Maliyadeva

Last updated

Maliyadeva was a monk who is said to have lived in Sri Lanka during the 2nd century BCE and to have attained nirvana. [1]

According to the Mahavamsa, part of Theravādin tradition, Maliyadeva was the last well-known arhat who had high psychic powers ( Abigngnalabhi: in Sinhala:අභිඥ්ඥාලාභී අරහතුන් වහන්සේ ) in Sri Lanka [2] and Buddhism in Sri Lanka declined after this period. A legend says he brought four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka. [3]

His meditation chamber may be seen at Arankale [4] [5] and his dwelling place at Guharamaya. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ashoka 3rd Emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, patron of Buddhism

Ashoka, also known as Ashoka the Great, Piodasses in ancient Greece, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty son of Bindusara Maurya, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE., Ashoka promoted the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Considered by many to be one of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka expanded Chandragupta's empire to reign over a realm stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except for parts of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra, with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain. Ashoka, after the war of Kalinga, got upset with the bloodshed and vowed to never fight again. He embraced Buddhism and patronised Buddhism in his rule and reign.

Gautama Buddha Founder of Buddhism

Gautama Buddha, popularly known as the Buddha or Lord Buddha, was a Śramaṇa who lived in ancient India. He is regarded as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism, and revered by most Buddhist schools as a savior, the Enlightened One who rediscovered an ancient path to release clinging and craving and escape the cycle of birth and rebirth. He taught for around 45 years and built a large following, both monastic and lay. His teaching is based on his insight into the arising of duḥkha and the ending of duhkha—the state called Nibbāna or Nirvana.

Theravāda is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or Buddha Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over a millennium.

Henry Steel Olcott

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first President of the Theosophical Society.

Kathāvatthu One of the seven books in the Abhidhamma Pitaka of Pali Canon

Kathāvatthu (Pāli), translated as "Points of Controversy", is a Buddhist scripture, one of the seven books in the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka. The text contrasts the orthodox Theravada position on a range of issues to the heterodox views of various interlocutors; the latter are not identified in the primary source text, but were speculatively identified with specific schools of thought in the commentaries. The original text is putatively dated to coincide with the reign of King Ashoka, but this, too, is debatable. Though the core of the text may have begun to take shape during Ashoka's reign, Bhikkhu Sujato notes that "the work as a whole cannot have been composed at that time, for it is the outcome of a long period of elaboration, and discusses many views of schools that did not emerge until long after the time of Aśoka."

Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya

The Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya was an important mahavihara or large Buddhist monastery for Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. King Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura founded it in his capital city of Anuradhapura. Monks such as Buddhaghosa and Dhammapala, who wrote commentaries on the Tipitaka and texts such as the Visuddhimagga, which are central to Theravada Buddhist doctrine, established Theravada Mahaviharan orthodoxy here. Monks living at the Mahavihara were referred to as Mahaviharavasins.

Buddhism in Sri Lanka History and demographics of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon

Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2 percent of the population as of 2012.

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk. He is often affectionately known as Bhante G.

Buddhism is an Indian religion and philosophy based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. It is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on the Buddha's teachings and resulting interpreted philosophies.

Buddhism and Theosophy Relation between Buddhism and Theosophy

Theosophical teachings have borrowed some concepts and terms from Buddhism. Some theosophists like Helena Blavatsky, Helena Roerich and Henry Steel Olcott also became Buddhists. Henry Steel Olcott helped shape the design of the Buddhist flag. Tibetan Buddhism was popularised in the West at first mainly by Theosophists including Evans-Wentz and Alexandra David-Neel.

Merit (Buddhism) Concept considered fundamental to Buddhist ethics

Merit is a concept considered fundamental to Buddhist ethics. It is a beneficial and protective force which accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts, or thoughts. Merit-making is important to Buddhist practice: merit brings good and agreeable results, determines the quality of the next life and contributes to a person's growth towards enlightenment. In addition, merit is also shared with a deceased loved one, in order to help the deceased in their new existence. Despite modernization, merit-making remains essential in traditional Buddhist countries and has had a significant impact on the rural economies in these countries.

