HISTORY OF BUDDHISM SRI LANKA

 

In order to understand and appreciate the history of early Buddhism in Sri Lanka we should have, as a background some general idea of the India of the third century B.C from where Buddhism come to Sri Lanka and also of the pre-Buddhist Sri Lanka to which it was introduced. When the Indian missionaries brought Buddhism to this Island they carried here with them not only the teaching of the Buddha but also the culture and civilisation of Buddhist India. Almost all Buddhist rites , ceremonies, festivals and observance of Sri Lanka were with slight local changes and modification, the continuation of Indian practice which the early Buddhist missionaries introduced into this country. It necessary there at the time of the advent of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

Buddhism began as an intellectual and ethical moment in the sixth century B.C with the first sermon preached by the Buddha to the five ascetics at Isipathana near Benares.It spread gradually during the life-time of the Buddha along the gangetic valley and found its way into several kingdoms in north India between the vindhya mountains and the Himalayas Kings and ministers ,bankers and wealthy merchant ,brahmins and peasants became the followers of this new teaching which was a revolt again some of the accepted theories and practices of the day.

       MEDITATION

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a conscious effort to change how the mind works. The Pali word for meditation is 'bhavana' which means 'to make grow' or 'to develop'.

Is meditation important?

Yes, it is. No matter how much we may wish to be good, if we cannot change the desires that make us act the way we do, change will be difficult. For example, a person may realize that he is impatient with his wife and he may promise himself: "From now on I am not going to be so impatient." But an hour later he may be shouting at his wife simply because, not being aware of himself, impatience has arisen without him knowing. Meditation helps to develop the awareness and the energy needed to transform ingrained mental habit patterns.

How many types of meditation are there?

The Buddha taught many different types of meditation, each designed to overcome a particular problem or to develop a particular psychological state. But the two most common and useful types of meditation are Mindfulness of Breathing (anapana sati) and Loving Kindness Meditation (metta bhavana).

If I wanted to practice Mindfulness of Breathing, how would I do it?

You would follows these easy steps: the four Ps place, posture, practice and problems. First, find a suitable place, perhaps a room that is not too noisy and where you are not likely to do disturbed. Second, sit in a comfortable posture. A good posture is to sit with your legs folded, a pillow under your buttocks, your back straight, the hands nestled in the lap and the eyes closed. Alternatively, you can sit in a chair as long as you keep your back straight. Next comes the actual practice itself. As you sit quietly with your eyes closed you focus your attention on the in and out movement of the breath. This can be done by counting the breaths or watching the rise and fall of the abdomen. When this is done, certain problems and difficulties will arise. You might experience irritating itches on the body or discomfort in the knees. If this happens, try to keep the body relaxed without moving and keep focusing on the breath. You will probably have many intruding thoughts coming into your mind and distracting your attention from the breath. The only way you can deal with this problem is to patiently keep returning your attention to the breath. If you keep doing this, eventually thoughts will weaken, your concentration will become stronger and you will have moments of deep mental calm and inner peace.