Mihintalawa The sacred place

Rupa BANDUWARDENA

Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gauthama, the Buddha after attaining supreme enlightenment, the supreme state of perfection or Buddhahood approached Saranath and it was here that He preached His first sermon to the five ascetics, His former companions, before His spiritual achievement. This event is known as Dhamma Chakka Pavattana or setting in motion the wheel of the Dhamma symbolising Sansara.

The great Emperor Asoka erected two structures Damek and Dharmarajita stupas to mark and commemorate the sacred event and the honoured place continued to flourish till the 12th century after which the site suffered destruction. After the Muslim invasion Saranath became a mount of debris below, which the sacred site remained buried. Colonel Cunningham, the reputed archaeologist in his excavations had found an inscription stating that this is the spot where the Buddha delivered his first sermon.

Hence Dameka is considered to be the sacred spot where the voice of the Thathagatha was first heard. Also in His noble task of propagation of His doctrine He said, "Charatha Bhikkave charikam bahujana hithaya bahujana sukaya, "meaning (go forth oh monks for the good of the many for the happiness of the many)." The Buddha Himself set out on a journey of compassion, for 45 long years. Exactly after 236 years after Mahaparinibbana, the sublime message He proclaimed in Jambudweepa appeared here in Dharmadweepa in the month of Poson in the year 247 BC.

Dhamma mission

Thathagatha the Perfect One gave the world the universal truth, centered on Saranath. The second person to bring it from Jambudweepa to Sri Lanka to make it Dhammadweepa was Arhant Thera Mahinda, son of Emperor Asoka, shaping the destiny and future of the people and the country creating a golden era unparalleled in the annals of Sansaric history. It was in Mihintalawa the voice of Arahant was first heard with the blissful message of the Buddha, also said to be sanctified by the Buddha Himself three centuries before the advent of Thera Mahinda; according to legend.

Among the many suttas in the Buddhist teachings His first sermon was Chullahatthipadopama Sutta, which gives a detailed explanation of Sila, Samadhi and Panna in the noble eight-fold path, in the event of introducing Buddhism to Sinhaladipa.