The Tamil Buddhists of the Past and the Future_12

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The Tamil Buddhists of the Past and the Future
The Tamil Buddhists of the Past and the Future
By J.L. Devananda
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In his keynote residence at the 2554th Vesak (Vaishakha Purnim) parties at the Mahabodhi Society in Chennai, Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka said,?? "As we are nearing 2600 Buddha Jayanthi, as a Sinhala Buddhist,Meister Hutmacher Character Tee by Tolky Monkys_282, this is my menial dream for the future: Tamil Buddhist temples should come up in Sri Lanka; Tamil children should hug Buddhist monkhood; Buddhism must be taught in Tamil; sermonizing and worshipping Buddhism in Tamil; Tamil Bikkus should have Sinhala fanatics and Tamil Bhikkus have to visit Sinhala homes. That togetherness should be there."
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This sounds somewhat similar to the prominent lecture "I have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr in 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the march for freedom at Washington. The only inconsistency is Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne's dream of Tamil Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the hereafter had already existed in the past.
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Ancient Buddhist links between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka
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Today, the Palk Strait which lies between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan land masses, is seen as a divider, separating two different distinct ethnicities, religions, civilizations and political entities but there was a period in history when Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka enjoyed very close knots, thanks to a shared interest in Buddhism. During the early period, the Palk Strait was not seen as a divider but it was a unifier. At that time Buddhism was a bridge between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. The magnetic fable of the historical links - Golden threads between Buddhism in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was described by Dr. Shu Hikosake, Director and Professor of Buddhism, Institute of Asian Studies in Madras in his paperback 1989 Buddhism in Tamil Nadu: a New Perspective. Dr. Hikosaka's study is based on his doctoral dissertation.
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The earliest inscriptions in Tamil Nadu written in the Brahmi symbol of the time, aboard the wall of the natural caves in the Tamil districts of Madura, Ramnad and Tirnnelveli belongs to the third centenary BC. ?They are of considerable amuse to students of South Indian Buddhism. It is learnt from these Brahmi inscriptions, that Buddhism had come into Tamil Nadu even then. However, the epigraphical certify seems to validation that, it was to King Asoka and the missionary recluse Mahinda (deemed to be his son) that the presentation of Buddhism into Tamil Nadu may be attributed. In his Rock-Edict No. III, King Asoka says that his Dharma Vijaya prevailed in the monarchies of the Colas, Pandyans and by Tambapanni (Sri Lanka). Particularly the edict digit XIII base near Peshawar, there is reference to the Buddhist tasks of Asoka. Among the countries referred to are Cola, Pandya, and Tambapanni. This inscription was written in 258 B.C. and namely straight evidence of the Buddhist missions of Asoka to the Tamil nation and Sri Lanka even although it does no say almost his son Mahinda. As Buddhist missions to Sri Lanka had to come along way of South India, the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and South India in the 2nd century AD should be thought present-day accidents, merely it was King Asoka's son Mahinda who was responsible for the introduction of Buddhism in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Mahinda is said to have erected 7 viharas at Kaveripattinum, the capital of Cola when he was ashore his access to Sri Lanka. According to Dr. Hikosaka, contrary to the general impression, Buddhism might have worked to Sri Lanka from Tamil Nadu by sea-route, a path by which one tin approach Sri Lanka easily. Since there existed very near cultural affinities between Sri Lanka and the Tamil country from time immemorial, the Buddhist activities in India could have easily influenced in some way alternatively other the Buddhism of Sri Lanka, says Dr. Hikosaka.
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Even though it is believed that Buddha had visited this region, South India (Andhra) and Sri Lanka, according to historians, Buddhism began to make a strong clash on Tamil Nadu only in the 3rd century AD. During that period Buddhism had spread widely in Tamil Nadu and won the patronage of the rulers. The remains of a Buddhist monastery excavated at Kaveripattinum which could be assigned to the fourth century are believed to be the earliest archaeological relics of Buddhism in Tamil Nadu. The major urban hearts of Kanchipuram, Kaveripattinam, Uragapura (Uraiyur), and Madurai were not only hearts of Buddhism, but these were also important centers of Pali knowledge.? The other minor towns of Tamil country where Buddhism was active were Buddhamangalam, Sanghamangalam, Kumbakonam, Mayurapattanam, Alamkudipatti, Kuvam, Sanghamangai, Tiruppadirippuliyur, and so on.
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Tamil Buddhists endow to Buddhist scriptures
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It was at this time that Tamil Nadu gave some of its greatest scholars (both Theravada and Mahayana) to the Buddhist world. Tamil Nadu boasted of emphatic Buddhist monks, who had made remarkable contributions to Buddhist thought and learning. Three of the greatest Pali scholars of this period were Buddhaghosa, Buddhadatta, and Dhammapala and always 3 of them were associated with Buddhist establishments in the Tamil kingdoms.
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Buddhadatta or Thera Buddhaatta as he is called lived during the time of Accyutarikkanta, the Kalabra ruler of the Cola-Nadu; was a senior contemporary of Buddhaghosa. He was connate in the Cola kingdom and lived in the 5th Century AD. Under the patronage of this ruler, Buddhadatta wrote many books. Among his best known Pali writings are the Vinaya-Vinicchaya, the Uttara-Vinicchaya and the Jinalankara-Kavya. Among the commentaries written by him are the Madhurattha-Vilasini and the Abhidhammavatara. In the Abhidhammaratara he gives a glowing list at Kaveripattinum, Uragapuram, Bhutamangalam and Kanchipuram and the Mahavihara at Anuradapura, (Sri Lanka). While he was at Sri Lanka, he composed many Buddhist works such as Uttara-viniccaya Ruparupa Vibhaga Jinalankara etc. Buddhaghosha, contemporary of Buddhadatta also composed many Buddhist commentaries.
Buddhaghosha is a Tamil monk, who made a noteworthy contribution to Buddhism in Sri Lanka. He stayed and studied Buddhist precepts at Mahavihara in Anuradhapura. The Visuddhimagga was the first work of Buddhaghosha which was written while he was in Sri Lanka.
After Buddhaghosha, the essential Theravada monk from the Tamil country was Dhammapala. Dhammapala lived in the Mahavihara at Anuradhapura. He composed paramathadipani which was a critique on Buddhaghosha's work on Khuddaka Nikaya and Paramathamanjusa, which was a commentary on Buddhaghosha's Visuddhimagga. A close study of the three Buddhist monks viz Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosha and Dhammapala shows that Tamil Buddhists were closely associated with the Sri Lankan Buddhists around the 5th century AD.
The author of Nettipakarana is different Dhammapala who was a resident of a monastery in Nagapattinam, distinct important Buddhist median from ancient times.? One more example is the Cola monk Kassapa, in his Pali work, Vimatti-Vinodani, this Tamil monk provides interesting information about the rise of heretical views in the Cola Sangha and the consequent purification that took place. There are so many other Tamil monks who are attributed to the Pali works some of them were resident at Mayura-rupa-pattana (Mylapore,Zoemou jewellery- modern anyhow classic_1976, Madras) by with Buddhagosha.
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The Tamil Buddhist monks used Pali languages in predilection to Tamil in their books. This is for the Buddha spoke in Magadi Prakrit (Pali). Sanskrit is the sacred language of the Hindus, and similarly Pali is considered as the divine language of the Buddhists. The well known Tamil Buddhist epics found were Manimekalai, Silappadhikaram, Valaiyapathi, Kundalakesi, and Jivaka Cintamani. ?Manimekalai, a purely Buddhist work of the 3rd Sangam period in Tamil literature is the most supreme and famous among the Buddhist work done in Tamil Nadu. It is a work expounding the doctrines and propagating the values of Buddhism. The interaction between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan monks finds mention in Manimekalai, which is set in the Tamil towns of Kaveipumpattinam, Kanchi, and Vanchi. There is mention about the presence of wondering monks of Sri Lanka in Vanchi, which was the capital of the Chera Kings of Tamil Nadu. The Chinese traveller, Tsuan Tsang, wrote that there were around 300 Sri Lankan monks in the monastery at the Southern sector of Kanchipuram. Ancient Kanchipuram, the capital of Tondaimandalam, ruled by the Tamil Pallava dynasty, an offshoot of Chola rulers was the major seat of Tamil learning and is also known as the city of thousand temples. Even Thirukkural, the ancient Tamil couplets/aphorisms celebrated by Tamils is based on Buddhist principals. Although Buddhism has chance virtually extinct from Tamil Nadu, it has contributed a great handle to the enrichment of Tamil culture and has exerted a significant influence, both instantly and indirectly, on the Tamil religious and spiritual consciousness, present as well as past.
