Theravāda Buddhism

A social history from ancient Benares to modern Colombo, Richard F. Gombrich, Routledge (2006)

Acknowledgments and recommendations for further reading

The author praises the Pali Canon, its commentaries, and modern scholarly works on Theravāda Buddhism.
Key influential works and authors include:
- Walpola Rahula (What the Buddha taught, History of Buddhism in Ceylon)
- Mohan Wijayaratna (Le moine bouddhiste selon les textes du Theravāda)
- Michael Carrithers (The Forest Monks of Sri Lanka)
- R.A.L.H. Gunawardana (Robe and Plough)
- Kitsiri Malalgoda (Buddhism in Sinhalese Society 1750-1900)
- Heinz Bechert (Buddhismus, Staat und Gesellschaft in den Ländern des Theravada Buddhismus)
- Gananath Obeyesekere (‘Religious Symbolism and Political Change in Ceylon’)
Special acknowledgment to Ven. Dr Rahula for fundamental understanding of Buddhism and to Kitsiri Malalgoda for contributions to chapter 7.
Gratitude to Gananath Obeyesekere for use of joint research in chapter 8.
T.W. Rhys Davids is mentioned as a “patron saint” of Buddhist studies.
Thanks to Steven Collins, Lance Cousins, David Gellner, Mohan Wijayaratna, and Paul Williams for criticism and advice.
Thanks to the Instituut voor Oosterse Talen of Utrecht University.

Preface to the second edition

The author has gained deeper understanding of early Buddhism, particularly Buddha’s teachings, since the first edition.
The author’s discovery of the Buddha’s date (Enlightenment c. 445 BCE) has minimal impact on the book’s content.
Increased understanding of Buddha’s ideas within the Vedic tradition, crediting Prof. Joanna Jurewicz for insights on rebirth in the Ṛg Veda and the Chain of Dependent Origination.
Changes in the second edition are primarily in the first three chapters (reflecting new understanding) and the final chapter (updated for current events).
The Sri Lankan civil war (began July 1983) is noted as ongoing and its resolution viewed pessimistically (as of January 2006).
Globalization’s impact on Sri Lankan Buddhism is considered negligible, possibly fostering more inward-looking and chauvinistic trends.
The ordination of women is an area affected by globalization but faces resistance.
The author generally avoids polemics but addresses Bailey and Mabbett’s The Sociology of Early Buddhism with a note on the over-determination of religious change.
Recommends Gananath Obeyesekere’s Imagining Karma for its discussion of early Buddhist karma theory and the ethicization of rebirth in India.

1 Introduction

A. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

Buddhists take refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dhamma (Doctrine/Truth/Law), and the Sangha (monastic Order), which defines a Buddhist.
Gotama Buddha was a human who attained Enlightenment in the 5th century BCE; he is the most recent in a series of Buddhas who realize and preach the eternal Truth (Dhamma). This account primarily refers to the Theravāda tradition.
The Sangha, founded by Gotama Buddha, preserves the Buddha’s Teaching. It primarily refers to ordained monks in Theravāda countries (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand). The female ordination tradition was lost in Theravāda.
Sāsana refers to Buddhism as a historical phenomenon or Teaching.
Theravāda (“Doctrine of the Elders”) is a conservative branch of Buddhism, prevalent in Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia, using Pali as its sacred language and the Pali Canon (Tipitaka) as scripture.
The Pali Canon (Tipitaka) consists of three “baskets”: Vinaya Pitaka (monastic discipline), Sutta Pitaka (sermons), and Abhidhamma Pitaka (scholastic philosophy). Important ancillary literature includes commentaries and Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhi-magga.
Non-Pali literature includes some Sanskrit works and popular religious texts in local languages.
Terminology: ‘Ceylon’ used for pre-1972, ‘Sri Lanka’ thereafter. ‘Sinhala’ for the language. Distinctions made for ‘vinaya’/‘Vinaya’ and ‘nikāya’/‘Nikāya’.

Writing a social history of religion is a modern, Western, and potentially problematic enterprise, as many view religion as timeless truth unfit for empirical study.
Religions with human founders (like Buddhism) have historical awareness, producing chronicles (e.g., Sangha chronicles in Ceylon).
Social history seeks explanations beyond individual conscious decisions, aiming for metaphysical neutrality and not necessarily invalidating beliefs by showing their historical context. The author accepts the role of chance and free will.
Religious innovation occurs within existing traditions; innovators like the Buddha use the language of their time. Innovations require acceptance to endure.
New religious ideas gain acceptance if they offer better solutions to current problems (cognitive, ethical, social, etc.). Religions often address suffering and evil with general solutions allowing varied interpretations.
The author critiques Marxist materialism (base determines superstructure) for neglecting inertia, being untestable, and offering poor explanations for religious variety.
Weber’s theory (elective affinity between religion and socio-economic conditions) is more plausible but still too focused on the religion-economy link.
The author views cultural areas (e.g., economics, religion) as having partial autonomy, with religious ideas influenced by social circumstances and internal traditions. Major religious change is often over-determined, and ambiguity can be a strength.
Unintended consequences of actions and words are crucial in history (Popper). The demise of the Theravādin Nuns’ Order due to ordination rules is an example.
The Sangha was a consciously designed institution by the Buddha, not only for followers to practice but also to preserve and spread the Dhamma out of compassion. It was uniquely organized for oral scripture preservation.
Early Buddhist texts (Canon) were transmitted orally with considerable reliability before being written down in the 1st century BCE. The core teachings show coherence suggesting a single genius (Buddha), though biographical details are sparse. Study should include what texts meant to later generations.
Theravāda Buddhism has been doctrinally conservative. Significant changes occurred with its migration to Ceylon (redefining Buddhist identity) and the confrontation with Christianity and modernity in the 19th-20th centuries. Ceylon’s island geography contributed to its conservatism.
Buddhist identity is central:
- For Theravāda Buddhists, “religion” is strictly the path to salvation (nibbāna) by eradicating greed, hatred, and delusion. Worldly concerns, including gods (who cannot grant salvation), are not “religion.”
- The author distinguishes “soteriology” (individual salvation-focused, like Buddhism) from “communal religion” (societal ordering, rituals, life crises, like aspects of Hinduism).
- Buddha preached a soteriology, largely indifferent to communal religion. Theravāda Buddhists historically adopted local communal practices for worldly life, which were not considered part of “Buddhism” (the soteriology).
- This differs from India where multiple soteriologies co-existed. In Sri Lanka/SE Asia, Buddhism became the sole soteriology, often state-patronized.
- Modern Western influence has led some to view “Buddhism” and “Hinduism” as mutually exclusive total identities, unlike the traditional understanding.
- The Buddha was not a social reformer in the modern sense; his aim was individual liberation from worldly suffering, not societal restructuring. He declared social inequalities irrelevant to salvation.
- The Buddha encouraged using one’s judgment (e.g., raft simile), but veneration for the guru led to strong traditionalism in Theravāda (“doctrine of the Elders”).

2 Gotama Buddha’s problem situation

A. VEDIC CIVILIZATION

The Vedic tradition

The Buddha was 80 years old at his death, having left home at 29 and achieved Enlightenment after six years.
Scholarly consensus dates the Buddha’s death to c. 400 BCE (possibly 404 BCE), earlier than the traditional Theravādin date of 544/3 BCE.
The Buddha lived near the end of India’s Vedic period.
‘Vedic’ refers to the literature (śruti, meaning ‘what has been heard’) and the language (Vedic Sanskrit) of that era.
Veda means ‘sacred knowledge’; śruti texts are considered eternally existing, not composed by gods or men.
Ancient Indian religious traditions believe important knowledge was realized long ago and is being forgotten, contrasting with the modern view of ongoing discovery.
Brahmins are a hereditary class with the right and duty to preserve and interpret śruti, forming the basis of their societal authority.
Orthodoxy was defined by accepting śruti and brahminical authority; the Buddha rejected both.
Vedic texts are the primary evidence for the religious life of the period, with little archaeological evidence before the 3rd century BCE.
Vedic literature is stratified into:
- Saṃhitā texts (the four Vedas: Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur, Atharva).
- Brāhmanas (ritual instructions, myths, and justifications).
- Upaniṣads (Vedānta, discussing the mystical and esoteric meaning of rituals).
The Vedic age is divided into an earlier period (c. 1500-c. 1000 BCE) and a latter half (c. 1000-c. 500 BCE), during which the earliest Upaniṣads (e.g., Bṛhad Āranyaka, Chāndogya), to which the Buddha reacted, were created.

The early Vedic period

Indo-Aryans, Sanskrit-speaking pastoralists, entered northwest India around the mid-second millennium BCE.
They gradually settled, began agriculture (barley), and used horses in warfare; cattle were central to their economy.
Indo-Aryans mixed with indigenous populations (Munda or Dravidian speakers), leading to cultural changes and assimilation.
Brahminical ideology of dharma (the world as it ideally is) became the main communal religion, with Vedas as authority and custom as content.
Possession states, where specialists were inhabited by spirits, were important in communal religion; an ancient word for ‘brahmin’, vipra, means ‘quiverer’.
Priests used soma, a substance (possibly ephedra), to alter consciousness during rituals.
Later brahminism devalued possession states, emphasizing control, a point of continuity with Buddhism.
Vedic religion centered on sacrifice (yajña), with fire as a key element, symbolizing man’s conquest of nature, life, and consciousness.
Early Vedic society likely had four main social statuses: priests, rulers, ordinary free people, and slaves.

