Buddha in Sri Lanka

Swarna Wickremeratne

Description

This book provides both an erudite and intimate look at how Buddhism is lived in Sri Lanka. While India is known as the birthplace of Buddhism, Sri Lanka is its other home; Buddhism extends back over twenty-five hundred years on the island and remains at the center of its spiritual traditions and culture.

Throughout the book, author Swarna Wickremeratne incorporates a personal view, sharing stories of herself, her family, friends, and acquaintances as they "lived Buddhism" both during her Sri Lankan girlhood and during more recent times. This personal view makes the traditions come alive as Wickremeratne details Buddhist beliefs, customs, rituals and ceremonies, and folklore. She also provides a fascinating discussion of the Sangha, the institutional monkhood in Sri Lanka, including its history, codes of conduct, and evolution and resilience over time. Wickremeratne explores the recent attempts by many monks to reinvent themselves in a society characterized by secularization, globalization, and a tide of aggressive Christian evangelization.

Foreword
Terminology and Related Concepts
Acknowledgments
Map

1. Beginnings and Looking Beyond

2. Growing up in Sri Lankan Culture

3. Festival of New Beginnings: The New Year

4. Loving Worship and Loving Kindness

5. Givers: Many Motives, Many Fruits

6. Sri Lankan Buddhists and Their Rituals

7. Reminiscences of Bana Preaching

8. Buddhist Pilgrims’ Progress

9. Karma in Popular Buddhist Culture

10. To Die Only to Be Reborn

11. Death: Buddhist Ways and Other Ways

12. Bodhi Puja: All for the Sake of a Tree

13. Pirit Chanting and the Holy Thread

14. Sons of the Buddha

15. Varieties in a Single Saffron Robe

16. Quid Pro Quo Worship

17. Many Gods, Many Altars

18. God Kataragama

Epilogue
Glossary of Religious Terms
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Buddhism

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791481141
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

buddha in sri lanka

R E M E M B E R E D Y E S T E R D A Y S

swarna wickremeratne w i t h a f o r e w o r d b y g e o r g e d . b o n d

Buddha in Sri Lanka

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B U D D H A I N S R I L A N K A 

Remembered Yesterdays

SWARNA WICKREMERATNE

Foreword by GEORGE D. BOND

S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2006 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384

Production by Christine Hamel Marketing by Susan M. Petrie

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Wickremeratne, Swarna, 1939– Buddha in Sri Lanka : remembered yesterdays / Swarna Wickremeratne ; foreword by George D. Bond. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6881-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6881-X (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6882-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6882-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Therava\da Buddhism—Sri Lanka—Customs and practices. 2. Religious life— Therava\da Buddhism. 3. Sri Lanka—Religious life and customs. 4. Wickremeratne, Swarna, 1939– . I. Title.

BQ356.W56 2006 294.3'91095493—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2005030808

In loving memory to my father, who made all things possible.

And to my father-in-law, my other father, who believed in me and guided me in meaningful ways.

May the good karma in this, my effort, go to all beings in their search for love and compassion.

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All that we are is the result of our thoughts It is founded on our thoughts And made up of our thoughts With our thoughts we make the world 

Should a person perform a meritorious deed, He should do it again and again, He should find pleasure therein; Blissful is the accumulation of merit

—From the Dhammapada

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Foreword

Contents

Terminology and Related Concepts

Acknowledgments

Map

1 Beginnings and Looking Beyond

2 Growing up in Sri Lankan Culture

3 Festival of New Beginnings: The New Year

4 Loving Worship and Loving Kindness

5 Givers: Many Motives, Many Fruits

6 Sri Lankan Buddhists and Their Rituals

7 Reminiscences ofBanaPreaching

8 Buddhist Pilgrims’ Progress

9 Karma in Popular Buddhist Culture

10 To Die Only to Be Reborn

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