Theravada Buddhism in ancient and medieval Sri Lanka

Kamalika Pieris

THERAVADA BUDDHISM: Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera in his History of Buddhism (1956) took the view that Sri Lanka would have known about Buddhism during the time of the Buddha Himself, since there was regular contact between India and Sri Lanka during that period.

This view has been strengthened by the recent discovery that Anuradhapura has settlements from 10th century BC. Archaeologist Siran Deraniyagala has stated that Buddhism would have come into Sri Lanka early.

If so, then Buddhism was known in Sri Lanka long before the reign of King Dharmasoka and the arrival of Arhant Mahinda Thera in 3rd century BC.

State religion

E.W. Adikaram in his Early History of Buddhism (1946) had also concluded that Buddhism existed in Ceylon before the arrival of Arhant Mahinda Thera. He took the view that Arhant Mahinda Thera came to set up the monastic order.

He said that it was only after the conversion of King Devanampiyatissa that Buddhism became the State religion in Sri Lanka.

Historians now think that the meeting between Arhant Mahinda Thera and King Devanampiyatissa was pre-arranged. Communication would not have been a problem.

The Magadhi language, which Arhant Mahinda Thera spoke, would have been similar to Sinhala. The Asokan inscriptions are similar to Sinhala inscriptions of 3rd century BC.

The doctrine preached by Arhant Mahinda Thera in Sri Lanka was based on the Sthaviravadin School of Buddhist thought, known as Theravada. Theravada was considered the doctrine coming direct from the time of the Buddha.

Theravada established itself firmly in the island. The Sinhala kings and the three Nikayas - Mahavihara, Abhayagiri and Jetavana embraced the Theravada doctrine. In time, Sri Lanka came to be seen as the one country that had preserved Buddhism in its original form in the Theravada doctrine.

Theravada system

However, there was a strong Mahayana presence in Sri Lanka during the second half of the Anuradhapura period.

Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera says that Mahayana influence over the ideas and teaching of Theravada was persistent and that as time went on Mahayana ideas and practices crept slowly in the Theravada system and were accepted and incorporated into the orthodox teaching without question of their validity.

Mahavihara and Abhayagiri developed two different schools of Theravada thought. Mahavihara was conservatively Theravada and had its own interpretation of the Theravada doctrine.

Mahavihara teachings went to South India. R.A.L.H. Gunawardana says that most of the Pali works attributed to South Indian scholars are expositions of the teachings of the Mahavihara.

Abhayagiri, though receptive to Mahayana and Tantra, was a Theravada establishment and was recognised as such in India. Abhayagiri had its own interpretation of the Pali canon and its own commentaries. Abhayagiri disseminated Buddhism more energetically than Mahavihara. Ven. Hsuan Tsang Thera said that Abhayagiri 'widely diffused the Tripitaka'.

Sri Lanka made a unique contribution to the Theravada doctrine. The Sangha, with the support of the king, paid special attention to the preservation of the doctrine. The doctrine was memorised and transmitted orally from generation to generation of Monks.

Pali Tripitaka

The canon was divided into collections and each collection was given to a specific group of monks to memorise. Then in the reign of Vattagamani (89-77 BC), the Tripitaka was put into writing.

This was the first time that the Theravada doctrine had been recorded in writing and it was done in Sri Lanka. As a result, the Theravada canon, which disappeared from India, survived in Sri Lanka.

The Pali Tripitaka is very important. It contains the earliest Buddhist canon. It is also the only complete version. The Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit Tripitaka are fragmented. Paranavithana points out that the preservation of the Theravada canon ranks as the greatest contribution made by Sri Lanka to the intellectual heritage of the world. numerous commentaries.

The Sinhala contribution did not end there. Paranavithana says that Mahinda Thera brought with him the commentaries he had got from his teachers, explaining the terms used in Buddhism.

These were handed down with great care in the Sinhala monasteries. The Sinhala monks examined these commentaries and then wrote numerous commentaries of their own. These Sinhala commentaries formed a 'huge literature.'

One collection of such writings was said to be equal in volume to seven elephants of middle size. The earliest commentaries were the Maha Attakatha, the Maha Paecari and the Kurundi.

They were the three principal Sinhala works on which the subsequent commentaries of almost all the important texts of the Tripitaka were based. Short extracts from these Sinhala originals can be found in the Dampiya Atuva Getapadaya.

These Sinhala commentaries (Atuva) were greatly valued as a major contribution to Theravada. They eventually became the only commentaries available on Theravada.

The Sinhala Atuva were translated into Pali in the 5th century, by three Indian monks, Buddhaghosa, Buddhadatta and Dhammapala.

Buddhaghosa, monk from Andhra or Telegu country, arrived in the reign of Mahanama (406-428) and translated selected Sinhala commentaries.

Task of translations

These are the Pali commentaries, which we now possess. Buddhaghosa was not given ready access to the commentaries. He was first examined by the Mahavihara to see whether he was capable of undertaking the task of translations. The two Cola monks Buddhadatta and Dhammapala came to Sri Lanka later and translated further Sinhala commentaries to Pali.

The belief that after Ven. Buddhaghosa Thera, the Sinhala commentaries were gathered together and destroyed by fire is incorrect.

The Sinhala commentaries did to go out of use as soon as the Pali version was made. The Sinhala commentaries were in use until at least the 10th century. These commentaries are now irretrievably lost.

The Sinhala Sangha provided new material to the Sutta Pitaka of the Theravada canon. The Kuddakapatha, the first book of the Khuddaka Nikaya was compiled and given canonical authority in Sri Lanka.

Valuable contribution

The Parivara Section of the Vinaya Pitaka was expanded and the Parajikapali and Pacittiyapali sections added. A valuable contribution was made on the question of Nibbana as a metaphysical entity, on the theory of phenomena, and on the development of the Theory of Double Truth as held in the Theravada Buddhism of the time.

Visudhimagga contained a chapter on the Theravada interpretation of the theory of dependant origination, where the twelve-fold theory was dealt with more deeply and more extensively than in other works.

This text carries a detailed exposition of the three-life interpretation of dependant origination. Sri Lanka also made a valuable contribution to Buddhology, by examining all references to the Buddha in the Buddhist texts.

Sri Lanka became a centre for Buddhist studies. Sinhala monks were admired for their strictly disciplined, austere style and for their scholarship. There were many scholars of repute. Foreign monks visited Sri Lankan monasteries to advance their knowledge of Buddhism. In the Anuradhapura period many South Indian monks came to Mahavihara in the Anurahdapura period to study under Sinhala Monks.

Three valued relics

The Chinese monk Fa Hsien Thera came in the reign of Mahanama (406-428) and stayed for about 2 years. He found many foreigners at Abhayagiri.

Two Cola monks Ven. Buddhamitta Thera and Kassapa Thera arrived during the reign of Parakramabahu I. Around the year 1171, the Burmese Monks Chapata Thera was studying in Sri Lanka.

He met Nanda Thera from Kachipura, as well as Sivali Thera, from Tamralipti, who had come to Sri Lanka to study the teachings of the Mahavihara. The son of the king of Cambodia was also in Sri Lanka preparing for his ordination. In the reign of Buvanekhabahu I (1272-1284) Dhammakitti Thera, a senior Monk from Ligor (Nakon Sri Thammarat) arrived in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka was an important place of worship and pilgrimage. Sri Lanka has three valued relics, the Tooth, Hair and Bowl Relics. The alms bowl and several other Relics of the Buddha including the right collarbone, came during Arhat Mahinda Thera's time.

The Kesa Dhatu arrived in Sri Lanka during the reign of Moggallana I (491-508). During the time of Kublai Khan (1260-1294 AD) a mission came from China to pay respect to the Buddha's alms bowl. King Thihathura (1469-1481) and his Queen made their hair into a broom, studded its handle with gems and sent it to sweep the floor of the Tooth Relic Temple in Kotte.

A branch of the Sacred Bodhi Tree had arrived with Sanghamitta Therani. It took root in Anuradhapura.

Saplings of this Tree were distributed all over the island, including Jambukolapatuna (Sambiliturai) and Kataragama. Sri Pada was known during the time of the Mahavamsa. It became a popular place of worship once Vijayabahu I (1055-1110) made it accessible.

Lineage of ordination

Sri Lanka possessed an unbroken lineage of ordination coming from the time of Arhat Mahinda Thera. This brought many persons into Sri Lanka for ordination.

They came from Burma, Cambodia, India and Thailand. Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera researching into Buddhism in the Anuradhapura period, found that two persons from India, a Brahmana from Pataliputra (Patna) and a wealthy merchant named Visakha came to Sri Lanka and were ordained as monks, having heard of the fame of one Ven. Mahanaga Thera of Sri Lanka. Those who could not come here obtained the Sinhala ordination from elsewhere.

In the 14th century a Thai monk went to Burma and received Upasampada from a Sinhala monk, Udumbaragiri.

The Sinhala monks propagated Theravada Buddhism in other countries. Bodhisri inscription at Nagarjunikonda (3rd century) says that monks from Sri Lanka helped entrench Buddhism in many regions in greater India and beyond, such as Kashmir, Gandhara and China.

The Sinhala Monks helped to establish Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. This contribution is still remembered. At a symposium on Nalanda held in Singapore in 2006, a number of speakers had made reference to Sri Lanka's historic role in the spread of Buddhism in South East Asia.

Sinhala monks were highly regarded in India. They were praised in an inscription at Nagarjunikonda, dated to 3rd century. Ven. Hiuen Tsang Thera, who was in India in the 7th century, said that the Sinhala Monks "were distinguished in their attitude to moral rules, in their power of abstraction and their wisdom.

Their manners were grave and imposing. Their correct conduct was an example for subsequent ages."

To be continued

Last few hours of Venerable Siri Devamitta Dhammapala

As accounted by Brahamachariya Devapriya Walisinghe in 1933

Anagarika Dharmapala spent the last years of his life as a Bhikkhu. He was known as venerable Siri Devamitta Dharmapala.

This is an account of his last few hours on earth. Anagarika Dharmapala's 143rd birth anniversary fell on September 17.

DHARMAPALA: "Let me die soon. Let me be re-born twenty-five times to spread the Buddha's Dhamma." This was the last wish of the late Venerable Siri Devamitta Dharmapala, as he lay sick in the bed at Holy Isipatana with a fever to which he eventually succumbed on 29th April last.

It was not the wish of the coward or the imbecile but the earnest yearning of the undaunted spirit seeking fresh opportunities for greater service to humanity. Every minute of his remarkable life had been spent for the good of humanity and it was impossible for him to lie ideal in bed.

He was now compelled to a life of inactivity which was against his very nature and he longed to free himself from it. How often did he during his last days express a desire to pass away and be re-born with a better body and mind to serve Buddhism.

On the 20th, his condition became serious and I thought it advisable to send a telegram to his relations in Colombo. Responsibility lay heavy on my shoulders and at distant and lonely Isipatana I wanted someone who could share it with me.

The doctors were very grave and I could guess who was going on in their minds. So I wired to Calcutta asking Dr. P. Nandi, one of the leading physicians in Calcutta, to come up at once for no one understood Venerable Dharmapala's ailments better that Doctor Nandi.

The reply came much to my relief that an assistant Doctor was coming up on the 22nd and that Dr. Nandi himself would arrive on the 23rd. In the meantime on the 22nd, the Doctors pronounced the case as critical. "Let me die soon, let me be re-born. I can no longer prolong my agony; I would like to be re-born twenty-five times to spread the Buddha's Dharma" repeated Venerable Dharmapala.

At eleven o'clock in the morning his pulse began to fail and death was imminent. A tense silence prevailed in the room as heavy as a spell and there were many a hushed whisper and smothered sob around the bed of the dying leader.

He was not fully conscious of all that was happening around him while with heavy hearts we devoutly arranged his bed facing the Vihara so that he may have a fully view of the great work he had completed.

He looked for a moment at the sacred and stately edifice with that longing of the affectionate parent for his growing off-spring and in a flash this was changed into one of reverential love as he several times raised his folded hands in adoration.

An "Ata-Pirikara" was offered and we placed an image before him while the Samaneras chanted "Pirith", listening to which the great leader fell asleep and he was still sleeping when the assistant doctor arrived with oxygen from Calcutta. Waking up a little later he only asked, "Why all this delay?"

A streak of hope

Doctor Nandi arrived on the 23rd and the joy of our leader was unbounded. Ever since they had met each other they had been like brothers and I could hardly suppress the tears that rushed into my eyes as I saw how the two kindred great men met each other in mutual understanding and regard - one in the throes of death and the other determined to save him.

After a prolonged and careful examination Dr. Nandi pronounced the case of pneumonia. The arrival of the doctor changed the whole atmosphere of the place. Utter hopelessness and depression which were so long predominant gave place to hope and confidence for not merely was he the healer but was a guide, philosopher and comforter to us all. To our infinite joy and relief the patient began to come around; in the doctors presence he no longer refused medicine for he had implicit faith in him.

I shall be happy to take your medicine and die, he told the doctor.

