Buddhism on Vegetarianism—A different perspective

Most people in Srilanka (69 per cent to be exact) are Buddhists. Buddhism preaches Ahimsa. Yet the Sinhalese relish and eat the flesh of fish, fowl and beast. I was curious about this apparent paradox. Our garrulous guide, mr. Sumedh, gave this quixotic explanation based on his perception of Buddhism. (He is the son of a Police officer who was a great follower of Jiddu Krishnamurthy.So he is not unaware of the intricacies of the philosophy of his religion.)

“I think therefore I act. The thought leads to action and action binds you in karmic knots. So whatever you do without forethought or desire has no karmic impact. This includes what you eat. This is a non-issue for a Buddhist. In fact extreme preoccupation with Vegetarianism is also a Karma creator!

The goal is to overcome Karma not argue about food! Sumedh asked if I would argue whether it is sinful to eat “soap”? No! Why? Because, NOBODY can eat it! But the fact that flesh is edible also means that it was intended for human consumption. (This is similar to the Judeao-Christian argument). Those who eat it may do so. Others who don’t want to need not. Why argue about it and try to influence others thus creating more Karmic Bonds.

I neither agree nor disagree with his views as I don’t want to get into Karmic knots either!

Buddhism in a Nutshell

I discovered a Book Titled Buddhism in a Nut Shell by the Venerable Narada Thera. I found it to be a succinct and sound exposition on the religion from a Therawada point of view.

“There was no teacher ever so Godless as the Buddha, yet none so god-like”

When we see so many Buddhists praying at the Tooth Relic Temple we would naturally be worried whether the Buddhists worship the Buddha! The answer is an emphatic no! Why then do Buddhists build Viharas and imasges of the Buddha, offer incense and flowers at the altar, kneel before the image of the Buddha and pray? To whom do they pray? Here is thje answer given by the Ven. Narada Thera:

“An understanding Buddhist in offering flowers and incense to an image, designedly makes himself feel that he is in the presence of the Living Buddha and thereby gains inspiration from his noble personality and breathes deep His boundless compassion.He tries to follow his noble example.”

Advaita the doctrine of Non-dualism advocates self discovery and attaining oneness with the Brahman through True Knowledge. Buddhism says that Nirvana is the route to total breaking away from the Karmic cycle of pleasure and pain caused by actions and reactions. In this sense Advaita and Buddhism are so near to each other as to be almost the same! So much so, that the Advaita Doctrine has been accused more than once by commentators of the Dvaita and Visistaadvaita sects as no better than Prasanna Boudham (Or Buddhism in Disguise!)

Continuing with the Thera’s words;

“The Bo-tree is also a symbol of Enlightenment.These external objects of reverence are not absolutely necessary, but they are useful as they tend to concentrate one’s attention. An intellectual person could dispense with them as he could easily focus his attention and visualize the Buddha.

For our own good, and out of gratitude we pay such external respect but what the Buddha expects from his disciple is not so much obeiscance as the actual observation of the Teachings.

The Buddha says: “He honors me best who practices my teaching best. He who sees the Dhamma¹ sees me.”

The Buddha not only speaks of the futility of offering prayers but also disparages a slave mentality. A Buddhist should not pray to be saved, but should rely on himself and win his freedom.

I too believe that a visit to a temple should be purely for the upliftment of the soul. The Ven. Thera quotes Dr. Radhakrishnan, a noted authority on Ancient Indian Philosaophy:

“Prayers take the character of private communications and selfish bargaining with God. It seeks for objects of earthly ambitions and influences the sense of self. Meditation on the other hand is self-change.”

I believe that everything can be attained if we change from within rather than pray pitifully for an external intervention from a supreme diety. Prayers, if at all used should be a positive assertion of our innate purity as being that is complete in itself and a resolution to change our perception and thereby our circumstances.

1. Dhamma literally means the Teaching.

Sojourn in Serendip – IV

We wended our way from Nuwara Eliya to Colombo through Emerald green tea estates that rolled away on all sides. The road wound along the lush green estates. In the distance were the tall mountain peaks.