Later Vedic society

Indo-Aryans became increasingly settled and agricultural, growing rice and barley, with some use of iron for weapons.
The Puruṣa-sūkta hymn (Ṛg Veda X.90) describes society as an organic whole with four hierarchically ranked classes (varṇa):
- Brahmins (mouth): Priests, custodians of Vedas.
- Rājanya/Kṣatriya (arms): Rulers and warriors.
- Vaiśya (thighs): Engaged in economic production (stock-rearing, agriculture).
- Śūdra (feet): Served the other three orders; not permitted to learn the Veda.
The four varṇas (‘colours’) were hereditary status groups, symbolically associated with different colours.
Those outside the varṇa system became ‘outcastes’, living apart and performing degraded roles.
Castes are ideologically viewed as subdivisions of varṇas; hierarchy is expressed through purity and pollution concepts.
Early Ṛg Veda ideas of afterlife involved joining ancestors; later scholarship suggests a belief in rebirth on earth, not conditioned by actions.
The Brāhmanas introduce ‘re-death’ (punar-mṛtyu); ancestors needed nourishment from descendants via rituals to avoid starvation.

Religion in the later Vedic period

Rituals were distinguished as public (mainly by rulers with brahmin priests for realm’s welfare) and domestic.
The king-priest relationship (patron-functionary) became a model for social arrangements.
Upaniṣads suggested understanding a rite’s meaning could be superior to its performance.
While rituals changed slowly, soteriological doctrine and religious sentiment transformed radically towards the end of the Vedic period.
Speculation arose about unifying principles behind the multiplicity of gods and the efficacy of sacrifice.
Two key ideas developed:
- A metaphysical theory of language: Sanskrit (Vedas) profoundly corresponds to reality; brahman is the unifying principle behind Vedas, language, and reality.
- Equivalence of macrocosm (universe) and microcosm (man): The Puruṣa hymn is central; led to the idea ātman (individual soul) = brahman (universal essence).
Upaniṣads taught that failure to understand the underlying unity of phenomena led to perpetual rebirth (samsāra) and suffering.
The solution was gnosis (realization of one’s true nature), leading to the soul merging with brahman at death.
This understanding likely arose from mystical experiences, systematized through self-discipline (yoga).
Yoga involved:
- Mortification (tapas): Extreme austerities, which Buddha tried and rejected.
- Meditation: Stilling discursive thought to achieve an experiential realization of truth.
Yogic traditions aimed for ‘enstasis’ (standing within oneself), contrasted with ‘ecstasy’.
The efficacy of sacrifice shifted from divine will to an inherent causal force (‘adṛṣṭa’) if performed correctly.
The fire sacrifice (yajña) became a prototype for any significant religious act.

Karma and escape from rebirth

Karman (karma), meaning ‘act’, specialized to refer to religiously significant acts (rituals).
The theory of karman proposed that all significant acts, including moral ones, have inevitable consequences. The Buddha fully ethicized this concept.
Sva-dharma refers to the particular nature and duty of everything and everyone, including the stages of life (āśrama system) for high-caste males (student, householder, retiree).
The householder’s life, involving production and reproduction fueled by desire, was foundational to brahminical society.
Karman, as motivated action, ensures rebirth; present suffering can be explained as the result of actions in past lives.
Classical Indian religions viewed endless rebirth as undesirable, aiming for escape (mokṣa), as even heavenly life was temporary.
The communal religion of dharma and sva-dharma did not offer a final soteriological solution.
Renouncers (saṃnyāsin) sought escape from rebirth by leaving society, rejecting its obligations and structures (home, fire, production, caste) in pursuit of individual religious achievement and altered states of consciousness.
The Buddha joined this milieu of renouncers.

The Buddha was born in Kapilavatthu (Nepalese Terai) and lived in the middle Gangetic plain, an area possibly not fully integrated into Vedic civilization, allowing him a critical perspective.
His community, the Śākyas, were self-governing, possibly an oligarchy or republic without a varṇa system, and served as a model for the Sangha’s organization.
The Buddha described himself as kṣatriya in brahminical terms, reflecting the status given to those with political power.
The period saw urbanization, the rise of states ruled by kings from urban capitals (e.g., Kosala, Magadha), the first use of money, and organized trade.
Agricultural surplus, necessary for these developments, likely resulted from population spread into fertile regions and new agricultural power structures (land-owning peasants), rather than solely from technological advances like iron tools or rice transplantation, for which archaeological evidence is limited.
Towns emerged as political and commercial centers, requiring infrastructure, security, and organization.
Trade facilitated contact with different cultures, fostering awareness of cultural relativity, which is crucial for significant cultural change (e.g., Babylonian omen list in Dīgha Nikāya).
While coins appeared (possibly late 4th c. BCE), trade relied on standardized weights and measures. Seafaring trade was known.
There is no evidence of widespread writing in the Buddha’s time; scriptures were preserved orally.
Archaeological evidence for cities of this era is meagre due to perishable building materials (wood, mud); the earliest cities date to c. 600 BCE.
The Buddha frequented cities like Rājagaha, Vesālī, and Sāvatthī. Six “great cities” are listed in the Dīgha Nikāya.
These cities were often capitals of ‘large countries’ (mahājanapada), indicating increased kingdom sizes and more complex governance.
New urban professions like state officials and traders emerged, not well-accommodated by the existing varṇa ideology.
Brahmin law-givers expressed hostility towards towns, viewing them as incompatible with Vedic orthodoxy, which was formulated for village society.

To whom did the Buddha’s message appeal?

The Buddha’s message particularly appealed to town-dwellers and new social classes.
Analysis of early Sangha members (Thera-/Therī-gāthā commentaries) suggests:
- Over two-thirds came from large towns.
- A significant portion were from brahmin (often urban upper-class), kṣatriya, and vaiśya backgrounds.
- Nearly half came from wealthy or powerful families, indicating Buddhism was not primarily a religion of the downtrodden.
Lay support often came from gahapatis (householders), typically heads of respectable, land-owning families (often vaiśya), sometimes involved in business; the term later referred to urban merchants.
The religious environment included many samaṇas (ascetics), often practicing extreme austerities, like the Jains who sought to escape rebirth by ceasing all action and enduring mortification (tapas).
The axiom “life is suffering” and the impetus for renunciation may be linked to:
- The unsettling effects of rapid social change and urbanization (Ghosh): increased complexity, impersonal controls, individual freedom, and cultural disintegration.
- Public health issues (McNeill): The warmer, wetter Ganges region likely had higher disease incidence (malaria, cholera), exacerbated by urbanization, potentially leading to increased mortality and a gloomier outlook on life. This is supported by Buddhist texts’ use of medical metaphors.

3 The Buddha’s Dhamma

Buddhism is presented as “the middle way,” avoiding the extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification, a path realized by the Buddha through his own experiences.
Initially reluctant, the Buddha was persuaded by the god Brahmā to preach his Dhamma.
The first sermon, though its exact content is unknown, established “the Middle Way” as a core principle, later interpreted ontologically by Mahāyāna and in the Canon as a path between eternalism and annihilationism, but primarily referring to the practice of those joining the Sangha.
The middle way between indulgence and asceticism underpins all Sangha rules, contrasting with the brahminical idealization of sensual pleasure for householders (gamma, “of the village”) and rejecting extreme asceticism (tapas).
The Buddha revealed the Four Noble Truths: suffering (dukkha, life is unsatisfactory); the origin of suffering (“thirst” or desire); the abolition of suffering (eradicating desire); and the path to abolition (the Noble Eightfold Path: morality, meditation, wisdom).
Enlightenment involves fully internalizing the wisdom of the Four Noble Truths, “seeing things as they are.”
The Buddha taught from his own realization of nibbāna, criticizing brahmins for teaching unexperienced theories.
Dhamma is both the Truth to be realized and the practice to realize it; progress is considered “skilful.”
Desire is the origin of suffering, but the Chain of Dependent Origination shows desire itself stems from ignorance.
The three “roots of evil” are greed, hatred, and delusion; individuals are “on fire” with these, and realizing this leads to freedom (nibbāna, the “going out” of this triple fire, not the self).
The “no-soul doctrine” (anattavāda), explained in the second sermon, analyzes the individual into five impermanent, unsatisfactory constituents (body, feelings, perception, volitions, consciousness), demonstrating no abiding self or soul.
Phenomenal existence is characterized by impermanence, suffering, and lack of soul; realizing one has no self causes desire to cease.
Nibbāna is the experience of being without greed, hatred, and delusion; samsāra is also an experience, with “the world within this fathom-long body.”
The Buddha shifted focus from the Vedic question “What exists?” to “our experience” of dukkha.
Buddhist meditation involves concentration (for stillness) and awareness (for seeing things as impermanent, unsatisfactory, without essence), aiming for detachment in all circumstances and opposing possession states.
Awareness has ethical facets like diligence and conscientiousness.
Key Buddhist values include unselfishness, carefulness, and the four “divine” states: kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity (Metta Sutta).
Lay precepts are five undertakings: not to take life, steal, be unchaste, lie, or take intoxicants. The primary lay duty is generosity, especially to the Sangha.
The Buddhist path involves generosity, moral undertakings, and mind cultivation, leading to good rebirth and ultimately release.
The cosmology includes heavens and hells, with one’s situation determined by kamma; there is no creator god, as kamma explains suffering. The world is the realm of Desire, presided over by Mara (Death).

The Dhamma in its context: answers to brahminism

The Buddha combined intellectualist (lack of understanding) and emotionalist (lack of self-control) views on life’s problems, with the false view of an eternal self (brahminical Vedānta) feeding emotions.
He preserved macrocosm-microcosm equivalence negatively, denying both individual and world essence (no creator, no underlying unity).
Karman was ethicized, making morality intrinsic and denying soteriological value to ritual and social distinctions, proposing a universal ethic over particularistic duty.
Renouncers, including Buddhists, denied brahmins’ privileged Veda-based knowledge and the efficacy of sacrifice, especially animal sacrifice.
The Buddha’s key innovation was stating that the moral quality of an act lies in the intention (“It is intention that I call kamma”), overturning caste-bound ethics.
The term “pure” was revalued from ritual good to “virtuous/meritorious,” with good acts purifying the mind, linking morality to meditation.
Internalization of karman meant good actions contribute to mental purity, aiding progress to nibbāna without necessitating rebirth for reward.
Ethical value in intention implies individual autonomy and conscience as authority; lay moral rules are personal undertakings.
Ritual is ethically neutral, not commended, and infatuation with it is a fetter.
Buddhism denies priestly authority and their claims; religious status is achieved by personal effort, while caste is a worldly fact of no spiritual significance. The true brahmin/outcaste is defined by deeds.
This was not social revolution; caste was abolished within the Sangha but its worldly existence not denied.
Ethicized kamma makes the universe an ethical arena where power and goodness correlate.
The ethic of intention questions the kṣatriya’s legitimate use of force, leading to distaste for raison d’état (e.g., Temiya Jātaka).
Authority lies in the Dhamma, with the Sangha preserving and interpreting it in an oral culture, making them the de facto authority.
Unlike brahmins, Buddha intended teachings for all, using local languages and rejecting Sanskrit or ritualized chanting to ensure accessibility (Kālāma Sutta: “Make the Truth your own”).

Buddhism as religious individualism

The Dhamma embodies “religious individualism”: the believer is primarily responsible for their own salvation without intermediaries, implying spiritual equality and self-scrutiny.
The Buddha’s karma doctrine emphasizes free will and individual responsibility, an ideology whose acceptance was facilitated by societal conditions of relative freedom.
Compared to Protestantism, Buddhism appealed to merchants; however, early Buddhists sought salvation by leaving the world (for meditation), unlike Protestants seeking it as laymen.
Lay attainment of Enlightenment was unlikely; spiritual progress had stages, with monks/nuns achieving Enlightenment and many lay followers becoming “non-returners.”
Much teaching was reserved for the Sangha; laypeople were generally shown the way to heaven, not nibbāna, until modern “Protestant Buddhism” with widespread literacy and text access.
Lay disciples (upāsaka/upāsikā) were those who took Three Refuges, often people with time/wealth for Buddhist activities or donors (dāyaka) to the Sangha.
Lay involvement varied, often coexisting with local communal religions; moral vows included Five Precepts (always) and Eight Precepts (uposatha days).
Buddha was more radical than Calvin in that salvation (for renouncers) was an intimate, self-authenticating experience not for public display.
Similar to Puritanism, Buddhism suited an impersonal, mobile world (good for traders), with karma providing a universal moral law.
Buddhism, like wealth, was achieved, appealing to “new men”; Buddha showed social conventions like varna were not natural by cultural comparison and satire.

An ethic for the socially mobile

The moral teaching, appealing to businessmen, was founded on prudential considerations: immorality brings poverty and bad rebirth, while morality brings wealth and good rebirth.
Diligence (appamāda: awareness, thrift) was praised for achieving worldly and spiritual ends.
Wealth righteously acquired was commended for supporting dependents, community, and religious offerings, and was expected to increase.
Laypeople were advised to be sober and prudent, not to completely refrain from pleasure (Advice to Sigāla: avoid six wasteful outlets for wealth; reinvest half, consume a quarter, save a quarter).
Traditional rituals were reinterpreted ethically (e.g., Sigāla worshipping six directions became duties to social relations; three ritual fires became tending good fires like family and renouncers, abandoning bad fires like passion).
Sermons to Anāthapiṇ̣ika outlined lay happiness: economic security, consumption, freedom from debt, righteous life.
Subha Sutta: householder and renouncer life can both succeed or fail depending on conduct; householder life compared to hard agriculture, renouncer life to easier trade.
Buddhism’s demystification (substituting quantity for quality) parallels monetization (e.g., Questions of Milinda: courtesan’s “act of truth” based on consistent service for cash, regardless of client status).
Kamma is the ethical equivalent: value based on quality of kamma, not social status.

The Buddha on kings and politics

The Buddha was not primarily interested in politics nor intended his teaching to have direct political consequences.
Canonical material on kingship includes encounters with real kings (often giving or receiving practical advice, e.g., Bimbisāra on Sangha taking soldiers; Pasenadi’s sacrifice deplored but not stopped) and fantasy kings (to make moral points).
Kings were sometimes listed with disasters like thieves, and talk of kings/war was forbidden to monks. The Buddha’s aphorism “All tremble at the stick… do not kill” could apply to state violence.
Kūṭadanta Sutta: A fictional king is advised to improve people’s lot (seed, capital, wages) to reduce lawlessness, rather than tax or use force, before performing a non-violent sacrifice. This is a parable, not direct political advice.
Cakkavatti-sīhanāda Sutta: A mythical world ruler (cakkavatti) is told to provide wealth to the poor. His son’s failure to do so leads to theft (due to poverty), then harsh punishment, creating a cycle of violence. This suggests crime originates in poverty (king’s responsibility).
Aggañña Sutta: A satirical aetiological myth explains the origin of kings (“The Great Elect”) and varna system as human conventions to maintain order after greed and theft arose. This debunks the divine right of kings and divine basis of caste.
These stories, especially the “Great Elect,” did not significantly affect political practice in Theravādin societies, as Buddhism’s higher practices were reserved for renouncers.

4 The Sangha’s discipline

The history of Theravāda Buddhism, from its own perspective, is the history of the Sangha (monastic community).
This focus on monastics is central to Theravāda, with texts largely composed by and for monks and nuns.
The Sangha functioned as cultural specialists, analogous to Brahmins in Indian society.
“Theravāda” signifies “doctrine of the elders,” referring to fully trained Sangha members.
Early on, serious pursuit of the Buddhist path to salvation typically involved joining the Sangha.
The doctrinal path (morality, meditation, wisdom) was primarily cultivated within the Sangha.
Lay Buddhists received ethical ideals, but the Vinaya provided a detailed guide for monastic life.

General principles of the vinaya

The Vinaya Pitaka offers a comprehensive code of conduct for monks, nuns, and novices, simplifying and standardizing life.
It emphasizes the spirit of the rules while providing detailed prescriptions for daily living.
Adherence to the Vinaya is considered a foundation for higher spiritual attainments like meditation and wisdom.
A core principle is “being content with little,” fostered by minimal possessions and detachment from ordinary social ties.
Living the Vinaya life is seen as closely aligning with the spiritual goal of attaining nibbāna.
Monastic morality (sīla) is based on meticulous observance of rules, encompassing both inner disposition and outward behavior.
Buddhism’s highest values are wisdom (Enlightenment) and compassion, considered inseparable.
The Sangha aims to balance individual spiritual striving with community support and the preservation of Buddhist teachings for the world.
The Sangha is a community, with local sanghas offering a supportive environment, a middle path between Brahmin societal integration and Jain solitary asceticism.
Vinaya rules serve both individual spiritual development (the Middle Way) and the community’s welfare (protection, purity, attracting new members, and benefiting non-believers).
Rules were often established by the Buddha in response to specific situations, including lay concerns, to solve problems and promote the growth of Buddhism.

Dating and development of the rules

Scholarly views suggest the Vinaya developed over centuries, possibly completed around 350 BCE, though some parts might be earlier.
The Vinaya exists in several recensions (Pali, Chinese translations), with minor differences indicating post-schism additions.
The pātimokkha, a core list of rules recited fortnightly, is commented upon by the Sutta-vibhanga, a major part of the Vinaya Pitaka. The Khandhaka section deals with community rules.
The idea of a simple progression from rigor to laxity in the Vinaya’s development is difficult to substantiate, as practices like the kappiya-kāraka (lay attendant) appear early.
The Buddha himself acknowledged that deviations from ideal simplicity (“corruption of the Sangha”) began during his lifetime.
Regardless of exact dating, the interpretation and meaning given to the Vinaya by Theravādin monasticism is considered paramount.

The middle way between discomfort and indulgence

The Vinaya promotes a “middle way,” avoiding both excessive comfort and discomfort that could hinder the pursuit of Enlightenment; subjective satisfaction is emphasized.
Monks are permitted four “requisites” (clothing, bowl, dwelling, medicine) or a list of eight specific items. Excess property belongs to the Sangha corporately.
Ordination includes instruction on four basic “resorts” (begged food, rag-robes, tree-dwelling, fermented urine as medicine), with anything more comfortable considered an “extra.”
Extreme ascetic practices (dhutanga) are allowed if undertaken for genuine contentment, not for show, but are not compulsory.
A recurring issue has been the Sangha’s tendency towards luxury, often due to lay generosity, leading to periodic calls for “purification.”
Indifference to comforts can attract more material support, creating a potential for hypocrisy. Monks generally cannot refuse proper gifts to the Sangha.
Homelessness is a key concept. Monks observed a rains retreat (Vassa) for three months, initially due to concerns about harming life.
While wandering was the early norm, permanent monasteries (viharas) were permitted and established early on, leading to rules about buildings and furnishings.
Strong emphasis was placed on decorum: calm, measured behavior, and proper appearance (shaved heads, specific robes).
Nudity was forbidden. Monks wore three robes, and nuns five items. Robes were valuable personal property but regulated. The kathina ceremony involves laity offering robe material.
Simple sandals were allowed; food was eaten from alms-bowls. Eating after midday was prohibited. “Medicine” (drinks, some soft foods) was allowed in the evening.
Monks depended on laity for food, which had to be received, not self-procured. Indifference to food quality was expected; meat was eaten if offered (unless killed specifically for the monk).
Food was obtained by silent alms-rounds or by accepting invitations. Storing and cooking food were initially restricted but later managed with lay help.
Servants (ārāmika) and lay attendants (kappiya-kāraka) who handled money or impermissible items became institutionalized.
Monks were forbidden to accept money or engage in commerce. They withdrew from the earning economy.
Falsely claiming supernormal powers for material gain was a grave offense.

The disbarring offences and enforcement of chastity

Pārājika offenses are the most serious, leading to automatic expulsion from the Sangha.
For monks, the four pārājika are: sexual intercourse, theft (taking what is not given above a trifling value), intentionally killing a human being, and falsely claiming miraculous powers.
Nuns have eight pārājika, including additional rules concerning physical contact with men and condoning offenses.
Sexual desire (kāma) in all forms was condemned. Persistently holding the view that sexual activity is not an obstruction was an offense.
The Buddha did not attribute sexual desire solely to women and described male and female desire in similar terms, advocating respect for women.

Hierarchies of age and sex

Within the Sangha, the Buddha upheld social hierarchies of age (seniority by ordination date) and sex (male precedence).
All individuals were considered equal in their potential for Enlightenment.
Senior monks held precedence in ecclesiastical matters. Nuns were subordinate to monks, regardless of seniority, and required double ordination.
Apart from this, monastic hierarchy was minimal; office-holders managed temporal affairs, not religious authority.
The teacher-pupil relationship was vital, with a unique provision for pupils to correct teachers on doctrinal or suitability matters.

The formal organization of the Sangha

Sangha ceremonies, termed “Acts of the Sangha,” are functional and non-ritualistic.
Key ceremonies include higher ordination (upasampadā) and the fortnightly pātimokkha rehearsal.
Ordination involves two stages: lower (pabbajjā) for novices (from age 7-8) and higher (upasampadā) for monks (from age 20).
Higher ordination requires a quorum of validly ordained monks (typically 10, or 5 in remote areas) and unanimous consent. Candidates are vetted.
The ultimate sanction for misconduct is expulsion for pārājika offenses. Lesser offenses are addressed by confession, sometimes with temporary suspension.
The pātimokkha code (227 rules in Theravāda) is recited every new and full moon (uposatha days).
The ceremony involves the senior monk reciting the rules, with pauses for monks to affirm their purity. Confessions are now typically made in private beforehand.
A quorum of four monks is needed for the pātimokkha ceremony, which defines the local monastic community (sangha) within a specific boundary (sīmā).
This regular assembly is crucial for Sangha unity and cohesion.

Sect formation: Theravāda defined

A split in the Sangha occurs when a disagreement leads to two groups of at least four monks each holding separate uposatha ceremonies, leading to different ordination lineages.
Buddhist “sects” (nikāya) are primarily defined by shared Vinaya (rules of conduct) and ordination traditions, not doctrinal differences, although these could be associated.
Theravāda (“doctrine of the elders”) refers to monks following the Pali pātimokkha (227 rules) and its associated ordination lineage. Doctrinally, Theravādins are known as vibhajja-vādin (“analysts”).
The term Hīnayāna is a pejorative Mahāyāna designation for earlier schools and is best avoided when referring to Theravāda.

Maintaining conformity

The pātimokkha offense of “clinging to evil views” relates to persistently propounding that actions identified by Buddha as obstructions (e.g., sexual activity) are not, thus undermining discipline.
Moral quality of an act lies in intention.
Disputes could be settled by committees of senior monks, whose decisions were binding, reflecting the Sangha’s gerontocratic authority structure.
Unanimity in decision-making and harmonious living were emphasized.
A special ceremony at the end of the rains retreat involves mutual requests for forgiveness among monks.

Relations between ordained and laity

The Sangha’s primary service to laity is to exemplify the path to end suffering.
The Sangha was conceived as a missionary organization, with monks and nuns obliged to preach when invited.
The relationship was one of reciprocal generosity: the Sangha offers the Dhamma (teachings), and the laity provides material support.
Laity gain merit by giving. The Sangha could, as a sanction, “overturn the alms bowl,” refusing donations from a particular layperson.
Lay generosity, especially from rulers like King Bimbisāra, was significant but also posed risks of “corrupting” the Sangha with excessive wealth or obligations.
The Sangha had to accommodate state power, e.g., by not ordaining soldiers, debtors, or slaves, and generally “meeting kings’ wishes.”
Political patronage is crucial for the Sangha’s stability, particularly for enforcing disciplinary measures like expulsions.
A lack of state support can lead to an inability to maintain discipline, damaging the Sangha’s reputation and leading to decline.
The Vinaya does not detail enforcement mechanisms for its rules, likely because this often required external (state) support.

5 The accommodation between Buddhism and society in ancient India

Religions, like social movements, often have unintended consequences as they grow and involve more people.
Developments such as proxy property use, control of lay labor, denying slaves Sangha admission, and ex-members refusing to disrobe were likely unintended by the Buddha, though some are attributed to his lifetime in the Canon.
This chapter focuses on developments not ascribed to the Buddha’s lifetime, often originating with laity but also impacting the Sangha.

A. BUDDHIST DEVOTION

Buddhism involves faith (pasāda), characterized by calm, happy confidence, not blind belief contrary to reason.
Pasāda is considered a “profitable” or “skilful” state of mind, aiding progress towards nibbāna.
The Buddha criticized conduct that did not instill or increase pasāda.

The Buddha as an object of faith and devotion

The Buddha himself is the primary object of religious emotion and devotion, preceding even the Dhamma and Sangha.
A “personality cult” around the Buddha, including pilgrimage and relic worship, developed, seemingly contradicting his teachings on self-reliance.
Theravādin doctrine states the Buddha is dead and inactive, though some individuals may pray to him in crisis for psychological relief.
Buddhist saints (arhats) are also considered dead and without influence on the world.
Devotional material expanded beyond Gotama Buddha’s life through:
- Jātakas: stories of the Buddha’s former births as a bodhisatta (future Buddha), accumulating moral perfections. The Vessantara Jātaka is a key example.
- Multiple past Buddhas: Gotama Buddha is one in a line (e.g., the 25th after Dīpamkara).
The concept of future Buddhas, like Metteyya, provides material for messianic aspirations.

Pilgrimage

The Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta provides canonical justification for pilgrimage to stūpas (funeral mounds) over relics of Enlightened persons, believed to instill faith and aid rebirth in heaven.
Key early pilgrimage sites were associated with the Buddha’s life: birth (Lumbinī), Enlightenment (Bodh Gayā – the most important), first sermon (Sārnāth), and death.
The number of pilgrimage sites increased due to:
- The exact site of the Buddha’s death being forgotten.
- The geographical spread of Buddhism making original sites inaccessible to many.
- Belief in former Buddhas, allowing for more widely distributed sacred locations.
- Myths of Gotama Buddha visiting countries outside India, creating new local pilgrimage centers.
Pilgrimages were undertaken by individuals (e.g., Chinese monks) and, more commonly, by groups of lay devotees.
Pilgrimage is not an obligation in Buddhism and there is no specific Buddhist term for it; it’s often called a “worshipping journey.”

Relics

The cult of relics was a significant development associated with pilgrimage, believed to have been invented by Buddhists.
The Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta states that after the Buddha’s cremation, his relics were divided and enshrined in stupas, which became sites of worship.
Buddhist saints, particularly the Buddha, were seen as reversing natural processes, reflected in the Buddha’s funeral rites where his body was carried through the town and burnt to the east.
Stupas, initially tombs for Buddha’s relics, later housed remains of arhats and, in Theravādin countries, all monks, though only stupas with (even fictive) Buddha relics were worshipped.
Relics could also be portions of scripture, representing the Buddha’s ‘Dhamma-body’.
Relics are classified into three kinds: corporeal (bone, teeth, hair), objects used by the Buddha (e.g., begging bowls, Bo tree), and reminders (e.g., stupas, statues).
Early Buddhist art indicated the Buddha’s presence through ‘objects used’; statues appeared in the early first millennium CE and were justified by Theravādins as ‘reminder relics’, especially sacred if containing a corporeal relic.
The doctrine of relics is fundamental to Buddhist worship, which is an individual practice aimed at purifying one’s mind, remaining simple and largely without professional intermediaries.

Mortuary rituals and ‘transfer of merit’

Theravāda monks primarily officiate at funerals, acting as preachers and consolers.
Death is an occasion for preaching on impermanence and suffering.
Buddhist monks replace brahmins in post-funeral rituals, where they are fed, and merit is ritually transferred to the deceased.
The ‘transfer of merit’ is based on the idea that good intention (kamma) is key; a person doing a meritorious deed can gain additional merit by wishing others could benefit. Those who empathize with the meritorious act also gain merit, likened to lighting one candle from another.
This practice is central to Theravādin Buddhism, such as offering merit to gods for protection, and it facilitated Buddhism’s integration into new cultures.
The concept of merit as spiritual currency is common in lay contexts and aligns with Buddhism’s commercial background, though unlike economics, one gains by giving.
Sin or demerit cannot be transferred; good actions can delay the fruition of bad ones.
The transfer of merit likely emerged around the Buddha’s death (c. 400 BCE), possibly coinciding with increased monetization of the economy.
In Sri Lanka, any public Buddhist act of piety is a ‘meritorious act’, commonly involving feeding monks.
Individuals often feel more certain of merit if they actively participate in giving.
Buddhist spiritual economics suggests spiritual capital gains interest, creating a virtuous circle for the meritorious and a downward spiral for the wicked, reflecting a universe of moral order.
Merit-making is also a psychological good, fostering generosity, happiness, and peace.

B. SECULAR POWER: ASOKA

Emperor Asoka, who ruled most of India in the mid-third century BCE, was the most important Buddhist layman in history.
His patronage was crucial in transforming Buddhism into a world religion.
Symbols from Asoka’s pillars, like the Wheel of Dhamma, are on India’s modern flag and state seal.
Between Buddha’s death and Asoka’s accession, important events included the Councils (Communal Recitations):
- The First Council in Rājagaha established the Canon.
- The Second Council in Vesālī addressed a discipline dispute, after which the Sangha began to split.
- The Third Council, accepted only by Theravādins, was held in Pātaliputta during Asoka’s reign, likely finalizing much of the Pali Canon, including the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Asoka, a Mauryan emperor, expanded the empire with Pātaliputta as its capital.
There are two perspectives on Asoka: the historical figure known through inscriptions and the figure portrayed in Buddhist tradition.

Asoka’s inscriptions

Asoka left numerous edicts on rocks and pillars throughout his kingdom.
After the Kalinga war, he expressed remorse for the violence and declared he would conquer by righteousness (dhamma), coinciding with his conversion to Buddhism.
His concept of dhamma, meaning righteousness, was heavily influenced by Buddhism, yet he supported all religions.
He abolished the death penalty, protected animal species, reduced animal killing for royal kitchens, and established public amenities like wells and medicinal gardens.
Asoka’s rule reflected Buddhist ethics: he promoted ‘dhamma victories’, ‘dhamma expeditions’, and ‘dhamma officials’ to ensure virtue and care for the disadvantaged.
He urged officials to follow ‘the middle path’ and encouraged ethical actions over rituals, echoing Buddhist lay ethics like the Advice to Sigāla.
Asoka valued few expenses and possessions and was diligent in his duties for world welfare.
He believed progress in dhamma was achieved more by conviction than by rules.
Specific Buddhist acts recorded in inscriptions include visiting Lumbinī, enlarging a former Buddha’s stupa, recommending texts for Sangha study, and ordering the expulsion of schismatic monks and nuns.
His inscriptions mention sending ‘dhamma messengers’ to Hellenistic kings and other regions around 256 or 255 BCE.

Asoka in Buddhist tradition

The Asoka of Buddhist chronicles served as a model for later Buddhist rulers.
Legends include him building 84,000 monasteries and stupas and being extremely wicked before his conversion.
His conversion was sparked by a novice monk’s tranquil deportment; the novice preached diligence (appamāda).
His patronage led to non-Buddhists joining the Sangha for material benefits, causing a crisis where the uposatha ceremony was not held for seven years.
After a minister mistakenly killed true monks, Elder Tissa Moggaliputta advised Asoka. The king then personally interrogated monks to purify the Sangha in his capital.
Tissa Moggaliputta organized the Third Council, where scriptures were compiled and he composed the Kathāvatthu, finalizing the Pali Abhidhamma Pitaka.
The story of Asoka purifying the Sangha, though not directly in inscriptions, aligns with his known interest in Sangha unity and became a precedent for kings to defend the faith by purifying the Sangha.
Asoka influenced rulers across the Buddhist world, including kings in Ceylon, Burma, Khmer Empire (Jayavarman VII), Thailand (King Rāma Khamhaeng), and China.
Modern figures have also invoked Asoka, sometimes with varied interpretations.

The missions: interpreting the evidence

Theravādin chronicles attribute the dispatch of nine missions (c. 250 BCE) to Elder Tissa Moggaliputta, not directly to Asoka.
These missions, each with five monks, aimed to establish Buddhism in ‘border areas’, including the mission to Ceylon led by Mahinda (Asoka’s son in tradition).
Archaeological evidence from Bhilsa (Vidisā) corroborates parts of the chronicles’ account of a Himalayan mission.
Scholars like Lamotte are sceptical that Asoka’s ‘dhamma messengers’ were solely Buddhist monks, citing differences in destinations and dates.
Scholars like Frauwallner equate these missions with Asoka’s embassies, possibly originating from Vidisā.
The author tends to agree with Frauwallner, suggesting chroniclers simplified complex historical processes and that Asoka’s embassies could have included monks.
The discrepancy in dates (about five years) suggests the Buddhist sources may be slightly inaccurate on this point.
It is considered implausible that Tissa Moggaliputta, a Theravādin intellectual, dispatched all missions, as other regions had different Buddhist sects; his role was likely exaggerated by Theravādin chroniclers.
The missions were probably state-sponsored, court-to-court endeavors, with Asoka likely seeking Tissa’s advice and cooperation.

6 The Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka

Theravāda Buddhism has primarily existed in India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) for much of its history.
Its history in India is obscure and difficult to separate from the broader history of Buddhism there.
Burma (Myanmar) also considers itself a principal Theravādin country, with a national chronicle, the Sāsanavamsa, claiming the Buddha visited and foretold its future as a Buddhist stronghold.
Archaeological and literary evidence largely confirms the Ceylonese historical account of Buddhism from Mahinda’s mission onwards.
There is skepticism regarding the early history of Theravāda in Burma.
The Sinhalese chronicle mentions a mission to Suvaṇna-bhūmi, potentially lower Burma or central Thailand.
The earliest archaeological evidence for Pali in Burma dates to the 5th century CE.
Theravādin dominance in upper Burma began in 1057 when King Anuruddha captured Thaton and brought Theravādin monks and Pali Canon manuscripts to Pagan.

The Sinhalese Buddhist identity

Monastic chroniclers linked the fortunes of Buddhism in Ceylon with those of the Sinhalese people and nation.
Despite Hindu invasions, Muslim settlements, and Christian colonial rule, Theravāda Buddhism has consistently dominated the religious and cultural life of Ceylon.
Historically, almost all Sinhalese have been Theravāda Buddhists, with the Roman Catholic community on the west coast (converted by the Portuguese) being a significant exception.
Sinhalese national identity was forged on the dual contrasts of language (Sinhala/Tamil) and religion (Buddhist/Hindu).
A prominent stereotype is the “pacific Sinhalese v. aggressive Tamil.”
It is believed that the Buddha visited Ceylon three times and prophesied its role in preserving his teachings (Sāsana), entrusting the island’s protection to the god Viṣnu.

Periodization of Sinhalese Buddhist history

Pre-modern Ceylonese history is conventionally divided by the location of the Sinhalese capital, primarily Anuradhapura (until the late 8th century) and then Polonnaruva.
The institutionalized Sangha’s fortunes varied due to foreign invasions and internal decay.
A key event was the “purification” of the Sangha by King Parakkama Bāhu I in 1164/5.
The indigenous ordination tradition was lost in the 16th century but was successfully re-established through a Thai mission in 1753, marking a significant turning point in Buddhist history.
The Siyam Nikāya, the largest monastic order in Sri Lanka today, traces its ordination lineage to this Thai visit.
The Anuradhapura period is considered foundational for understanding traditional Sinhalese Buddhism.

Sources

The history of the Anuradhapura period is drawn from scriptures, chronicles, and inscriptions.
Inscriptions become a more significant historical source from the Polonnaruva period onwards.
The Mahāvamsa (“The Great Chronicle”), a Pali verse chronicle composed in the early 6th century by Mahānāma, is the most important chronicle. It was based on the earlier Dīpavamsa (“The Island Chronicle”) and other lost sources like “merit books.”
Continuations of the Mahāvamsa are known as the Cūlavamsa (“The Lesser Chronicle”).
The Mahāvamsa’s chronological coverage is uneven, with extensive focus on certain reigns like those of King Duṭthagāmaṇi and King Parakkama Bāhu I.

Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism

The Mahāvamsa serves as the foundational text for Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism.
It strongly identifies the Sinhalese nation with Buddhism, particularly in its account of King Duṭthagāmaṇi.
Duṭthagāmaṇi’s war against a Tamil king was framed as a fight for Buddhism, with a Buddhist relic in his standard.
Enlightened monks allegedly told Duṭthagāmaṇi that the slaughter of non-Buddhist Tamils posed no obstacle to his path to heaven.
This narrative influenced later rulers like Parakkama Bāhu I and Parakkama Bāhu II.
Many contemporary Sinhalese monks find it difficult to fully accept the advice given to Duṭthagāmaṇi due to its conflict with Buddhist ethics.
Historical facts about Tamil Buddhists and flourishing Theravāda in South India are not widely known, and modern Buddhist missionary efforts seldom target the local Tamil population.
The Mahāvamsa shapes the Sinhalese Buddhist identity, defining it in opposition to Tamils and fostering a nationalist worldview.

Cosmology

The traditional Sinhalese Buddhist worldview is a local adaptation of Indian cosmology.
The world operates under the Buddha’s authority, delegated through a cosmic hierarchy: Buddha to Sakka (king of gods), Sakka to Viṣnu (protector of Ceylon).
The earthly king’s position mirrors Sakka’s, with legitimacy derived from supporting Buddhism (Sangha and relics like the tooth relic).
Sri Lanka has sixteen traditional Buddhist pilgrimage sites, all linked to the Buddha’s visits, forming a circuit of the island.
Pilgrimages reflect the cosmic and state hierarchy, moving from local to regional deities, and ultimately to the Buddha’s representatives.
Village temple layouts often spatially represent this hierarchy.

A Buddhist society

Until the 19th century, Sinhalese society was predominantly rural and agricultural, comprising a peasantry, craftsmen, service personnel, and the Sangha, with a small landowning aristocracy.
There was no indigenous merchant class; trade was largely in foreign hands.
Buddhist values moderated Indian caste features: emphasis on purity is less pronounced, no significant untouchability.
Ideas of pollution (e.g., related to death, menstruation) are milder than among Hindus, and do not bar access to Buddhist shrines or observances.
The status of women is generally higher in Sinhalese society than in Hindu society.
In folk religion, the Sangha takes the place of brahmins, leading to differences like the prohibition of blood sacrifices to gods.
Possession cults exist, but priests acknowledge Buddhist values (e.g., no possession on poya days) and tend to have lower prestige.
Buddhism universalizes values, whereas brahminism often particularizes them.
Theravāda Buddhism has generated minimal ritual for life crises, except for death rites. Traditional weddings and New Year are largely secular.
Distinct Buddhist calendrical festivals are held on full moon days, with Wesak (commemorating Buddha’s birth, Enlightenment, death) being the most important.
Brahmins were historically essential for royal court rituals, such as coronations.

