This young man, given to austerities in life, was called Sumedha. Simply an unknown entity, yet his attempt to achieve the highest spiritual realm was unwavering and unshaken. Such resolute thinkers have been few to none. Sumedha’s tale takes us to the times of yore, past several Buddhas, But then this was a time when the world was blessed by a Buddha who bore a different name: Dipankara. The young man, Sumedha, was intrigued to hear of Dipankara Buddha’s arrival at his hometown. He rejoiced at the glad tidings. Unbeknownst to his surrounding, Sumedha had a determination of a unique sort.
It was no mundane craving. It was not some wishful thinking. Sumedha’s aspiration, deep and profound, was to make history. He sought a definite prophecy that he would be the successor of the very person who stood before his eyes.
The town, however, was congested with people. The young man could hardly think of seeing Dipankara Buddha, let alone any other communication. When he noticed the muddy road, his thoughts worked on a different plane. Strong of purpose, he acted fast.
He requested the Master and the retinue to walk over him. Dipankara Buddha saw the young man’s thought in his divine eye and knew the youth’s wish will materialise in uncountable aeons to come.
Dipankara Buddha prophesied ascetic Sumedha would be a Buddha named Gotama in future. The day the Buddha declared the solemn prophecy to his twenty-fourth successor was a Vesak Full Moon Poya Day. Since then Sumedha occupied the womb of different sorts many times. He had to fulfil the thirty perfections, paramitas. Before his final birth, the Bodhisatva, or Buddha-to-be, was born in Thusitha heaven.
The divine being inquired if five matters are in the proper place before expiring to occupy the final womb: time, area, continent, cast and mother. Then, as any Buddhist knows, the fully mindful divine being entered the womb of Queen Mahamaya to be sired by King Suddhodana. A prince was born on a Vesak Poya and was named Siddharth, one who has found the meaning of existence. The queen passed away seven days after the prince’s birth.
The whiz kid declared the glorious verse, customary for all Buddhas, just after the birth:
“I am the chief of the world. There is no equal to me. I am supreme. This is my last birth. No rebirth for me.”
The teacher worshipped the teacher of the world, and then the father worshipped the son.
Aspiring for enlightenment
Siddharth Gotama’s life was spent in royal luxuries until he realised life’s true nature. Moments later Siddharth renounced the princely life on a Vesak Poya. Yet ascetic life was not a simple thing for the prince.
The robed Gotama was trained in various mental skills under many teachers, only to get disillusioned that they do not have the truth he looks for. The right way to achieve the truth dawned on him one day. He directed the mind on the right meditation path. Moments later, he reached enlightenment and conquered the world of sorrows on a Vesak Poya.
The Conqueror was heading to the city of Kusinara when he met Pukkusa. The layman listened to the Dhamma and offered the Buddha two golden robes: one worn by the Buddha and the other by his assistant Ananda.
The Conqueror’s skin dazzled as he donned the robe. This amazed Venerable Ananda. He was told that the skin of a Buddha will illume remarkably on two occasions: the night he attains Enlightenment and the night he passes into Parinibbana.
Third visit to Sri Lanka
The Buddha visited Sri Lanka on three occasions: first to Mahiyangana in January, second to Nagadipa in April, and third to Kelaniya in May, Vesak. On the second visit made to Nagadipa, King Maniakkikha invited the Blessed One for the third visit to Kelaniya. And he visited Kelaniya three years after his second visit, with 550 arahants.
However, Nishantha Gunawardena, a Sri Lankan historian based in the United States, refers to an interesting find in The Lost Dynasty: The Buddha was not invited by King Maniakkhika but by a king named Panitha and his daughter princess Abhi Upaliya. Nishantha cites rock inscriptions at Balaharukanda and Bambaragastalawa that corroborate this find.
“...the rock inscriptions are more accurate due to the difficulty in changing or forging them. It was the national King Panitha who invited Gautama Buddha the second time. The regional King Maniakkhika is mentioned in a few other records.
But it was not until the December 2004 tsunami hit, the king reintroduced himself. A tsunami tore through the island exposing several rock inscriptions. Two of them bore the names of King Maniagiya and his mother. This is, in fact, King Maniakkhika.” (82pp)
King Maniakikha is commonly mistaken as a Naga king; naga means serpent in oriental languages. The scholars believe that the king hailed from a clan named Naga. Following the Buddha’s sermon in Kelaniya, the king erected a shrine with the Buddha’s hair, utensils and the seat buried inside. The foreign invasions have resulted in damaging the original shrine.
The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara became an even more revered site following Venerable Mahinda Thera’s arrival in Lanka to establish the Buddha’s teachings. Mahawamsa - account of the great clan, if rendered into English - the official chronicle on Sri Lankan history written in the 5th Century CE, states King Devanampiyatissa’s brother Uttiya renovated the Dagoba along with the first quarters of the monks.
Mahavamsa interestingly relates how the Blessed One journeyed to Adam’s Peak or Sumanakuta from Kelani on the Vesak Poya day. The 7359-ft-tall conical mountain has a historic significance as Buddhists believe it has the Buddha’s footprint on it.
Melting pot of cultures
The mount is normally known as Adam’s Peak for Christians and Shivan Adipatham (Shiva’s footprint) for Hindus. The mount has obviously become the meeting place for people of diverse religions and ethnicities.
In Sinhala the mount is known as Sri Pada, the term derived from Sanskrit denoting the ‘sacred foot’. The Sinhala Samanala Kanda, or Butterfly Mountain in English, is named thus because of the annually migrating butterflies.
Legend has it that the Buddha placed his left footprint on the hill summit and then strode across to Thailand, then Siam. In Siam the Buddha is said to have left the impression of the right foot; this is called Phra Sat, similar to Sri Pada. In his Bharhut Stupa General Sir A Cunningham rests details about footprints:
“Footprints of the Buddha were most probably an object of reverence from a very early period - certainly before the building of the Bharut Stupa - as they are represented in two separate sculptures there. In the sculpture, the footprints are placed on a throne or altar, canopied by an umbrella hung with garlands.
A royal personage is kneeling before the altar, and reverently touching the footprints with his hands. The second example is in the bas-relief representing the visit of Ajata-satru to Buddha. Here, as in all other Bharut sculptures, the Buddha does not appear in person, his presence being marked by His two footprints. The wheel symbol is duly marked on both.” (112pp).
A cave temple called Diva Guhava is recognised as the place the Buddha had respite during his Sri Pada visit along with his retinue. The cave is said to have the capacity to provide shelter for over 500 people. Siripa Samaya, the season of Sripa pilgrimage starts in December through May.
“When the Teacher, compassionate to the whole world,” goes on Mahavamsa, “had preached the doctrine there, he rose, the Master, and left the traces of his footsteps plain to sight on Sumanakuta.
And after he had spent the day as it pleased him at the foot of this mountain, with the brotherhood, be set forth for Dighavapi.”
Some historians however observe the Buddha’s visit to Dighavapi as far from being likely. As the chronicle states, the Buddha had visited the village and meditated consecrating the place. A shrine was later erected on the place the Blessed One meditated.
Many works including Samantha Pasadika and Dipavamsa contain allusions to Dighavapi.
The works mention the inhabitants of Dighavapi were Yakkas, with links to pre-Aryan Kirat people in Northern India. As a legend goes, while a novice monk was repairing a part of the shrine, he fell from the top. He heard the shouting of his colleagues to recall Dhajagga Paritta, a sutta reciting the great qualities of the Buddha, his Teachings and the Dispensation. And finally, it is said, the novice monk was saved miraculously. The area was later reconstructed by King Saddhatissa.
Original influences
Some sources indicate that the Buddha set foot on Kataragama following the visit to Dighavapi. Legend lays down an account where the Buddha met King Mahasena (some sources identify the king as Mahaghosha) in Kataragama.
The king listened to the Buddha and erected a shrine - now known as Mangala Ceitya - on the place he preached. The place is now called Kiri Vehera, located close to the Hindu temple built by the same king.
According to a source discovered by Nishantha Gunawardena the Mangala Ceitya contains the sword that Prince Siddharth used to cut his hair in renouncing. However, as Gunawardena adds, the source is yet to be verified.
Prince Vijaya’s visit to Sri Lanka - then called Tambapanni, the gold-sand island - occurred on a Vesak Poya. As commonly known, Vijaya was exiled to Tambapanni because of the dreadful behaviour of him and his associates.
His father, Sinhabahu, had no option other than banishing him - his followers and their families numbering about 700 - to the island with their heads partly shaved as a sign of disgrace. Vijaya’s ancestors came down from the kingdom of Kalinga, known as Orissa to the ancient, and Vanga in Bangladesh and the eastern part of India.
The king of Vanga was married to the daughter of the king of Kalinga, named Suppadevi. Mahavamsa then relates the episode of Suppadevi having intimacies with a lion ending up with two children: Sihabahu, lion-arms, and Sihasivali.
The lion had a family life in a cave, covered by a large rock to block any attempt of escapade. But the turn of events took a different shape as the lion’s family had escaped from the cave, and Sihabahu killing his father with an arrow. Following the patricide, Sihabahu married his sister and formed a kingdom in Sihapura city. The royal couple had a series of twins, of which Vijaya was the eldest.
Rajavaliya, the chronicle on Sri Lankan kings, mentions Vijaya’s entourage spotted Adam’s Peak and landed in Southern Sri Lanka - the area that later became the Kingdom of Ruhuna. H Parker, a British historian, however, mentions it is the mouth of Kirindi Oya.
So started the Vijayan dynasty, a reign of a King with a positive attitude towards Buddhism, making the path clear for an official introduction during King Devanampiyatissa’s reign.
King Devenampiyatissa - meaning ‘beloved of the gods’ - had his second coronation on a Vesak Poya day. Mahavamsa goes on to describe the moment of glory: “Grand miracles occurred during the consecration of King Devanampiya Tissa. Jewels buried in earth rose to the surface, pearls in deep oceans were washed ashore and piled up and bamboo trees started to look like they were made out of silver. King Devanampiyatissa thought that these pearls and gems should be sent to his great friend, King Dharmashoka of India. Kings Dharmashoka and Devanampiyatissa were great friends for many years but had never seen each other.”
King Dharmashoka by this time was sending Buddhist missionaries to countries around the world. He selected his son arahant Mahinda to be sent to Lanka with the message of Buddhism.
Arahant Mahinda and four other monks left the Indian shores to visit Lanka; Missaka Pavva (Mihintale) was their destination. King Devanampiyatissa was conducting a deer hunt close to Mihintale at the time.
The god of the mountain, it is said, wanted to show Arahant Mahinda to the king and disguised himself as a deer. King Devanampiyatissa and his men chased the deer. When the deer came near the mountain where arahant Mahinda stood, the deer passed out of sight.
Parinibbana
Eighty-year old Gotama Buddha disclosed that his passing away, Parinibbana, would take place on the third watch of the night at Sal grove of Malla royal family. Maha Parinibbana Sutta gives an illustrious description of the Buddha’s last moment. We reproduce an excerpt from the translation of the sutta by Sister Vajira and Francis Story.
The Blessed One’s Final Exhortation
1. Now the Blessed One spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying: “It may be, Ananda, that to some among you the thought will come: ‘Ended is the word of the Master; we have a Master no longer.’ But it should not, Ananda, be so considered. For that which I have proclaimed and made known as the Dhamma and the Discipline, that shall be your Master when I am gone.
2. “And, Ananda, whereas now the bhikkhus address one another as ‘friend,’ let it not be so when I am gone. The senior bhikkhus, Ananda, may address the junior ones by their name, their family name, or as ‘friend’; but the junior bhikkhus should address the senior ones as ‘venerable sir’ or ‘your reverence.’
3. “If it is desired, Ananda, the Sangha may, when I am gone, abolish the lesser and minor rules.
4. “Ananda, when I am gone, let the higher penalty be imposed upon the bhikkhu Channa.”
“But what, Lord, is the higher penalty?”
“The bhikkhu Channa, Ananda, may say what he will, but the bhikkhus should neither converse with him, nor exhort him, nor admonish him.”
5. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: “It may be, bhikkhus, that one of you is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. Then question, bhikkhus! Do not be given to remorse later on with the thought: ‘The Master was with us face to face, yet face to face we failed to ask him.’”
6. But when this was said, the bhikkhus were silent. And yet a second and a third time the Blessed One said to them: “It may be, bhikkhus, that one of you is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. Then question, bhikkhus! Do not be given to remorse later on with the thought: ‘The Master was with us face to face, yet face to face we failed to ask him.’”
And for a second and a third time the bhikkhus were silent. Then the Blessed One said to them: “It may be, bhikkhus, out of respect for the Master that you ask no questions. Then, bhikkhus, let friend communicate it to a friend.” Yet still, the bhikkhus were silent.
7. And the Venerable Ananda spoke to the Blessed One, saying: “Marvellous it is, O Lord, most wonderful it is! This faith I have in the community of bhikkhus, that not even one bhikkhu is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice.”
“Out of faith, Ananda, you speak thus. But here, Ananda, the Tathagata knows for certain that among this community of bhikkhus there is not even one bhikkhu who is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. For, Ananda, among these five hundred bhikkhus even the lowest is a stream-enterer, secure from downfall, assured, and bound for enlightenment.”
8. And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: “Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!”
This was the last word of the Tathagata.
9. And the Blessed One entered the first jhana. Rising from the first jhana, he entered the second jhana. Rising from the second jhana, he entered the third jhana. Rising from the third jhana, he entered the fourth jhana. And rising out of the fourth jhana, he entered the sphere of infinite space. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of infinite space, he entered the sphere of infinite consciousness. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of infinite consciousness, he entered the sphere of nothingness. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of nothingness, he entered the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. And rising out of the attainment of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, he attained to the cessation of perception and feeling.
10. And the Venerable Ananda spoke to the Venerable Anuruddha, saying: “Venerable Anuruddha, the Blessed One has passed away.”
“No, friend Ananda, the Blessed One has not passed away. He has entered the state of the cessation of perception and feeling.”
11. Then the Blessed One, rising from the cessation of perception and feeling, entered the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, he entered the sphere of nothingness. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of nothingness, he entered the sphere of infinite consciousness. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of infinite consciousness, he entered the sphere of infinite space. Rising from the attainment of the sphere of infinite space, he entered the fourth jhana. Rising from the fourth jhana, he entered the third jhana. Rising from the third jhana, he entered the second jhana. Rising from the second jhana, he entered the first jhana.
Rising from the first jhana, he entered the second jhana. Rising from the second jhana, he entered the third jhana. Rising from the third jhana, he entered the fourth jhana. And, rising from the fourth jhana, the Blessed One immediately passed away.
The World’s Echo
12. And when the Blessed One had passed away, simultaneously with his Parinibbana there came a tremendous earthquake, dreadful and astounding, and the thunders rolled across the heavens.
13. And when the Blessed One had passed away, simultaneously with his Parinibbana, Brahma Sahampati spoke this stanza:
All must depart — all beings that have life Must shed their compound forms. Yea, even one, A Master such as he, a peerless being, Powerful in wisdom, the Enlightened One, has passed away.
14. And when the Blessed One had passed away, simultaneously with his Parinibbana, Sakka, king of the gods, spoke this stanza:
Transient are all compounded things, Subject to arise and vanish; Having come into existence they pass away; Good is the peace when they forever cease.
15. And when the Blessed One had passed away, simultaneously with his Parinibbana, the Venerable Anuruddha spoke this stanza:
No movement of the breath, but with steadfast heart, Free from desires and tranquil — so the sage Comes to his end. By mortal pangs unshaken, His mind, like a flame extinguished, finds release.
16. And when the Blessed One had passed away, simultaneously with his Parinibbana, the Venerable Ananda spoke this stanza:
Then there was terror, and the hair stood up, when he, The All-accomplished One, the Buddha, passed away.
Yasodhara
Siddhartha and Yasodhara were of the same age, which means they were both born in Vesak. Interestingly Yasodhara’s great demise took place in the same month, yet two years ere that of the Buddha. Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thera describes the event in his Rahula Matha:
“Yasodhara had this thought while going back to her monastery after the sermon.
‘Venerables Nanda, Rahula, chief monk disciples, chief lay disciples, King Suddhodana, Prajapathi Gothami, Kondanna, they all have now passed away. I was born on the same day as Prince Siddhartha. We were of the same age and had the same ideals. So our demise should take place at the same moment. But my demise should take place earlier. Otherwise, that will be too hard for the world to bear up. That shall not happen. The likes of me must not see the great demise of the Buddha.
We are both 78 years now. As the Buddha’s great demise takes place in two years, I shall now go and seek permission for my own.’
With that thought, the earth shook. The sky shuddered.”
Vesak brings in an engrossing historical tale mixed with spirit and elegance.