En route we came across numerous water falls and cascades created when the Kelani River meets a rock formation that defies erosion. The river then falls down to the next harder rock and so on as it creates a layered waterfall amidst the green fields.

We stopped at St. Claire’s Falls which is, by far, the most picturesque of the waterfalls in this region. We also saw Devon’s Falls which is just opposite the St. Claire’s Estate Tea Centre. We had an invigorating drink of the tea brewed on St. Claire’s Estate. Still further away is Hatton, a small British Settlement developed by Tea Planters during the British Colonial period.

In the distance we can glimpse the mist-covered heights of Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada, the second highest peak in Srilanka but arguably the more popular. The Sinhalese believe Buddha visited the Island Three times during his life.Every year thousands of pilgrims climb this figh mountain to view the foot print (Sri Pada) of The Buddha on the Summit. The Muslims believe the print was that of The Prophet Mohammed (May his name be Praised) and the Hindus that it is the holy foot print of Sri Rama! I am sure the Christians have an equally convincing story of a visit by Jesus to the Islands when he left his imprint on this high peak. Well, after all, Religion is not about God it is about Belief!

As we move down from Nuwara Eliya to Colombo, the Kelani River accompanies us singing a merry song on its way to the plains. The terrain on which the water flows makes it ideal for white water rafting.

For the curious movie buffs, it may be interesting to gret down from the car and take detour on foot to the lacation where the famous movie, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” was shot. The forest area between Khanchanabhuri (where the Tiger Temple is situated) and Burma is the place where the story of the famous movie, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” happened. My friend B Ramakrishnan has travelled on the legendary train across the bridge. But the movie was shot here in Srilanka on the River Kelani. A bridge was actually constructed here and was destroyed as part of the shooting.

Another place of interest could be the huge bungalow of Dr. Anand Jayasuriya, now converted into a restaurant which houses his imperesssive collection of classic vintage cars including a couple of Rolls Royce, a porche and a Jaguar.

Sojourn in Serendip – III

English Tea Time

Leaving Kandy we moved on to the heights of Nuwara Eliya to check into the Galway Forest Lodge. Nuwara Eliya meaning “the City of Dawn” is the town at the highest elevation (about 2000m above sea level) in Sri Lanka and its tallest peak, Piduruthalagala (2555m) can be seen from here. The city established by the British in the Nineteenth Century is known as “Little England”. In fact there are some stretches of this quaint colonial landscape where a traveler would honestly believe himself to be in Shropshire or Kent; that is, of course, until a green autorickshaw or the ubiquiyous posters of President RajaPakse comes into one’s view.

Nuwara Eliya is in the Heart of the Tea Estate. On the way, there are numerous Tea Factories, remodelled into Tea Centres that serve tea, Lunch and also sell pure Ceylon Tea. On Request it is possible to have a guided tour of the adjoining factory. We visited a Tea Factory on BlueField Tea Estate.

Asoka Vaatika

In the evening, we braved the weather to visit the Temple of Seetha at Seetha Eliya. En route we attempted a walk in Gregory park on the banks of Nuwara Eliya lake. But a heavy downpour chased us back to our vehicle.

The Ramayana is compelling narrative that is Pan-Indian. Every region in India has a shrine associated with the star-crossed prince of Ayodhya who was God incarnate as Man! The story crosses the sea and enters Sri Lanka when Ravan the King of Lanka abducts Sita, the wife of Rama. Sita was kept imprisoned in a garden of Asoka Trees. It is on the location of this Asoka Gasrden or Vaatika that the Temple of Seetha at Seetha Eliya is built. The Temple houses 3000 year old idols of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanumanji. The idols are somewhat defaced and new idols are used for regular worship.

The Asoka trees (or atleast what remains of them after Hanumanji’s destructive frenzy during the burning of Lanka) have been since destroyed by the British. But the location itself still has a few Asoka trees gto bear witness. The soil nearabout is black in color as the entire forest had been burned down when Hanumanji went bersek and put the city of Lanka to Flame with his burning tail. The huge print of Hanumanji’s foot as he took gigantic form or Viswaroopa to disclose his true identity to Sita is another significant part of the visit to Nuwara Eliya.

