SRI LANKA - BIDDHISM

• Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: बौद्ध धर्म Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy 
• encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on 
• teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha 
• (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the 
• northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries 
• BCE.^[2] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher 
• who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), 
• achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.

• Contents  [hide] 1 Life of the Buddha 2 Buddhist concepts 2.1 Life and the world 2.1.1 Karma 2.1.2 Rebirth 2.1.3 Saṃsāra 2.2 Suffering's causes and solution 2.2.1 The Four Noble Truths 2.2.2 The Noble Eightfold Path 2.2.3 The Middle Way 2.3 Nature of existence 2.3.1 Three Marks of Existence 2.3.2 Dependent arising 2.3.3 Emptiness 2.4 Liberation 2.4.1 Nirvana 2.4.2 Buddhas 2.4.2.1 Theravada 2.4.2.2 Mahayana 2.4.2.3 Buddha eras 2.4.3 Bodhisattvas 3 Practice 3.1 Devotion 3.1.1 Yoga 3.1.2 Refuge in the Three Jewels 3.2 Buddhist ethics 3.3 Monastic life 3.4 Meditation 3.4.1 Samādhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation 3.4.1.1 In Theravāda 3.4.2 Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation 3.4.3 Zen 3.4.4 Vajrayana and Tantra 4 History 4.1 Philosophical roots 4.2 Indian Buddhism 4.2.1 Pre-sectarian Buddhism 4.2.2 Early Buddhist schools 4.2.3 Early Mahayana Buddhism 4.2.4 Late Mahayana Buddhism 4.2.5 Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism) 4.3 The early development of Buddhism 4.4 Buddhism today 5 Demographics 6 Schools and traditions 6.1 Timeline 6.2 Theravada school 6.3 Mahayana traditions 6.4 Vajrayana traditions 7 Buddhist texts 7.1 Pāli Tipitaka 7.2 Mahayana sutras 8 Comparative studies 8.1 List of Buddhism related topics in comparative studies 9 See also 10 References 11 Bibliography 11.1 Online 12 External links

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  • Source : Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia 
    
    

SRI LANKA - ESALA PERAHERA [ PAGEANT PAR EXCELLENCE ]

Esala Perahera (the festival of the tooth) is the grand festival of Esala held 

in Sri Lanka. It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August 

in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival 

consisting of dances and nicely decorated elephants. There are fire-dances, 

whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants 

are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional 

'diya-kepeema'.

Contents  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Modern Perahera 2 The Procession 2.1 The Kumbal Perahera 2.2 The Randoli Perahera 2.3 Diya Kepeema and the Day Perahera 3 Organization of the Perahera 4 See also 5 External links

Source : Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia

SRI LANKA - BRITISH ERA

During the Napoleonic Wars the United Kingdom, fearing that French control 

of the Netherlands might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, occupied the coastal 

areas of the island (which they called Ceylon) with little difficulty in 1796. In 

1802 by the Treaty of Amiens the Dutch part of the island was formally ceded 

to Britain, and became a crown colony. In 1803 the British invaded the Kingdom 

of Kandy in the 1st Kandyan War, but were bloodily repulsed. In 1815 Kandy 

was occupied in the 2nd Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lankan independence.

Following the bloody suppression of the Uva Rebellion, the Kandyan peasantry 

were stripped of their lands by the Wastelands Ordinance, a modern enclosure 

movement and reduced to penury. The British found that the uplands of Sri 

Lanka were very suited to coffee, tea and rubber cultivation, and by the mid 

19th century Ceylon tea had become a staple of the British market, bringing 

great wealth to a small class of white tea planters. To work the estates, the 

planters imported large numbers of Tamil workers as indentured labourers 

from south India, who soon made up 10% of the island's population. These 

workers had to work in slave-like conditions and to live in line rooms, not 

very different from cattle sheds.

