Dalit B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian social reformer and politician who came from a social group that was considered "untouchable," theorized that untouchability originated because of the deliberate policy of the elitist Brahmins (brahmanas).
According to him, the Brahmins despised the people who gave up Brahmanism (the Brahminical religion) in favor of Buddhism or Jainism (shramana, "wandering ascetic" shamanic traditions).
Later scholars such as Vivekanand Jha have refuted this theory [10]. Professor of History Nripendra Kumar Dutt theorized that the concept of untouchability originated from the "pariah"-like treatment accorded to the indigenous people of India by the early Dravidians, and that the concept was borrowed by the Indo-Aryans from the Dravidians.
Scholars such as R. S. Sharma have rejected this theory, arguing that there is no evidence that Dravidians practiced untouchability before coming into contact with the Indo-Aryans [10]. Austrian ethnologist Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf theorized that untouchability originated as class stratification in urban areas of the Indus Valley Civilization. According to this theory, the poorer workers involved in "unclean" occupations such as sweeping or leather work were historically segregated and banished outside the city limits. Over time, personal cleanliness came to be identified with "purity," and the concept of untouchability eventually spread to rural areas as well. After the decline of the Indus Valley towns, these "untouchables" probably spread to other parts of India [11].
Scholars such as Suvira Jaiswal reject this theory, arguing that it lacks evidence and does not explain why the concept of untouchability is more pronounced in rural areas [12].
American scholar George L. Hart, based on his interpretation of Old Tamil texts such as Purananuru, traced the origin of untouchability to ancient Tamil society. According to him, in this society, certain occupational groups were thought to be involved in controlling the malevolent supernatural forces; as an example, Hart mentions the Paraiyars, who played the drums during battles and solemn events such as births and deaths. People from these occupational groups came to be avoided by others, who believed that they were "dangerous and had the power to pollute the others" [13].
Jaiswal dismisses the evidence produced by Hart as "extremely weak" and contradictory. Jaiswal points out that the authors of the ancient Tamil texts included several Brahmanas (a fact accepted by Hart); thus, the society described in these texts was already under Brahmanical influence and could have borrowed the concept of untouchability from Brahmins [14]. More
Saṅghamittā (Sanskrit Saṅghamitrā, "Friend of the Sangha") with the nun's name Ven. Ayapali Theri [1], who lived from 282 BC–203 BC [1].
She was a fully enlightened (arhat, arahant) Indian Buddhist nun and the eldest daughter (as recounted in Sri Lankan tradition as recorded in the Dīpavaṃsa) of Indian Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (304 BC–232 BC) with his first wife Queen Devi (302 BCE–242 BCE).
Together with her monastic brother, Ven. Mahinda Thero, she entered the order of Buddhist monastics. The two siblings later went as Buddhist missionaries to the island of Sri Lanka to spread the Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha, at the request of Sri Lankan King Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC–210 BC), who was a contemporary of King Ashoka.
Ashoka was initially reluctant to send his daughter (according to the Sri Lankan tradition) on an overseas mission, even one of only 35 miles, the distance between the subcontinent (India) and the island (dipa or dvipa).
However, because of the insistence of Ven. Sangamitta herself, he finally agreed. She was sent to Sri Lanka together with several other nuns to start the Buddhist nun's lineage of (BhikkhuniSangha or order of fully ordained female Buddhist monastics) at the request of King Tissa.
Sangha incomplete without women
THERE ARE MANY GREAT WOMEN IN BUDDHISM: Many come to mind like the Buddha's enlightened wife (Bimba Devi, Yasodhara, Rāhulamātā, Bhadda Kaccana, Subhaddakā, and called by many other names to dilute her magnificence and prominence in the Bhikkhuni Sangha, as if she were the "Mary" so often mentioned in Christianity); Ven. Mahā Pajāpatī Gotami, the Buddha's mother and history's first Buddhist nun; Western German Jewish Buddhist nun Ayya Khema, who restarted full ordination in Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka; Khema Theri, foremost in wisdom; Uppalavanna, foremost in psychic powers; Ven. SundarīNanda, the Buddha's fully enlightened sister (possibly the same as the "Belle of the Land," the most beautiful Janapada Kalyani); Kwan Yin Bodhisattva, Goddess of Compassion; Prajnaparamita, Goddess of Wisdom (Buddhism's Sophia); the various colored Taras; Ambapali the Wise Courtesan; Ven. Kisa Gotami; Dipa Ma; modern American greats like Tara Brach, Ven. Tathālokā Bhikkhunī, Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Shaila Catherine, Tina Rasmussen; and the many advanced ones like Beth Upton, Sayalay Susila, Sayalay Dipankara, and so on.