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Tamil Buddhism in Sri Lanka
As Buddhism was one of the dominant religions in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, certainly there were very close narratives between the two regions. The monks from Sri Lanka, also, went along to the Tamil kingdom and stayed in the monasteries. As Dr. Leslie Gunawardana says, `The co-operation between the Buddhist Sangha of South India and Sri Lanka produced important results which are apparent in the Pali works of this period`. He also says that the Tamil Buddhist monks were more traditional than their similarities in Sri Lanka. Indeed, the narrations between the Tamil and Sinhala Buddhist monks were so close that the latter sought the assistance of the former in political uproar.
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In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Buddhists who emulated Theravada Buddhism shared the prevalent locations of worship with the Sinhalese, but there were likewise Tamil Buddhists who were retinue the Mahayana Buddhism and they had their own Mahayana temples. There are still some Tamil Mahayana Buddhist establishments (Palli) in the eastern and maybe in the Jaffna promontory. The best understood was Velgam Vehera (see details beneath), which was renamed Rajaraja-perumpalli after the Cola dictator. Another was the Vikkirama-calamekan-perumpalli.
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Some ten miles northwest of Trincomalee off the Trincomalee - Horowupothana road is an ancient Buddhist sanctuary with origins dating back to the years before the second century. It is a historical fact that among the many ancient Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka Velgam Vehera which was renamed Rajaraja-perumpalli, also called Natanar Kovil by the present day Tamils stands out as the only known sample of a `Tamil Vihare or Buddhist Palli` or as the late Dr. Senerath Paranavithana described it in his book `Glimpses of Ceylon`s Past` as an `Ancient Buddhist sanctuary of the Tamil people`. Some of the Tamil inscriptions found at the site record acquisitions to this shrine and are dated in the reigns of the Chola Kings, Rajaraja and Rajendradeva. It was his outlook that the appointment of the original foundation of the vihare was no doubt considerably earlier than the dynasty of King Bhatika Tissa II.
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The situation in Tamil Nadu, however, began to change towards the opening of the 7th Century AD when the ascend of Vaishnavism and Saivism posed a serious challenge to Buddhism and Jainism. There was a meaningful mushroom in Hindu/Brahmanical influence and soon the worship of Siva and Visnu began to acquisition prominence. The Buddhist and Jaina traditions in Tamil Nadu came below aggression when they began to lose fashionable patronize and the patronage from the rulers. One result of this was the migration of Buddhist and Jaina monks and dedicated lay members to kingdoms where they could ascertain asylum. While the Jainas and Buddhists (mostly Mahayana) were capable to go to Kannada and Andhra/Telugu regions, a colossal part of the Buddhists (Theravada) turned to Sri Lanka and assimilated with the regional Buddhist population.
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Mahavihara monks of Anuradapura and the Pali chronicles
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Although Buddhism flourished in South India in ancient times, the 5th century AD Pali chronicles such as the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa written by the Mahavihara monks of Anuradapura (Sri Lanka) remained silent about the introduction of Buddhism to South India. This is because, when Hindu/Brahmanism started reappearing in India and posed a threat to Buddhism, the Mahavihara monks of Anuradapura (Sri Lanka) due to their strong dedication to Buddhism and appetite to consolidate and protect this religion in Sri Lanka wrote the Pali chronicles Deepavamsa/Mahavamsa just to glorify Buddhism and the Buddhist kings of Sri Lanka and not to record objectively what happened. The `Lion Ancestry` and the myths about the origin of the Sinhala marathon as pre-destined, true custodians of the island of Sri Lanka and guardians of Buddhism is a myth of the ingenious authors to protect Buddhism and is not the common true history. The ancient Sri Lankan Kingdom (Anuradapura) was ruled by both Buddhist and Hindu kings. There is no evidence what so ever to prove that they were Sinhala. The appearance of prince Vijaya and 700 men from North India is only a fable. All those Buddhist Kings of Anuradapura whom we believe today as Sinhala-Buddhists are of Tamil origin. Sinhala language is naught but a mongrel of Sanskrit,Agent Provocateur comic- when fantasy meets reality_1984, Tamil and Pali. An inquiry of the Pali chronicles (Deepavamsa/Mahavamsa) makes it very remove that the Mahavihara monks who authored them in the 5th century AD have established the ethnic personality Sinhala, yoked it with Buddhism and created a fashionable ethno-religious identity in Sri Lanka known as Sinhala-Buddhist to sustain the religion in the country for 5000 years.
