Will most of the north was under the control of the foreign invaders,the principality of rohana in the south remained free.a youn prince called dutthagamini ralied the people and began a 15 year campaign against the foreign rulers. At the end of the war, Dutthagamani killed King Elara in a duel to the death and finally re-established Sinhalese rule over Anuradhapura and the rest of the island.Although considered a foreign invader, Elara was known as a just andrighteous ruler.
After his victory, the newly crowned King Dutthagamani was gracious enough to cremate Elara with full honours and encouraged people to pay respect at his tomb. He proceeded to reconstruct the war ravaged areas and revive Buddhism in Sri Lanka. During his 24 year reign, he built many stupas and monasteries, some of which can still be seen today.A significant portion of the Mahavamsa revolves around the exploits of Dutthagamani, and he is thus also known as the ‘Hero of the Mahavamsa’. He was succeeded by his brother and later his nephews but Sri Lanka was
again invaded by warriors from South India.
The island was soon to enterone of the darkest periods in its long history.The ruins of the Lohapasada or Brazen Palace, a nine-storey chapter house
for monks, is still in existence and was known for its bright bronze-tiledroof. But perhaps the most famous of the king’s monuments is the massiveRuvanvalisaya, also known as the Great Stupa. This stupa, standing 300
feet high, is believed to house the begging bowl of the Buddha and isone of the most visited Buddhist attractions in Sri Lanka even today.Dutthagamani passed away in 77 BCE but sadly, he did not live to see thecompletion of this magnificent stupa.
Famine and the Writing of the Tipitaka
Vattagamani Abhaya was the fourth son of King Saddhatissa, the brother of Dutthagamani. He came to the throne in 43 BCE after the reign of his three elder brothers. Only five months later, he faced a rebellion from the southern provinces led by a brahmin named Tissa. At the same time, the island was also invaded by Indian raiders from the north.
Both the rebels led by Tissa and the forces of Vattagamani were defeated by the more powerful Indian invaders. While fleeing for his life, a Jain ascetic named Giri, mocked the king from his monastery, calling out “the great black Sinhala is fleeing.” Vattagamani went into hiding, vowing to build a Buddhist temple on the Jain’s monastery should he regain power. From various remote places on the island, he started to gather a large army to challenge the invaders.
In the meantime, the country was ravaged by famine and many were forced to cannibalism to survive. Thousands of people died from starvation and Buddhism went into a severe decline. Monasteries, including the Mahavihara, became deserted as great numbers of monks died or left for India in order to survive. Buddhism had entered a critical stage and its very survival was threatened.
This was because its teachings were passed down orally and this was no longer possible in the chaotic state of the country. Without its teachings, Buddhism would have soon died out. The remaining Theras, or senior bhikkhus, thus made it their utmost priority to preserve the teachings by having them written down on ola, or palm leaves. The Fourth Buddhist Council was convened with Vattagamani as its patron
and for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the Tipitaka was committed to writing.
This was done together with its Commentaries at the Aluvihara cave temple near the town of Matale. The Tipitaka, or the three baskets of the Buddhist scriptures, are made up of the Vinaya Pitaka or rules for
the Sangha, the Sutta Pitaka or the discourses of the Buddha, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka or the higher teachings.
After many more years of strife, Vattagamani attacked Anuradhapura and defeated the invaders. He was to rule the country for the next 12 years until his death in 17 BCE. One of his first actions on regaining the throne was to demolish the monastery of Giri, the Jain ascetic who had mocked him. In its place, he built a Buddhist monastery called the Abhayagiri Vihara, affixing his name with that of the Jain ascetic.
The king presented this new monastery to a monk named Kupikkala Maha Tissa, who had been of great help during his time in exile. Unfortunately, this act of generosity was to lead to a great schism in the Sri
Lankan Sangha.
Schisms and Unorthodox Teachings
The monks of the Mahavihara, the original centre of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, felt that it was improper for a bhikkhu to receive such a gift. Therefore, they expelled Kupikkala Maha Tissa for accepting the gift of the Abhayagiri Vihara from Vattagamani. His pupil, Bahalamassu Tissa or “Big-Bearded Tissa”, was unhappy with the treatment meted out to his teacher. He was similarly expelled and left the Mahavihara with 500 monks to join the Abhayagiri Vihara.
While not on good terms, there was no difference in the doctrines of
the two monasteries. It was only in later times when monks from the Vajjiputta sect in India came to live at the Abhayagiri, that their views on the Buddha’s teachings, or the Dhamma, began to diverge. This sect held
the unorthodox view that everyone has a permanent individual identity or soul, contrary to the central Buddhist teaching of anatta, or insubstantiality.
They also took the view that arahants can fall back after being enlightened. The monks of the Abhayagiri approved of these unorthodox teachings and became known as the Dhammaruci sect, named after the teacher of the Vajjiputtakas from India. While the conservative monks of the Mahavihara studied only the orthodox Theravada texts, the monks of the Abhayagiri studied both the Theravada and Mahayana scriptures.
They kept in touch with different Buddhist sects in India and accepted liberal views and progressive ideas, even if these were unorthodox.The next 300 years were largely uneventful for Buddhism with most of the rulers supporting either one or the other of these two monasteries, and advancing the cause of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in their own ways.
However, a new school of thought appeared during the reign of King Voharika Tissa in 291 CE. This new school called Vetullavada held
views even more unorthodox and heretical than the Dhammaruci sect. Unfortunately, the monks of the Abhayagiri adopted these teachings. An example of Vaitulya doctrine was that the Buddha lives in the Tusita
heaven and never came down to earth. Instead, he sent an emanation of himself to earth to teach his attendant Ananda, and it was actually Ananda who preached the Dhamma and not the Buddha. They also maintained that there is no merit in giving alms to the Sangha. It is possible that the Vaitulyans derived their doctrines from the Mahayana master Nagarjuna, whose teachings had begun to flourish in India around
the second half of the second century CE.
The bhikkhus of the Mahavihara objected to these doctrines as heretical and contrary to the Buddha’s true teachings.nVoharika Tissa suppressed the Vaitulyans and also purged many corruptbmembers of the Sangha at the same time. The Vaitulyans, nonetheless, began to reassert themselves within a few years and Sri Lanka was to enter another troubled age in its history.
The Destruction of the Mahavihara
When King Gothabhaya came to power in 309 CE, he rebuilt old monasteries, constructed new ones and generously supported the bhikkhus. He also suppressed the resurgent Vaitulyans by exiling 60 of their leaders to India. These unorthodox monks settled in the Chola region of South Indianand began planning their return.
They made connections with a young and able monk called Sanghamitra who was to lead the resurgence of Mahayana in Sri Lanka. Sanghamitra visited Gothabhaya and greatly impressed him. Eventually he was engaged as the personal tutor to the king’s two young sons. The elder prince, Jettha Tissa, did not like Sangamitra but the younger son, Mahasena, became his loyal and devoted pupil. When he became king, Jettha Tissa killed many of his father’s ministers to consolidate his own power. Sangamitra then fled to India fearing for his life. Jettha Tissa however, died within a year of his coronation and Mahasena assumed the throne in 334 CE. Sangamitra then immediately returned to reunite with his former pupil, the new king of Sri Lanka.
The ascendancy of the Mahayana and the destruction of the Mahavihara, the
stronghold of orthodox Buddhism, was about to begin. Taking residence in the Abhayagiri, Sanghamitra made many attempts to convert the monks of the Mahavihara to Mahayana. Failing in these attempts, he then managed to persuade Mahasena to impose penalties on anyone providing food to the bhikkhus of the Mahavihara. Unable to survive, the monks were forced to leave Anuradhapura and they went south to the province of Rohana and other areas.
The Mahavihara was left deserted for nine years although it was still revered and respected by the local people. The Abhayagiri and its Mahayana teachings were unchallenged during this period. With the approval of Mahasena, Sanghamitra then proceeded to have the Mahavihara demolished. Its structures were torn down and the materials were used to construct new buildings in the Abhayagiri. Even the land of the Mahavihara was ploughed over and used as planting grounds for
beans. The people however, greatly resented these actions.
Two persons, a minister who was a good friend of the king, and one of the queens, were to step forward to help rescue the Mahavihara. The minister, Meghavanna Abhaya, raised an army and declared war on Mahasena. The king then came to realize the seriousness of the situation and his mistake in allowing the destruction of the Mahavihara.
He promised to restore the great monastery. The queen, one of Mahasena’s favourite wives, took matters into her own hands and had Sanghamitra killed.
Mahasena however, proceeded to build another large monastery within the boundaries of the Mahavihara, despite the protests and unhappiness
caused by this decision. The new monastery called the Jetavana, was presented to a monk called Tissa Thera who belonged to the Sagaliya sect, another unorthodox Buddhist movement. Tissa Thera was subsequently expelled by the Sangha and disrobed by the king’s Minister of Justice. The Jetavana stupa can still be seen today. It is the tallest stupa in Sri Lanka and one of the highest in the world.
During his reign, Mahasena, despite his hostility towards the orthodox Mahavihara, contributed greatly to the welfare of his people in other ways.
