Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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SarathW
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Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by SarathW »

It appears that the Mahayana was very popular in Sri Lanka about 500AD.
Buduruwagala temple depicts a stone-carved Bodhisatwa image.
There is much other evidence to support this.
The following video is in the Sinhalese language but you can watch the rock images.
There is much evidence to support the worship of God Tara as well.

“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Ontheway
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ontheway »

SarathW wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 9:02 am It appears that the Mahayana was very popular in Sri Lanka about 500AD.
Buduruwagala temple depicts a stone-carved Bodhisatwa image.
There is much other evidence to support this.
The following video is in the Sinhalese language but you can watch the rock images.
There is much evidence to support the worship of God Tara as well.

Interesting ! Are the monks there belong to Mahayana sect? Did they chant any Mahayana Sutra?

I wonder if the Sri Lankan monks there know about Heart Sutra or Prajna Paramita Sutra (to Mahayanists, I think this is their EBT)...it is very famous, even in Theravada-dominant country such as Thailand. Maybe next time we will have Sri Lankan Mahayana style of chanting it :popcorn:

1) Vedic style (Sanskrit)


2) Chinese style (Sanskrit)


3) Japanese style (Japanese)


4) Indonesian style (Sanskrit)


:rofl:
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

There were also blue-robed Mahīśāsaka bhikkhus in competition with the Mahāvihāra in Sri Lanka once. Their name in historical Pāli sources has "nīla-" in front of it followed by a word for "robe," if I remember right, but I can't find the Pāli word right now.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
Ontheway
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ontheway »

Blue robed monks ? Interesting...I think in China there are plenty of them wearing blue robe...maybe are they related ?
img_0334.jpg
U10574P1488DT20140708164127.jpg
unnamed (7).jpg
Quite a sight.


Surprisingly, this monk wears a blue robe too.
https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/the- ... lue-robes/
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

Venerable Xuánzàng and Venerable Āsaṃga would have also worn blue robes, being ordained under under rubrics of the Mahīśāsaka vinaya. It was touched on a while ago here.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
SarathW
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by SarathW »

I have seen some Sri Lankan monks in Singapore wearing blue robes.
I am not sure which sect they are.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Ontheway
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ontheway »

Mahayana in Sri Lanka: Evidence?
https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2018/02/2 ... -sri-lanka

Another thing I find quite interesting. I believe this is what Sinhalese people called "Natha Deviyo". Correct?
Bodhisattva_Avalokitesvara-BMA.jpg
Bronze statue of Avalokiteśvara. Sri Lanka, c. 750.
It is clear from sculptural evidence alone that the Mahāyāna was fairly widespread throughout [Sri Lanka], although the modern account of the history of Buddhism on the island presents an unbroken and pure lineage of Theravāda. (One can only assume that similar trends were transmitted to other parts of Southeast Asia with Sri Lankan ordination lineages.) Relics of an extensive cult of Avalokiteśvara can be seen in the present-day figure of Nātha.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Sri_Lanka

This statue is very similar to Chinese Mahayana statue of Avalokitesvara or Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
unnamed (8).jpg
China styled Avalokitesvara (Still as a male)

But later from "He" to "She" :embarassed: :rofl:
unnamed (9).jpg
I wonder if this belief exists in Abhayagiri sect of ancient Sri Lanka or not...
Last edited by Ontheway on Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

Sri Lanka isn't the only currently-Theravādin area that formerly had a Mahāyāna presence. Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia all used to have Mahayana, and even Tantrism. How this tiny sect from Sri Lanka, the Mahāvihāravāsins, managed to fundamentally transform the religious landscape of Southeast Asia seems like nothing short of a miraculous "fluke" of history. It is a very interesting story that I don't know enough about.

There is folklore of an old monk named Phra Malai in Thailand who seems very much based on elements of the folklore surrounding Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
Ontheway
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ontheway »

Coëmgenu wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:44 pm Sri Lanka isn't the only currently-Theravādin area that formerly had a Mahāyāna presence. Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia all used to have Mahayana, and even Tantrism. How this tiny sect from Sri Lanka, the Mahāvihāravāsins, managed to fundamentally transform the religious landscape of Southeast Asia seems like nothing short of a miraculous "fluke" of history. It is a very interesting story that I don't know enough about.

There is folklore of an old monk named Phra Malai in Thailand who seems very much based on Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva.
Phra Malai (พระมาลัย) is actually Thai naming of Arahant Maliyadeva Thera (พระมาลิยเทวะ), a Sinhalese Arahant.

