DOCSLIB.ORG

Gruesome Killing of a Tusker in Yala Block 3 Shocks the Country

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gruesome Killing of a Tusker in Yala Block 3 Shocks the Country SUNDAY 22 AUGUST 2021 E-PAPER Wildlife Crimes Stoop to a New Low Gruesome killing of a tusker in Yala Block 3 shocks the country BY RISIDRA MENDIS He says therefore, the department staff needs to be A young tusker lies dead at enhanced several fold. “The Block 3 of the Yala National department should have at Park. Lying on the ground in least 6,000 personnel in the his own blood and dung, this field. But the ideal situation gentle giant lost his life should be 9,000 people in the because he was born with a field if they want to do an pair of tusks. Allegedly shot effective job. Until this problem and killed by a farmer in the is addressed we will be facing area for his tusks this animal such tragedies in the future. breathed his last with nobody We have been telling this to to help him. the authorities for the past Shot and killed in his own three decades and the DWC is territory the animal was earning revenue in billions of helpless at the hands of a rupees each year through brutal killer or killers whose tourism, but the money is not only aim was to get their are treated’. This poor put back at least partly to keep hands on the growing tusks elephant’s face has been the resources alive for the sake and hair of the elephant. The hacked at to get at his milk of the industry at least, if the remains of the dead tusker teeth, not even tusks. What conservation is also not taken with his head cut off paints a protection are we offering into consideration,” Dr. horrid picture and have these innocent creatures? Gunawardana said. shocked environmentalists at None,” the statement reveals. He says the DWC should be the sheer brutality some It further says, “We call upon strengthened to protect the people will resort to, to get a the Government to at least resources that will attract pair of tusks. now take action against these tourists in the future and even The carcass of the tusker wildlife crimes which are if they look at it from a narrow was found at Sella Kataragama increasing in frequency, are perspective the DWC should Gothamigama electric fence not only illegal but are cruel be given more resources and with his tail and trunk cut off. and incredibly heinous. We tusker in self-defence. the department strength While environmentalists are must strengthen the Environmentalists say the should be enhanced in every trying to figure out whether punishments under the Fauna lives of three other wild respect. this is the elephant named and Flora Protection elephants living in Yala Block “They can enhance the Suranimala, Ordinance (FFPO) and 3 are also at risk following this technology capability of the Environmentalist/Wildlife prioritise increasing the fines recent incident. DWC by having a drone to Activist Nayanaka Ranwella under the FFPO to reflect the “The greatest degree of patrol the national park at says when going through severity and nature of these protection under the night time, so that any photographs published it is wildlife crimes, as it is very provisions of the FFPO is not miscreants who try to enter evident that a bullet has gone clear that the current fines are enough to have legal the park can be handled much through the tusker’s head. year ago and that animal’s in our wildest imagination did not serious enough to deter protection if the enforcement more effectively. This is one “It is clear that the tusker tusks were also stolen. “This we think we would see the these crimes. We must act mechanism is also not way to make use of modern was shot from the front. I clearly shows that elephants same happen here in Sri urgently and make it a priority strengthened to take effective technology and with minimum request the Department of are being killed for their tusks Lanka. Cruelty towards of the nation to protect our action. In my opinion it is the risk for more effective action. If Wildlife Conservation (DWC) to and a big racket is going on,” animals and wildlife killings wildlife from these evil forces,” lack of resources in the DWC there are two drones going locate the bullet used to kill Ranwella explains. are increasing day by day and the statement says. which is the cause of many of round the park at night at the tusker and produce it in A statement issued by the yet, we do nothing is done “A suspect was arrested in these issues and not a problem regular intervals any person Court. The tusks were Wildlife and Nature Protection about it. Clearly our laws are connection with the killing of of the law been weak. The entering the park could be removed with the use of a Society (WNPS) questions