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Showing posts with label Sinhalese majority. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sinhalese majority. Show all posts

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Departed Parent's Day: Transfer of Merits

Bhante Ven. Sumitta Mahathera (Lankarama Buddhist Institute), Editors, Wisdom Quarterly
I just won the jackpot: pregnant, soon to be blessed with a grateful family of my own!
. 
I like these Indian Buddhist traditions!
It was exactly three years ago that my mother passed away after living a memorable life of 80 years.

She had seven children and worked for 38 years as a dedicated instructor in many parts of rural Sri Lanka.

She started her career as a school teacher in Kurunegala Namalalanga Vidyalaya and retired from teaching after serving at Halkandaliya Vidyalaya, Nivitigala, Ratnapura.

She opened the eyes of many thousands of children and was known to about 1,000 Buddhist monks all over Sri Lanka as a staunch Theravada Buddhist upasikā (lay female devotee).

I am grateful and thankful to her, for she was an amazing mother. She is the one who is most responsible for most I am today, a longtime Buddhist monk and the abbot of Lankarama Buddhist Institute.

Meditation Hall, Lankarama Institute, L.A.
Like everyone with regard to his/her loving parents -- I, too, am short of words to express my gratitude to the mother in particular. She gave birth to me and took good care of me without complaint as if I were no burden at all.

I take this opportunity to transfer to her all the merits I have accrued so far in my life and throughout my sojourn in Samsara (the "cycle of rebirth" according to Buddhism).

May all these meritorious deeds become one united power to bless her, help her, protect her, and guide her towards her final Samsaric goal -- the supreme bliss of liberation, of nirvana (nibbana), a Buddhist's ultimate goal.

A Salutation to One's Mother
(Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition)
Dasa māse ure katvā
Posesi vuddhi kāraṇaṃ
Āyu dīghaṃ vassa sataṃ
Mātu pādaṃ namāmahaṃ.

"Having cherished me in your womb, divine
cradle, for nearly ten lunar months time,
you raised me up, wishing me all success.
Dear mother, please allow me to bow
at your feet, wishing you all the best!"

Transferring Merits to Departed Relatives
Idaṃ me ñātinaṃ hotu – Sukhitā hontu ñātayo. (x 3)
"Let this merit be with our relatives, and may they be well and happy!" (x 3)

This is not limited to children acting on behalf of their parents. Parents may also benefit their departed children. It is not too late in the long run, and one's relatives (in the larger sense of the word the Buddha stipulated extending out seven generations) are benefitted. And in any case one benefits from giving. More
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Friday, April 26, 2019

Sri Lankan New Year, LA, changed (Apr 28)

Bhante, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara; CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

New Year message (LABV)
The Sunday Dhamma School leadership and congregation of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara have decided to cancel the Sinhala/Hindu New Year Festival this year.

It was scheduled for Sunday, April 28, 2019 at the Pasadena temple due to the brutal terrorist attack that occurred on Easter in Sri Lanka.

Instead of the festival the devotees and monks are planning to have a memorial service before the Dharma Program, which had been scheduled earlier for the same day.
 
Sri Lanka is a teardrop off the tip of India.
In addition, donations that the temple will be receiving for the New Year festival will be sent directly to Sri Lanka to help the victims of this senseless terrorist tragedy. This is a public invitation that the temple is open to all. May all blessings be with you.
  • Sunday Dharma Talk
  • Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara
  • 920 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena
  • L.A., CA 91103 (626) 797-6144
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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Parts Unknown: Buddhist Sri Lanka (video)

SLD; Suicidal Host Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown; Bhante, A. Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Sri Lanka Day, Los Angeles, arrives in Pasadena every year midsummer: July 14, 2018.
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Friday, July 14, 2017

"Sri Lanka Day" in Pasadena, July 15

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Dr. W. Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka Foundation (slday.com)
Sri Lanka Day is on Saturday, July 15, 2017 in the City of Pasadena (slday.com)
Sinhalese Sri Lankan women in traditional colorful dresses and saris (slday.com)
FESTIVAL SITE DETAILS (MAP), The Paseo, 280 E. Colorado Bl., Pasadena, CA 91101
.
Ancient artificial bridge to India
[Sinhalese] Sri Lankans often refer to themselves as “Lions” or “The Lion Nation.” One of the reasons they do so is due to the obvious lion symbol on the country’s flag.

