Buddhist Spectrum

The legend behind:

Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya

Rupa Banduwardena

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There is the cultural heritage, folktales and oral tradition handed down by the pious indigenes which revolve round Bellanwila temple. A close study reveals that the ideas expressed are true and there is no reason to doubt the truth of it. But little is known by the present devotees. This is a bit of the legend and tradition related

to the temple, for their knowledge. Most of what I have gathered is from a book authored by an enthusiastic writer Ranjith Amarakeerthi Palihapitiya. It brings the

miraculous beliefs behind the temple into focus.

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Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya occupies a unique place as one of the most historic and significant among the many temples in the island today. It is hailed as one of the most sacred with miraculous powers which nobody can account for. There is a good deal of historical evidence and sufficient documentary evidence to prove its worth as a glorious temple from its legendary beginnings. There are numerous beliefs legendary and traditions associated with the temple.

There is also the cultural heritage, folktales and oral tradition handed down by the pious indigenes which revolve round this temple. A close study reveals that the ideas expressed are true and there is no reason to doubt the truth of it. But little is known by the present devotees. This is a bit of the legend and tradition related to the temple, for their knowledge. Most of what I have gathered is from a book authored by an enthusiastic writer Ranjith Amarakeerthi Palihapitiya. It

brings the miraculous beliefs behind the temple into focus.

Rediscovering the legend

The story of the rediscovery of the temple originally covered by the thick jungle, which exposes a tale of miraculous grandeur is a very popular one. It bears testimony to the anxiety and commitment of the Ven. Thengodagedara Thera to locate the source. Proceeding along a waterway following the sound of a drum he had been hearing very clearly and when he approached the place, the drum beat had suddenly stopped. He sensed it immediately, looked around in astonishment, the sacred Bo tree had caught his eye. The legend says that the drum beat was a divine creation.

It speaks of very powerful deities making it their abode in ancient times. When it was covered by lush green landscape, the deities had made various offerings and venerated the Bo tree.

Light of the night

Among the paddyfields giving a bountiful harvest in the neighbourhood of the temple there is another Bo tree in Pillawe which is said to have had very close connections.

In the peace and tranquillity of the night when stars are shining people have often witnessed the so-called Devatha Eli (divine radiance) emanating from the sacred Bo tree.

It is believed that these lights travel from Kelaniya to Bellanwila and from there to Kalutara where most sacred Bodhiyas are located.

According to legend the red light appearing on Fridays belong to God Kataragama and the blue lights on Wednesday and Saturdays belong to God Vishnu.

It is said that these lights appear after 10 p.m. in the night. Hence the belief that the most appropriate and effective time to chant Pirith and recite Seth Kavi is after 10 p.m. in this silent blissful place.

There are some stories relating how people have witnessed Deities like Suniyan donned in full white dress with a white turban riding on horse back to the temple.

The Devalaya has a history going back to the time when people specially in suburbs were streaming in to pray for the recovery of lost things. It has always remained a special place for those in difficulty is the popular belief.

According to folklore tradition that has been handed down by the indigenes by word of mouth regarding the intense piety of the late Ven. Sangasatana Thera, it is said that during his tenure a white and brown coloured king Cobra living in the Bo tree, being disturbed by the devotees sprinkling water on the Bodhiya had come out and how the terrified devotees rushed and summoned the thera to chant Pirith and the consequent disappearance of the Nagarajaya a fascinating tale related up to this day. The early villagers had watched how the cobra was moving gently over his feet with dismay.

Numerous snakes had been prevalent in the thick jungle close by and also in the uncleared areas of the temple premises so much so it is said that there was no danger to anyone of the monks or Bhikkus living in the temple or the devotees visiting the temple.

Human divinity

Another interesting episode is the theft of the brass lamp lit throughout the year referred to as Dolos Mahe Pahana. Disappointed over the incident, the monk had said to the Vishnu in a threatening voice: “If you cannot look after the lamp lit right in front of you I will not light it hereafter.”

The very same evening the thieves had returned the lamp placing it exactly in the original position. None of the thieves had been in a proper mental state. It is after chanting pirith and blessing them by the Thera what they had regained their normalcy with a big apology.

During his era he had heard the buzzing sound of the bees from the direction of the Bodhiya, around 11 p.m. and he had witnessed circular golden rays encircling the Bodhiya and he was of the view that it denoted a meeting of the deities.

As it happens often, those living around do not dispute the accuracy of this fact, since religious faith and belief is deeply embedded in them.

Another astonishing event during the time of Ven. Somaratana Thera: two branches of the Bo tree (venerated and worshipped by thousands of devotees streaming in daily with endless hopes and wishes deeply engaged themselves in making numerous pujas) right on top of the two Devalayas close to each other had fallen down on two occasions which would have caused total damage.

But on both occasions the branches were in between the two, as if it had been placed there safely by somebody avoiding danger to anyone or any place.

This supports the view of the existence of some super natural power - the power of the Sakyamuni the enlightened one to safeguard the place.

Respecting the rituals

There is also the development of rituals and customs highlighting the morals of society.

A widespread custom of the devotees far and wide is to bring the newborn after three months, leave them on the sandy ground and deeply engage themselves in making pujas with the highest respect for the Buddha.

They look upon this not only as having religious significance, but also as blessing the baby from all evils in the future. Such is the popularity of the temple that capture the hearts of young parents.

It is also believed that making vows seeking the blessings of the sacred Bo tree for the speedy recovery of the sick is very effective.

Some stories relate how even the most seriously ill had been cured. The numerous flags tied round the Bodhiya indicating Apala duruwewa, Suwapath weva bear testimony to the faith of the devotees and unfold the service rendered. Buddhists continue to visit this wonderful sacred place of bliss.

Expel your ghost

Lotus Heart

That man’s wife was very sick. It was a lethal one, doctors said. So she wanted to talk to her husband on the deathbed.

“Love, I care for you so much. It’s so hard I have to leave you. But I hope you won’t forget and betray me. Promise me you won’t see any woman. Please! If you break this, I will sure come back to haunt you.”

Then the poor woman passed on. Her husband kept his promise, but that lasted only a few months. He met someone and he could not help falling in love with that sweet girl. The night the man was to get married, his wife appeared in a ghost form. She accused him for not keeping to his words. Since then she appeared every night to taunt him. Ghost kept on recapping what happens throughout the day, sometimes even repeating. This upset the man so much and he was no longer in peace.

One day he decided to see a Zen master. Luckily the master lived in his village.

“Your ex is a very clever ghost,” Master opined upon listening to the man.

“Absolutely, it is. The ghost knows what I do from A to Z.”

The master cast a smile and said: “I say, you should love this ghost. Now I am going to tell you how to deal her when she comes up a next time.”

The triumphant ghost made its visit that night too. Man couldn’t wait till he followed the master’s advice.

“I can see you are such a well-informed ghost. I know I cannot hide anything from you. But will you let me ask you one single question? If you give me the right answer, I will break off this marriage and stay single for your sake.”

“Go ahead.” Said the ghost.

Then the man scooped up a handful of beans from a large bag on the floor and asked: “Ok, can you tell me exactly how many beans are there in my hand?”

What happened next?

The ghost vanished into thin air never to come back. The man had a happy peaceful life with his new wife since then.

Bet most of you didn’t get the ‘beans’ part of this narrative. The meaning sort of remains yet to be seen. But it gives a clear-cut philosophical message: everything we take as complicated are actually simple. It is a matter of how strategic enough we think.

The ghost became a menace to the man’s life. He took it as a very serious issue, and for that reason alone, his mind was not free enough to think up of a solution. What the Zen Master said was just simple. Even another mind bending question would have been enough to make the ghost shy away. Zen Master’s mind was vacant so he could think afresh, while it was not quite so in the man’s case.

I have heard in my little days that ghosts are mind made. I remembered that because this strange ghost tells everything what happened, but it failed to see what happened between the man and the Zen Master – strange, isn’t it? Man has cheated himself - but unknowingly! We cheat ourselves in many instances, but we hardly notice that. That is called illusion, or moha in a more understandable sense.

That the wife would come as a ghost if her promise gets broken worked really well in the man’s mind. His mind naturally reacted by seeing a ghost on the very first day the marriage is to occur. Man is extremely fragile and sensitive, so he got easily captured in his own trap.

The mind made illusions should be wiped away from the same technique. That’s why Zen Master employed that technique. He knew the real situation. He injected the feeling into the man that the ghost cannot outsmart him with this particular ‘bean’ question. That advice got ingrained in his mind and helped the man drive away the self-made ghost.

Misinterpretations of Buddhism

Rohan L. Jayatilleke

Kamalika Pieris, writing on ‘Buddhism in India’ in a previous Daily News Buddhist Spectrum, records a diabolical concoction regarding Islam: “In North India, Buddhism was replaced by Islam. Islam’s largest following in India came from the Buddhist areas of North India.”

This is total falsehood and misrepresentation. The Arabs conquered Sindh area in 712 and in the 11th and 12th centuries Muslim invaded India and destroyed the Buddhist Viharas which were replete with gold, silver and gemstone statues and carried away cartloads to Turkistan. Even under the Mughuls there was no mass conversion of Hindus into Islam.

This is born by the fact that Hindus whose Rigveda is datable to 1500 to 600 BC with 1028 mantras, followed later by Sama Veda, Yajur Veda Atharveda, Puranas, Brahmanas and Upanishads.

Hinduism continues to be the major religion in India even now. It was Hinduism, Mahayana and Jainism in North India.

Kamalika is taking the trees for the woods not studying the Census reports of India but making imaginary mathematical and historical calculation, revealing her total ignorance of the Indian population structure from the 6th century BC to present times. In fact in the Indian Constitutions under the provisions on Freedom of worship, the Hindu religions are enumerated as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism and there is no reference to Christianity and Islam as they are not of Indian birth.

The Muslims’ language is Urdu which is also a official language of Andhra Pradesh including Telegu.

There were no mass conversions to Muslims but the Muslim invaders were only robbing India of its treasures, and named cities under Muslim names under the rule of Mughuls, like Allhabad, Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Buddhist Population

In spite of the sudden passing away of Dr. Ambedkar on December 6, 1956 while in sleep, and yet though without a leader to guide the mass, yet conversions to Buddhism of Dalits continued unabated. No wonder in 1961, Census revealed a still greater miracle. The Buddhist population showed and unprecedented increase from 180,800 in 1951 rising to 3,250,000 in 1961.

Thus in one stroke Buddhism became a living religion in India, particularly in Maharashtra.

The Buddhist population in India has been growing slowly but steadily after 1961. According to Census of India 2001, the population of Buddhists in India as on Match was 8 million, which was 0.7 percent. Presently the Buddhist population is 10 million.

The growth rate of Buddhist population has come down from 36.0 percent in 1981-1991, to 23.2 percent during 1991-2001. This means that the revival movement initiated by Dr. Ambedkar has slowed down.

The reason for this is that majority of the so called Ambedkarites are not willing to respond to Ambedkar’s last message to take refuge in Buddha Dhamma. However in some states the Buddhist population has increased substantially.

For example in Karnataka State, the Buddhist population has increased from 73,012 in 1991 to 393,300 in 2001. Of all the Buddhist groups in India, the followers of Dr. Ambedkar or Ambedkarite Buddhists are the most dominant group. They are over 90 percent of the total Buddhist population of India.

Majority of them, around six million of the 10 million, live in Maharashtra and more than half of these Buddhists attended the 2550 Buddha Jayanthi celebrations held at Buddha Gaya in 2006, wherein the key address on Paticcasamuppada was delivered by Sarath N Silva, the former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka; I covered this for the media in India and Sri Lanka. The 12-mile long procession to mark this occasion had a large concentration of Ambedkarite Buddhists coming all the way from Maharashtra to India.

In the 2006 Buddha Jayanthi closing ceremony at Saranath Varanasi, thousands of Ambedkarite Buddhists were present presenting Buddhist song and dance in Marathi, their national langauge, which too was covered by this writer for the media.

New Viharas

Presently, Maharashtra, which has the largest Buddhist population of six million, is studded with Buddha Viharas. Almost every locality in cities, and every village has a vihara.

The largest number of Buddha Viharas are in Nagpur, the capital of Neo-Buddhist Movement set in motion by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

And, Delhi, the capital of India, has the second largest concentration of Buddha Viharas, more than 40 as against two prior to 1956.

The historical site of Kurukeshtra, where the Buddha delivered the Satipattana Sutta, to Kurus, who were then the most intelligent people too are in Old Delhi. Some of the important Buddhist Viharas constructed by Indian Buddhists as well as Buddhists of other countries during the last 50 years are as follows: A significant feature of the Ambedkar Era of Indian Buddhism is the construction of more than 25 Buddha Viharas at Buddha Gaya Buddhists of South Asian countries.

Buddha Gaya also has the honour of having the tallest Buddha statue in meditative posture in India.

Erected by the Daijokyo Association of Japan, the Great Buddha Statue is 80 feet in hight and 60 feet wide, built of pink chunzr stones and seated on a lotus. This was designed by an Indian architect and constructed within one year. In 1931 Anagarika Dharmapala had the Nava Mulagandhakuti Vihara built at Saranath, Varanasi, declared open by Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Secretary General of the Indian Congress, accompanied by his wife Kamala, and two sisters Vijay Lakshmi Pandit and Subha Pandit. In sequel to this effort Buddhist countries built Buddha Viharas at Saranath, Sravasti and Kushinagar (Kusinara).

The Japanese have built a magnificent Peace Pagoda stop Ratnagiri hill at Rajgir (Bihar).

This 160 feet high gold topped pagoda was opened on October 25, 1969. Another significant Peace Pagoda built by Fuji Guruji of Japan is atop Dhalu hills, near Bhuvaneshwar, the capital of Orissa State, near the Asokan rock inscription expressing his remove over the conquest of Kalinga (Orissa) beside river Daya, near Dhauli hill. This is the place where King Asoka embraced Buddhism under Ven. Upagupta/Maha Moggaliputta Tissa Thera, a native of Dhauli. The Kalinga Peace Pagoda was inaugurated on 8 November 1972.