Have we really changed following Arahant Mahinda’s Mission?

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Poson, for Sri Lankan Buddhists, is second only to Vesak and Arahant Mahinda is second only to the Buddha so much so that Arahant Mahinda is often referred to as Anu-Budu, the second Buddha. According to tradition, it was 2258 years ago that Arahant Mahinda visited Sri Lanka to introduce Buddhism formally; his visit lasted 48 years till his death at the age of 80. Arahant Mahinda was instrumental in having King Devanampiyatissa embrace Buddhism and hence can be credited for having made Sri Lanka a Buddhist country. He established the Bhikkhu Sasana as well. In addition, Ven. Walpola Rahula has stated that he considers Arahant Mahinda to be “the father of Sinhala literature” as he translated and also wrote a commentary for the Tripitaka in Sinhala, turning it into a literary language.

What is often forgotten is the part played by his younger sister Sanghamitta who was sent, though with some initial reluctance, to Sri Lanka by their father Emperor Ashoka, at the request of King Devanampiyatissa, to start Bhikkhuni Sasana. As there had been a great demand for ordination by women, headed by Queen Anula, and he was unable to perform this task, Arahant Mahinda suggested that his sister as well as a sapling from Sri Maha Bodhi in Bodhgaya be brought down. The sapling brought by Arahant Sanghamitta has existed to date; it is the world’s oldest authenticated tree. Arahant Sanghamitta lived in Lanka till her death at the age of 79 years and the Bhikkhuni Sasana she started, prospered for over a thousand years.

Our hopes of having a Vesak celebration in the UK were dashed at the last minute, as mentioned in my article ‘Vesak afterthoughts’ (The Island, 20 May), and it was a blessing that we were able to have Poson celebrations organised by Nottingham Shanti Vihara. Disappointingly, the crowd was smaller than expected due perhaps to the continuing Covid reluctance but the contents far outweighed expectations; they included Bhakti Gee sung by the children of the Daham Pasala as well as an adult choir at the conclusion of the celebrations. The morning session, which included the poojas, Dhamma sermon and a meditation session, was conducted by the Head of the Vihara, Venerable Teldeniyaye Amitha, an accomplished meditation teacher. The afternoon session commenced with a Dhamma discussion, aimed at the children of the Daham Pasala, conducted by Venerable Nepalaye Suwachaseela. He related a ‘ghost story’ explaining the functioning of the mind and it was an absolute delight to see the children jumping up to answer questions, which they did in a manner displaying great intelligence.

One of the highlights of the event was a thought-provoking Dhamma sermon by Venerable Anamaduwe Wimalajeeva; he raised the question whether we really have changed in our thinking and practices following the visit of Arahant Mahinda. When I shook my head to indicate the negative, he agreed but did not elaborate further; perhaps, he left it to us to ponder the question, which I have done since.

It is believed that Buddhism had been known in Lanka for a long time before the arrival of Arahant Mahinda and what he did was the formal introduction of Buddhism. In fact, some commentators are of the view that Arahant Mahinda delayed his visit till the demise of Devanampiyatissa’s father, septuagenarian King Mutasiva, as he felt the young king would grasp the complexities of the Dhamma more easily. I am sure there would have been many practising Buddhists before the arrival of Arahant Mahinda, though the vast majority would have indulged in the worship of gods of differing origins including gods. Man, through ignorance, deified many natural phenomena and the space for gods shrinks with the advancement of science. As I have discussed previously, it was the Buddha who laid the foundation for scientific thinking. He pioneered the movement against the dependence on gods for blessings or curses, and showed that our emancipation depends entirely on us. The Buddha analysed why we are dissatisfied and showed the way out. That was the essence of the message of Arahant Mahinda’s mission but how far this has permeated in our psyche is the question.

Even considering for a moment that Arahant Mahinda’s mission was a failure is an act of ingratitude of the highest order, and I am not doing that. I am well aware of the vast cultural and worldly changes it has brought about. We had Dharmishta rulers who built massive structures that we can be proud of, not only Dagobas but also tanks for irrigation etc. Ruwanweliseya built by King Dutugemunu in 2nd century BCE and Jetavanaramaya built by King Mahasen in 3rd century were among the 10 tallest man-made structures of the ancient world. It indeed is surprising that a small country achieved such tremendous feats in engineering. The story of Jetavanaramaya is interesting in that its creation was the result of the conflict between Mahayana and Theravada, schisms promoted by individuals, contrary to the Buddha’s teachings. Though these could be excused as philosophical disputes, what happened subsequently is totally inexcusable.

Bhikkhus involved themselves in many activities banned by the Buddha and, as a result, the Buddhist Monastic Order became non-existent many times. Following the last lapse, Higher Ordination had to be ‘imported’ from Siam, to establish the Siyam Nikaya in 1753 when the Thai Monk Upali performed Upasampada for a group of Kandyan monks. Unfortunately, it soon became a bastion of caste discrimination; the Buddha’s teachings were apparently subjugated to the King’s edicts! Fortunately, the predicament of Buddhists belonging to other castes was addressed by the establishment of Amarapura and Ramanna Nikayas with Upasampada brought from Burma. Would Arahant Mahinda ever have imagined such things happening in this country?

What is the Buddhism we practise today? It is what I call ‘Devala Buddhism’. After a cursory visit to a Budu-Ge, most Buddhists spend time in the Devales invoking divine blessings through a Kapuwa, and some of them even have him chant Vas-Kavi to harm their enemies! This was highlighted by a ceremony held recently by a well-known Bhikkhu, who claims to be an Arahant. He was conducting a ceremony in his Vishnu Devale to break coconuts to curse those who had brought Sri Lanka to its knees! He appealed to God Vishnu to punish them and told the god that people would lose faith if he did not do so. Is this Buddhism practised by an Arahant?

Bhikkhus engage in many activities including politics banned by the Buddha. The banner headline of The Island of 24 June says it all: “Ven. Rathana denies Sirisena’s accusations, lodges complaint with CID”. One was shocked to read a news item by Shamindra Ferdinando. Sirisena, towards the tail end of his presidential term, gave a presidential pardon to a convicted murderer, who strangled a 19-year-old girl after bashing her head on a wall, cracking her skull to 60 pieces in the last week of his presidency. A presidential media statement issued thereafter indicated that the pardon had been given at the request of three Buddhist priests, though the criminal was from a Catholic family. A Catholic priest, Sirisena alluded to, denied making any requests for pardon. Allegations were rife that the family ‘bought’ the pardon. In a recent TV interview, Sirisena indicated that the MP monk Ratana visited his official residence on a number of occasions with the members of the murderer’s family. Worse still, he stated that state intelligence services had confirmed money changing hands. Why he did not take remedial action is the question. This is what the report states:

“Sirisena said that some alleged he had received “koti (crore) 5, koti 800 while some said koti 500″. The intelligence services reported back that money had been paid, M P Sirisena said, adding that as he didn’t receive a cent, somebody else must have benefited. The former President alleged that those who had been involved with the convict’s family must have benefited.”

Sirisena and Ratana have a lot to answer for!

Politicians are corrupt, we know, but I never expected to read a report like this about a Buddhist priest!

Most Buddhists do not seem to understand the true value of Buddha Dhamma and are apparently living in the past. Our thinking does not seem to have undergone any significant change despite Arahant Mahinda’s great mission. How unfortunate!