Sri Lanka, The Paradise of the Orient, I was born and bred.
THE SCENIC BEAUTY OF SRI LANKA
Environment
Sri Lanka is shaped like a giant teardrop falling from the southern tip of the vast Indian subcontinent. It is separated from India by the 50km wide Palk Strait, although there is a series of stepping-stone coral islets known as Adam's Bridge which almost form a land bridge between the two countries. The island is just 350km long and only 180km wide at its widest, and is about the same size as Ireland, West Virginia or Tasmania.
The southern half of the island is dominated by beautiful and rugged hill country. The entire northern half comprises a large plain extending from the edge of the hill country to the Jaffna peninsula. The highest mountain is the 2524m Mt Pidurutalagala near Nuwara Eliya and the longest river is the Mahaweli which courses from the centre and empties into the Indian Ocean at Trincomalee. The best beaches are on the south-western, southern and south-eastern coasts.
Ebony, teak, silkwood and spectacular orchids are found in the dense south-western tropical rainforests. Hardy grasslands, rhododendrons and stunted forests predominate in the cool, damp highlands, and shrubs and grasslands survive in arid zones in the north. Animal life is profuse and includes the ubiquitous elephant, as well as leopards, deer, monkeys, sloth bears, wild boar, cobras, crocodiles, dugong and turtles. The island is an important seasonal home to migrating birds, including flamingoes, who flock to the lagoons, wetlands and bird sanctuaries for respite from the northern winter. The best time to see birds is between January and April.
Sri Lanka is a typically tropical country with distinct dry and wet seasons but the picture is somewhat complicated by the fact that it is subject to two monsoons: the Yala season (May to August), when the south-west monsoon brings rain to the southern, western and central regions; and the Maha season (October to January), when the north-east monsoon brings rain to the north and east of the island. Temperatures in the low-lying coastal regions are high year round but they rapidly fall with altitude and in the hill country, where it feels like perpetual spring. The highest temperatures are from March through June while November to January is usually the coolest time of the year. Rainfall is heaviest in the south, south west and central highlands; the northern and north-central regions are very dry. The best time to visit the west, south coast and hill country is between December and March. May to September is best on the east coast.
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The Sri Lankan Lion flag -how it came to be
by CAROL ALOYSIUS
Sri Lanka's national flag is steeped in history and tradition. From its hoary past to the present day, the events linked with this national symbol of freedom and independence are so packed with drama, suspense, and political intrigue that it could easily go down in history as one of the most unique flags in the world.
Dutugemunu’s flag which he carried after his victory over his enemies
Much of these fascinating and exciting events has however been forgotten in the mists of time, and many of our younger generation are unaware of the significance and importance of their National flag.
Many may not know that the birth of the Sinhala race began with the planting of the Lion flag for the first time in Lankan history. Here is how H.M. Herath describes this epoch making event in a recently published book on the National flag and National anthem of Sri Lanka.
He writes: "In about 486 BC, Prince Vijaya, the eldest son of Sinha Bahu, King of Sinhapura landed at Tammana with seven hundred companions from his father's kingdom in North India. So delighted was he, that he took a handful of sand and called it the land of the copper coloured sand, and planted the flag they were carrying (a flag with a lion symbol). He then kissed the sand and called it "Thambani." So began the history of Sri Lanka, the birth of the Sinhala race."
Copy of the flag of the Kandyan Kings in the 18th century, made according to the design of the original flag found in England.
If history had not yet begun to be written in Sri Lanka, how do we know about this event? Replies the author, "The inscription of this great and grand event on record is among the archaeological remains at the Sanchi stupa, an ancient Buddhist monument built during the reign of Emperor Asoka in the second century BC in the native state of Bhopal in India."
Since its arrival in Sri Lanka, the Lion flag has played a significant role in the political history of the country. To our monarchs of yesteryear it became a symbol of freedom and Hope. The warrior King Dutugemunu, used the heraldic lion carrying a sword on his right forepaw with two other symbols, the Sun and the Moon on his banner.
An illustration in the frescoes of the rock temple at Dambulla which traces the beginning of the Lion flag of Sri Lanka shows the victorious king proudly carrying his royal banner depicting the Lion symbol after he freed his people from foreign invaders.
As Herath points out, the lion symbol was used by the Lankan monarchs from the time of King Vijaya. This has been recorded in both the Mahavamsa and the Chulavamsa. The last king to use the flag as a symbol of national freedom was King Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe who was the last king of Sri Lanka, and whose rule ended in 1815.
Commenting on the significance of the emblems on the Royal Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe, Herath writes: "The heraldic Lion standing holding a sword upright by its right paw stands for Justice and Righteousness.
Flag of Kingdom of Udarata (Kandy)1469 - 1815
"Bordering this is a rectangular line with four Bo leaves at the four corners, symbolising Metta, Karuna, Muditha, Upeksha, called the 'Four Brahma-Viharana in Buddhist matbaphysics.
"The yellow border represents the Maha Singha who played an important role in guiding kings in ancient times and directed and participated in the emancipation of the country as recorded in the national chronicles." He adds, "All these emblems, on a brilliant background of crimson indicate immortality, and remained the Royal Standard of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe, the last king of Kandy."
The ceremony in which the flag was replaced by the British Union Jack was full of drama and colour. Describing it Herath writes: "The Kandyan Convention was proclaimed at 3.30 p.m. on March 2, 1815, in the Audience hall, then called the Magul Maduva of the Palace of Kandy.
This was signed by governor Robert Brownrigg on behalf of His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, on the one hand, and the Adigars, Dissavas and other principal chiefs of the Kandyan Province. ...Outside, drums were beating all around the hall. British troops guarded all the entrances to it and also patrolled the streets. The treaty was next read aloud to the chiefs in Sinhala and both parties agreed to its contents.
The flag as it exists today.
Then the Lion flag was hauled down and the Union Jack took its place amidst salvoes of artillery and His Majesty King George III was acclaimed King of Ceylon."
But the act of hoisting the British flag in place of the Lion flag was premature, a violation of the law, as it was done before the last Kandyan chieftains had signed the treaty, and prompted retaliation from the Maha Sangha, a who were present on the occasion.
Herath re-enacts details of that suspenseful and dramatic epoch making event." " From amidst the spectators who watched this drama, stepped out a Buddhist monk, the Ven. Wariyapola Sumangala of the Asgiri fraternity. Fortified with confidence, fortitude, self-respect and patriotism he approached the English general to ask, "who gave you permission to hoist your flag here?
You have no right to do so - Yet." He then proceeded to pull down the Union Jack, trampled it and hoisted the Lion flag in its place. Only after chief Adigar Ehelepola had signed the Convention with much reluctance on March 10 that the Union Jack was hoisted."
Union Jack flag c.1875 - 4 Feb 1948
Not many may know that the Royal standard of the last king of Lanka languished in a military hospital in London after the British took control of the Kandyan Kingdom.
According to Herath, it was removed to England by the British Raj and kept in the Royal Military Hospital Chelsea in London until a E. W. Perera, a staunch patriot also known as the Lion of Kotte, discovered it.
The first time the Lion flag became a centre piece of attraction and the public became aware of the actual design of the flag following the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom was when the Dinamina issued a special edition of the paper on March 2, 1915 to mark the centenary of the end of Sinhala independence, with the intention of re-kindling the desire of the people to win back the freedom they had lost to the British, Herath states. He adds, "On the front page were portraits of the last King and Queen of Kandy surmounted by the royal insignia Crown and the Lion flag in colour.
This was the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom that the people became aware of the actual pattern of their national flag."
Although the Ceylon Independence Act 1947 passed by the parliament of Britain stated that the flag of the British empire, the Union jack would continue to take precedence over the Lion flag, the national leaders of the time were openly opposed to such a decision.
Still, barely nineteen days prior to the dawn of Independence Day, Lanka's first Prime Minister Mr. D. S. Senanayake's cabinet had yet not taken a decision with regard to hoisting the National Flag on the first independence celebrations of February 4, 1948.
It was left to Mudaliyar A. L. Sinnelebbe, the Member of Parliament for Batticaloa to move a motion in parliament stating that, "This house is of the opinion that the Royal Standard of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe depicting a yellow lion passant holding a sword in its right paw on a red background, which was removed to England after the convention of 1815, be once again adopted as the official flag of free Lanka."
The flag was hoisted on that historic occasion amidst the joyous sound of temple bells, crackers and beating of tom toms by Lanka's first Prime Minister, and it occupied a pride of place when it replaced the Union jack at the Independence Square, Colombo on the occasion of the first session of Lanka's independent parliament which was opened by the Duke of Gloucester.