He was known for building many huge reservoirs and canals which
provided abundant water for irrigation in the largely agricultural country. He constructed the Minneriya Reservoir which covers 4,670 acres and has a circumference of 21 miles. This reservoir is one of the marvels of ancient civil engineering and is still in existence today.
After his victory, the newly crowned King Dutthagamani was gracious enough to cremate Elara with full honours and encouraged people to pay respect at his tomb. He proceeded to reconstruct the war ravaged areas and revive Buddhism in Sri Lanka. During his 24 year reign, he built many stupas and monasteries, some of which can still be seen today.A significant portion of the Mahavamsa revolves around the exploits of Dutthagamani, and he is thus also known as the ‘Hero of the Mahavamsa’. He was succeeded by his brother and later his nephews but Sri Lanka was
again invaded by warriors from South India.
The island was soon to enterone of the darkest periods in its long history.The ruins of the Lohapasada or Brazen Palace, a nine-storey chapter house
for monks, is still in existence and was known for its bright bronze-tiledroof. But perhaps the most famous of the king’s monuments is the massiveRuvanvalisaya, also known as the Great Stupa. This stupa, standing 300
feet high, is believed to house the begging bowl of the Buddha and isone of the most visited Buddhist attractions in Sri Lanka even today.Dutthagamani passed away in 77 BCE but sadly, he did not live to see thecompletion of this magnificent stupa.
Famine and the Writing of the Tipitaka
Vattagamani Abhaya was the fourth son of King Saddhatissa, the brother of Dutthagamani. He came to the throne in 43 BCE after the reign of his three elder brothers. Only five months later, he faced a rebellion from the southern provinces led by a brahmin named Tissa. At the same time, the island was also invaded by Indian raiders from the north.
Both the rebels led by Tissa and the forces of Vattagamani were defeated by the more powerful Indian invaders. While fleeing for his life, a Jain ascetic named Giri, mocked the king from his monastery, calling out “the great black Sinhala is fleeing.” Vattagamani went into hiding, vowing to build a Buddhist temple on the Jain’s monastery should he regain power. From various remote places on the island, he started to gather a large army to challenge the invaders.
In the meantime, the country was ravaged by famine and many were forced to cannibalism to survive. Thousands of people died from starvation and Buddhism went into a severe decline. Monasteries, including the Mahavihara, became deserted as great numbers of monks died or left for India in order to survive. Buddhism had entered a critical stage and its very survival was threatened.
This was because its teachings were passed down orally and this was no longer possible in the chaotic state of the country. Without its teachings, Buddhism would have soon died out. The remaining Theras, or senior bhikkhus, thus made it their utmost priority to preserve the teachings by having them written down on ola, or palm leaves. The Fourth Buddhist Council was convened with Vattagamani as its patron
and for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the Tipitaka was committed to writing.
This was done together with its Commentaries at the Aluvihara cave temple near the town of Matale. The Tipitaka, or the three baskets of the Buddhist scriptures, are made up of the Vinaya Pitaka or rules for
the Sangha, the Sutta Pitaka or the discourses of the Buddha, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka or the higher teachings.
After many more years of strife, Vattagamani attacked Anuradhapura and defeated the invaders. He was to rule the country for the next 12 years until his death in 17 BCE. One of his first actions on regaining the throne was to demolish the monastery of Giri, the Jain ascetic who had mocked him. In its place, he built a Buddhist monastery called the Abhayagiri Vihara, affixing his name with that of the Jain ascetic.
The king presented this new monastery to a monk named Kupikkala Maha Tissa, who had been of great help during his time in exile. Unfortunately, this act of generosity was to lead to a great schism in the Sri
Lankan Sangha.
Schisms and Unorthodox Teachings
The monks of the Mahavihara, the original centre of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, felt that it was improper for a bhikkhu to receive such a gift. Therefore, they expelled Kupikkala Maha Tissa for accepting the gift of the Abhayagiri Vihara from Vattagamani. His pupil, Bahalamassu Tissa or “Big-Bearded Tissa”, was unhappy with the treatment meted out to his teacher. He was similarly expelled and left the Mahavihara with 500 monks to join the Abhayagiri Vihara.
While not on good terms, there was no difference in the doctrines of
the two monasteries. It was only in later times when monks from the Vajjiputta sect in India came to live at the Abhayagiri, that their views on the Buddha’s teachings, or the Dhamma, began to diverge. This sect held
the unorthodox view that everyone has a permanent individual identity or soul, contrary to the central Buddhist teaching of anatta, or insubstantiality.
They also took the view that arahants can fall back after being enlightened. The monks of the Abhayagiri approved of these unorthodox teachings and became known as the Dhammaruci sect, named after the teacher of the Vajjiputtakas from India. While the conservative monks of the Mahavihara studied only the orthodox Theravada texts, the monks of the Abhayagiri studied both the Theravada and Mahayana scriptures.