The ardent traveler can go further up the hills where there is a Ravana Temple and a Waterfalls called Ravana Falls where the demon Ravana is said to have taken his bath.

Thence we drove past N. Eliya town and had tea at the Grand Indian Restaurant opposite The Grand Hotel, a beautiful colonial hotel surrounded by green lawns and tall trees.

Sojourn in Serendip – II

A Buddhist Kerala

Take a chunk of the hilly regions in Kerla like Kottayam or Munnar; remove the hindu temples and put budhist Viharas in their place and voila you have Srilanka. A Buddhist Kerala is Srilanka. The same greenery; coconut and banana trees; rubber plantations; elephants; small rivulets and brooks gurgling on their way to the sea! The water from the King Coconut is sweet like nectar and is a must-drink for every visitor to this emerald isle atleast twice on every day of the visit!

Daytime is pretty warm even on the hills. The even

ings bring sudden bursts of rain and a mild cold that makes the weather pleasant. From the high eyrie of the balcony in Randholee Resort, Kandy we could see a large part of the city of Kandy. As the twilight and mist make it darker the lights of the twinkle down below like the gems and jewels for which the island of Taprobane (another name for Srilanka) is world renowned since ancient times.

The same view offers a different tapestry in the early morning as I walk out on to the Balcony after a refreshing sleep. As the mists swirl below around the domes of the Buddhist temples and the red tiled colonial houses the new day is ushered in by the sun as it licks awayu thew mist with its glorious rays. The distant mountains are surrounded by clouds and only the high summits and peaks are visible. (The Sri Lankan name of Kandy is Kanda Uda Rata which mens the Hill Country.)

One of the important places to be seen is UNESCO Heritage sight of the Temple of the Tooth Relic. The shrine contains the tooth of the Buddha as a relic. Buddhists do not worship any image. Nor do they make offerings to “God”. The Tooth Relic Shrine is simply a place where devout Buddhists go to experience the presence of The Enlightened one so that they can reinforce themselves in their own search for Parinibban, the supreme goal of every Buddhist.

A Word of Warning!

If you are posing for a photo near the image of the Buddha in Srilanka, please avoid standing in front of the image with your back to it or by the side of the imge. It is better to stand with your profile to the camera with hands folded in prayer. The Srilankans are strict in preventing people from turning their back on the image for a photograph as it is a sign of disrespect.

From the Tooth Relic Temple, a huge Buddha statue can be seen on top of a neaby hill. The image of Buddha in seated posture faces the Temple. This mountain top was the place where the death penalty was actually executed in those days! As the peak was clearly visible from the Kandyan King's palace adjacent to the Tooth Relic Temple, the King could assure himself that his sentence has been carried out by looking at the peak of this mountain where the grisly sight of the hanging corpse could be seen! Thus this was rightly termed the Peak of Death.

Later, with the advent and growth of Buddhism, the death penalty was abolished. The deathly gallows were replaced by the Benign Image of the Buddha in seated position facing the Tooth Relic Temple and reminding monarchs and Governments alike down the ages of the value of forgiveness and forbearance.

Fear not Dear Brother!

The approach to the Tooth Relic Temple is through a pathway set amidst green lawns. On the p[athway and around it are numerous statues of famous personages. While each one has a story to tell, I was impressed by the statuette of a young boy set on a high pedestal.

The boy, Madduma Bandara of Ehelepola was the second son of a revolutionary Sinhalese who had criticized the rule of the then Srilankan King. The father was to be beheaded for his seditionary statements but he ran away. His family was then sentenced to death on 17^th May 1814. Madduma’s elder brother was frightened at the thought of death and hesitated when the Eight-year-old yet Lion-Hearted Child Hero Madduma Bandara came forward with supreme courage to face the executioner’s sword first with this exhortation to his elder brother:

“Fear not, Dear Brother, I will show you how to face Death!”

As I said earlier, the Weather is warm during day with intermittent showers in the evening. So we were constantly carrying umbrellas agaist the possibility of rain. We had lubnch at another restaurant with a view. This time we gazed at the panoramic view of the lovely city of Kandy spread out in concentric circles from the Kandy Lake. The lake lies gleaming at the centre with the Tooth Relic Temple on oneside. The circular roads wind up and around the city on the slopes.

