Buddhism of the Southern School - Development in Ceylon

Development in Ceylon In Ceylon, the Elder Mahinda and his companions succeeded in converting King Devanampiya Tissa and his people to Buddhism When some ladies there wished to join the Sangha, King Asoka sent the nun Sanghamitta, his own daughter, to found the order of nuns in Ceylon

Development in Ceylon

In Ceylon, the Elder Mahinda and his companions succeeded in converting King Devanampiya Tissa and his people to Buddhism. When some ladies there wished to join the Sangha, King Asoka sent the nun Sanghamitta, his own daughter, to found the order of nuns in Ceylon. A shoot from the sacred Bodhi tree at Gaya was also sent with her and planted at Anuradhapura, where it still stands today as the oldest historical tree in the world. Within a short time the whole of the island of Ceylon became a stronghold of Buddhism, from where, in later centuries, learned monks went to neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia to revive or strengthen Buddhism there.

A Council was said to be held in Ceylon soon after the arrival of the Elder Mahinda. Tradition says it was the Fourth Council participated in by 60,000 Arahants under the presidency of the Venerable Arit?t?ha, the first pupil of the Elder Mahinda. This Council is, however, not widely accepted.

The next Council of Ceylon was held by 500 monks in WE. 4321 (112 B.C.), in the reign of King Vat?t?agaman?i Abhaya. The Sinhalese tradition takes this as the Fifth Council while generally it is regarded as the Fourth Council. The importance of this Council lies in the fact that the Tipitaka, the Pali Canon, which had been transmitted orally from the time of the Buddha was written down in books for the first time.

The Pali Canon called the Tipit?aka or Tripit?aka (lit., the Three Baskets) as recorded in its present form of writings consists of three parts. The first, called the Vinaya Pit?aka (Basket of Discipline), states the rules for the monks and consists of five books. The second, the Sutta Pit?aka (Basket of Discourses), contains all the sermons or popular teachings of the Buddha and some great disciples, and is divided into five Nikayas or Collections. The third, the Abhidhamma Pit?aka (Basket of Further Doctrine), deals with the Buddhist system of thought, both psychological and philosophical in character, and consists of seven books.

Four other Councils were said to be held in Ceylon in later centuries, but they are not internationally accepted, except the Seventh, held in the reign of King Parakkamabahu, which had an especial connection with the history of Buddhism in Thailand.

During the first nine centuries after the arrival of the Elder Mahinda, Buddhism made rapid progress and was firmly established in Ceylon through the active support of many pious kings and the devoted faith of the people. In B.E. 855 (311 C.E.) the tooth relic of the Buddha was brought from India and enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. In B.E. 956 (412 C.E.) Buddhaghosa, the great commentator, came to Ceylon from Gaya in northeast India, wrote the Visuddhimagga, and translated the commentaries back from Sinhalese into Pali. His example was followed by Dhammapala who came from south India in the next century and wrote additional commentaries, giving the final form to the commentaries as we have them today.

The next five centuries (from the 12th to 17th centuries B.E. or the 6th to 11th centuries C.E.) were a period of disturbances due to Indian invasions and internal wars. During this period the capital was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa or Puratthipura, the order of nuns ceased to exist, and the order of monks nearly perished.

In B.E. 1609 (1065 C.E.) King Vijayabahu, having driven out the Indians, started the work of restoring Buddhism. He invited monks from Burma, then under King Anurudh the Great, to give ordination to Ceylonese people. A successor of his, Parakramabahu I the Great, united all sects of Buddhism, appointed the first Sangharaja, called Sariputta, to rule the whole Sangha, and patronized the Seventh Council which was held in B.E. 1720 (1176 C.E.). Then Ceylon became again the centre of Buddhist studies and through its influence the Ceylonese ordination known as Lankavamsa was adopted by Thailand in B.E. 1820.

From about B.E. 2050 to 2340 (1510 - 1796 C.E.) Ceylon suffered foreign invasions and occupation by the Portuguese and the Dutch successively and Buddhism had to struggle hard for survival. There were two times during this period when the higher ordination nearly discontinued and had to be restored. The first time was under the Portuguese when monks were brought from Burma. The second time was under the Dutch when, in B.E. 2294 (1750 C.E.), ten monks headed by Phra Upali were sent from Thailand and held the ordination ceremony at Kandy. Bhikkhu Saranankara, one of more than three thousand persons who were ordained at this time, was appointed Sangharaja by the king.

Under the British rule from about B.E. 2340 till independence in B.E. 2491 (1796 - 1947 C.E.), Buddhism also suffered a lot from antiBuddhist movements encouraged by the foreign government. This, however, made the Buddhist leaders more energetic in protecting their national religion and culture and led to the revival of Buddhism which continues in Ceylon to the present day.

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