|
Sri Lanka The Impact of Buddhism
Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the third century
B.C. from India, where it had been established by Siddartha
Gautama three centuries earlier
(see Sri Lanka - Buddhism
, ch. 2). The
powerful Indian monarch, Asoka, nurtured the new comprehensive
religio-philosophical system in the third century B.C. Asoka's
conversion to Buddhism marks one of the turning points in
religious history because at that time, Buddhism was elevated
from a minor sect to an official religion enjoying all the
advantages of royal patronage. Asoka's empire, which extended
over most of India, supported one of the most vigorous missionary
enterprises in history.
The Buddhist tradition of chronicling events has aided the
verification of historical figures. One of most important of
these figures was King Devanampiya Tissa (250-c. 207 B.C.).
According to the Mahavamsa, Asoka's son and emissary to
Sri Lanka, Mahinda, introduced the monarch to Buddhism.
Devanampiya Tissa became a powerful patron of Buddhism and
established the monastery of Mahavihara, which became the
historic center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Subsequent events also contributed to Sri Lanka's prestige in
the Buddhist world. It was on the island, for example, that the
oral teachings of the Buddha--the Tripitaka--were committed to
writing for the first time.
Devanampiya Tissa was said to have received Buddha's right
collarbone and his revered alms bowl from Asoka and to have built
the Thuparama Dagoba, or stupa (Buddhist shrine), to honor these
highly revered relics. Another relic, Buddha's sacred tooth, had
arrived in Sri Lanka in the fourth century A.D.. The possession
of the Tooth Relic came to be regarded as essential for the
legitimization of Sinhalese royalty and remained so until its
capture and probable destruction by the Portuguese in 1560. The
sacred Tooth Relic (thought by many to be a substitute) that is
venerated in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy links legendary Sri
Lanka with the modern era. The annual procession of Perahera held
in honor of the sacred Tooth Relic serves as a powerful unifying
force for the Sinhalese in the twentieth century. Asoka's
daughter, Sanghamitta, is recorded as having brought to the
island a branch of the sacred bo tree under which the Buddha
attained enlightenment. According to legend, the tree that grew
from this branch is near the ruins of the ancient city of
Anuradhapura in the north of Sri Lanka. The tree is said to be
the oldest living thing in the world and is an object of great
veneration.
The connection between religion, culture, language, and
education and their combined influence on national identity have
been an age-old pervasive force for the Sinhalese Buddhists.
Devanampiya Tissa employed Asoka's strategy of merging the
political state with Buddhism, supporting Buddhist institutions
from the state's coffers, and locating temples close to the royal
palace for greater control. With such patronage, Buddhism was
positioned to evolve as the highest ethical and philosophical
expression of Sinhalese culture and civilization. Buddhism
appealed directly to the masses, leading to the growth of a
collective Sinhalese cultural consciousness.
In contrast to the theological exclusivity of Hindu
Brahmanism, the Asokan missionary approach featured preaching and
carried the principles of the Buddha directly to the common
people. This proselytizing had even greater success in Sri Lanka
than it had in India and could be said to be the island's first
experiment in mass education.
Buddhism also had a great effect on the literary development
of the island. The Indo-Aryan dialect spoken by the early
Sinhalese was comprehensible to missionaries from India and
facilitated early attempts at translating the scriptures. The
Sinhalese literati studied Pali, the language of the Buddhist
scriptures, thus influencing the development of Sinhala as a
literary language.
Data as of October 1988
|