Green Demesnes

Later we strolled through the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya. The Gardens are spread over 147 Acres. The Garden traces its origin way back to 1371 under when it was first established by King Wickramabahu III. Later in the reign of King Kirti Sri from 1747 to 1780 this was made a Royal Garden and from 1780 to 1798, King Rajadhi Rajasinghe resided therein, where a temporary residence was erected for him. The noteworthy feature of the Royal Botanical is the Orchidarium which houses exquisite and beautiful specimens of every colour and hue.

I could not help compare this Garden with the Lal Bagh Gardens in Bangalore. The Lal Bagh is bigger with 240 acres. But it is not as well maintained or luxuriantly green as the Periyadana Gardens. Yet the horticultural attractions have similar background and History. Both Gardens were originally commissioned by Oriental Monarchs for their personal pleasure. The Lal Bagh was begun by the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760 and was completed by Tipu Sultan, his son. Both the Gardens came under British Possesions and were under the care of successive British Superintendents who were successful in converting them into objects of admiration. The Royal Botanical had Mr. Alexander Moon, while the Lal Bagh had Mr. James Cameroon.

In the evening we witnessed a performance of traditional Kandyan Dances. The performance culminated in grand finale when a few of the performers did a fire walk through a blazing fire.

Sojourn in Serendip - I

Introduction

This year I decided to spend Diwali in Srilanka en famille. The decision was obviously serendipitous as Chennai experienced extreme rain and inclement weather right on Diwali day! So here are some tidbits from my sojourn in Serendip or Srilanka, as it is now known.

A Little Late is Alright

Our Srilankan flight UL 122 arrived a bit early at The Banda

raNayakeInternanational Airport, Colombo. Our Guide-cum-Chauffeur Sumedh (aka. Bandhu), was quite surprised to find his national airlines arriving on time! The Flight numbers of Srilankan used to have the prefix AL which was expanded as “Always Late”! Now they have been changed with numbers prefixed by UL whicgh is “Usually Late”! Definitely an improvement! Incidentally our return flight too was almost on time! Thus we experienced a bit of Serendipity right at the beginning of our sojourn in Serendip!

Poo Paper and other Pachydermic matters

Woud you like to see a group of abouy fifty to sixty elephants of various sizes and ages bathing, frolicking and simply having a lot of fun in the waters of a running brook? Then, you should visit Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. The Orphanage on the banks of the Maa Oye houses a huge contingent of about sixty-five of these gentle pachyderms which have been either abandoned or wounded or injured and left to die in the wild. The Elephants here range in age from newborns to elderly matriarchs. Pinnewala claims to have the world’s largest collection of captive elephants. (Note: This claim needs verification as Punnathur Thota in Guruvayoor Kerala is another place which has a sizable captive-elephant population. These are not abandoned wild elephants, but rather tame elephants donated by thankful devotees to the Guruvayoor Templew. Notable among the inmates at Guruvayoor was Kannan the elephant donated by the current CM of Tamilnadu.)

We had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the Maa Oye. From the restaurant on the balcony, we could see the elephants of all shapesand sizes sporting and playing in the water. The really enjoyable sight were the little baby elephants running here and there under the huge feet of the elders. Occasionally they had mock-fights and tussles which were easily subdued by a nearby elder or the Mahouts who were close by and watching carefully.

They make paper and other handicrafts out of elephant dung at Pinnewala. The paper which is hard, tough and ideal for packing material is alliteratively called Poo-Paper! As elephant dung is highly vegetarian and is mostly leaves, shoots and bark, a lot of fiber can be recovered from it when it is boiled and filtered. The resultant fibrous pulp is soaked in water and made it into pulp. The pulp is then subjected to a process very similar to the making of hand-made paper used at Auroville in Pondicherry. The only difference is the source of the pulp! We visited a Poo Paper workshop where we saw how the paper is made. (Believe me, the paper does not stink!)

On the way to Kandy, we halted at one of the numerous spice gardens that line the route. The prices are sky high and even the temptation of the miraculous cures promised by the “Spice Doctor” does not loosen our purse strings. Purchases are the prerogative of foreigners, I suppose.