They kept in touch with different Buddhist sects in India and accepted liberal views and progressive ideas, even if these were unorthodox.The next 300 years were largely uneventful for Buddhism with most of the rulers supporting either one or the other of these two monasteries, and advancing the cause of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in their own ways.
However, a new school of thought appeared during the reign of King Voharika Tissa in 291 CE. This new school called Vetullavada held
views even more unorthodox and heretical than the Dhammaruci sect. Unfortunately, the monks of the Abhayagiri adopted these teachings. An example of Vaitulya doctrine was that the Buddha lives in the Tusita
heaven and never came down to earth. Instead, he sent an emanation of himself to earth to teach his attendant Ananda, and it was actually Ananda who preached the Dhamma and not the Buddha. They also maintained that there is no merit in giving alms to the Sangha. It is possible that the Vaitulyans derived their doctrines from the Mahayana master Nagarjuna, whose teachings had begun to flourish in India around
the second half of the second century CE.
The bhikkhus of the Mahavihara objected to these doctrines as heretical and contrary to the Buddha’s true teachings.nVoharika Tissa suppressed the Vaitulyans and also purged many corruptbmembers of the Sangha at the same time. The Vaitulyans, nonetheless, began to reassert themselves within a few years and Sri Lanka was to enter another troubled age in its history.
The Destruction of the Mahavihara
When King Gothabhaya came to power in 309 CE, he rebuilt old monasteries, constructed new ones and generously supported the bhikkhus. He also suppressed the resurgent Vaitulyans by exiling 60 of their leaders to India. These unorthodox monks settled in the Chola region of South Indianand began planning their return.
They made connections with a young and able monk called Sanghamitra who was to lead the resurgence of Mahayana in Sri Lanka. Sanghamitra visited Gothabhaya and greatly impressed him. Eventually he was engaged as the personal tutor to the king’s two young sons. The elder prince, Jettha Tissa, did not like Sangamitra but the younger son, Mahasena, became his loyal and devoted pupil. When he became king, Jettha Tissa killed many of his father’s ministers to consolidate his own power. Sangamitra then fled to India fearing for his life. Jettha Tissa however, died within a year of his coronation and Mahasena assumed the throne in 334 CE. Sangamitra then immediately returned to reunite with his former pupil, the new king of Sri Lanka.
The ascendancy of the Mahayana and the destruction of the Mahavihara, the
stronghold of orthodox Buddhism, was about to begin. Taking residence in the Abhayagiri, Sanghamitra made many attempts to convert the monks of the Mahavihara to Mahayana. Failing in these attempts, he then managed to persuade Mahasena to impose penalties on anyone providing food to the bhikkhus of the Mahavihara. Unable to survive, the monks were forced to leave Anuradhapura and they went south to the province of Rohana and other areas.
The Mahavihara was left deserted for nine years although it was still revered and respected by the local people. The Abhayagiri and its Mahayana teachings were unchallenged during this period. With the approval of Mahasena, Sanghamitra then proceeded to have the Mahavihara demolished. Its structures were torn down and the materials were used to construct new buildings in the Abhayagiri. Even the land of the Mahavihara was ploughed over and used as planting grounds for
beans. The people however, greatly resented these actions.
Two persons, a minister who was a good friend of the king, and one of the queens, were to step forward to help rescue the Mahavihara. The minister, Meghavanna Abhaya, raised an army and declared war on Mahasena. The king then came to realize the seriousness of the situation and his mistake in allowing the destruction of the Mahavihara.
He promised to restore the great monastery. The queen, one of Mahasena’s favourite wives, took matters into her own hands and had Sanghamitra killed.
Mahasena however, proceeded to build another large monastery within the boundaries of the Mahavihara, despite the protests and unhappiness
caused by this decision. The new monastery called the Jetavana, was presented to a monk called Tissa Thera who belonged to the Sagaliya sect, another unorthodox Buddhist movement. Tissa Thera was subsequently expelled by the Sangha and disrobed by the king’s Minister of Justice. The Jetavana stupa can still be seen today. It is the tallest stupa in Sri Lanka and one of the highest in the world.
During his reign, Mahasena, despite his hostility towards the orthodox Mahavihara, contributed greatly to the welfare of his people in other ways.
He was known for building many huge reservoirs and canals which
provided abundant water for irrigation in the largely agricultural country. He constructed the Minneriya Reservoir which covers 4,670 acres and has a circumference of 21 miles. This reservoir is one of the marvels of ancient civil engineering and is still in existence today.
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