Worship of Buddha images

The worship of Buddha images in Ceylon shows significant influence from South Indian Hindu temple practices, which are based on court ceremonial.
The Buddha image, especially at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, is treated with royal reverence.
A Buddha image is technically a “reminder relic”; main temple images are usually consecrated by embedding a physical relic fragment.
The consecration ceremony includes painting the image’s eyes, a practice borrowed from Hinduism.
Unlike in some Hindu traditions, consecrated Buddha images are not generally considered to possess life outside the consecration ceremony.
The proliferation of Buddha images in modern times is attributed to Christian influence and mass production capabilities.

Role of the village monk

The core of a Buddhist temple (vihāra) is the residence of a monk, which typically includes a consecrated Buddha image, a stupa, and a Bo tree.
Most Sinhalese villages have a local temple with a resident monk.
The village monk is not a pastor; villagers are responsible for supporting him and invite him for mortuary rites (his primary recognized ritual duty).
Traditionally, the monk’s main functions were teaching (literacy, morality, literature) and preaching.
Preaching includes sermons in Sinhala and the formalized chanting of Pali scriptures, known as pirit.
Pirit (“protection”) is recited for good fortune and to avert misfortune; its interpretation ranges from white magic to a spiritually beneficial practice.
Sinhalese offer merit gained from Buddhist acts to gods, who are expected to manage worldly affairs in return, allowing Buddhism to focus on ultimate salvation.

The achievements of Mahinda’s mission

Accounts of Mahinda’s mission (in Dīpavamsa, Mahāvamsa, and Buddhaghosa’s Samanta-pāsādikā) are from a monastic perspective, emphasizing vinaya.
Mahinda is said to have arrived by air and converted King Devānampiya Tissa and his court.
The Mahā Vihāra in Anuradhapura, the first monastery founded, became the center of orthodoxy.
The establishment of the Sāsana (Buddhist teaching/dispensation) was marked by the king donating land for the Mahā Vihāra and formally demarcating its boundary (sīmā).
Relics, including the Buddha’s right collar bone, were brought, and the first stupa was built.
The nun Sanghamittā arrived with a branch of the Bo tree, establishing the Order of Nuns.
Ceylonese tradition views the Sāsana as comprising learning, practice, and realization, each dependent on the preceding one.
Buddhaghosa considered the Sāsana truly established when a Ceylonese, ordained and educated in Vinaya in Ceylon, recited it there.

Establishing Buddhism in a new country

While Buddhism is a personal soteriology, establishing the Sangha requires formal attachment to a territory (e.g., setting a sīmā) for valid communal acts.
The Sāsana (Buddhist dispensation) exists through the Sangha, which needs material support and the ability to ordain new members.
Royal patronage was crucial for missionaries, who often targeted rulers and major urban centers.
Buddhism spread due to its powerful ideas, ethics, and soteriology, filling an intellectual and religious void in societies lacking their own literate cultures or soteriologies.
Continued royal support was vital for the Sangha’s survival when faced with challenges from other religions like Hinduism and Islam.

The Sangha’s duty to preserve the scriptures

Buddhism relies significantly on the preservation of its scriptures.
The Buddhist scriptures constituted the cultural heritage of Sinhalese society.
The Pali Canon and its commentaries were first committed to writing in Ceylon late in the 1st century BCE due to civil war and famine.
A monastic council decided that learning (preserving scriptures) was the basis of the Sāsana, as realization of the Noble Path depends on it.
This led to the formalization of two roles for monks: the “book yoke” (study and preaching) and the “insight yoke” (meditation).

The use of Pali: Buddhaghosa

Pali was not readily intelligible to the average Sinhalese; Mahinda likely used the local vernacular for preaching.
Buddhaghosa claimed Mahinda brought commentaries and translated them into Sinhala, though this is likely an oversimplification as commentaries were added to in Ceylon.
Buddhaghosa, a 5th-century Indian brahmin, became Theravāda’s foremost scholastic.
His Visuddhi-magga (“The Path to Purity”) is a foundational compendium of Theravādin doctrine.
He composed Pali commentaries on the Vinaya and major suttas, editing existing Sinhala and Pali materials.
The shift to Pali for commentaries occurred because Sinhala was a changing language, while Pali was the stable language of the Canon.
This use of Pali internationalized the Theravādin tradition, allowing monks from different regions to communicate.
A drawback was that Pali scriptures became unintelligible to uneducated laypeople, reinforcing the role of monks as intermediaries.

Translation and popularization

Buddhists were significant translators, but translating the entire vast Canon was a rare undertaking.
An alleged Sinhala translation of the Canon around 400 CE by a monk has been lost.
Ancient translations were primarily for the Sangha; for the laity, Jātaka tales and similar story literature were translated or paraphrased into Sinhala.
Temple wall paintings, depicting scenes from the Buddha’s lives, offer insight into popular scriptural knowledge.

Village dweller and forest dweller

Monks, particularly village dwellers, often engaged in astrology and medicine, despite Buddha’s admonitions.
The monk’s role reflects an ambivalence: an outsider (renouncer tradition) or at society’s apex (like a brahmin).
“Forest dwelling” is an ascetic option (dhutanga) that sometimes became institutionalized but tended to revert to standard monastic life (e.g., paṃsu-kūlika monks eventually accepting fine robes).
References to “forest dwellers” appear from around the 6th century, and by Parakkama Bāhu I’s era, the division between “village dwellers” and “forest dwellers” was institutionalized.
While the formal division exists, individuals continue to pursue eremitic lifestyles, but formal roles do not always align with actual practice.

The structure of the Sangha in Ceylon

The Sangha is divided into nikāyas (fraternities or sub-sects), which are distinct ordination lineages that do not cooperate in formal Sangha acts.
The first split in Theravāda occurred in the late 1st century BCE when King Vattagāmani gifted the Abhayagiri monastery to a monk, leading to a break from the Mahā Vihāra.
A second split occurred in the 4th century CE when King Mahāsena favored another monk, resulting in the Jetavana nikāya.
The Abhayagiri nikāya was generally more open to Mahāyāna influences than the conservative Mahā Vihāra.
From the 4th to the 12th century, three main Nikāyas (Mahā Vihāra, Abhayagiri, Jetavana) existed, primarily in the capital.
Today, Sri Lanka conventionally has “three Nikāyas” (Siyam, Amarapura, Rāmañña), though these are further subdivided, and some forest hermitages have formed their own recognized Nikāya.

Formal state control of the Sangha

King Parakkama Bāhu I, in the 12th century, established a unified authority structure for the national Sangha.
He effectively abolished the Abhayagiri and Jetavana Nikāyas, laicized many monks, and allowed some to be reordained into the “unified” Mahā Vihāra tradition.
He issued a katikāvata (royal edict) on monastic discipline.
The Sangha was headed by a Sangharāja (“King of the Sangha”), appointed by the king on the Sangha’s recommendation; Mahā Kassapa was the first.
This centralized political organization for the Sangha was a novelty.
The system of unified control eroded when secular governments permitted the formation of new nikāyas; the Sangharāja office became defunct after 1778.
Remnants of this system persist, such as the Siyam Nikāya’s hierarchical structure and centralized ordination control.

Sangha and state in Anuradhapura

Ancient Ceylonese kings saw themselves as protectors of the Sangha, following Asoka’s example, fostering a relationship of mutual support.
Kings generally showed great deference to the Sangha.
Many kings engaged in public welfare works (e.g., King Buddhadāsa establishing rest-houses and hospitals).
Some later kings aspired to Buddhahood, viewing themselves as bodhisattas; a 10th-century inscription stated that only bodhisattas could be kings of Ceylon.
Asoka’s “purification” of the Sangha (expelling corrupt monks and reuniting the order) served as a model for Ceylonese kings.

The Sangha as landlords

Royal munificence, particularly large land grants, contributed significantly to the Sangha’s wealth.
King Vattagāmani (late 1st century BCE) was the first recorded to grant the Sangha usufruct of land and also gave Abhayagiri monastery as personal property to a monk.
Monastic land-holding became a significant economic feature, with grants including rights to taxes, labor, or land ownership.
Legal fictions allowed the Sangha to manage property, including accepting “monastery servants” (effectively slaves).
The practice of donating and then redeeming slaves to monasteries became a method for laypeople to acquire merit.
“Monastery villages” existed, where inhabitants provided tied labor and services to the monastery.
Monasteries engaged in economic activities like buying land, selling produce, and earning interest on deposits.
Lay administrators or elaborate justifications were used to align these financial activities with vinaya rules.
The Sangha amassed a substantial portion of the country’s land and manpower.
The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien (5th century CE) reported around 60,000 monks being supported by common monastic stores.
This accumulation of resources by the Sangha could limit the king’s resources, but Buddhist piety was generally seen as ensuring national security.
King Vikrama Bāhu I (12th century) was the first ruler to confiscate monastic property on a large scale.
Monks sometimes received “payments” for teaching or administrative duties within the monastery.
Monastic property rights, including incumbencies, became heritable, either through pupillary succession or, historically, through kinship.

Decline …

“Village dwelling” monks, forming the majority, often became integrated into village life, gradually adopting local values and customs.
This situation mirrors that of Indian brahmins, who, despite ascetic ideals, are often

7 Protestant Buddhism

The 19th century was a pivotal period for Buddhism in Ceylon, marked by British colonial rule (1796-1948).
British control unified the island but also meant Buddhism lost its symbolic national leadership for the first time.
Despite initial decline in state support, the Sangha (monastic community) saw internal reforms and growth in numbers alongside the general population.
A new form of Buddhism, termed “Protestant Buddhism” or “Buddhist modernism,” emerged, particularly among the Colombo middle class.
This new Buddhism was influenced by European ideas, was more self-conscious, and emphasized the laity’s role, differing from traditional Sangha-centric Buddhism.
It arose as a protest against Christianity and mirrored Protestant characteristics like individualism.
Key influences included Protestant missionaries, Theosophists, and socio-economic changes like the rise of a new Sinhalese middle class and increased literacy through printing.

The disestablishment of the Sangha

Traditionally, the Sangha was linked to the Sinhalese establishment, with ordination initially restricted by caste.
Lower castes, rising in maritime provinces, sought and obtained higher ordination from Burma, forming the Amarapura Nikāya.
The Amarapura Nikāya’s formation, driven by private citizens and protesting caste exclusivism, challenged secular control over monastic affairs.
The British, despite an initial 1815 treaty to protect Buddhism, gradually dissociated from it due to missionary pressure.
The government stopped signing monastic ‘Acts of Appointment’ (legal recognition for incumbents) in 1839, leading to administrative chaos.
Later ‘Certificates’ of appointment (from 1853) lacked the authority of the ‘Acts’, weakening the Sangha’s ability to enforce discipline or manage properties without costly civil court action.
This process of disestablishment was the primary way British rule harmed traditional Buddhism.
The British relinquished custodianship of the Buddha’s tooth relic in 1847.

The British missions

Major Protestant missionary societies established themselves in Ceylon between 1805 and 1818.
Despite their association with colonial power, their success in converting Buddhists was limited; most Christians were existing Roman Catholics.
Missionaries used education (English-medium schools), preaching, and pamphleteering.
Mission schools provided access to government jobs, but traditional temple schools were not supported.
Missionary inflexibility, such as using offensive language in Sinhala Bible translations, hindered their efforts.
Aggressive tactics like disrupting Buddhist festivals with critical pamphlets and confrontational preaching often led to contempt rather than conversion.
The government’s licensing of numerous arrack taverns drew less missionary opposition than its previous connection to Buddhism.
The missionaries’ most influential innovation was the extensive use of the printing press for polemical literature.
Initially, Buddhists responded peacefully, sometimes assisting missionaries, but this tolerance was misinterpreted as apathy.
Spence Hardy, a prominent missionary, later noted a shift towards active Buddhist opposition, including counter-publications, which he paradoxically welcomed as a sign of engagement.
Daniel Gogerly’s 1849 work, “Kristiyāni Prajñapti,” shifted Christian polemics towards reasoned argument and scriptural comparison.

Early Buddhist reactions

Buddhists were initially hesitant but eventually adopted printing, establishing their first presses in the 1850s and 1860s.
Monks Hikkaḍuve Sumangala and Mohoṭ̣̣ivatte Gunānanda led the Buddhist literary and oratorical response.
Gunānanda founded a society for propagating Buddhism (1862) and published replies to Christian tracts, leading to a “pamphlet war.”
Buddhists began participating in public debates from around 1864.
Gunānanda became the foremost Buddhist debater, known for his powerful oratory.
The Pānadura debate in 1873, with Gunānanda as the main Buddhist speaker, was a significant event, widely perceived as a Buddhist victory and reported internationally, influencing figures like Colonel Olcott.
Missionaries ceased issuing debate challenges after Pānadura.
Gunānanda adopted Christian preaching styles (e.g., standing, gesticulating) but maintained a traditional understanding of Buddhist doctrine.
He skillfully used counter-arguments, questioning Christian scriptures and cosmology, and utilized Western secularist and critical Christian scholarship.
Despite his polemical style, Gunānanda’s Buddhism was traditional; he promoted classical texts like “The Questions of King Milinda” and, unlike later Protestant Buddhists, did not try to align Buddhist cosmology with modern science.

The rise of the Buddhist laity

The laity’s importance significantly increased in Protestant Buddhism, a shift from earlier monastic views that considered the laity as not forming part of the religion.
Lay prominence first emerged in education, as monks lacked the organizational structures and administrative experience to run schools, especially in competition with Christian schools.
In 1869, the first non-monastic Buddhist school in Ceylon was opened, organized by a monk but with a lay headmaster.
Prior to the 19th century, despite reasonable male literacy rates, the scarcity of printed materials and manuscripts meant lay Buddhists lived in an essentially oral culture.
The late 19th century saw the combination of schools and printing presses create a lay reading public among the Sinhalese for the first time.
English literacy among the middle classes, while providing access to modern knowledge, risked alienating them from traditional culture, leading active Buddhists to adapt the educational revolution.
Vidyodaya Pirivena, a Buddhist ecclesiastical college, was founded in 1873, initiated by laymen and supported by a lay management committee that included entrepreneurs.
Vidyālaṃkāra, a similar Buddhist college, was founded by monks in 1875.
Both Vidyodaya and Vidyālaṃkāra admitted clergy and laity, became leading educational institutions for Buddhist monks (gaining university status in 1959), and were crucial for developing Protestant Buddhism and integrating it into the mainstream.

The impact of the Theosophists

The Theosophical Society, founded by Blavatsky and Olcott in 1875, established its headquarters near Madras in 1879, influencing Ceylonese Buddhism.
Blavatsky and Olcott formally embraced Buddhism in Ceylon in 1890, a significant event for local Buddhists.
Olcott, an experienced organizer, helped unite Sinhalese Buddhist factions and established the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS), which effectively became “Protestant Buddhism.”
Olcott’s “Buddhist Catechism” (1881) aimed to provide a universal Buddhist creed and marked the beginning of the modern world Buddhist movement.
Olcott introduced the Buddhist flag and Wesak carols, drawing parallels with Christian traditions.
Despite Olcott’s influence, tensions arose with traditional monks like Sumangala and Gunānanda over Theosophy’s direction and the rise of lay leadership.
The lay division of the BTS was highly active in education, establishing numerous English-medium schools modelled on missionary institutions, with Buddhism replacing Christianity in the curriculum.
Buddhist lay organizations, such as the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) founded in 1898, proliferated, modelled on Christian counterparts.
The BTS founded Sinhala and English newspapers, and laymen became involved in managing Sangha property.

Anagārika Dharmapāla

Don David Hewavitarne, later Anagārika Dharmapāla, born in 1864, became a key figure in modern Buddhism.
He adopted the title ‘Anagārika’ in 1881, signifying a new status between monk and layman, dedicated to protecting the Dhamma.
Educated in Christian schools, his strong anti-Christian views were coupled with a command of Biblical language, influencing his rhetoric.
He worked with Olcott and the BTS, adored Madame Blavatsky, and travelled to Japan in 1889 to connect Ceylonese and Japanese Buddhists.
In 1891, he founded the Maha Bodhi Society to reclaim the Bodh Gayā site for Buddhists and promote Buddhist education.
Dharmapāla represented Buddhism at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions.
His Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism was expressed through new forms, influenced by his education, and he founded the “Simhala Bauddhayā” newspaper in 1906.
He pioneered lay meditation, learning from a text and popularizing the practice among the bourgeoisie, a departure from tradition.

Lay religious activism

Dharmapāla’s ‘Anagārika’ status embodied the Protestant Buddhist ethos: a life of asceticism and chastity combined with worldly (political) activism.
He criticized monks for perceived selfishness, echoing Christian critiques.
The Anagārika status itself did not become widespread, but its spirit influenced monks to become more socio-politically active and laymen to adopt worldly asceticism.
Christian influence led to monks taking on roles like chaplains and missionaries, and laymen engaging actively in doctrinal matters, particularly among the urban middle class.
The rise of Protestant Buddhism was linked to urbanization and a new bourgeoisie challenging the monks’ religious monopoly, with a strong emphasis on formal education.
Dharmapāla promoted “this-worldly asceticism” (honesty, diligence, thrift) through works like “Gihi Vinaya” (1898), applying Protestant values and Victorian etiquette to daily life.
He advocated for monogamy (mistakenly believing it traditional) and incorrectly viewed caste as un-Buddhist, influenced by Western Protestant ideals of a uniform religion.
He promoted Buddhist soteriological practices like meditation for laypeople and rejected communal religious practices as “Hindu influence.”

Other characteristics of Protestant Buddhism

Protestant Buddhism is characterized by fundamentalism (despising tradition), claims of Buddhism being ‘scientific’ and ‘rational’ (not a religion but a philosophy), and a reliance on English concepts.
Western scholarship, particularly the Pali Text Society founded in 1881, made Pali texts accessible in English, influencing English-educated Buddhists.
Despite increased literacy, most lay Buddhists accessed scriptures second-hand, unlike Bible-reading Protestants.
Buddhist intellectuals like Dr. G.P. Malalasekera and Professor K.N. Jayatilleke argued that Buddha was a great scientist and that Buddhism anticipated modern Western intellectual developments.
Jayatilleke sought to empirically prove rebirth, aligning with the view of Buddhism as a rational philosophy.

Limited scope of Protestant Buddhism

Protestant Buddhism, shaped by Dharmapāla, primarily influenced the small, urbanized, English-educated middle class in early 20th-century Ceylon.
The traditional peasantry and the largely rural Sangha were less affected.
Monks educated in Colombo might adopt some modern views but often returned to traditional village roles, sometimes supervising Sunday schools or leading local welfare groups.
A minority of monks pursued non-traditional careers like teaching.
The Sangha did not develop new organizational structures to counter the rise of lay leadership, as the shift was not widely perceived as a problem.

