Buddha in Sri Lanka: Remembered Yesterdays

by Wickremeratne, Swarna; Bond, George Doherty

• ISBN13: 9780791468821
• ISBN10: 0791468828
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-07
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

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, extending back over twenty-five hundred years on the island and remaining 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.

Author Biography

Swarna Wickremeratne is a librarian at Oakton Community College and an independent scholar

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Terminology and Related Concepts	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Map	xix
Beginnings and Looking Beyond	1	(10)
Growing up in Sri Lankan Culture	11	(20)
Festival of New Beginnings: The New Year	31	(10)
Loving Worship and Loving Kindness	41	(14)
Givers: Many Motives, Many Fruits	55	(20)
Sri Lankan Buddhists and Their Rituals	75	(14)
Reminiscences of Bana Preachings	89	(12)
Buddhist Pilgrims' Progress	101	(12)
Karma in Popular Buddhist Culture	113	(12)
To Die Only to Be Reborn	125	(16)
Death: Buddhist Ways and Other Ways	141	(16)
Bodhi Puja: All for the Sake of a Tree	157	(10)
Pirit Chanting and the Holy Thread	167	(12)
Sons of the Buddha	179	(20)
Varieties in a Single Saffron Robe	199	(22)
Quid Pro Quo Worship	221	(16)
Many Gods, Many Altars	237	(22)
God Kataragama	259	(14)
Epilogue	273	(2)
Glossary of Religious Terms	275	(6)
Bibliography	281	(4)
Index	285