I apologise in advance for the length of this days blog, we did so much and it didnt seem right to take a short cut on any of it. Our dinner to finish the day was a true highlight. And so I begin …….
It was a slowish start to our day, we both woke early, Deb much earlier than me. After breakfast we stayed up at the main building, its too far to go back to our villa and return. We were picked up at 9:30 for another day of Enlightenment. (Jenni, I think we have crossed your temple moment )
Fun fact: the area we are travelling through is part of the Sri Lankan Dry Zone, it contains over 30,000 man-made reservoirs.
The area we are in is the Cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and our day reflected that theme.
First stop was alms giving at a Buddhist Stupa in Mihintale where we went to the adjacent “home” of the monk. A temple has four main elements, a Stupa, a Buddha statue, a Bodhi tree and monks living quarters. We were invited into the monks living quarters. There we participated in a traditional alms giving ceremony. Almost immediately we entered the monks “home” we made an offering of food and flowers to Buddha, lit a candle each and some incense. Next we sat on the floor before the monk and he gave us a blessing. It was an interesting experience. Deb and I both enjoyed the “prayer”, it was reminiscent of Gregorian chanting, so soulful and rhythmical. At the end of the blessing we gave the monk his lunch, his final meal of the day. We served him rice and about 5 or 6 side curries and sambals, finishing we desert of cake and fruit. This is considered to be an act of merit in the Buddhist tradition. After that he blessed both of us and tied a white string around our right wrists. After that we left so the monk could eat his lunch. It was an interesting experience, we both enjoyed being part of the giving.
Following our visit we went to the Museum of the Jethavana Monastery and saw many objects that had been discovered in the area. From jewelery to clay pots to Buddhist relics, statues and intricate stone reliefs, to the Footprints of Buddha. We saw a section where photos were displayed of buildings discovered in the area showing what they looked like when they were discovered and how they look now. They gave a great perspective on the scale of the work that has been carried out.
We were told that this area was the most organized kingdom of the ancient world, it lasted over 1500years. Much longer than the Roman Empire. Over the years the teachings and philosophy of Buddhism played large role in kingdoms longevity.
Buddhism was established in Sri Lanka in 247bc and has survived and thrived despite/because of the many cultural changes within the country over the years.
We explored the area around the Jethavanarama Stupa in the grounds of the Jetavana Monastery. It is a giant stupa made of bricks and rising 122m in height. It’s the worlds tallest stupa and the third tallest structure of the ancient world, the two great pyramids in Egypt are taller. The monastery had 2000 to 3000 monks living in it, it was a huge educational complex built in the 3rd and 4th century.
Next we visited the Twin Ponds, they are well preserved old bathing tanks or ponds. This pair of ponds were built in the time of the ancient King Aggadodhi. They demonstrate the advanced hydrological engineering, architecture and art of the ancient Sinhalese.
We then made our way from there to the Samadhi Buddha, a famous statue of Buddha depicted in the position of the Dhyana Mudra, the posture of meditation associated with his first Enlightenment. It is a deep meditation posture, where all senses are shutdown inorder to overcome the four sufferings in Buddhism and obtain Enlightenment. It is over 2m tall and carved from dolomite marble. It is thought it was gilded and its eyes were made of precious gems. It was probably one of the four statues around a sacred Bodhi tree shrine.
The next area we went to was all about daily living in ancient times, we walked to the site of a Uposathagara, or Chapter House which was at the heart of Buddhist monastic communities, It included a refectory. This is now a ruin site, but the general layout and function can be seen. A long trough from which thousands of monks got rice every lunchtime is still there.
Onwards we walked to Eth Pokuna / Elephant Ponds, a massive man-made pond. It is rectangular pond measuring 159 meters in length, 52.7 meters in width, and 9.5 meters deep, with a capacity of 75,000 cubic meters of water. Its purpose was for the recreational use of the monks. It is fed with an intricate underground ancient pipe system, bringing water from far away sources, a testament to the engineering skills of the ancients.