[A better reason is that singha means lion, and other non-Buddhist people on the island call themselves Tamil tigers, infamous for their separatist inclinations.]
  • (FREE) Sri Lanka Day, Pasadena
  • Food and Cultural Fair
  • Saturday, 10:00 AM-11:00 PM, July 15
  • 280 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena 91101
    Thousands of years of Buddhism
    The other reason is less known but much more meaningful. The lion has frequently been linked to words such as courageous and proud. The Sri Lanka Foundation is a foundation dedicated to the preservation of Sri Lankan culture. It strives to exhibit courage and pride in their charitable work and events.
    • Sri Lanka ("Sacred Land") is famous as a citadel of early Buddhist teachings preserved in the Pali language from India and Scythia (Gandhara and northwestern hinterlands around Afghanistan where the Buddha was born and first promulgated the Dharma). Sri Lankan Buddhists, in their recorded history called the Mahavamsa or "Great Chronicles" speak of coming from that land by boat to settle Sri Lanka. They are not Dravidians from South India like the neighboring Tamils of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India.
    One of the foundation’s most significant events is “Sri Lanka Day.” Every year the foundation works diligently to bring the sights, tastes, colors, and the general feel of Sri Lanka to spectators who gather in one location from all over California.


    Massive Buddha in Sri Lanka
    It is an annual celebration and tribute to the culture and heritage of the Sri Lankan people. In coordinating the event the foundation seeks to inform the public about their country and its customs. The foundation also aspires to bring generations of Sri Lankans together as a community, to pass along history from one generation to another. The event will take all who attend on a short trip to Sri Lanka through traditional foods, music, dances, art, and theater.
     
    Colorful costumes of an island culture
    Attendees hear the echo of handmade drums each with its unique tone. They experience a visual feast of vibrant island costumes, colorful clothing, and ornate jewelry. Participants explore the sweets, spices, and aromas of curries and traditional foods while being captivated by dancers and performers. Children and adults alike revel in the Kandy Parade (Perahera), the famous Sri Lankan spectacle that features theater elephants the size of real elephants. And all of these experiences can be enjoyed without ever leaving California.

    In previous years “Sri Lanka Day” has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. The 2015 SL Day was special because it was the first year the event was held in the City of Pasadena. It was also the first year the foundation sponsored its own dance troupe to perform. Every year the foundation works harder to reach new heights... More + PHOTOS
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    Tuesday, May 30, 2017

    Sri Lanka floods, "Sri Lanka Day" L.A.

    Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Sri Lanka Foundation (slday.com); TheGuardian.com
    Sri Lankan beauties walk around Pasadena in traditionally colorful garb (slday.com).
    Climate change causes deadly floods in Sri Lanka, 100,000 displaced (theguardian.com)
    Sri Lanka Day is on Saturday, July 15, 2017 in the City of Pasadena (slday.com)
    .
    Ancient artificial bridge to India
    [Sinhalese] Sri Lankans often refer to themselves as “Lions” or “The Lion Nation.” One of the reasons they do so is due to the obvious lion symbol on the country’s flag. [A better reason is that sinha means lion, and other non-Buddhist people on the island call themselves Tamil tigers, infamous for their separatist inclinations.]
    • Sri Lanka ("Sacred Land") is famous as a citadel of early Buddhist teachings preserved in the Pali language from India and Scythia (Gandhara and northwestern hinterlands around Afghanistan where the Buddha was born and first promulgated the Dharma). Sri Lankan Buddhists, in their recorded history called the Mahavamsa or "Great Chronicles" speak of coming from that land by boat to settle Sri Lanka. They are not Dravidians from South India like the neighboring Tamils of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India.
    Thousands of years of Buddhism
    The other reason is less known but much more meaningful. The lion has frequently been linked to words such as courageous and proud. The Sri Lanka Foundation is a foundation dedicated to the preservation of Sri Lankan culture. It strives to exhibit courage and pride in their charitable work and events.
     
    One of the foundation’s most significant events is “Sri Lanka Day.” Every year the foundation works diligently to bring the sights, tastes, colors, and the general feel of Sri Lanka to spectators who gather in one location from all over California.
    • (The Guardian, May 28, 2017) Landslides and floods in Sri Lanka have killed at least 151 people and the country faces the risk of more mudslides as torrential rains [from global climate change] continue. More than 100 people are still missing after the worst rains in the Indian Ocean island since 2003. The state-run National Building Research Organization warned people in seven out of the country’s 25 districts on Sunday to evacuate from unstable slopes if rains continued for the next 24 hours. More
    Last year in Pasadena for the second year in a row was a great time with delicious food.
    .
    Massive Buddha in Sri Lanka
    It is an annual celebration and tribute to the culture and heritage of the Sri Lankan people. In coordinating the event the foundation seeks to inform the public about their country and its customs. The foundation also aspires to bring generations of Sri Lankans together as a community, to pass along history from one generation to another. The event will take all who attend on a short trip to Sri Lanka through traditional foods, music, dances, art, and theater.