Maliyadeva College National school in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Maliyadeva College is a national school controlled by the Sri Lankan central government. It is located in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, and was established in 1888 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society, led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. It is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. Today, the school accommodates 5,000 students. The term "Devans" is used to refer to the former and present pupils of Maliyadeva College.

Nyanaponika Thera German Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar

The Ven. Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and author of numerous seminal books and articles on Theravada Buddhism. He mentored and taught a whole generation of Western Buddhist leaders such as Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi.

Abhayagiri vihāra Historical Buddhist monastery site in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Abhayagiri Vihāra was a major monastery site of Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism that was situated in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is one of the most extensive ruins in the world and one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage cities in the nation. Historically it was a great monastic centre as well as a royal capital, with magnificent monasteries rising to many stories, roofed with gilt bronze or tiles of burnt clay glazed in brilliant colors. To the north of the city, encircled by great walls and containing elaborate bathing ponds, carved balustrades and moonstones, stood "Abhayagiri", one of seventeen such religious units in Anuradhapura and the largest of its five major viharas. One of the focal points of the complex is an ancient stupa, the Abhayagiri Dagaba. Surrounding the humped dagaba, Abhayagiri Vihara was a seat of the Northern Monastery, or Uttara Vihara and the original custodian of the Tooth relic in the island.

Richard Francis Gombrich is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-President of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. He is a past president of the Pali Text Society (1994–2002) and general editor emeritus of the Clay Sanskrit Library.

Transfer of merit Buddhist devotional practice

Transfer of merit is a standard part of Buddhist spiritual discipline where the practitioner's religious merit, resulting from good deeds, is transferred to deceased relatives, to deities, or to all sentient beings. Such transfer is done mentally, and it is believed that the recipient can often receive this merit, if they rejoice in the meritorious acts of the person transferring. In Buddhism, merit transfer is seen as a better alternative than mourning.

Pāli Canon Buddhist scriptures of the Theravada tradition

The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.

Kataragama temple Temple complex in Kataragama, Sri Lanka

Kataragama temple in Kataragama, Sri Lanka, is a temple complex dedicated to Buddhist guardian deity Kataragama deviyo and Hindu War God Murugan. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access; today it is accessible by an all-weather road. The shrines and the nearby Kiri Vehera are managed by Buddhists, the shrines dedicated to Teyvāṉai and Shiva are managed by Hindus and the mosque by Muslims.

Kataragama Place in Sri Lanka

Kataragama is a pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as Kataragama deviyo. Kataragama is located in the Monaragala District of Uva province, Sri Lanka. It is 228 km (142 mi) southeast of Colombo. Although Kataragama was a small village in medieval times, today it is a fast-developing township surrounded by jungle in the southeastern region of Sri Lanka.

The history of Theravāda Buddhism begins in ancient India, where it was one of the early Buddhist schools which arose after the first schism of the Buddhist monastic community. After establishing itself in the Sri Lankan Anuradhapura Kingdom, Theravāda spread throughout mainland Southeast Asia through the efforts of missionary monks and Southeast Asian kings.

References

  1. Gombrich, Richard; Bond, George D. (October–December 1989). "Review: The Buddhist Revival in Sri Lanka: Religious Tradition, Reinterpretation and Response by George D. Bond". Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 109 (4): 661–664. doi:10.2307/604094. JSTOR   604094.
  2. Richard, Gombrich (1993). "How open is the future?". In Howe, Leo; Wain, Alan (eds.). Predicting the Future: the Darwin College lectures. Cambridge University Press. p. 160. ISBN   978-0-521-41323-7.
  3. Seneviratna, Anuradha; Benjamin Polk (1992). Buddhist Monastic Architecture in Sri Lanka: The Woodland Shrines. Abhinav Publications. p. 96. ISBN   978-81-7017-281-9.
  4. The Arankale monastery
  5. Pathiravitana, S (21 May 2005). "Arahat Maliyadeva's cave". Upali Group of Companies. The Island. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. Guharamaya: a cave of stone age man