it," sometimes accompanied by a shout of, "Stand back! Don't touch anything!"

When patients wander close to the temple visitors, they say, people back away from them "like we are some kind of alien".

An official with Unaids in Geneva said she did not know whether colonies like this had yet formed in other developing countries, where drug distribution programs are mostly much weaker, and long-term survival less common.

But the official, Purnima Mane, said in a telephone interview that discrimination against those who survive on medication was similarly driving people into lives of isolation.

"In Africa, for example, with access to treatment more available and people already isolated from their families", she said, "they would find it difficult to suddenly find a home back with their families just because they look healthy". In Brazil, which she said was another leader in the distribution of low-cost medication, survivors have formed self-help networks.

The latest concern in Thailand is the challenge of providing the more expensive second-line treatments, which could make it difficult to maintain the universal medical coverage now available for patients.

Though Thailand has saved billions of dollars through its pioneering policies, one result has been a greater financial burden on the AIDS temple here. In the long run, it is a much more expensive proposition to live than to die.

"The sick patients cost much more per day, or course", the abbot said, sitting in his rust-brown robe before a large statue of Buddha. "But generally they would just stay for a month or so and die".

Courtesy: - International Herald Tribune