A Bus Tour of Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle
Our last visit to Sri Lanka had been in 1983. Eighteen years of terrorism and civil war affect people in both dramatic and subtle ways. At the airport we felt a weariness after the long struggle with the Tamil Tigers. Downtown we sensed wariness, natural after so many horrific suicide bombings. Things and people might not be what they seem, so everyone was alert and suspicious. A taxi driver told us that after he had driven a group of Japanese tourists to the airport several years earlier, he heard explosions. A plane was blown up, killing many of his passengers. It was certainly understandable after all the conflict that Sri Lanka felt less civil and hospitable than before.

With barricades, check points, and police everywhere, downtown Colombo lacked the bustle we'd remembered, but our hotel was resplendent. Twenty years ago, it was called Taprobane. We had enjoyed delicious vegetarian meals in the dining room overlooking the harbor. We had recognized the elegant wooden interior of the elevator in our friends' wedding photos. On previous trips, we had stayed in cheap guest houses, but we have aged. When we found that it was considerably less expensive than many business hotels in the United States, we made the reservations before we left home. It is called Grand Oriental now. The elevator is the same; the service impeccable, and once we established that we wanted Sri Lankan breakfast, rather than eggs and toast, the food was great. Hoppers and kirihode can't be beat! Our room with a canopy bed and stone floor was the most elegant we have ever stayed in.

MahaThupa in Anuradhapura

Our purpose in visiting Sri Lanka was twofold. We wanted to meet Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, whom we corresponded with but never met. As President and Editor of Buddhist Publication Society, he had accepted the Jataka Tales we'd retold for publication. We also wanted to meet the Khmer monks studying in Sri Lanka supported by Buddhist Relief Mission. In Bangkok we had met Shan monks from Burma who suggested we see Shan monks in Colombo. As soon as we arrived, we arranged to meet the Khmer monks at the temple where they studied English with Ms. Dissanayake, who helps them in many ways. Happily, the Khmer monks also knew the Shan monks. Furthermore, Kelaniya University, where most of them were studying, was on strike. Since they were free, we suggested a pilgrimage to the Cultural Triangle. Diffidently, the monks asked how many we could take. "If a car is too small," we suggested, "we could get a van." We were surprised and delighted to learn that fifteen monks wanted to join us. A mini-bus was quickly arranged.


Two days later we left Colombo for a glorious eight-day pilgrimage. Our first stop was Kelaniya. The temple was beautiful, and we were grateful to have the monks explain the historical murals to us. This helped us understand the Sri Lankan history which is preserved in the Cultural Triangle.

The road to Kandy, capital of the kingdom before the British colonized the island, was the best in the country. Nevertheless, our bus averaged only 40 kilometers per hour. Our driver was cautious and competent, so we relaxed. We passed the time getting to know the monks, with self-introductions, reminiscent of adult classes we had taught in Japan years before. Their levels of English were not the same, but even the less fluent monks expressed their enthusiasm for the pilgrimage.

In Kandy, they settled in at the Burmese temple before we met to go to the evening puja at the Temple of the Tooth, the most sacred shrine in Sri Lanka. Security had been greatly tightened since our last visit. A few years earlier, when terrorists attacked the temple, explosions had damaged some portions of the building, but, fortunately, the chamber enshrining the sacred relic was unharmed. Whereas the temple doors had been wide open before, we now had to enter single file with one door for men and another for women. All bags were searched, and we were frisked.

The walls inside the temple are superbly painted. Although many people were waiting, there was no crowding. Suddenly, the stillness was broken by drums announcing the approach of the monks to open the relic chamber. The drummers were joined by a shrill horn. This music, unique to Sri Lanka, continued as worshipers respectfully filed up the stairs, entered the chamber, and paid respects before the ornate reliquary containing the Tooth of Buddha.

The next day we visited the office of the Buddhist Publication Society beside the lake. In addition to selecting books for ourselves, we offered new translations of the Long Discourses and the Middle Length Discourses to each group of monks. Reboarding our bus, we headed for the simple hermitage where Bhikkhu Bodhi resided. Soon we were deep in the forest, a national park, which is within the city of Kandy.