    Colorful costumes of an island culture
    Attendees hear the echo of handmade drums each with its unique tone. They experience a visual feast of vibrant island costumes, colorful clothing, and ornate jewelry. Participants explore the sweets, spices, and aromas of curries and traditional foods while being captivated by dancers and performers.

    Children and adults alike revel in the Kandy Parade (Perahera), the famous Sri Lankan spectacle that features theater elephants the size of real elephants. And all of these experiences can be enjoyed without ever leaving California.
     
    In previous years “Sri Lanka Day” has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. The 2015 SL Day was special because it was the first year the event was held in the City of Pasadena. It was also the first year the foundation sponsored its own dance troupe to perform. Every year the foundation works harder to reach new heights... More

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    Monday, March 20, 2017

    Island lay-Buddhist rituals

    A.G.S. Kariyawasam (Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka) edited with expanded explanations by Bhante, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly
    Traditional Sri Lankan island harvesting dance (Sri Lankan Friendship Association of BC/W)
    .
    Flower offering to statue (Pariyatti Press)
    Ritual acts undertaken and performed by the Theravada Buddhists of Sri Lanka may be broadly classified under three headings.

    Merit
    (1) There are acts performed for the acquisition of merit.

    Offerings and good actions made with the Buddha in mind) calculated to provide a basis for achieving nirvana, which is release from the otherwise endless Cycle of Rebirths (samsara).

    Avalokiteshvara, Weligama (AaA)
    Such acts of merit are, at the same time, expected to offer semi-temporal rewards of comfort and happiness here and now as well as in the lesser heavenly worlds in future lives. These supplementary forms of "religious" ritual activity have arisen out of a natural need to augment the more austere way followed by the world-renouncing disciples of the Buddha.

    Happiness now
    (2) There are acts directed towards securing worldly prosperity and averting the calamities of disease and unseen beings or forces of evil, such as encouraging monastics to utter protective chants or incantations (pirith), making symbolic offerings (bodhi-puja, etc.)

    Sri Lankan kings showing hospitality to a "worthy one" (arhat), possibly the great Indian commentator Buddhaghosa, who worked in Sri Lanka, Kelaniya Temple, (denishc/flickr).

     
    Rituals
    Tovil, "devil's dance," mask from Sri Lanka
    (3) There are many rituals that have been adopted from older folk religions. These are mainly semi-religious in character like the "anti-devil dances" called tovil ceremonies.

    They derive their power and authority primarily through the superhuman power of the Buddha and also through the hosts of spirits who are, as it were, commanded by invoking the power of the Buddha or of the Three Guides: the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
    • These three guides (not "refuges" as sarana is commonly mistranslated) are the Enlightened One, Enlightening Teachings, and Enlightened Disciples. Enlightened disciples, the arya-sangha, the "Community of Noble Ones," which does not mean all monastics, as the word usually denotes, but only those people, ordained or not, who have achieved at least the first stage of enlightenment.
    Almost all the religious activities that have a ceremonial and a ritualistic significance are regarded as acts for the acquisition of merit (called pinkama in Sinhalese from the ancient Pali punnakamma and Sanskrit punyakarma).

    Colorful buddhas of the past, Dadagamuwa Raja Maha Viharaya, Sri Lanka (Malka001/flickr).

    In this sense, all the religious activities of Sri Lankan lay Buddhism can be explained as being oriented towards that end.

    Accordingly, the first two types of rituals basically have a merit-generating character and thereby receive religious sanction.

    For instance, the idea of acquisition of merit through a religious act and its transference to the deities (devas) and soliciting their help has the scriptural sanction of the "Greater Final Nirvana Discourse" (Maha-Parinibbana Sutta, DN.ii,88-89).

    Here the Buddha says that wise people, when residing in a particular area, first offer alms to spiritual recluses and then transfer the merits of those offerings to the deities of the area, who in return help them. This seems to indicate the early beginning of adoring vatthu-devata or local physical deities in Buddhism.
     
    Merit earned by the performance of a wholesome act is regarded as a sure way of obtaining a better life in the future.

    The performance of these is also a means of expiation in the sense that the meritorious deeds have the effect of countering and hindering the operation of unwholesome karma (Pali kamma) previously acquired and inherited. Thus the range of merit is very wide.
     
    For the ordinary householder, nirvana (Pali nibbana) is an ultimate goal to be achieved through a gradual process of personal evolution extending over many lives. Therefore, until one achieves that sublime and exalted state at some future date one continues to perform these acts in order to lead a happy life. All merit-generating rituals are performed mainly with this end in view. More
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