Just like Thais called Buddha as "Phra Pudt", Sariputta as "Saripud", Kaccayana as "Sang kaccai", they called Arahant Maliyadeva Thera as "Malai".

It is well clarified within Thai Theravada tradition.
https://th.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8% ... 1%E0%B8%A2

It is said that Arahant Maliyadeva Thera preached Chachaka Sutta at Mutiyangana Stupa and there were sixty monks attained Arahantship because of this Sutta.
http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_n ... angana.htm
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

He might be a historical person, but the iconography of his trips to hell are very reminiscent, as well as those stories about him generally. It's possible that he actually went to hell and that the similarity that stories about him have with Kṣitigarbha is entirely coincidental. It's possible that that statue of Avalokiteśvara is actually a guardian deity of Sri Lanka called "Nāthadeva."
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
Ontheway
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ontheway »

Personally, I think "Nathadeva" is just a fictional deity created by Sinhalese people at that time to incorporate such Bodhisattva worship practice into Theravada fold.
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

I think that, during the anti-Mahāyāna "Theravādization" of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, the old Bodhisattvas became reinterpreted as great bhikkhus from the past and gods. Either is potentially possible.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ceisiwr »

Coëmgenu wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:44 pm Sri Lanka isn't the only currently-Theravādin area that formerly had a Mahāyāna presence. Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia all used to have Mahayana, and even Tantrism. How this tiny sect from Sri Lanka, the Mahāvihāravāsins, managed to fundamentally transform the religious landscape of Southeast Asia seems like nothing short of a miraculous "fluke" of history. It is a very interesting story that I don't know enough about.

There is folklore of an old monk named Phra Malai in Thailand who seems very much based on elements of the folklore surrounding Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva.
As ever a lot of it has to do with Royal support.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Coëmgenu »

Ceisiwr wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:28 pm
Coëmgenu wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:44 pm Sri Lanka isn't the only currently-Theravādin area that formerly had a Mahāyāna presence. Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia all used to have Mahayana, and even Tantrism. How this tiny sect from Sri Lanka, the Mahāvihāravāsins, managed to fundamentally transform the religious landscape of Southeast Asia seems like nothing short of a miraculous "fluke" of history. It is a very interesting story that I don't know enough about.

There is folklore of an old monk named Phra Malai in Thailand who seems very much based on elements of the folklore surrounding Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva.
As ever a lot of it has to do with Royal support.
Out of curiosity, do you have any reading you would recommend concerning the Theravādization of Southeast Asia? It's something I've long been meaning to read up on. The region was previously a cultural capital of Buddhist Tantrism and Mahāyāna Esotericism (I draw a distinction between the two), producing monuments like Borobudur, which was built corresponding to the vision of the cosmos as presented in the Lotus Vault chapter of the Flower Garland. It also depicts Sudhanakumāra Bodhisattva's tutelage under various Buddhist deities who follow the Buddhadharma on its wall reliefs (this being from the finale of the Flower Garland), as well as his ascent to the summit of Maitreya's tower and his encountering of Vairocana there. In the case of the southern Philippines and Indonesia, Islamification and Spanish/Dutch colonialism destroyed Buddhism. In the case of continental Southeast Asia, we see a flip to Theravāda. Very interesting, how times change.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Budhuruwagala Mahayana temple - Sri Lanka

Post by Ceisiwr »

Coëmgenu wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 9:55 pm
Out of curiosity, do you have any reading you would recommend concerning the Theravādization of Southeast Asia? It's something I've long been meaning to read up on. The region was previously a cultural capital of Buddhist Tantrism and Mahāyāna Esotericism (I draw a distinction between the two), producing monuments like Borobudur, which was built corresponding to the vision of the cosmos as presented in the Lotus Vault chapter of the Flower Garland. It also depicts Sudhanakumāra Bodhisattva's tutelage under various Buddhist deities who follow the Buddhadharma on its wall reliefs (this being from the finale of the Flower Garland), as well as his ascent to the summit of Maitreya's tower and his encountering of Vairocana there. In the case of the southern Philippines and Indonesia, Islamification and Spanish/Dutch colonialism destroyed Buddhism. In the case of continental Southeast Asia, we see a flip to Theravāda. Very interesting, how times change.
Gombrich's "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo" is a good place to start, as an introduction.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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