Buddha in Sri Lanka: Remembered YesterdaysThis book provides both an erudite and intimate look at how Buddhism is lived in Sri Lanka. While India is known as the birthplace of Buddhism, Sri Lanka is its other home; Buddhism extends back over twenty-five hundred years on the island and remains at the center of its spiritual traditions and culture. Throughout the book, author Swarna Wickremeratne incorporates a personal view, sharing stories of herself, her family, friends, and acquaintances as they lived Buddhism both during her Sri Lankan girlhood and during more recent times. This personal view makes the traditions come alive as Wickremeratne details Buddhist beliefs, customs, rituals and ceremonies, and folklore. She also provides a fascinating discussion of the Sangha, the institutional monkhood in Sri Lanka, including its history, codes of conduct, and evolution and resilience over time. Wickremeratne explores the recent attempts by many monks to reinvent themselves in a society characterized by secularization, globalization, and a tide of aggressive Christian evangelization. |
Contents
Beginnings and Looking Beyond | 1 |
Growing Up in Sri Lankan Culture | 11 |
Festival of New Beginnings The New Year | 31 |
Loving Worship and Loving Kindness | 41 |
Givers Many Motives Many Fruits | 55 |
Sri Lankan Buddhists and Their Rituals | 75 |
Reminiscences of Bana Preaching | 89 |
Buddhist Pilgrims Progress | 101 |
Pirit Chanting and the Holy Thread | 167 |
Sons of the Buddha | 179 |
Varieties in a Single Saffron Robe | 199 |
Quid Pro Quo Worship | 221 |
Many Gods Many Altars | 237 |
God Kataragama | 259 |
Epilogue | 273 |
Glossary of Religious Terms | 275 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ahimsaka Ananda Angulimala Anuradhapura asked astrologer auspicious Baba bad karma beautiful believed birth blessings Bo tree Bodhi puja born Buddha Buddhism in Sri Buddhist monks ceremony charm clothes coconut Colombo culture custom dana dead death deeds deities devale devotees dharma dhist dressed evil father festival Five Precepts flowers friends funeral gatha gave give gods happy horoscope household Jataka Jathika Hela Urumaya Kali Kandy kapurala karma Kataragama kattadiya king Kovalan lamps large numbers listen living meal meditation merit mind monastery mother nirvana offered parents Patacara Pattini Peradeniya perahera performed person pilgrims popular poya days practice preaching rebirth recited relics religious rice ritual robes sacred Sangha shrine Sinhala Sinhalese Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Pada stories suttas teaching temple thought tion told took traditional Triple Gem Venerable verses Vesak village vinaya walked wear woman women worship young