The British colonialists favoured the semi-European Burghers, certain high-

caste Sinhalese and the Tamils who were mainly concentrated to the north 

of the country, exacerbating divisions and enmities which have survived ever 

since. Nevertheless, the British also introduced democratic elements to Sri 

Lanka for the first time in its history. The Burghers were given some degree of 

self-government as early as 1833. It was not until 1909 that constitutional 

development began with a partly-elected assembly, and not until 1920 that 

elected members outnumbered official appointees. Universal suffrage was 

introduced in 1931, over the protests of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Burgher 

elite who objected to the common people being allowed to vote [1],

Source : Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 

SRI LANKA - POETRY [ BY THE LATE SAM WAIDYASEKERA ]

A Silken Morn

It's a soft silky day

Waves are silken gay,

And greet us shimmery white

As does the diffused light

By benign clouds

Spread among the covered wide.

The sands are getting softer

With friendly purling streams

Of constant intersperse

Sandy crabs jerk and nibble

With lighthouse eyes

And varying size.

I am on the hull

Of a sailing craft

Wood and blade and rope and bamboo,

The wind whips past

The penson mast

Welcoming the after ocean blast.

And I'm light as a lark

And quote as well

Aglow with the ocean spark

And coves and slouching arms

Nestling among thy charms

and hum lully psalms.

Source :' Cameos ' by the late Sam Waidyasekera

SRI LANKA - DUTCH ERA

Dutch Ceylon is a term used synonymously for the period, and the area of 

Ceylon or Sri Lanka that was controlled by the Dutch from 1658–1798 and 

their rule.

In the 17th century, Sri Lanka was partly ruled by the Portuguese invaders 

and the Sinhala Kingdom, who were constantly battling each other. Although 

the Portuguese were not winning the war, their rule was rather burdensome 

to the people of those areas controlled by them. The Dutch were engaged in 

a long war of independence from Spanish rule. In that background, Sinhala King 

(Kandyan King) invited the Dutch to help defeat the Portuguese. The Dutch 

interest in Ceylon was to have a united battle front against the Iberians at 

that time.

After the Sri Lankans betrayal of the Dutch, the Dutch invaded parts of Sri 

Lanka. They retained an area as compensation for the cost of war and gradually 

extended their land. The Dutch gained control of the coastline, but later the 

colonial British rulers succeeded them. The Dutch and British each ruled for 

approximately 150 years.

Contents  [hide] 1 Background 1.1 The Portuguese 2 History 2.1 The Dutch Conquest 2.2 Double Game of the Dutch and the Nayake Rulers 2.3 Dutch-Portuguese War 2.4 Dutch Capture Portuguese Forts 2.5 Treachery in Kandy 3 The Dutch and the Portuguese 4 Implications of the Dutch Rule in Ceylon 5 Dutch Governors of Zeylan (1640–1796) 6 Legacy 7 Future of Dutch Diaspora in Ceylon 8 See also 9 References

Source : Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia

SRI LANKA - PORTUGUESE ERA

Portuguese Ceylon (Portuguese: Ceilão) was a Portuguese territory in 

present-day Sri Lanka, representing a period in Sri Lankan history from 

1505–1658. The Portuguese first encountered the Ceylonese kingdom of 

Kotte, with whom they signed a treaty. Portuguese Ceylon was established 

through the occupation of Kotte and the conquest of surrounding Sinhalese 

kingdoms. In 1565 the capital of Portuguese Ceylon was moved from Kotte 

to Colombo. The introduction of Christianity by the Portuguese furthered 

friction with the Sinhalese people.

Eventually, the Ceylonese sought help from the Dutch Empire in their struggle 

for liberation. The Dutch Empire initially entered into agreement with the 

Kingdom of Kandy. After the collapse of the Iberian economy in 1627, the 

Dutch-Portuguese War saw the Dutch conquest of Portugal's Asiatic colonies. 

Eventually, Portugal's Ceylonese territories were ceded to the Netherlands. 

Nevertheless, there remain elements of Portuguese culture in Sri Lanka today 

from this colonial period.

Contents  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Portuguese Captains of Ceilão (1518–1551) 1.2 Portuguese Captain-majors of Ceilão (1551–1594) 1.3 Portuguese Governors of Ceilão (1594–1658) 2 See also 3 References

Source : Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia