Sri Lankan Forest Tradition
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Sri Lankan Forest Monks' Tradition claims a long history. As the oldest
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Buddhist 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 ...
country in the world, several forest traditions and lineages had been existed, disappeared and re-emerged circularly in Sri Lanka. The current forest traditions and lineages in Sri Lanka have been influenced by the Burmese and
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
traditions which descend from the ancient Indian and
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 ...
n traditions.


Historical background


Establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka

After the era of the Indian Emperor Asoka, India lost her place as the Theravada Buddhist center of the world. It is said that emperor Asoka and his advisor monks predicted this would happen and organized a Theravada Buddhist Mission to nine countries in Asia. As a result of this mission, the great arahant Mahinda who was the son of emperor Asoka was sent to Sri Lanka in order to establish Buddha Sasana (message of the
Lord Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
) with a group consisting of six
arahants In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
called Ittiya, Uttiya, Sambala, Bhaddasala, Novice Sumana (Sumana Samanera) and anagami layman Bhanduka (Bhanduka Upasaka). The King Devanampiya Tissa who was the king of Sri Lanka at that period met this group and accepted Buddhism and declared Buddhism as the state religion of Sri Lanka. The vice king Arittha who was the cousin of King Devanampiya Tissa was the first Buddhist monk of Sri Lanka who was called as arahant Upatissa. One year Later the emperor Asoka decided to send another group to Sri Lanka in order to establish a Buddhist Nuns' order ( Bhikkhuni order) in Sri Lanka. The leader of this group was the daughter of the emperor Asoka who was the great arahant nun Sanghmitta. In addition, eighteen groups of technical people which were dedicated for Buddhist cultural works were sent with arahant Sanghamitta in order to strengthen the established Buddhist Lineage in Sri Lanka.


History of Theravada Lineages

Since the first days of the establishment of a Theravada Buddhist Lineage in Sri Lanka, it has remained the main tradition there. After the era of the great Indian emperor Asoka, Sri Lanka was the global epicenter of the Theravada tradition. The
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
(Theravada Tripitaka), which was preserved and conveyed by memorization and recitation, was first written in Sri Lanka at the Aluvihara in Matale. Almost all the early commentaries of Dhamma ( Attha Katha) were written in Sri Lanka. The popular commentary writer Bhiikku
Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
was able to translate Sri Lankan commentaries which had been written in
Sinhala Language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 milli ...
into the
Pali Language Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
during the
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 ...
era. When other Theravada countries such as
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
(Thailand) and Ramanna (Part of Burma/Myanmar) lost their monastic lineage, Sri Lankan monks were sent to re-establish the Upasampada monks' lineage during the period of the
Polonnaruwa Kingdom The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa ( si, පොළොන්නරුව රාජධානිය, Polonnaruwa Rājādhaniya) was the Sinhalese kingdom that expanded across the island of Sri Lanka and several overseas territories, from 1070 until 1232. T ...
in Sri Lanka. Later, in the 17th century CE, the Upasampada Lineage had disappeared in Sri Lanka due to attacks and the subsequent domination of Western intruders. A novice monk, Weliwita Saranamkara, brought Upasampada from Siam (Thailand) and was able to reestablish the lineage in Sri Lanka. During the 18th century several monks were able to again bring new Upasampada lineages from
Amarapura Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...
(a part of Burma/Myanmar) and Ramanna (a part of Burma/Myanmar). Today three main Theravada Nikayas (Lineages) such as Siam Niakaya,
Amarapura Nikaya Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...
,
Ramanna Nikaya ''Ramanaa'' is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, stars Vijayakanth, Ashima Bhalla and Simran in lead roles. The film is about a man named Ramana who decides to abolish corruption com ...
are dominant in Sri Lanka: Siyam Nikaya is the lineage from Siam, Amarapura Nikaya is the lineage from Amarapura and the Ramanna Nikaya is the lineage from Ramanna.