Our next visit was one I was really looking forward to, to see the most sacred Bodhi tree in the Buddhist world. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree located on a high terrace, about 6.5 meters above the ground, and surrounded by 4 other lower-level terraces with Bo trees called “Parivara Bodhi” planted for its protection. The site is currently administered by the Chief High Priest of Atamasthana. The oldest branches of the tree are supported by golden beams. It receives millions of pilgrims each year. Many pilgrims to this sacred site dress in all white, symbolising both internal and external purity. The pilgrims and visitor bring offerings for the monks and to set before various Buddha statues that are just below the tree. There is a sense of peace in the area. A large number of people found places to “pray” in groups, other discrete corners to “pray” in solitude. Monks could be seen addressing groups, passing on their knowledge. There is a tree called the “wishing tree” in a corner of the compound where it is believed that your prayers for others may be granted by The Buddha, it’s as close to hugging the Bodhi Tree as you can get. We went there and made our wishes and touched the tree.
From there we walked to Lovamahapaya, or better known as The Brazen Palace. It got this name from its roof that was covered with bronze tiles. It took six years to build and it was said that the plans came from the heavens. The building was completely destroyed during the reign of King Saddhatissa. It was 9 stories high and had up to 1600 stone pillars (40 x 40). It was said to have been decorated with coral and precious stones. It was the site of many regular Buddhist rituals, including the recital of the sutra of the confessional on Poya days.
Our last site tovisit was the Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Maha Stupa, or The Great Stupa. Is a large stupa, a hemispherical structure containing relics. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha’s relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collection of his relics anywhere. It was built in 140 B.C. It is one of the “Solosmasthana”, or the 16 places of veneration, and the “Atamasthana” and one of the 8 places of veneration. The stupa is one of the world’s tallest ancient monuments, at 115m (380ft)high and with a circumference of 290 m. It has 380 elephant statues forming the walls around it. This Stupa is a place where people come to ask for wishes to be granted by offering to do things in return when their wish is fulfilled. We saw many people “praying” to varying degrees for their wishes to be fulfilled. It was told to us that some people walk around the Stupa carrying gifts and chanting their “prayers”(hoping the extra effort gives them “bonus points”. The usual wishes are for sick people to be made well, to get good results in examinations and the like. As we left there was a very long precession of people carrying a very long bright orange cloth heading towards the Stupa. In the past there was an ancient practice rooted in immense veneration, dating back to its construction by King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century BC in which you could paint or cover the Stupa to demonstrate your purity and devotion. In more recent time this practice has morphed into encircling the Stupa with a cloth of vibrant colour. The cloth used by this group was saffron orange
It was a very interesting day, we both really appreciate how Hiru shares and explains his faith, it makes it real and understandable.
We were back at hotel/resort at 4:20pm
At 7pm we went for dinner at Liyawela Restaurant, set in the middle of a paddy field on an island that was used for sorting the rice crop during harvest. The setting was rustic and has a genuinely local feel to it. On arrival we were taken into the kitchen and shown where all the food was prepared and introduced to the two sisters running the restaurant and the barman/waiter. All of them were very personable. Our meal was amazing, it gave us a true tasting of everything traditionally Sri Lankan. We were given an Arrack Cocktail to start and a very refreshing fruit infused water drink. And then dinner began to arrive, firstly palm leaf baskets lined with banana leaf were place in front of us, our plates for the dinner. This was followed by a procession of food, small bowls filled almost to the brim with local dishes of all types. There were over 20 dishes in all for our main course, curries, sambols, rices (3 varieties) and vegetables, including at least 3 or 4 different proteins. We did our best to make a dent in it all. We were reminded that if we needed any dish reheated they were happy to do that for us. We both manage to have at least a taste of every dish, and we enjoyed them all. And then there was desert, 3 or 4 different plates I think. The stand out for me was the buffalo curd with a drizzle of local honey, it was so good.
The night ended, we thanked all the staff and got a buggy back to our villa for a well earned rest.
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#retiredlyf done our way.
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