On March 6, the same year the Prime Minister appointed a seven member National flag Committee headed by the leader of the House Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to advise him on the question of the National flag of Ceylon. After several sittings spread over two years, the committee gave its final recommendations on February 13, 1950.
"The Lion in gold on a crimson background has been retained. Four Bo leaves in gold have replaced the pinnacles at the four corners of the crimson background. Two vertical stripes of equal size in saffron and green represent the minority communities; the Muslims and the Tamils. The stripes in relation to the entire flag are in proportion 1:1:5.
A gold border runs around the flag." A detailed description of the emblems on the flag and their significance concludes this fascinating account of Lanka's national flag, followed by a short description of the origin and significance of the national anthem written by Ananda Samarakoon.
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A Brief Review of Buddhism in Sri Lanka....
The history of Sri Lanka is inseparably intertwined with the history of Buddhism in the island. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is the oldest continually Buddhist country in the world, Buddhism being the major religion in the island since its introduction in the 2nd century BC. Monks from Sri Lanka have an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana throughout South-east Asia. It was Sri Lankan nuns who introduced the Sangha of nuns into China in 433AD. In the 16th century the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka and savagely persecuted Buddhism as did the Dutch who followed them.
When the British won control at the beginning of the 19th century Buddhism was well into decline, a situation that encouraged the English missionaries that then began to flood the island. But against all expectations the monastic and lay community brought about a major revival from about 1860 onwards, a movement that went hand in hand with growing nationalism. Since then Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada in Asia, the West and even in Africa.
Savakayana
Later traditions usually called the Savakayana Hinayana, a derogatory name meaning the Little or Narrow Vehicle. However the name Savakayana, meaning the Vehicle of the Hearers, is both more courteous and more accurate in that for at least the first 300 years the Buddha's teachings were orally transmitted i.e. they had to be heard in order to be learned by heart and transmitted.
The only Savakayana school that still flourishes is the Theravada which was introduced into Sri Lanka at the time of King Asoka (approximately 250 BC) and later spread from there throughout South-East Asia. The Savakayana as represented by the Theravada school is characterised by minimal doctrinal development from the earliest versions of the Buddhist teachings and by an emphasis on Vinaya by monks.
Theravada is still found in Sri Lanka and Burma, where it successfully weathered Western colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in Thailand. In Cambodia, it was decimated by Communism in the 1970s. Today, Theravada has gained many new adherents in India, Malaysia, Singapore and particularly in Indonesia. It has also gained a significant following in the West.
Brief Description of Buddhism and its philosophy
The religion and philosophy founded in India in the 6th and 5th century. B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, is now called the Buddhism. One of the great Asian religions, it teaches the practice of Meditation and the observance of moral precepts. The basic doctrines include the "four noble truths" taught by the Buddha: existence is suffering; the cause of suffering is desire; there is a cessation of suffering, called Nirvana, or total transcendence; and there is a path leading to the end of suffering, the "eightfold noble path" of right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Buddhism defines reality in terms of cause-and-effect relations, thus accepting the doctrine common to Indian religions of samsara, or bondage to the repeating cycle of births and deaths according to one's physical and mental actions. The ideal of early Buddhism was the perfected saint, 'arahant' or 'arhat', purified of all desires.Of the various Buddhist schools and sects that arose, the Theravada school of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is generally accepted as representative of early Buddhist teaching. Mahayana Buddhism has as a central concept the potential Buddhahood innate in all beings. Its ideal for both layman and monk is the bodhisattva, the perfected one who postpones entry into nirvana (although meriting it) until all others may be similarly enlightened.
Buddhism was greatly strengthened in the 3d century B.C. by the support of the Indian emperor Asoka, but it declined in India in succeeding centuries and was virtually extinct there by the 13th century., while it spread and flourished in Ceylon (3d century A.D.) and Tibet (7th century A.D.). In the 1st century A.D. Buddhism entered China, where it encountered resistance from Confucianism and Taoism, and from there spread to Korea (4th century A.D.) and to Japan (6th century A.D.). Two important sects that became established in the 5th century A.D. and have greatly increased in popularity are Zen Buddhism, featuring the practice of meditation to achieve "sudden enlightenment," and Pure Land Buddhism, or Amidism, a devotional Mahayana sect centered on the worship of the Buddha Amitabha, who vowed to save all sentient beings by bringing them to rebirth in his realm, the "Western Paradise." Buddhism still flourishes in Asia and has an influence in the modern Western world.
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