Forest Traditions


Forest monks and monasteries

In the early days, the forest traditions were affiliated either with the Great Monastery
Mahavihara Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas. Mahaviharas of India A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ...
in Anuradhapura or with other main ancient monasteries such as
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 ...
,
Ritigala Ritigala is a mountain in central Sri Lanka which is home to an ancient Buddhist monastery. The ruins and rock inscriptions of the monastery date back to 1st century BCE. It is located away from the ancient monastic city of Anuradhapura. Riti ...
,
Dimbulagala Dimbulagala also known as Gunner's Quoin or Gunner's Rock during the British colonial period, is a rock formation in the Polonnaruwa District of Sri Lanka. By the time anthropologist Charles Gabriel Seligman visited the location in 1911, a cave wi ...
, Situlpawwa. Many ruins and caves of ancient forest monasteries can be seen in the large forest areas of
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 ...
,
Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...
,
Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...
,
Tissamaharama Tissamaharama ( si, තිස්සමහාරාමය , ta, திஸ்ஸமஹாராம) is a town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. History It was the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3r ...
, Situlpawwa and
Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...
and all over the island. Sri Lanka was then the center of
Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
as well as the Theravada forest tradition in the world. Many stories about ancient forest monks are recorded in the Pali Atthakata and
Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and syst ...
. Currently the largest forest sect in Sri Lanka is the Sri Kalyani Yogashrama Samstha (Galduva Sect) of
Rāmañña Nikāya Rāmañña Nikāya ( pi, label=none, script=sinh, රාමඤ්ඤ නිකාය, also spelled Ramanya Nikaya) was one of the three major Buddhist orders in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1864 when Ambagahawatte Saranankara, returned to Sri ...
of
Amarapura–Rāmañña Nikāya The Amarapura–Rāmañña Nikāya ( si, අමරපුර–රාමඤ්ඤ සාමග්‍රී මහා සංඝ සභාව, Amarapura–Rāmañña Sāmagrī Mahā Saṁgha Sabhāva) is the larger of the two Buddhist Buddh ...
. In addition, several other sects such as Vaturuvila, Polgasduva continue to have several forest monasteries.


Preserving Pure Upasampada

The validity of upasampada (high-ordination) of the monks is considered to be weaken if the monks become less respecting towards the
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
(monastic discipline) and Vinaya-kammas (disciplinary procedures) in Buddhist monkhood. The ordination is considered to be invalid, if the upasampada-kamma (high-ordination procedure) was not done properly according to the texts. Ancient forest monks were considered to be well aware of this and have been protecting the validity of upasampada in the main three Theravada countries up until the period of
Amarapura Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...
forest monks in Burma. During the 19th century, two groups of Sri Lankan monks were considered to be borrowed the trustworthy-upasampada from
Amarapura Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...
forest monks in Burma, and established the
Amarapura Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...
and Ramanna Nikayas of Sri Lanka. When these two Nikayas were considered slowly becoming lax in higher Vinaya,
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
was established by a group of
Ramanna Nikaya ''Ramanaa'' is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, stars Vijayakanth, Ashima Bhalla and Simran in lead roles. The film is about a man named Ramana who decides to abolish corruption com ...
monks lead by Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera, in order to preserve the forest Vinaya lineage further.


Notable contemporary monks


Ambagahawatte Indrasabhawara Gnanasami Maha Thera Most Ven. Ambagahawatte Indrasabhawara Gnanasami Maha Thera ( si, අතිපූජ්‍ය අඹගහවත්තේ ඉන්ද්‍රාසභවර ඤාණසාමි මහා ථේර; legal name: Cornelis Madanayake) was the ...

Founder of Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya in 1864 by bringing pure Upasampada from Ratnapunna Vihara in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and joining with group of monks who brought pure Upasampada from Kalyani
Sima Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (surname) Places * Sima, Comoros, on the island of Anjouan, near Madagascar * Sima de los Huesos, a cav ...
in Burma and from Dhammayut Nikaya in Thailand. His intention was to re-establish a pure Vinaya lineage in Sri Lanka.


Puwakdandawe Paññānanda Maha Thera

Brought pure Upasampada from Kalyani
Sima Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (surname) Places * Sima, Comoros, on the island of Anjouan, near Madagascar * Sima de los Huesos, a cav ...
of Burma and joined with the
Ambagahawatte Indrasabhawara Gnanasami Maha Thera Most Ven. Ambagahawatte Indrasabhawara Gnanasami Maha Thera ( si, අතිපූජ්‍ය අඹගහවත්තේ ඉන්ද්‍රාසභවර ඤාණසාමි මහා ථේර; legal name: Cornelis Madanayake) was the ...
in order to establish Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya. He was considered the pioneer of forest dwellers in Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya. Some of his lineage's successor monks joined
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
and some of them remain in Delduva sect of Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya.