The monks were thrilled to meet Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi and to have commemorative photos taken with him. They knew his name and his scholarly translations, of course, but none had met him before. He asked them about their studies and their home countries. He also assured us that BPS remained interested in publishing a large collection of Jataka Tales, so we should continue our work. We were glad to learn that we would be seeing him again in Mysore for the celebration of Ven. Acharya Buddharakkhita's eightieth birthday

Ven. Bhikkhiu Bodhi with all the monks in front of his hermitage
From Kandy we proceeded to Polunnaruwa, the medieval capital of the Sinhalese kingdom. The temple remains show traces of beautiful carving. We saw several examples of a unique style of architecture called vatatage, a stupa under a roof supported by a ring of stone pillars. None of the roofs have survived, but seeing the magnificent Buddha images we could imagine the grandeur of the original structures.

Vatatage in Polunnaruwa
The most impressive monuments in Polunnaruwa are at Gal Vihar. This complex includes three superb statues carved into the living rock of a jungle hillside. The largest is the 14-meter (46-foot) reclining Buddha. One feels compelled to sit in quiet contemplation before this beautiful image. Just as in Kushinara, you feel that you are in the presence of Buddha at the moment of passing away.

Reclining image at Gal Vihar

At Buddha's head is a standing image with arms crossed. Some say that this is Buddha. Others claim that, since Buddha would never be shown with arms crossed, it must represent Ananda. Though none of the monks had seen this image before, they were aware of the debate from their history of art classes. One Khmer monk was certain that the image represented Ananda. To encourage discussion, we played the advocate for its being the Buddha. For the duration of the pilgrimage, talk returned to this controversy. Later in Dambulla, we found an image of Buddha with crossed arms. Was this another example of the same mudra or simply a copy of the Gal Vihar image? In a small temple we visited on our way back to Colombo we found a painting of Buddha contemplating the Bodhi tree. Though the painting was damaged and dimly lit, his arms were indeed crossed.

Standing image at Gal Vihar
Most of the monks had been to Anuradhpura, since this is the site of the sacred Bodhi tree so important to all pilgrims. None, however, had ever had the time for worship at all the important places or for a leisurely stroll through the ruins. The walk to the Thuparama, past the enormous MahaThupa, and on to the Bodhi tree was fatiguing for Visakha, and she was ready to stop when a man approached and said that a wheelchair was available. It was an old one, but still functional, and she was able to ride to the Bodhi tree and back.

The MahaBodhi tree inspired great reverence. There too, security was much tighter than twenty years before, due to a terrorist attack on pilgrims a few years earlier.

Young leaves on the MahaBodhi Tree
We spent half a day at Mihintale, the place where King Devampiyatissa encountered Ven. Mahinda, the son of King Asoka, who had carried Buddha'a teaching to Ceylon. One highlight there was the rock cave where Ven. Mahinda had often meditated. None of the monks had been there before. The path up was long, but occasional signs pointed onward. Finally, we reached the cave perched on the edge of a high cliff overlooking the countryside. It was a quiet and pleasing spot. The polished floor of the cave was protected by a wire fence, but one could imagine sitting there beneath the drip ledge, protected from both sun and rain.

The standing image at Aukana is very impressive. We had seen it on our last visit, but at that time it was enclosed by an ugly brick arch. Now it stands free, with the morning sun shining fully on the face. Though neither as large nor as ancient, the Aukana image reminded us of the enormous stone Buddhas of Bamiyan, demolished by the Taliban.

Monks standing in front of the MahaBodhi Tree
The climb to the Dambulla caves is rugged. The pilgrim must climb hundreds of stairs and over the rocky face of the mountain. The remoteness, however, has certainly helped to protect the magnificent paintings inside. The walls and ceilings of the caves are entirely covered with murals depicting the life of Buddha. Happily, the paintings were unchanged, but security much tighter than before. Photography was prohibited, but we had taken hundreds of photos on our first trip. Some of the paintings illustrate incidents from the life of Buddha which we have never seen anywhere else, including Buddha's last meal, offered by the blacksmith Cunda and the stupas built by the eight kings to enshrine Buddha's relics.
n most places the monks were able to stay in monasteries. In Anuradhapura there is a Burmese monastery, but it had been unoccupied for some time. The monks had to chase out the monkeys and clean up after them. The monastery stands inside the sacred (and restricted) area, but we got special permission for our bus to enter, so that the monks would not have so far to walk.

It was a joy to be able to serve lunch to the monks. Every day was a different place, sometimes simple, sometimes special. Once we asked our guide to buy durian so we could offer it at lunch. The meals were so substantial that, although we were not keeping eight precepts, we never needed supper, which gave us more time to enjoy the pilgrimage.

Returning to Colombo, as a final English exercise, we asked them to express their reactions. The older students were happy to have seen what they had been studying, and the younger monks were looking forward to studying in depth what they had just experienced.

Serving lunch to the monks
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