not working,” the WNPS the tusker at Block 3 of the DWC is severely understaffed monitored and some park chainsaw leading us to believe whether or not we are going to statement says. Yala National Park. The and even that staff that the personnel can track to that that this was a planned killing. sit by and watch these heinous It says perpetrators continue arrested suspect has been department has does not have spot,” Dr. Gunawardana These are heinous crimes,” acts of cruelty towards to walk away after committing identified as the owner of the the adequate resources such explains. Ranwella says. animals and wildlife escalate violent wildlife crimes daily. “It firearm allegedly used in the as vehicles firearms, and Director General of DWC He adds that the head of day by day? was Mahatma Gandhi that shooting,” Wildlife officials say. training to do their job Chandana Sooriyabandara another tusker was discovered “We have seen similar said, ‘The greatness of a nation According to Reliable effectively,” Environmental says joint investigations from the buffer zone of the images of elephants being and its moral progress can be Sources the suspect has Lawyer Dr. Jagth regarding the tusker’s death Yala National Park about a hacked at in Africa, but never judged by the way its animals ironically said he shot the Gunawardana opines. are ongoing with the Police. C2 SUNDAY 22 AUGUST 2021 PICTURE STORY ECHO A PROCESSION OF TRADITIONS A brief look at the origins of Esala Perahera BY AMA H. VANNIARACHCHY under the reign of King Kirthisiri Rajasinha. During this time a body of Siamese priests The Tooth Relic arrived in Sri Lanka during who came to Ceylon for the restoration of the the 4th century CE when King Kithsirimewan Upasampada ordination was surprised to find was ruling in Anuradhapura. Kalinga princess a purely Hindu ceremony in the capital of a Hemamala disguising herself as a priestess pre-eminently Buddhist country.” sailed to Sri Lanka, when Kalinga was in war, However, if one journeys back in time a little carrying the sacred Tooth Relic, hidden in her further, one could see the faded roots of a hair. perahera held in honour of the Tooth Relic in According to legend, the sacred Tooth Relic Kalinga. It is said that the king of Kalinga was paraded around the city in a perahera. In performed extravagant rituals and an annual later times, the sacred Tooth Relic became the perahara in honour of the Tooth Relic. symbol of kingship in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it Eminent Scholar Ven. Kamburugamuwe Vajira was shifted from place to place in order to Thera states that an Esala festival parade still keep it out of reach of the invaders. exists at the Jagannatha Kovil at Puri, India. Finally, it was shifted to Kandy. The present The month of Esala marks the arrival of the Temple of the Tooth was built by King Sri rainy season or the monsoon of this region. Veera Parakrama Narendrasinha (1707-1739). Monsoon festivals are held in many Asian After King Narendrasinha, the kingship was countries in honour of the rain god. passed over to the Nayakkars and the Archaeologist Charles Godakumbure believes Nayakkar culture eventually dominated that the Esala festival was initially a festival Kandy. Buddhism gradually faded away from held in honour of the rain god and the Dalada its original ways as Hinduism spread its Perahera and its rituals are related to the authority over the kingdom. This cultural ancient rain festivals. fusion gave birth to a vibrant, unique Hindu- Bearing all these age-old cultural traits, the Buddhist cultural diversity and harmony. Kandy Esala perahera parades the streets of The Esala festival at Kandy today, dates the ancient capital of Kandy with all its pride back to the time of the Nayakkars. and splendour, despite the pandemic. John Devy, a British physician who resided The Kandy Esala Perahera commences in Kandy writes in the 18th century; after the ritual of kap situweema which is “The Esala festival was held in honour of followed by five Kumbal and Randoli Vishnu, to celebrate his birth, during the peraheras. The last Randoli Perahera is month of July (Esala). According to legends, considered to be the grandest and the most relics of the Buddha were not carried in the spectacular of them all and will be held Esala Perahera before the time of King Kirthi tonight. Sri Rajasinha.” After the Randoli Perahera, the diya A similar observation by Sir Richard kapeema ritual is performed. On the last day, Aluwihare was published in The Kandy Esala the Diva Perahera is performed marking the Perahera (1952); end of the Kandy Esala Perahera. “From the information I have been able to This year, the main Tusker who carries the gather, the Esala Perahera as we know it sacred casket of the Tooth Relic is the today, with the four Hindu Devala Peraheras majestic Nedungamuwe Raja.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sri Pada': TRENDS in POPULAR BUDDHISM in SRI LANKA
    GOD OF COMPASSION AND THE DIVINE PROTECTOR OF 'sRi pADA': TRENDS IN POPULAR BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA Introduction Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka has always coexisted with various forms of other religious practices oriented to deities, planets, astrology and demons (yakku), and some of these often figure in the Hindu tradition as well. However, the Buddhist doctrine in its canonical form stands apart from the culturally- specific forms of popular religious practices. Beliefs in gods and other supernatural powers and rituals are, in theory, inappropriate to be considered as part of Buddhism. But many anthropologists and sociologists who have spent extended periods of time in Theravada Buddhist societies have shown that Buddhists do believe in various types of supernatural powers and the magical efficacy of rituals which are outside the Buddhist doctrine. According to Obeyesekere (1962) astrology, gods and demon belief in 'Sinhala Buddhism' are guided by basic Buddhist principles such as karma, rebirth, suffering etc. So in that sense the practice of deity worship cannot be described as totally un- Buddhistic, yet at the same time it does not fall into the category of folk religious practices like bali and tovil adopted by popular Buddhism (see De Silva 2000, 2006). In Sri Lanka. there are four deities regarded as the guardians of the Buddha-sasana in the island: Vishnu, Saman, Kataragama, Natha and Pattini. Although Vishnu and Kataragama (Skanda) are originally Hindu gods, the Buddhists have taken them over as Buddhist deities, referring to them also by the localized designation, Uppalavanna and Kataragama. The role of Kataragama, Vi1inI1UNatha, and Pattini worship in the contemporary Sri Lankan society has been well researched by several scholars (e.g., Obeyesekere 1984; Holt 1991,2005; Gunasekara 2007) but the position of god Saman in the similar context has not been adequately investigated.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Knowledge Systems and the Conservation and Management of Asia’S Heritage Rice Field in Bali, Indonesia by Monicavolpin (CC0)/Pixabay
    ICCROM-CHA 3 Conservation Forum Series conservation and management of Asia’s heritage conservation and management of Asia’s Traditional Knowledge Systems and the Systems Knowledge Traditional ICCROM-CHA Conservation Forum Series Forum Conservation ICCROM-CHA Traditional Knowledge Systems and the conservation and management of Asia’s heritage Traditional Knowledge Systems and the conservation and management of Asia’s heritage Rice field in Bali, Indonesia by MonicaVolpin (CC0)/Pixabay. Traditional Knowledge Systems and the conservation and management of Asia’s heritage Edited by Gamini Wijesuriya and Sarah Court Forum on the applicability and adaptability of Traditional Knowledge Systems in the conservation and management of heritage in Asia 14–16 December 2015, Thailand Forum managers Dr Gamini Wijesuriya, Sites Unit, ICCROM Dr Sujeong Lee, Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), Republic of Korea Forum advisors Dr Stefano De Caro, Former Director-General, ICCROM Prof Rha Sun-hwa, Administrator, Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), Republic of Korea Mr M.R. Rujaya Abhakorn, Centre Director, SEAMEO SPAFA Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts Mr Joseph King, Unit Director, Sites Unit, ICCROM Kim Yeon Soo, Director International Cooperation Division, Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), Republic of Korea Traditional Knowledge Systems and the conservation and management of Asia’s heritage Edited by Gamini Wijesuriya and Sarah Court ISBN 978-92-9077-286-6 © 2020 ICCROM International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property Via di San Michele, 13 00153 Rome, Italy www.iccrom.org This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution Share Alike 3.0 IGO (CCBY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo).
    [Show full text]
  • Swadeshi Khomba Illuminates Kiri Vehera & Ruhunu Maha