There she ordained Queen Anulā and other women in King Tissa's court at Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahinda converted them to Buddhism [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
After Sanghamittā’s contribution to the propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and her establishing the Bhikkhunī Sangha or Meheini Sasna ("Order of Buddhist Nuns") there, her name became synonymous with "Buddhist Female Monastic Order of Theravāda Buddhism" that was established Sri Lanka, Burma, China, and Thailand, in particular.
The day she brought the most revered Bodhi tree as a sapling to Sri Lanka and planted it in Anuradhapura, where it still survives, is still celebrated annually on the Full Moon Day of December as Uduvapa Poya or Uposatha Poya and "Sanghamittā Day" by Sri Lankan Theravāda Buddhists [3, 5, 7]. More
Venerable Gotami (video), Dec. 22, 2025; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
Ven. Mahinda (Malaysia), May 6, 2020; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The Significance of Vesak
(Malaysia Buddhist Festival) This Vesak 2020 message is given by Bhante Mahinda, who talks about its significance and meaning. Other than the usual making of merit, what else can we do during lockdown on this great day for Buddhists all over the world? This video is courtesy of the Australian Buddhist Mission, Inc. (ABM), of which Bhante Mahinda is the spiritual director
ABOUT
Ven. Mahinda was ordained in 1976 as a Buddhist monk in the Sri Lankan Theravada tradition under the tutelage of the late Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Thera, a well-known Sri Lankan monk residing in Malaysia for more than 50 years. After his ordination, Bhante undertook a Buddhist studies program at the Paramadhamma Buddhist Institute in Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1982. He was trained in meditation by several well-known masters in Sri Lanka, India, Burma, and Thailand. He was also inspired by Mahayana masters from China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, as well as by Vajrayana masters from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. Bhante has taught mindfulness and metta meditation for more than 30 years in 20 countries. His participation in inter-religious conferences and Dharma propagation has taken him to more than 30 countries. Currently, he is the abbot of the Aloka Meditation Centre in Australia (AMC); founder, spiritual director of the Australian Buddhist Mission Inc. (ABM); Buddhist chaplain at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS); trustee of the University Buddhist Education Foundation (UBEF); and Training Committee member and training course presenter of the Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists (AABCAP). He is the founder and spiritual director of the Aloka Foundation, Malaysia; religious patron of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM); religious advisor to the Buddhist Missionary Society, Malaysia and a number of other Buddhist organizations in East and West Malaysia and Singapore.
The festival is the most important full moon (poya) holiday of the year and the second most important Buddhist holiday of the year behind Vesak.
Poson is celebrated throughout the island off the tip of India, with most important ceremonies being held in ancient Anuradhapura and Mihintale. The festival is held in early June, coinciding with the June full moon.
The festival
Buddhism teaches compassion for all. - Nice!
Poson is celebrated to commemorate the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by the enlightened children of Emperor Asoka, the Buddhist nun Sanghamitta and her elder brother the arhat Mahinda in 236 BC.
The focal point of the religious festival is the Buddhist monastic complex on the mountain of the village of Mihintale, where Mahinda taught Buddhism to one of the kings of Sri Lanka.
Buddhism saved Sri Lanka. US and India destroyed it.
Celebrations are also centered around Buddhist sites in Anuradhapura, which was one of the first cities in Sri Lanka to convert to Buddhism.
During Poson, these two locations attract thousands of pilgrims from across Sri Lanka. These pilgrims dress in white and venerate the spiritual locales.
Many of the most devoted pilgrims spend hours in quiet contemplation to honor the traditions of Buddhism.