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?The ancient Brahmi inscriptions (ahead 7th century AD) in Tamil Nadu are in antique Tamil where the Tamil labels did not end with one ��N' or an ��M', but were very similar to those Sanskrit/Pali names. It was merely afterward the 7th century AD, that the Tamil language accepted some alterations to its Grammar, script, etc. and evolved into the present manner. This might have happened later the Tamils developing what is commonly shrieked for the pulli (dot) system which is bizarre to Tamils in particular within the Indian languages and deserving to this dot system the words/names ending with ��A' ends up with ��N' and ��M'. This is the cause why, in the Pali chronicles and in the Brahmi stone inscriptions the names of the Tamil Kings of Anuradhapura were referred to for Sena, Guttika, Elara, Pulahatha, Bahiya, Panayamara, Parinda, Dathiya, etc and not for Senan, Guttikan, Ellalan, etc. Similarly in Tamil Nadu, the names of the antique thrones were referred to as Kulothunga Chola, Vikrma Chola, Aditya Chola, Kulasekara Pandya, Vira Wickrama Pandya, Parakrama Pandya, Sundara Pandya, etc.
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It is believed that the most of the Tamil Buddhist scholastic work has been destroyed during religious controversies. The wastage of Tamil Buddhist literature was a necrosis blow to Tamil Buddhism. Apart from the Brahmi inscriptions and other archeological evidence found in Tamil Nadu and the accessible Tamil scholastic works, the Rock-Edicts of King Asoka also sheds many light on this subject. Even though the Pali chronicles did not mention the ethnic background of the ancient Sri Lankan Buddhists and the Buddhist kings right from Devanampiya Tissa, the Mahavamsa referred to the Non-Buddhist kings as Tamils (invaders). The on facts and the non-existence of Tamil Buddhists during the colonial time (due to the 10th century Chola aggression) led the 19th century European Pali savants who translated the Pali chronicles to presume and afterward the present day Sri Lankans to believe that the ancient Buddhists and the Buddhists Kings of Sri Lanka were Sinhalese.
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Unfortunately, today there are not Tamil Buddhists in Sri Lanka but a cloud of the early Tamils of Sri Lanka (before the 10th century Chola invasion) were Buddhists. The ancient Buddhist remains in the North and East of Sri Lanka are the remnants left by the Tamil Buddhists and not any else. They are part of the heritage of Sri Lankan Tamils. Only the Buddhist temples, sculptures and structures construct in the recent past and present in the North and East remain as Sinhala-Buddhist.
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Important Questions
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The answers still remain, why are the Sri Lankans inexperienced of their quondam or prefer, why is the Sri Lanka's past secluded from its own human? Why does the Sri Lankans believe that the Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka belong only to the Sinhalese (Sinhala heritage) and not to the Tamils? Why are the Sri Lankans ignorant about the early Tamil Buddhists of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu? Why do the Sri Lankans consider, in Sri Lanka a Buddhist should be a Sinhalese and a Hindu should be a Tamil while the Sinhalese worship maximum of the Hindu/Brahmanical Gods? Why do most Sinhala-Buddhists believe that they are blood relatives of Lord Buddha (Sakya tribe)? Why are the Sinhalese so illiterate to believe that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are both invaders or brought by the colonial potentates?
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Not only the Indians but even the Sri Lankan Tamils gave up Buddhism and adopted Hinduism.? For them to go back to Buddhism, has 2500 annuals of Buddhism in Sri Lanka (the so called Dhammadveepa) influenced anyone major changes in the Sinhala society (the so called guardians of Buddhism chosen by none other than the Buddha) in terms of opinion, character, behavior, virtue and so on or has it failed miserably? Are the Buddhist monks practicing Ahimsa (non-violence), Karuna (pity), Metta (emotion), and Maithriya (loving-kindness) towards guy persons (irrespective of race/religion) or are they in the name of Buddhism promoting ethno-religious chauvinism and hatred?
Buddhism in Sri Lanka is monopolized by the Sinhalese and they call it Sinhala-Buddhism which is Theravada Buddhism (Tripitaka) merged up with the Mahavamsa. Will the Sinhala-Buddhist Maha Sangha accept any Tamil Buddhist monks? Will the Tamils accept Mahavamsa as a part of Buddhism or Buddhist history knowing very well that it is a Sinhala-Buddhist mythology?
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Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne's dream of future Tamil Buddhists is very honest and apt during this period. As he says, it may recreate the togetherness, the common bond that once existed between the Sinhalese and Tamils. It ambition not be a wonder whether Nanda Malini sings about the Damila Buddhayo of the past and the future but can his dream materialize? Of way, miracles do happen; Martin Luther King Junior's dream came true so let us have some hope.