Buddha Gaya

On receiving news of his serious illness the Samaneras who were sent to Buddha Gaya, returned on the 24th and peeped into the sick room. "From where are they coming?" enquired Venerable Dharmapala. "From Buddha Gaya" replied Revd. Sasanasiri who was standing close by.

When he heard this there was quite an agitated look in his face giving an index to the worrying emotions in his heart and then at last he asked to every one's surprise. "When her child is dying will the mother run away?" Those present readily understood what he meant for Buddha Gaya was of greater importance to him than his own life.

Throughout his illness Venerable Dharmapala kept harping on the Buddha Gaya question. Not a day passed without a reference to it. It has been his greatest ambition to recover the sacred site for the Buddhist world.

Lately he had re-started the movement and was contemplating a vigorous campaign when he unfortunately fell ill. "If I live another two years I shall see that the Holy Temple is restored," he told me once. His plan was to take up his residence at Gaya itself and from there carry on his last battle. He expected the whole Buddhist world to stand by him like one man, but in this he was sadly mistaken.

It was a rude awakening that he received a copy of a memorial sent by the Congress of Buddhist Associations dealing a death blow to his life's long aspirations. It was the greatest shock of his life and I can vividly recollect his pain and anguish when he read it. Alas! He never recovered from that shock.

How could he forget such treachery even on his sick bed? Space does not permit me to dwell on everything he said in this connection; but I must say that the restoration of Buddha Gaya to its rightful owners is a work which he has left to Buddhists to complete and I hope that it will be taken up in right earnest by the entire Buddhist world who would not look back till they succeed, thus crowning with success the great and heroic task initiated by the greatest of Buddhist Missionaries for the last seven hundred years and the greatest of Sinhalese of his time.

Flicker of the lamp

"Venerable Dharmapala's nephew, Mr. Raja Hewavitarane arrived from Colombo on the 26th, a day earlier than we expected, I had been fervently hoping that he would arrive before the patient should take a serious turn and so his welcome presence lifted a heavy load from my head. My relief was immense.

Venerable Dharmapala recognised him at once, affectionately stroked his face and enquired about his brother Neil. He also asked what action they were taking against the memorial sent by the Buddhist Congress.

As hours passed by the showed signs of recovery but it was only the last flicker of the flame before it went out. The end was soon to come, and bathe the Buddhist world in tears.

As the patient was not taking sufficient nourishment food had to be injected much against his will. On the 27th, all of a sudden he called and wanted pen and paper to write something very important.

He was semi-conscious at the time, and after scribbling something with great effort he closed his eyes. There were three lines of which the first was very indistinct while the last two read as follows: "Doctor Nandi I am tired of injections; I may pass away."

Aniccawata sankara

On the 28th, his condition showed no improvement although Dr. Nandi was hopeful and asked us not to worry. After staying at Sarnath for five days Dr. Nandi left by the evening train giving full instructions to his assistant to continue the treatment.

The patient passed a restless night and though very much worried at the time, little did we think of what the morrow held in store. In the morning of the 29th he was almost unconscious, and spoke nothing at all except mutter my name once. The usual sponge bath was given by the assistant doctor but unlike on other days the patient did not turn to a side. He showed no desire for food and his eyes were half closed.

A serene smile

Mr. Rajah Hewavitarane and all the inmates were anxiously watching by his bed side in silence when at about 12 o'clock, the temperature began to rise and in spite of all the efforts of the doctor and me it rose to 104 Farenthight by 2 o'clock.

We now realised that the end was near and Mr. Hewavitarane summoned all the Bhikhus and Samaneras and requested them to chant Pirith. While the priests were thus chanting the great leader breathed his last peacefully at 3 o'clock. There was a serene smile on his face bespeaking happiness and contentment.

Thus ended the remarkable career of the greatest Sinhalese of modern times and one of the most lovable and dominating personalities of this age. Not only did he save the Sinhalese from national degeneration and extermination but also won them a place of high honour amongst the great nations by his humanitarian activities throughout the world.

This is not the place to make an exhibition of his service to humanity, but it may be said without fear of contradiction that his services in the cause of his country's welfare and his services in the cause of Buddhism throughout the world are unsurpassed by those of any one during the last seven hundred years.

A grateful nation will no doubt treasure his memory ranking him with such great Missionaries like Asoka, Mahinda Thera and other great figures in the history of Buddhism. (Maha Bodhi Journal - June 1933)