I spent time today at an unusual temple...
There are 4 Hindu temples that were created to protect the Buddha's tooth enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth (which I wrote about the other day).
These temples are small and adjacent to the Temple of the Tooth. In between these temples are Bodhi trees which have been enshrined. The tree themselves are the objects of veneration.
The base of the trees are surrounded on four sides by white walls with a small Buddha shrine on each of the 4 sides.
The largest tree was the temple where I spent a number of hours. It was very peaceful and beautiful there (as I find so much in Sri Lanka is).
People were circumambulating the tree while carrying pots of water. Some of the people sprinkled a jasmine flowers into the pots of water, which were offered to the tree.
Flowers, drinks and fruit were also placed as offerings. When I first arrived a large number of monkeys were feasting on the offerings for breakfast!
Beneath the tree was an area that had coarse sand on the ground and some benches. People, all Sri Lankan, were sitting in this area beneath the massive tree. More than half of the people were women, many in white.
Some of the people were meditating, some were chanting, some were praying and some were simply sitting.
A fair number of the people had Pali chant books written in Sinhala. It was interesting to hear people chanting in Pali while I was looking at these chant books. Pali is an oral language and is written down phonetically so can be easily "translated" into any language.
Occasionally some westerners would come and look at the tree fairly quickly and leave. As was the case at the Temple of the Tooth I was the only westerner sitting, meditating and just being with the tree.
It was an idyllic way to spend my day. Something very touching about witnessing people worshiping a tree, making water offerings and expressing their devotion in a gentle way.
These temples are small and adjacent to the Temple of the Tooth. In between these temples are Bodhi trees which have been enshrined. The tree themselves are the objects of veneration.
The base of the trees are surrounded on four sides by white walls with a small Buddha shrine on each of the 4 sides.
The largest tree was the temple where I spent a number of hours. It was very peaceful and beautiful there (as I find so much in Sri Lanka is).
People were circumambulating the tree while carrying pots of water. Some of the people sprinkled a jasmine flowers into the pots of water, which were offered to the tree.
Flowers, drinks and fruit were also placed as offerings. When I first arrived a large number of monkeys were feasting on the offerings for breakfast!
Beneath the tree was an area that had coarse sand on the ground and some benches. People, all Sri Lankan, were sitting in this area beneath the massive tree. More than half of the people were women, many in white.
Some of the people were meditating, some were chanting, some were praying and some were simply sitting.
A fair number of the people had Pali chant books written in Sinhala. It was interesting to hear people chanting in Pali while I was looking at these chant books. Pali is an oral language and is written down phonetically so can be easily "translated" into any language.
Occasionally some westerners would come and look at the tree fairly quickly and leave. As was the case at the Temple of the Tooth I was the only westerner sitting, meditating and just being with the tree.
It was an idyllic way to spend my day. Something very touching about witnessing people worshiping a tree, making water offerings and expressing their devotion in a gentle way.
1 comment:
Hi Sister!
Thanks so much for writing these...I love them and please don't stop describing your adventures!
I love you,
Bro
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