Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0337/03377.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 34KB | 526 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03377}
$Pretitle{296}
$Title{Sri Lanka
Chapter 2C.   Religion}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Peter R. Blood}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{buddha
sri
lanka
god
sinhalese
buddhism
gods
monks
life
worship}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Sri Lanka
Book:        Sri Lanka, A Country Study
Author:      Peter R. Blood
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1990

Chapter 2C.   Religion

Buddhism

The Life and Message of the Buddha

     The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddartha Gautama, a prince of
the Sakya clan in what is now Nepal during the sixth century B.C. Popular
stories of his life include many miraculous events: before his birth his
mother experienced visions that foretold his future greatness; when he was
born, he could immediately walk and talk; wise men who encountered the child
predicted that he would become either a great sage or a great emperor. Behind
these legends is the tale of a young man reared in luxury, who began to
question the meaning of life. At the age of thirty, he abandoned his home
(including his beautiful wife and child) and wandered throughout northeast
India as a beggar, searching for truth.

     Gautama studied under several religious teachers and became adept at
techniques of meditation and self-imposed austerity. Finally, he sat down
under a bo (pipal) tree and resolved not to move from that spot until he had
achieved perfect enlightenment. He entered into deeper and deeper
concentration, until he finally reached an understanding of the nature of
existence and the purpose of life. He thus became the one who knows, the
Buddha (from the verb budh, to know or understand). At first he debated
whether other beings would be able to comprehend the knowledge that he had
gained, but compassion moved him to bring his message to the world and lead
others to enlightment. He spent the next fifty years traveling throughout
northeast India, discussing his knowledge with all sorts of people. By the end
of his life, his message and example had attracted large numbers of converts,
from kings to beggars, from rich men to robbers. At his death around 483 B.C.,
he left behind a dedicated group of disciples who carried on his work.

     The Buddha summed up his message in Four Noble Truths that still form the
core of Buddhist belief. The first truth is that life is suffering (dukkha).
The material world, thoughts, emotions, and ideas are all transitory and do
not express or contain any eternal truths. All beings repeatedly experience
pain and loss as they pass through innumerable lives, never able to emerge
from a conditioned existence (samsara) created through their own
consciousness. The second truth describes the cause of suffering as attachment
to the world and the products of one's own consciousness. This attachment, or
craving for existence, causes beings to create mental views of the world and
believe they are correct, to form relationships with other beings, to struggle
and desire. Such efforts are in vain because none of these strategies allows
them to escape from their limited, suffering world. The third truth says that
the way to break the limiting trap of samsara is to stop attachment. Once one
has concentrated awareness so intensely that all material and spiritual
phenomena appear empty, without real substance, then existence becomes
liberated and suffering ceases. The fourth truth is the Noble Eightfold Path
of behavior, which roots out attachment and the conditioned view of the world
and leads toward the state of enlightenment (nibbana--nirvana, see Glossary)
gained by the Buddha. The true follower of the Buddha rejects the world,
becomes a full-time searcher after truth, and practices meditation that
concentrates awareness.

The Buddhist Community

     In the absence of the Buddha, the custodian of his message is the
assembly (sangha--see Glossary) of monks who carry on his work. The members of
the Buddhist assembly practice the discipline (vinaya) set forth by the Buddha
as a system of rules for a monastic order. The discipline calls for strict
control over the senses and dedicated meditation by the individual monk
(bhikku--see Glossary). Following the Buddha's example, the monk should spend
the morning begging for food from the lay community, then abstain from meals
after noon. He should shave his head, wear orange (or yellow) robes, and own
only his clothes and a begging bowl. He should avoid all sexual contact or any
other forms of sensual pleasure. The bhikku should rest in one place for an
extended period only during the rainy season, when groups of mendicants may
stay together in communal houses (vihara). Elaborate rules evolved for
admitting novices to the monastic community and conferring ordination on
bhikku who passed through a period of initiation and training. The strict
organization of the monastic order created a solid basis for the preservation
of the Buddha's message and a readily adaptable institution that was
transplanted in a variety of social environments throughout Asia.

     Buddhism in Sri Lanka has its roots deep in one of the earliest variants
of Buddhism that survives in the world today. The Sinhalese call their beliefs
Theravada, or "the doctrine of the elders." Their tradition, frequently
described as Hinayana (meaning "lesser vehicle"), preserves a clear
understanding of the Buddha as a man who achieved enlightenment and developed
monks (arhat) as accomplished followers of his teachings. This tradition
differs from the more widespread Mahayana ("great vehicle"), which often
treats the Buddha as a superhuman being and fills the universe with a pantheon
of enlightened figures (bodhisattvas) who help others achieve enlightenment.
In Sri Lanka, people do not officially worship the Buddha, but show reverence
to his memory. The most striking expressions of public reverence are dagoba or
thupa (stupa), large mounds built over sites where relics of the Buddha or a
great monk are buried. The dagoba in Sri Lanka preserve a spherical shape and
a style of architectural embellishment that link them directly to the
monuments originally erected over the Buddha's remains in ancient India. The
traditions of the Sinhalese indicate that their oldest dagoba are at least
2,000 years old, from a period when genuine relics of the Buddha came to Sri
Lanka. The conservative nature of Sinhalese Buddhism is strengthened through
the preservation and living tradition of ancient scriptures in the Pali (see
Glossary) language. A dialect related to Sanskrit, the classical language of
India, Pali is probably close to the popular language in northeastern India
during the Buddha's time. The monks of Sri Lanka have kept alive an unbroken
Pali transmission of monastic rules, stories of the Buddha's life, and
philosophical treatises that may constitute the oldest body of written
Buddhist traditions.

     For people who do not become monks, the most effective method of
progressing on the road to enlightenment is to accumulate merit (pin) through
moral actions. One who performs duties faithfully in this world, who supports
the monastic order, and who is compassionate to other living beings may hope
to achieve a higher birth in a future life, and from that position accumulate
sufficient merit and knowledge to achieve enlightenment. Meritorious
activities include social service, reverence of the Buddha at shrines or at
dagoba, and pilgrimage to sacred places. Gifts to monks rank among the most
beneficial merit- making activities. Lay devotees invite monks to major
events, such as a death in the family or the dedication of a building, and
publicly give them food and provisions. In return, the monks perform pirit,
the solemn recitation of Pali Buddhist scriptures. Although the average person
may not understand a word of the ancient language, simply hearing the words
and bestowing presents on the monks accumulates merit for the family or even
for deceased family members. Some wealthy donors may hold gift- giving
ceremonies simply for the pub