The story of how Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka has been told countless times, but it is nevertheless a fascinating one. One fine Full Moon Poya Day nearly 2,330 years ago, King Tissa was hunting deer in a park close to the Royal City of Anuradhapura. Then he heard someone calling his name. Since no one in the country dared to call the King by his name, he turned upward to see just who dared to do so. He was greeted with the sight of a retinue of saffron-robed monks and a sage.
The visitor on top of the rock was none other than Arahant Mahinda Thera, son of Emperor Dharmashoka in neighbouring Jambudeepa, present day India. He had brought the precious gift of the Buddha Dhamma to Sri Lanka. The King, his followers and indeed the entire population of Anuradhapura then embraced the words of the Enlightened One after Arahant Mahinda Thera delivered the discourse on Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta (Simile on the Foot of an Elephant). It is a Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya (Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha of the Sutta Pitaka) that clearly explains the path to Nibbana, the ultimate goal of every Buddhist.
Today, on Poson Full Moon Poya Day, we celebrate that momentous event in Sri Lankan history. King Tissa earned the sobriquet “Devanampiya” (Beloved of the Gods) after he embraced Buddhism. This was the moment that started a Buddhism-based civilisation and an agri-based socio-cultural revolution in Sri Lanka that continues to this day. Thus Poson can be called a watershed moment in Sri Lanka’s rich annals. To Sri Lankan Buddhists, it is second in importance only to Vesak, which marks the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Passing Away.
While Sri Lanka has embraced a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural milieu, the tenets and ethos of Buddhism have permeated to every level of our society, regardless of ethnicity and religion. Indeed, both Vesak and Poson are marked in various ways by non-Buddhists as well. Poson celebrations centre on Mihintale, where thousands of devotees converge to recall with gratitude Ven. Arahant Mahinda Thera’s journey to Sri Lanka. They climb the Mihintale rock with sheer reverence, following the very footsteps of Arahant Mahinda Thera and the thousands of Arahants who lived in Anuradhapura since. The journey to Mihintale has now been made easier thanks to the commencement of a new train service between Anuradhapura and Mihintale.
The adherence to the Four Sublime States mentioned in Buddhism – Metta (Loving Kindness), Karuna (Compassion), Muditha (Sympathetic Joy) and Upekkha (Equanimity) that has enabled Sri Lankans to wither any obstacle in life, be it the War, the Boxing Day tsunami, Easter attacks, the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn.
The Buddha Dhamma gave prominence to two factors essential for life – health and the environment. The Buddha noted that health was the greatest wealth. This was not surprising, since the Buddha had realised the essential link between the two, having attained Enlightenment under the shade of a mighty Bo Tree. A branch of this tree is venerated by Buddhists from all over the world at Anuradhapura, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Incidentally, this branch was brought here as a sapling by Sanghamitta Therani, the daughter of King Dharmashoka.
Our affinity for Nature and the Environment goes back all the way to that initial interaction between Arahant Mahinda Thera and King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale. Arahant Mahinda Thera stopped the King’s hunt, extolling that all life is precious and that we should radiate compassion towards all beings. He then tested the King’s intelligence with questions about the mango grove in Mihintale, which the latter successfully answered. From then on, our Kings declared Abhaya Bhoomi or sanctuaries where life was allowed to blossom freely. Mihintale is a sanctuary to this day.
According to Buddhist texts, Buddha has predicted before his Parinibbana (Passing Away) that Buddhism would survive in its purest form in the island next door – Sri Lanka. While the Buddha himself is believed to have visited Sri Lanka three times, it was the arrival of Arahant Mahinda that acted as a catalyst for Sri Lanka to become a mainly Buddhist nation. Even though the European colonial powers did their utmost to trample Buddhists and Buddhism, the religion still survived and thrived. Today, apart from Sri Lanka, Buddhism thrives in countries such as Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, China and Japan. This expansion would not have been possible without the grand ambitions of Emperor Dharmashoka and his Buddhist emissaries. Poson stands out for being the event that took Buddhism to the entire known world (at that time), not just Sri Lanka. In fact, the presence of Buddhist sites in countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Indonesia, which are no longer predominantly Buddhist, shows the extent of Dharmashoka’s Buddhist diplomacy and outreach in the ancient world.
Sri Lanka is an example where the Buddha’s words and legacy, as disseminated by Arahant Mahinda Thera, led to a massive socio-cultural transformation to the point where the country is synonymous with Buddhism. But we must truly practice the Buddhist tenets to make peace and reconciliation a reality on our land after years of strife and revision.