Outside of Anuradhapura and Mihintale, the festival is celebrated with the telling of stories, music, dancing, the offering of free food and teas (provided by special vendors known as Dansals), and the hanging of paper lanterns.
Some parts of Sri Lanka prohibit the selling of meat and alcohol during the festival -- in honor of a customary proclamation by the ancient Indian Buddhist Emperor Asoka.
He prohibited killing and harming in his empire on special occasions in honor of the Buddha's compassion for all living beings. Muslims and Christians on the island do not much care for such prohibitions, so they continue their Abrahamic ways. More
While the ruler was hunting, Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka with enlightened brother and sister missionaries, Mahinda and Sanghamitta, scions of India's Buddhist Emperor Asoka (sundayobserver.lk)
The full moon (poornima) Buddhist observance day (uposatha) is being celebrated in Pasadena today at the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara under the brilliant "honey" moon.
Long ago the island of Sri Lanka -- Ceylon and Serendib -- was disputed territory, a Yakkha Kingdom, with frequent incursions by Hindu kings and the Tamil nation just miles away across the straits in India.
The Great Epic mentions the exploits of Rama and Sita being spirited away to its pleasant shores. Eventually Buddhist kings arose who settled the island claiming it for their own. More
(W) According to the Mahavamsa, the "Great Chronicle," Prince Vijaya
encountered the royalty of the Yakkhas. Great King Kalasena and Queen Gonda
on the celebration of the marriage of their daughter, Princess Polamitta,
in the Yakkha capital of Lankapura, conquered and subjugated them. Lankapura may
have been in Arithra or Vijithapura (a fortress-city in ancient Sri Lanka).
The Yakkhas thereafter served as loyal subjects with the Vijiyan Dynasty, and the
Yakkha chieftain sat at an equal height to the Sri Lankan leaders on
festival days. Today Yakkha refers to a vanishing and rarely seen aboriginal people dwelling in the jungle. See History of Sri Lanka
An island at war is no place for Dharma
(This history is disputed, and the longest civil war in Asia was fought over it, or in any case used as the pretext for a conflict that profited a few political and military leaders in spite of the fact that it killed so many and impoverished even more islanders. Tamil Hindu separatists were saying, "We've been here all along" or even "We were here first." And the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, many of them nationalists, said: "This is a Buddhist land with no room for separatists!" There would have been no need for a dispute had the majority not so poorly treated the large ethnic minority, pushing it to seek its own self-determined way. We saw the abuse with our own eyes, and while our sympathies lie with the Sinhalese nationalists, the Hindu Tamils have a legitimate gripe, and reparations need to be made for war crimes and atrocities by the state. Strangely, the same tension was playing out more than a thousand miles north in formerly Buddhist Kashmir, where Pakistan-inspired and very cruelly-mistreated Muslim separatists want only independence. India will not hear of it, nor will Pakistan. Both seek to usurp the Muslim-majority territory, like the other Kashmir to the west, and China looks on ready to pounce if either should fail: fertile ground for endless conflict).
The spiritual Plymouth Rock of Sri Lanka, Mahintale, where Buddhism landed, now the main focus of celebrations on the island (sundayobserver.lk).
PETA VATTHU: The seventh book of the Khuddaka Nikāya (The Miscellany) consists of stories of persons born in the peta (preta, ghost) world owing to karma manifesting as various
misdeeds motivated by greed, aversion, and/or delusion.
Dhammapāla wrote on it a commentary called the Peta-vatthu-vannanā, or
Petavatthu Atthakathā, which forms part of the Vimalavīlāsinī (GV.60), the commentary on the Vimāna Vatthu, which describes the splendor of various space abodes belonging to different devas, obtained by them as a result of meritorious karma performed in previous lives.
The Realm of Hungry Ghosts (peta loka)
The arhat Mahinda -- the son of the Indian Buddhist emperor Asoka, who together with his enlightened sister Sanghamitta traveled south as missionaries to Sri Lanka with a cutting from the original Bodhi tree the Buddha gained enlightenment under, which is the oldest documented tree in the world and the progenitor of most bodhi trees (Ficus religiosa, sacred fig or pipal) in Buddhist temples today -- preached the Peta Vatthu to Anulā and her companions on the day of
his arrival in Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka (according to the island's own history, the Mahavamsa or "Great Chronicle" (Mhv.xiv.58).
