Sri Lanka is
the oldest continually Buddhist country, Theravada Buddhism
being the major religion in the island since its official
introduction in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the
son of the Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign of King
Devanampiya- Tissa. Later, the nun Sanghamitta, the daughter
of Asoka, was said to have brought the southern branch of
the original Bodhi tree, where it was planted at
Anuradhapura. From that day up to the present, the Buddhists
in Sri Lanka have paid and are paying the utmost reverence
to this branch of the Bodhi Tree under the shade of which
the Master achieved Enlightenment.
Monks from Sri
Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada
and Mahayana throughout South-east Asia. It was in Sri
Lanka, in the 1st century AD during the reign of King Vatta
Gamini that the Buddhist monks assembled in Aloka-Vihara and
wrote down the Tripitaka, the three basket of the Teachings,
known as the Pali scriptures for the first time. It was Sri
Lankan nuns who introduced the Sangha of nuns into China in
433AD. In the 16th century the Portuguese conquered Sri
Lanka and savagely persecuted Buddhism as did the Dutch who
followed them.
When the
British won control at the beginning of the 19th century
Buddhism was well into decline, a situation that encouraged
the English missionaries that then began to flood the
island. But against all expectations the monastic and lay
community brought about a major revival from about 1860
onwards, a movement that went hand in hand with growing
nationalism.
Since then
Buddhism has flourished and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate
lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada
Buddhism in Asia, the West and even in Africa.
Some of the
most marvellous monuments in the Buddhist world belong to
Sri Lanka, and her sculpture is closely associated with the
early art of the Krishna valley and the later Pallava and
Chola kings, owing to the close relationship that existed
between south India and Sri Lanka. (above: Seven-metre-tall
standing image of the Buddha in a rare cross-armed pose at
Gal Vihara).
According to
the Sri Lankan chronicles, the Mahavamsa, one of Ashoka's
sons, the monk Mahinda, supervised construction of monastic
buildings nearAnuradhapura. Simultaneously, he sent to India
for relics. These, say the histories, included the Buddha's
alms bowl andhis right collarbone. Later a hair relic, and
in the 4th century AD, the Buddha's tooth would be taken to
Sri Lanka. The tooth is still preserved in Kandy where daily
rituals venerate the Buddha's tooth relic in Temple of the
Tooth Relic, Kandy 16th Century.
The
stupa in Sri Lanka is a circular drum on a square base with
a long succession of compressed umbrellas forming a conical
top over a box-shaped harmika, of which the Ruwanweliseya
stupa, (above right) at Anuradhapura (3rd century BC) is a
fine example.
Prior to the arrival of Buddhism, the main religious
practice in Korea was that of Shamanism which still holds a
significant place in Korean life. Shamanism holds that human
beings as well as natural forces and inanimate objects all
possess spirits which must be appeased. Even the highly
educated and devout Buddhist Koreans have a strong belief in
spirits and regularly visit the Shaman for a protective
ritual.
Since Shamanism was not seen to be morally in conflict with
Buddhism, the two religions blended to produce a form of
Buddhism that is uniquely Korean. It is assumed that
Buddhism first arrived on the Korean peninsular in 372 A.D.
when a monk arrived from China bringing Chinese texts and
statues. It was an elementary form of Buddhism that he
taught, consisting of the teaching of Karma and the search
for happiness which seemed to blend well with the indigenous
Shamanism, so it was quickly assimilated.