    Swadeshi Khomba illuminates Kiri Vehera & Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya at Kataragama for the 20th consecutive year The 2021 Esala festivals of the Kataragama Kiri Vehera and the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya, two important places of worship in Sri Lanka, are being illuminated by The Swadeshi Industrial Works PLC the pioneer herbal – personal care products manufacturer. The illumination is done under the theme of “Swadeshi Khomba Aloka Puja Sathkaraya” In addition Swadeshi illuminated one of the most three important locations in Kataragama the “Sella Kataragama” devalaya for the third time this year. The on-going events began on July 10th and end on July 23rd 2021, and Swadeshi is sponsoring the Aloka Poojawa for the 20th consecutive year. Ms. Amari Wijewardene, Chairperson of Swadeshi said that as a Sri Lankan owned company, we consider it a duty to safeguard the culture and traditional heritage of Sri Lanka by supporting activities such as this annual Aloka Poojawa. She further observed that, Swadeshi illuminates places of worship in the country for the benefit of all worshippers and also to educate the younger generation on the importance of safeguarding the country’s heritage. The illumination is followed by a colourful cultural pageant which highlights Sri Lankan traditions and history. Source: The Nation According to the Mahavamsa, Kiri Vehera was built by King Mahanaga in a commemoration of the Buddha’s visit to Kataragama Kihiri Uyana to deliver dharma during his third visit to Sri Lanka. The Kataragama Devalaya was built by King Dutugemunu as a fulfilment of a vow made to safeguard the national interests of Sri Lanka.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ritualizing of the Martial and Benevolent Side of Ravana in Two Annual Rituals at the Sri Devram Maha Viharaya in Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka
    religions Article The Ritualizing of the Martial and Benevolent Side of Ravana in Two Annual Rituals at the Sri Devram Maha Viharaya in Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka Deborah de Koning Department of Culture Studies, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands; [email protected] Received: 29 June 2018; Accepted: 19 August 2018; Published: 21 August 2018 Abstract: Within the context of Ravanisation—by which I mean the current revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka—multiple conceptualizations of Ravana are constructed. This article concentrates on two different Ravana conceptualizations: Ravana as a warrior king and Ravana as a healer. At the Sri Devram Maha Viharaya, a recently constructed Buddhist complex in Colombo, Ravana has become the object of devotion. In addition to erecting a Ravana statue in a shrine of his own, two annual rituals for Ravana are organized by this temple. In these rituals we can clearly discern the two previously mentioned conceptualizations: the Ravana perahera (procession) mainly concentrates on Ravana’s martial side by exalting Ravana as warrior king, and in the maha Ravana nanumura mangalyaya, a ritual which focusses on healing, his benevolent side as a healer is stressed. These conceptualizations from the broader Ravana discourse are ritualized in iconography, attributes, and sacred substances. The focus on ritual invention in this article not only directs our attention to the creativity within the rituals but also to the wider context of these developments: the glorification of an ancient civilization as part of increased nationalistic sentiments and an increased assertiveness among the Sinhalese Buddhist majority in post-war Sri Lanka.
    [Show full text]
  • Quarterly Tours
    Quarterly Tours Jayatissa Herath National Trust – Sri Lanka 31st August 2013 Add (distance) and [ti me] for PGIAR to Expressway Entrance Makumbura/ Expressway to Maha Saman Devale (distance 69 km) - [ti me 1:46] Saman Devale Premises [ti me 1:17] Saman Devale to Silver Ray Restaurent (distance 15 km) - [ti me 0:28] Lunch at Silver Ray [ti me 0.44] Page 1 of 15 Lellopiti ya Silver Ray Restarurent to Uggalaluthnuwara Devale ( distance 41 km) - [ti me 1:00] Uggalaluthnuwara Devale [ti me 1:40] Uggalaluthnuwara Devale to Soragune Devale (distance 20 km) - [ti me 0:51] Soragune Devale [ti me 0:50] Soragune Devale to Haldummulla Fort (distance 10 km) - [ti me 0:36] Haldummulla Fort [ti me 0:38] {ti me includes foot walk up to the Fort from the Factory premises} Page 2 of 15 Haldummulla Fort to Belihuloya Rest House (distance 21.5 km) - [0:38] Belihuloya Rest House Tea Break - [0:30] Belihuloya Rest House to Boltumbe Devale (distance 22 km) - [ti me 0:53] Boltumbe Devale - [ti me 0:30] Boltumbe Devale to Ratnapura Town – [ti me 2:33] Add (distance) and [ti me] for Ratnapura to PGIAR via Eheliyagoda, Avissavella, Hanwella, Homagama etc... Page 3 of 15 Visit to Devales Present tour is on the theme of shrine centered village Devales dedicated to Hindu / Buddhist Gods. They are good examples to understand the architecture has made to the peaceful co-existence of two religions. It presents the wisdom of the rulers and of the religious leaders of old days in providing for harmonious living.