Vaturuvila Gnanananda MahaThera

Founder monk of Vaturuvila Vanavasa sect of Siyam Nikaya.


Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera

Being the founder of
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
in 1951 as a reform movement during the
Buddha Jayanti Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Prince ...
(B.E. 2500) festival years, his intention has been to protect the pure
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
lineage in Sri Lanka.


Matara Sri Nanarama Maha Thera

Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera Most Ven. Matara Sri Nanarama Maha Thera (December 11, 1901 – April 30, 1992) (spelled Ñāṇārāma in Pali, sometimes called Gnanarama in Sinhala, Sinhala: අති පූජ්‍ය මාතර ශ්‍රී ඤාණාරාම ...
who is considered to be the father of the Sri Lankan modern forest meditation tradition, was a researcher of old Sri Lankan vipassana meditation methods and have been influenced by Burmese Mahasi Vipassana Method. Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thera, Hikkaduve Dhammasila Mahathera, Migoda Sanghsobhana Maha Thera and Greek Nyanadassana Maha Thera are several of his close students.


Matale Silarakkhita Maha Thera

The founder of Ruwangirikanda forest monastery who later joined with
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
. Natagane forest monastery and Budugallena forest monastery were re-established under Silarakkhita Maha Thera.


Madawala Dhammatilaka Maha Thera

The first abbot of Nimalawa forest monastery after joining with
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
.


Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thera

A student of late venerable Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera who was believed to be a having exceptional memory and restraint.


Welimada Dhammadassi Maha Thera

A student of Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera and Matara Sri Nanarama Maha Thera who is the current abbot of the Nimalawa forest monastery.


Hikkaduve Dhammasila Maha Thera

A student of Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera and Matara Sri Nanarama Maha Thera who compiled the
Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
manual of
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
and is the current abbot of the Beralihela Forest Monastery.


Foreign monks

* Gree
Nyanadassana
Maha Thera


Contemporary forest monasteries

Some of the widely known forest monasteries, among the large number of monasteries scattered throughout the island are listed below.


Nimalawa Forest Monastery

One of the ancient forest monasteries where the arahant Dhammadinna was considered to be resided. It was re-established as the first forest monastery of
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
in 1951 by Kadawedduwe Jinavamsa Maha Thera.


Na Uyana Forest Monastery

Na Uyana Aranya Nā Uyana Aranya Senāsanaya ( Sinhala: නා උයන ආරණ්‍ය සේනාසනය, meaning 'Ironwood Grove Forest Monastery') is a Buddhist forest monastery in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, associated with the Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Sams ...
is situated in the North Western Province and affiliated to
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
and
Pa-Auk Forest Monastery The Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, known in Burmese as the Pa-Auk Tawya (), is a Theravāda monastery in the village of Pa-Auk in Mawlamyine, Mon State. Situated in a tropical forest along the Dawna Range, it is the main monastery complex and meditat ...
in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
.


Tanjantenna Forest and Monastery

A group of isolated caves and huts scattered throughout Balangoda forest areas in which both local and foreign monks reside and practice meditation. Bhaddekavihari Forest Monastery which serves as the central meeting place, sick ward and the Uposatha sima for the local and foreign monks dwell in nearby forests, is considered to be the central meeting place of the dwelling monks. Affiliated to
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
.


Kudumbigala Forest Monastery

An ancient monastery in Kumana forest sanctuary which is famous for its isolated environment and beautiful landscapes which was re-established by late Thambugala Anandasiri Mahathera.


International Institute of Theravada - IIT Forest Monastery

Newly established monk-training monastery at Karuwalagaswewa, bordering the forest sanctuary of
Wilpattu National Park Wilpattu National Park (''Willu-pattu'', "Land of Lakes") is a national park in Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (natural lakes) – natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. ...
. Affiliated to
Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Sansthā ( pi, Siri Kalyāṇī Yogassama Santhā, si, ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී ‍යෝගාශ්‍රම සංස්ථාව), also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part ...
.


References


External links


Buddhist Forest Monasteries and Meditation Centers in Sri Lanka
{{Buddhism in Sri Lanka Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka