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Poson Poya
Poson, also known as Poson Poya, is an annual festival held by Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrating the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important Poya (full moon) holiday of the year and the second most important Buddhist holiday of the year, being surpassed in importance by Vesak. Poson is celebrated throughout the island, with the most important ceremonies of the festival being held in Anuradhapura and Mihintale. The festival is held in early June, coinciding with the June full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180°). This means .... Festival Poson is celebrated to commemorate the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda in 236 BC. The focal point of the religious festival is the Buddhist monastic complex on the mountain o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aluthgama
Aluthgama ( si, අලුත්ගම, translit=Alutgama; ta, அளுத்கமை, translit=Aḷutkamai) is a coastal town in Kalutara District in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Aluthgama is situated on the southern bank of the Bentota Ganga (River) mouth. The main income is from tourism and banking. It is the birthplace of the celebrated singer and composer Nanda Malini. History The history of Aluthgama dates back to the 13th century. A messenger poem, "Thisara Sandesha", written in 1366 mentions the beauty of Aluthgama. Education * Aluthgama Maha Vidyalaya ( Mix School) up to A/L * Sangamiththa Balika (Ladies College) up to O/L only Transport Aluthgama is located on the Coastal or Southern Rail Line (connecting Colombo through to Matara). It is also located on the A2 highway, connecting Colombo to Wellawaya. Following the construction of the Southern Expressway (E01) between Colombo and Galle, Aluthgama h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes typical cases of glocalization, as well as the high culture-low culture interrelationship. Next to religion and folklore, a significant origin is agricultural. Food is such a vital resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn, such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the southern. Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanking to the gods, goddesses or saints: they are called patronal festivals. They may also provide entertainment, which was particularly important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism In Sri Lanka
Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ethnic groups. Sri Lankan Buddhists share many similarities with Southeast Asian Buddhists, specifically Myanmar Buddhists and Thai Buddhists due to traditional and cultural exchange. Sri Lanka is one of five nations with a Theravada Buddhist majority. Buddhism has been declared as the state religion under Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution which can be traced back to an attempt to bring the status of Buddhism back to the status it enjoyed prior to the colonial era. Proselytizing from Buddhism has been illegal in Sri Lanka since 2009, due to the increase in conversions to Catholicism, however converting into Buddhism is highly encouraged by the government to be considered a person of Sinhalese origin. Sri Lanka is one of the oldest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; " taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poya
Poya is the name given to the Lunar monthly Buddhist holiday of Uposatha in Sri Lanka, where it is a civil and bank holiday. Full moon day is normally considered as the poya day in every month. Poya A Poya occurs every full moon."Sri Lanka Bank Holidays, Public Holidays & Full Moon Poya Days" (Online Calendar for years 2003–2011), Ministry of Public Administration and home Affairs, Independence Square, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. Uposatha is important to Buddhists all around the world, who have adopted the for their religious observances. Owing to the moon's fullness of size as well as its effulgence, the full moon day is treated as the most auspicious o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vesak
Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Nibbāna), and death (Parinibbāna, Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism and Navayana. The name ''Vesak'' is derived from the Pali term ' or Sanskrit ' for the lunar month of Vaisakha, which is considered the month of Buddha's birth. In Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit name (Vaiśākha) and derived variants of it. In the East Asian tradition, a celebration of Buddha's Birthday typically occurs around the traditional timing of Vesak, while the Buddha's awakening and passing away are celebrated as separate holidays that occur at other times in the calendar as Bodhi Day and Parinirvana Day, Nibbāna Day. In the South Asian tradition, where Ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the current capital of Colombo in the North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu River. The city is now a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhalese civilization. While Mahavamsa place the founding of the city in 437 BCE, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. It is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilization, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. Moreover, It was the first capit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mihintale
Mihintale is a mountain peak near Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It is now a pilgrimage site, and the site of several religious monuments and abandoned structures. History Approximately east of Anuradhapura, close to the Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Road is situated the "Missaka Pabbata" which is in height and is one of the peaks of a mountainous range. According to Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, Thera Mahinda came to Sri Lanka from India on the full moon day of the month of Poson (June) and met King Devanampiyatissa and preached the Buddhist doctrine. The traditional spot where this meeting took place is revered by the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. Therefore, in the month of Poson, Buddhists make their pilgrimage to Anuradhapura and Mihintale. Mahinda was the son of Emperor Ashoka of India. King Ashoka embraced B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Full Moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opposition (astronomy), differ by 180°). This means that the lunar hemisphere facing Earth—the near side of the Moon, near side—is completely sunlit and appears as an approximately circular disk. The full moon occurs roughly once a month. The time interval between a full moon and the next repetition of the same phase, a Lunar month#Synodic month, synodic month, averages about 29.53 days. Therefore, in those lunar calendars in which each month begins on the day of the new moon, the full moon falls on either the 14th or 15th day of the lunar month. Because a calendar month consists of a Natural number, whole number of days, a month in a lunar calendar may be either 29 or 30 days long. Characteristics A full moon is often thought of as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahinda (Buddhist Monk)
Arahat Mahinda ( si, මිහිඳු මහරහතන් වහන්සේ) was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the first-born son and Prince of the 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka The Great from his wife Devi and the elder brother of Princess Sanghamitra. Mahinda was sent as a Buddhist missionary to the Anuradhapura Kingdom in Sri Lanka. Mahinda attained the title of an arhat and resided at Mihintale. He played an important role in proliferating Buddhism throughout the Indian subcontinent. Historical sources The Dipavansa and the Mahavansa, Sri Lanka's two great religious chronicles, contain accounts of Mahinda travelling to Sri Lanka and converting King Devanampiyatissa. These are the primary sources for accounts of his life and deeds. Inscriptions and literary references also establish that Buddhism became prevalent in Sri Lanka around the 3rd century BCE, the period when Mahinda lived. The inscription in Raj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Holidays
This is a list of holidays celebrated within the Buddhist tradition. List *Vesak: The Buddha's birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the first full moon day in May, or the fourth lunar month which usually occurs in May or during a lunar leap year, June. In some countries this has become an occasion to not only celebrate the birth but also the enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha. *Parinirvana Day: also known as Nirvana Day, a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines usually on February 15. *Magha Puja: Magha Pujwronga is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls in February or March) * Buddha Jayanti: In South Korea, the Philippines, and China, it is celebrated in April 8 in Lunar calendar. Also known as "Hanamatsuri", it is celebrated April 8. In Japan, baby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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