    [Show full text]
  • Bringing the Buddha Closer: the Role of Venerating the Buddha in The
    BRINGING THE BUDDHA CLOSER: THE ROLE OF VENERATING THE BUDDHA IN THE MODERNIZATION OF BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA by Soorakkulame Pemaratana BA, University of Peradeniya, 2001 MA, National University of Singapore, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2017 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Soorakkulame Pemaratana It was defended on March 24, 2017 and approved by Linda Penkower, PhD, Associate Professor, Religious Studies Joseph Alter, PhD, Professor, Anthropology Donald Sutton, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Religious Studies Dissertation Advisor: Clark Chilson, PhD, Associate Professor, Religious Studies ii Copyright © by Soorakkulame Pemaratana 2017 iii BRINGING THE BUDDHA CLOSER: THE ROLE OF VENERATING THE BUDDHA IN THE MODERNIZATION OF BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA Soorakkulame Pemaratana, PhD. University of Pittsburgh, 2017 The modernization of Buddhism in Sri Lanka since the late nineteenth century has been interpreted as imitating a Western model, particularly one similar to Protestant Christianity. This interpretation presents an incomplete narrative of Buddhist modernization because it ignores indigenous adaptive changes that served to modernize Buddhism. In particular, it marginalizes rituals and devotional practices as residuals of traditional Buddhism and fails to recognize the role of ritual practices in the modernization process. This dissertation attempts to enrich our understanding of modern and contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka by showing how the indigenous devotional ritual of venerating the Buddha known as Buddha-vandanā has been utilized by Buddhist groups in innovative ways to modernize their religion.
    [Show full text]
  • Gautama Buddha Was Born in Helabima 2
    1 2 Gautama Buddha was born in Helabima (Volume II) The English translation of අපඋපන් මේ මෙළ�ම �뷔න් උපන් ජන්�뷊Ǔපය (මෙලන ම ොටස) (This Helabima, where we were born, is Janbudveepa, the birth place of the Lord Buddha) Introduction 3 This is the second volume of the book අප උපන් මේ මෙළ�ම�뷔න් උපන් ජන්�뷊Ǔපය what I published 16 months ago. It is a must to be fulfilled by all of us, as the people who are born in this Helabima and live in this Helabima, to read, analyze and understand the absolute truth highlighted in this book. Every human being is having the mental freedom of speaking the truth, writing about the truth and recording them for the future use. After reading most of the things mentioned in this book, you will experience a total new, different understanding in Dhamma which is not going hand in hand with the opinions what you knew all this times and what you had learnt following the conventional thinking, systems and methodologies. Buddha Dhamma stands for “Penetrating in to Paramartha Dhamma through the traditions”. What you read in books and learnt from someone is the tradition, the conventional thinking. They are nothing but guessings that you have experienced based on what you heard, saw and learnt. You should penetrate in to what you learnt on traditions and based on them you should see the absolute truth. Seeing the absolute truth is limited purely to you yourself. Seeing the absolute truth for you, cannot be done by someone else.
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka: Elephants, Temples, Spices & Forts 2023
    Sri Lanka: Elephants, Temples, Spices & Forts 2023 26 JAN – 14 FEB 2023 Code: 22302 Tour Leaders Em. Prof. Bernard Hoffert Physical Ratings Combining UNESCO World Heritage sites of Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Kandy and Galle with a number of Sri Lanka's best wildlife sanctuaries including Wilpattu & Yala National Park. Overview Professor Bernard Hoffert, former World President of the International Association of Art-UNESCO (1992-95), leads this cultural tour of Sri Lanka. Visit 6 Cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Sacred City of Anuradhapura – established around a cutting from the 'tree of enlightenment', the Buddha's fig tree, this was the first ancient capital of Sri Lanka. Golden Dambulla Cave Temple – containing magnificent wall paintings and over 150 statues. Ancient City of Sigiriya – a spectacular rock fortress featuring the ancient remains of King Kassapa’s palace from the 5th century AD. The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa – the grand, second capital of Sri Lanka established after the destruction of Anuradhapura in the 1st century. Sacred City of Kandy – capital of Sri Lanka’s hill country and home to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. Old Town of Galle – this 16th-century Dutch fortified town has ramparts built to protect goods stored by the Dutch East India Company. Visit 4 of Sri Lanka's best Wildlife National Parks: Wilpattu National Park – comprising a series of lakes – or willus – the park is considered the best for viewing the elusive sloth bear and for its population of leopards. Hurulu Eco Park – designated a biosphere reserve in 1977, the area is representative of Sri Lanka's dry-zone dry evergreen forests and is an important habitat for the Sri Lankan elephant.