What is a peta (Sanskrit preta)? Dr. Gabor Mate, the Canadian drug and addiction specialist, explains that it is a "hungry ghost." This refers to a poltergeist, a German term for a restless, unquiet, or "unclean" spirit, a banshee, a howler, a disturbance.
There are countless worlds. The Buddha categorized them into 31 general planes of existence. Their diversity is unimaginable. Consider, for example, the Animal Realm (tiracchana), which includes lazy tigers and hungry termites, slimy amoeba and my puppy Rocky, and more than a million other kinds of sentient beings. Such is karma that it leads to this specificity in impersonally doling out results.
The ancient Buddhist book that follows the Vimana-vatthu is the Peta-vatthu. It contains stories of beings in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, which is in this world but mostly goes unseen. Once when the Buddha's male disciple "foremost in psychic powers," corresponding to the chief female disciple with the same designation (Ven. Uppalavanna), Maha Moggallana surveys an area to find how the hungry ghosts there were reborn into that realm. One passage states, "This woman ate meat and deceived with a lying word" (Petavatthu 3.4).
In another passage, a hunter kills deer and shares the meat with children every time he arrives back in town. In spite of his generosity, which when it comes to fruition will lead to fortunate and welcome results, the hunter is reborn as a hungry ghost because of murder -- killing of deer and butchering and distributing flesh (Petavatthu 3.1).
This happens not because killing animals leads merely to rebirth as a ghost -- it generally leads to far worse -- but because destination depends on when karma ripens. If it should ripen right at the moment of death/rebirth during what is technically called the "rebirth linking consciousness," it is a course of conduct that can lead to a miserable plane of existence, a world of torment far worse than the moderate "plane of deprivation" (apaya) ghosts exist on. The book also contains verses showing that the Buddha was offered vegetarian foods gathered and given out of compassion. Does this mean eating flesh (Dhamma Wheel) thereby causing and encouraging the captivity, cruelty toward, and killing of animals is unwholesome, unskillful behavior? Who can say?
What leads to rebirth in this miserable destination among ghosts? Missing the mark of upholding The Five Precepts:
to abstain from taking the lives of living beings or encouraging others to harm,
to abstain from taking what is not given or encouraging others to steal,
to abstain from sexual misconduct or encouraging others to violate this precept (which Wisdom Quarterly spells out elsewhere from the sutras as having sex with people who are off limits and not as being what we might imagine in our guilt-ridden Christian-Catholic-Jewish context but rather, more generally, as harming others motivated by our sensual lust),
to abstain from false speech (perjury, slander, harshness, babble) or encouraging others to speak falsely,
to abstain from intoxicants that lead one to violate these precepts or encouraging others to become intoxicated occasioning heedlessness.
Sri Lanka has long been important as a repository of the Buddha's teaching.
Today is the Poson (June) full moon observance day commemorating when the Arhat Mahinda together with his enlightened sister, Ven. Sanghamitta, children of the Indian Buddhist Emperor Asoka, brought the Dharma from India to the island of Sri Lanka.
They arrived in what is now the hamlet of Mihintale (Ambastala) with the monastics Ittiya Uttiya, Sambala, Bhaddasala, and the novice Sumana and the lay disciple Bhanduka. The Buddhist Chronicles, the Mahavamsa, state that following the first Buddhist Council held under the patronage of King Dharmashoka, Buddhist missionaries were sent to sent countries. They were most successful in Sri Lanka as the then King Devanampiyatissa and the local people were very receptive. A revival took place in the religious, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the country with the spread of Buddhism. It was through the light provided by Buddhism that Sri Lankans could stand independently.
The full moon observance day Dharma sermon (bana) regularly organized at the Temple Trees was held at the President's House in Anuradhapura. The Chief Abbot (Sangha Nayaka) of the Ramanna school in the north-central province, Ven. Pothane Dhammananda Thera, delivered the sermon.
Pres. Mahinda Rajapaksa, First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, ministers, and parliamentarians were present. A gold plated Buddha statue donated by the Sri Lanka-Korea Friendship Foundation for World Peace was presented to the President. The special observance day program of ITN's "Savanak Ras" was broadcast from the great royal Situl Pawwa Raja monastery today. Various religious program were organized under the patronage of Ven. Mataramba Hemaratana Thera. Meanwhile, the Sasanaloka ["Dharma-in-this-world"] program organized by Lakhanda Radio was held at Situl Pawwa monastery. Dharma books were offered to novices, while lay devotees were given white cloth and Buddha statues. ITN staff also participated in the religious program. (Source)
Poson Poya or June's full moon observance day celebrates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the teardrop island off the south of India.
The Dharma arrived in the 3rd century
BCE, and the festival is of great historical and religious significance for Buddhists.
Poson, held on the full moon day of June,
commemorates when the arhat Mahinda, the enlightened Buddhist son
of Emperor Asoka of India, converted King Devanampiyatissa to Buddhism.
The main center of celebration is Mihintale, named after Ven. Mahinda, the ancient monastic complex where the royal missionary monastic preached the first sermon to the king and at Anuradhapura, the ancient capital. Large crowds of devoted pilgrims will converge. Mass
religious observances and illuminated pageants are part of the
celebrations.
For Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) Buddhists,Poson is second only to Vesak in importance. More
Lanka.com; Wisdom Quarterly; Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara
Poson full moon observance day is a festival celebrated on the Buddhist island of Sri Lanka.
It marks the arrival of Buddhism in the 3rd century
BCE. It is therefore of great historical and religious significance to the island's majority Sinhalese Buddhists, if less important to the nation's many Tamil Hindu, Indian and Maldivian Muslims, British and Portuguese Christians, and a tiny marginalized minority of indigenous aborigines, the Veddas.
The full moon day of June
commemorates the arrival of an enlightened emissary from India, the arhat son of Emperor Asoka. Over 2,000 years ago Arhat Mahinda converted Sri Lanka's King Devanampiyatissa to Buddhism.
The center of celebrations is Mihintale, the ancient monastic complex where the royal missionary monk along with his enlightened sister gave a sermon to the island's ruler. Anuradhapura, the ancient capital, is also a place where large crowds of pilgrims converge. Mass
religious observances and illuminated pageants are part of the
celebrations.
For the island's Buddhists, this sacred day is second only to Vesak. Long lines of devotees dressed in white climb the many steps
to the top of Mihintale stone outcropping -- a kind of Plymouth Rock (Mihinthalaya) -- first to the temple then to the pagodas (dagabas) adorned in the nearby hills. The top of the rock is where Arhat Mahinda
delivered his initial discourses.
This area is called the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. With the
establishment of a monastic order (Sangha) all the elements of a civilized
society began to emerge: the art of writing, art, architecture, canals, reservoirs, song and dance forms, literature,
all with royal patronage.
[Oh wait, all of these "civilizing" elements were here before. But the Sinhalese trace their dominant culture to the civilizing influence of the Dharma's appearance on the island; they even trace their genes back to northern and northwestern India so as to make them Buddhist-Buddhists and somewhat nationalist in character, which has been quite harmful to the other inhabitants of the island.]
Many religious activities are organized during Poson such as virtue (sila) campaigns, Bodhi tree rituals, dana-salas (freely donated food and refreshments), devotional songs, parades, and lanterns.
Many temple fill with Eight Precept devotees and pilgrims from all
over the island to mark the event. The devout are clad in pure white
-- just as in the Buddha's day -- with no adornments like make up on their way to temple. There they spend the
next 24 hours actually practicing the Dharma in quiet contemplation or meditation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the
village gathers on temple grounds after sunset to participate in
less spiritual activities -- like reading sacred books, listening to saffron-clad monastics recite sutras (bhana), relate ancient stories from the Buddha's past
lives (jatakas), or chant protections (parittas).
During the Poson Festival the selling of alcohol and animal flesh is usually prohibited, and slaughterhouses are closed. Emperor Asoka made such decrees in ancient India (Bharat) as well after becoming a Buddhist. More
The regular biweekly phases of the moon indicate the new and full moon observance days
The Poson full-moon observance day celebration is one of the major Buddhist ceremonies in Sri Lanka, second only to Vesak (or "Buddhist Xmas").
This special ceremony commemorates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka from India. It is done out of gratitude to the arhat (enlightened being) Mahinda, son of the emperor Ashoka. The emperor sent a missionary expedition to the island consisting of arhats:
Ittiya, Uttiya, Sambhala, Bhaddasala, Samanera Sumana, and Upasaka Bhandhuka arrived in Sri Lanka on the full moon day of June in the year 236 of BCE. The emperor and the Sri Lankan King Devanampiyatissa ("beloved bydevas") were royal friends who had never met. So close were they that the emperor sent his son.
Arhat Mahinda is beloved in Sri Lanka with a special epithet "Second Buddha Maha Mahinda" (Anubudu Mihindu). This is not an exaggeration because arhat Mahinda was the one who introduced Theravada Buddhism to Sri Lanka. If Theravada Buddhism exists in the world today, it is because of him.
Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos are the major Theravada countries in the world today. Sri Lankan culture is based on Theravada Buddhism. Written and spoken language, the scriptural language Pali, arts, architecture, and culture are the heritage of Buddhism arriving on the island.
While Vesak is universally celebrated, Poson is unique to Sri Lankan Buddhism because it marks the historical beginning of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Buddhists who live in other countries celebrate it around the world: Singapore has a very big celebration as well as Los Angeles' many Sri Lankan temples.
Sri Lankan king meeting the missionary arhat Mahinda
During Poson people place an emphasis on practicing the Dharma (pratipatti puja) observing the Eight Precepts at monasteries and Dharma centers. Various offerings (giving dana) is practiced as well. On the island, hundreds of thousands of people visit Mihintale, the historical rocky monastery, where King Devanampiyatissa met Mahinda for the first time.
Among various meritorious deeds performed on Poson, there are:
Observing the Eight Precepts
Poson Parade
Offering free food and drinks
Observing additional precepts is one of the major parts of every full moon observance day. Many government schools organize Eight Precept programs for students during Poson week, which happens nowhere else in the world.
Pilgrims love to climb a rock (Mihintalava) on which Mahinda landed with his missionary group. It is said that the seven members had developed psychic powers through meditation and arrived on that rock neither by land nor sea. They appeared by means of psychic power.
Apart from these events, there are many other meritorious activities going on all over the country:
visiting hospitals
donating blood
social service
helping the needy
freeing cows from slaughter
Offering lights in the name of the Three Gems and Mahinda is one of the major events at Mihintale Monastery, where the entire area is illuminated with traditional oil lamps and electric lights. This display reflects the light of wisdom he brought to Sri Lanka, a land that became a great preserver of the Dharma.
The title of the sutra [discourse], Lankavatara ("entering, or attaining to, Lanka), seems to have something to do with the basic way of thinking and practice in Mahayana Buddhism, though the Gunabhadra version of the ancient text apparently does not offer much help in this regard.
The title seems to have derived from the legendary story passed down among the Theravada practitioners of the island (modern Sri Lanka), which is recorded in the Dipavamsa ("Royal Lineage of the Island Lanka"), a history they compiled.
.
The Buddha's [alleged] visits
According to the first two chapters of the story, Gautama Buddha [a.k.a., Shakyamuni] came to the island three times:
(1) nine months after attaining enlightenment ("awakening")
(2) five years after and
(3) eight years after.
(1) When the Buddha saw all the world with his fivefold eyes, he saw the island, where yaksas (spiritual apparitions, literally "something quick") and raksasas (when yaksas get angry they are said to be "flesh-eating goblins" or raksasas, literally, "anything to be guarded against") were abiding and afflicting people, groaning loudly and sucking human blood. The Buddha was afraid some strange teachings might flourish in that situation to worry people further. Using supernatural power, he came from India and expelled the terrible yaksas and furious raksasas by having them shift their dwelling place to a lonely island named Giri far out in the ocean. He then returned to Urvela in the state of Magadha, India (Chp. I).
The real Adam's Peak, Island of Sri Lanka, where the Buddha landed and left a footprint
(2) After he left, in the island's highland mountains, land-snakes and marine-snakes struggled for sovereignty over the island, both being nagas [reptilians, dragons, supernatural serpents] with supernatural power, violent and cruel, arrogant and drunk with power, though different in size. The situation worsened to the extent that wherever they went, everything became contaminated and burned out. The Buddha, far away in India, felt he could not leave things as they were. Again he came to Lanka, which he had emptied of yaksas. He put both parties of snakes under control, reconciled them, and returned to the Jeta Forest (Chp. II).
(3) Three years later, the king of the Lanka snakes, Maniakkhika, invited the Buddha together with five hundred disciples to the island in return for the Buddha's work as peacemaker. The party came flying from the Jeta Forest. The Buddha went to Mahamegha Forest and predicted that in the future the very Bodhi Tree beside which he had attained buddhahood would be planted at the site in Lanka where bodhi trees had grown for previous buddhas (Chp. II).
There is no doubt that such stories were made on the basis of other more historical stories, also recorded in the Dipavamsa, that the transmission of the Buddha's teaching [the Dharma] to the island had begun during the reign of King Devampiyatissa (B.C. 241-207). In response to the gift of treasures from the Lankan King Tissa, King Asoka sent messengers from India with a gift and a message that he had taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
King Asoka's son, Mahinda, who was an elder monk (mahathera), came (Chp. XI), and King Tissa of the island had a temple complex -- the famous Mahavihara -- built in the suburbs of his capital, Anuradhapura, as the center for practice and study for monks under Mahinda's guidance (Chps. XIII, XIV).
Ven. Mahinda had a messenger sent to King Asoka, and had him bring back a portion of the Buddha's relics. Then a dome (stupa, pagoda) erected for them (Chp. XV). Mahinda's sister, Ven. Sanghamitta, also came to Lanka. She brought a branch of the Bodhi Tree and had it planted in the woods of Mahamegha, near the Mahavihara (Chp. XVI). Mahinda died in B.C. 199 (Chp. XVQ), and Sanghamitta passed the following year (Mahavamsa, Chp. XX).
Indian Epic
The legendary stories of the Buddha's three visits to the island, however, seem to derive from one of the famous epics of India, the Ramayana.
Rama, the hero, came to attack raksasas on the island. He killed Ravana, their chief, and returned home to India with his beloved wife Sita, who had been abducted and forcibly taken to the island.
The Buddha was a hero equivalent to Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. But unlike Rama, the Buddha killed no one. He expelled "evil" spirits who had been devastating Lanka.
The role of peacemaker played by the Buddha for the two snake groups also seems to be rooted in the Ramayana. There, two groups of monkeys followed Rama and helped him in his attack on the Lanka demons, because Rama had worked as peacemaker for them during conflicts on the Indian subcontinent.
"Entering Lanka"
Thus, we know that the Theravada document, the Dipavamsa, invented the story of the Buddha entering Lanka on the basis of history and legends. But we need to consider what was meant by the Mahayanists' use of the title "Entering Lanka" (Lanka-vatara) for their famous scripture.
The Lankavatara Sutra, in the Gunabhadra version, begins with the description of the spot where the Buddha, the Sangha, and the bodhisattvas met, and how one bodhisattva named Mahamati from among other "bodhisattvas of mahamati" (see note) stood up and asked the Buddha for a teaching.
"On one occasion the Buddha stayed for a while in the town of Lanka on a mountain top, on the coast of the southern sea..."
Now the Bodhisattva Mahamati, who together with [other] "bodhisattvas of mahamati" (i.e., of great wisdom), with an attendant in every "Buddhaland," through the Buddha's influence stood up from his seat... Read more - NOTE: The word "mahamati," used here both as a common noun and a proper noun, reveals a close connection between the Lankavatara Sutra and the Dipavamsa. In the latter, the word was used only as a common noun, to show a deep respect when excellent mendicants were referred to...
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