    [Show full text]
  • Nature and Buddhist Architecture: Sri Lanka
    W. De Silva, Int. J. of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics. Vol. 12, No. 2 (2017) 225-234 NATURE AND BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE: SRI LANKA W. DE SILVA Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. ABSTRACT This paper examines ‘nature’ in the form of natural landscape, focusing on Sri Lankan landscape. Natural landscape in this study is discussed as physical features, physical geography and topography of the earth surface – topos. These physical features exist in variety of ways; mountains, rocks, stones and boulders, hillocks, terrains, valleys, water in many ways and trees and vegetation. Sri Lankan natural landscape consists of distinctive and varied physical features –topos – and many of these have been converted to Buddhist architecture: natural landscape represents significant role in these places. This paper examines how Sri Lankan natural landscape influences Buddhist performances, shaping landscape and architecture. It examines literature in philosophy, Buddhist philosophy and phenomenol- ogy of landscape and place. It analyses the relationship of patterns of settlements with the physical features and geography of its location, focusing on Buddhist performances. It is examined that these topos directs divine and mundane dimensions. The paper argues that Sri Lankan landscape provides unique locations for Buddhist divine understanding, which is ordinary in everyday life experiences and place concepts. It is revealed that these places as specific examples of compositions of Buddhist under- standing with natural landscape and divine experience of natural landscape with mythical landscape in a variety of ways, resulting natural–cultural–architectural places bounded by cultural performances. These kinds of place understanding reflect ontological relationships developed between people, nature and their designs (settlements) rather than as traditional or modern.
    [Show full text]
  • Fte1^^ Lltrerar^
    THE IMPACT OF SOME HA HA YANA CONCEPTS ON SINHALESE BUDDHISM Wisid>'Spet>i^4r'-fte1^^ Lltrerar^ Soirrees up to t-hc FifiHtsTitli Century By Sangapala Arachchige Hemalatha Goonatilake Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London ProQuest Number: 11010415 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010415 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346 Abstract This study attempts to examine the influence of some specific Mahayana concepts on Sinhalese Buddhism. The first chapter serves as a historical backdrop to the inflow of various non-orthodox movements into Ceylon and records the continuous impact of the Maha­ yana on the Theravada from the earliest times. The second chapter deals with the development of the con­ cept of the threefold bodhi and examines in some detail the way in which the goal of Ceylon Buddhism shifted from the Theravada arahantship to the Mahayana ideal of Buddhahood. Furthermore it suggests that this new ideal was virtually absorbed into Ceylon Buddhism. The next chapter discusses the Mahayana doctrines of trlkaya, vajrakaya .
    [Show full text]
  • Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects
    Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects Edited by Albertina Nugteren Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Religions www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects Special Issue Editor Albertina Nugteren MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editor Albertina Nugteren Tilburg University The Netherlands Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) from 2018 to 2019 (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special issues/Ritual) For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03897-752-0 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03897-753-7 (PDF) c 2019 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. Contents About the Special Issue Editor ...................................... vii Preface to ”Religion, Ritual and Ritualistic Objects” ......................... ix Albertina Nugteren Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Religion, Ritual, and Ritualistic Objects’ Reprinted from: Religions 2019, 10, 163, doi:10.3390/rel10030163 ..................
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Press Coverage on Religious Freedom
    UNDERSTANDING PRESS COVERAGE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 1 UNDERSTANDING PRESS COVERAGE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM INTRODUCTION Ethno-religious violence has been a growing problem in post-war Sri Lanka. Events in Mawanella (2001),1 Gintota (2017),2 Aluthgama (2014)3 and most recently in Digana (2018)4 demonstrate the extent and frequency of this type of violence. This report is the fourth in a series of reports prepared by Verité Research (VR) for Minor Matters. These reports examine how the print media reports on religious freedom in Sri Lanka. They aim to analyse the frequency and tonality of coverage in various newspapers in English, Sinhala and Tamil to provide both quantitative and qualitative insights. The press coverage is assessed by observing press articles in terms of their sentiment on religious freedom, i.e. supporting, neutral or opposing. This sentiment analysis is based on an assessment of two components: a) news grading, in which the substance of the news article/content is analysed, and b) view grading, in which the tonality of the coverage, pictures, and any other additional cues used to position sentiment regarding the news item, are analysed. The present report also qualitatively analyses articles related to religious freedom within the context of broader themes such as physical violence towards people and property; inflammatory speech; court cases, laws and regulations pertaining to religious freedom; religious inequality and discrimination; and other related reporting relevant to religious freedom. Newspaper summaries that have a bearing on religious freedom are listed in chronological order at the end of the report. 1 G.H. Peiris, A reappraisal of evidence and claims.
    [Show full text]