8 Current trends, new problems

The rise of ‘Protestant Buddhism’ was influenced by the British (especially Protestant missionaries) and the emergence of an urban middle class.
While British influence has waned, the urban middle class and urbanization continue to grow.
The polemical rhetoric of Dharmapāla has largely vanished as its targets are no longer present.
Some intellectuals maintain that traditional Buddhism is ‘corrupt’ and advocate for a Buddhism based solely on the Canon, viewing it as rationalism or science, though these issues are less prominent with the decline of English education.
Slogans reflecting these ideas, such as ‘the Buddhist religion is not a religion’, have been spread through the education system.

Religious pluralism

The perception of Buddhism (Sāsana) as unique has been lost due to global contact and government formalization, which positions Buddhism alongside Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity as one of Sri Lanka’s four religions.
The state assigning Buddhism a ‘special place’ does not alter this perception of parity.
Claims that Buddhism is a ‘way of life’ rather than a religion are attempts to reassert its uniqueness, suggesting other religions are communally acceptable but only Buddha showed the true path to salvation.
Liberal Buddhists contend that one does not need to identify as a Buddhist to follow the Buddha’s path.

The new ethos

Dharmapāla’s condemnation of god-belief and rejection of traditional communal religion is now uncommon.
This radicalism persists among the educated middle class as a ‘bad conscience,’ feeling they ‘ought not’ to worship gods or placate demons, leading to hypocrisy and uncertainty in beliefs.
Traditional practices involving superhuman beings are strengthening, not declining.
A key surviving feature of Protestant Buddhism is the emphasis on lay religiosity: laypeople should strive for nibbāna and work to permeate society with Buddhist principles.
This aligns with viewing Buddhism as a total religious system where meditation is suitable for everyone.
Unlike Weber’s Calvinists, these Protestant Buddhists often have a negative view of money-making, influenced by Dharmapāla’s puritanism and an anti-capitalist stance (linking capitalism with colonialism).
They apply renouncer values to lay life, viewing money-making with guilt as ‘greed’.
Wealthy lay Buddhist leaders tend to display piety as if atoning for worldliness, rather than wealth as a sign of righteousness.

Unintended consequences of lay religious activism

Increased lay religiosity has led to unintended consequences, notably sect formation, similar to Protestant Christianity.
This development has been largely overlooked because, traditionally, only the Sangha (monastic order) formed ‘sects’ (nikāyas), typically over issues of practice or caste, not doctrine.
Laypeople who diminish the Sangha’s role in their religious lives are free to pursue their own paths.
Small Buddhist groups, analogous to Christian sects, have emerged, led by self-ordained ‘monks’ or lay individuals claiming special religious insight.
These groups do not identify as ‘sects,’ lack formal membership processes, and may not have institutional structures to survive beyond their charismatic founders.
They claim to be the ‘true Buddhists,’ viewing the established Sangha as degenerate.
These groups are generally tolerant of other religious traditions, seeing them as compatible on a lower level, while asserting their own views as the ultimate Truth that ‘overcodes’ other religions, including mainstream Buddhism.
Theosophical influence remains strong in some middle-class sects.
The characterization of one’s own religion as ‘not a religion’ but a higher form of generality is a common feature of contemporary Buddhism under modern influence.
Traditional and Protestant Buddhism are increasingly intermingling, influenced by socio-economic trends.

The most significant change since Sri Lanka’s Independence has been a demographic explosion, with the population more than doubling by late 1984 due to malaria eradication during World War II.
This population growth has severely damaged traditional village communities, with dense rural populations and often meaningless administrative village boundaries.
Land scarcity has disrupted traditional village economies, leading to landlessness among many ‘peasants’.
This has resulted in migration:
- To other villages, leading to a breakdown of traditional marriage patterns and community ties.
- To new government-sponsored rice cultivation areas (‘colonies’), often with heterogeneous populations, causing social dislocation and loss of traditional religious structures.
- To cities, especially Colombo, creating large urban penumbras and long commutes.
A large new socio-economic class of poor people has emerged in and around urban centers, dependent on them for subsistence and often uprooted from traditional support systems, fostering new religious developments.
Economic performance has been insufficient to cope with the population crisis.
State intervention in the economy (dirigisme) has increased.
Politicians have often exacerbated social divisions by appealing to envy and inciting communities to blame each other for economic hardships.
Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism has been fostered by politicians, with the Sinhalese majority blaming Tamils for their economic problems.
This tension led to some Tamils responding with terrorist violence, provoking a severe Sinhalese backlash in July 1983.
Buddhist governments, while perhaps aspiring to emulate Asoka, have taken a path reminiscent of Dutṭhagāmani.

The cultural effect of the war

The civil war between the Sinhalese government and Tamil extremists has significantly impacted Sri Lanka.
Some nationalist monks, like Ālle Gunavamsa, composed battle songs equating defending the motherland with attaining nirvana, a view divergent from mainstream Buddhist tradition.
The war, alongside Protestant Buddhism and anti-colonial nationalism, has spurred some Sangha members to seek worldly and political roles.
Monks began participating in elections, with Ven. Baddegama Samitha being the first elected to Parliament in 2001, advocating for peace.
In 2004, the Jātika Hela Urumaya, a Sinhala Buddhist political party exclusively for monks, was formed, electing nine monks to Parliament, though it faced internal divisions. This trend challenges the traditional separation of religious and state affairs.
These Sangha trends are mirrored in broader Sinhalese society, including resistance to English language education despite its economic benefits, as seen in the Jātika Cintanaya movement.
The author acknowledges that Tamil insurgents have also engaged in actions beyond cultural chauvinism.
Buddhism in Sri Lanka has struggled to foster a pluralistic society and a federal political system, sometimes impeding political stability.
Sinhala Buddhism exhibits intolerance towards other Buddhist forms, especially Mahayana, despite efforts to internationalize, sometimes labeling Mahayana as a “parasite growth.”

Hinduizing trends

A notable religious consequence of the civil war has been an increase in Hindu-influenced practices.
This includes a rise in emotional bhakti religiosity, where devotion to a personal deity is considered the path to salvation.
For new urban dwellers, the traditional Sinhalese pantheon has become disorganized, with a cosmology where divine power and goodness are not necessarily linked, and the law of kamma seems less immediate than magic or deity intervention.
Many impoverished individuals have minimal engagement with traditional Buddhism, focusing instead on thaumaturgy and their personal deities.
Traditional deities like Viṣnu have declined in popularity, while gods with fearsome aspects, such as Kālī, have gained prominence. This contrasts with traditional benign Buddhist deities, as punishment was historically attributed to demons.
The cult of Kālī and practices like firewalking at Kataragama, once predominantly Tamil, are now popular among Sinhalese, many of whom are nominally Buddhists.
These devotees engage in ecstatic practices like possession, firewalking, and self-inflicted apparent tortures, believing their guardian deity protects them.

The decline of rationality

Ecstatic activities such as possession and firewalking are untraditional for Sinhalese Buddhists and contrast with classical Buddhism’s emphasis on awareness and self-control.
Hysterical possession, once viewed as demonic and requiring exorcism, is now sometimes interpreted as possession by a benevolent spirit or deceased relative.
Individuals experiencing such possession may establish home shrines and act as spiritual mediums.
This emerging cosmology and its practices are considered less rational and coherent than traditional Sinhalese Buddhism.
There is a widespread shift away from rationality towards occult practices like palmistry, tabletapping, hypnotism, and astrology.
Astrology, though traditionally present, has seen a significant rise in popularity, likely due to widespread anxiety. Tamils are often reputed to be the most skilled astrologers.
A prominent monk notably used astrology to inquire about past and future lives, a significant departure from tradition where astrology was confined to the present life.

The crisis of authority

The erosion of the traditional pantheon’s authority structure mirrors a broader societal lack of clearly perceived authority.
This includes the diminishing role of the Sangha as the sole spiritual authority for many contemporary Sinhalese.
Many professionals, intellectuals, and business people now make independent religious decisions, often following lay meditation teachers or Indian gurus like Sai Baba, while still identifying as Buddhists.

Altered states of consciousness

Meditation has gained popularity as a leisure activity among the laity, particularly the middle class.
While some meditation is expertly guided, many individuals learn independently or from unconventional teachers, leading to the attainment of altered states of consciousness.
The traditional institutional framework that guided monks’ experiences with such states is often absent for modern lay meditators, sometimes resulting in unusual outcomes.
Individuals interpret altered states differently based on context: as possession during deity worship, or as jhānas (meditative absorptions) during Buddhist meditation.
Informants appear to experience similar states but provide varying interpretations (possession, jhāna, or “hypnosis”) depending on the situation.
These individuals may use their altered states to assist others, but they might be misinterpreting a loss of normal awareness (hysteria) as the intended goal of Buddhist meditative practices.
This confusion between impaired and heightened awareness is considered a dangerous development.

Using Buddhism for this world

The application of subjectively understood jhānas for “welfare work” or white magic is likely still uncommon.
The urban and suburban middle-class Sinhalese are increasingly adopting meditation for practical benefits in daily life, such as improved efficiency.
This utilitarian approach to Buddhist meditation, rather than pursuing it as an end in itself, represents a significant innovation and potential risk.
Buddhist meditation, originally developed for renunciates, cultivates detachment, which can create conflict for individuals engaged in family life and economic pursuits (e.g., viewing wealth accumulation as “greed” or marital intimacy as “passion”).
Lay meditators, following the Anagārika tradition, may show a tendency towards celibacy.
This trend signifies an adaptation of Buddhist soteriology to worldly life, reflecting Dharmapāla’s implicit aim to use Buddhist principles for communal religion.
Modern Sinhalese are incorporating Buddhist elements into weddings: girls in white recite Pali blessings (mimicking bridesmaids), ceremonies are held on monastic grounds with monks blessing couples, and laymen in ‘brahmin’ attire conduct services purportedly based on Gotama’s own wedding.

Developments in the Sangha

The Sangha, lacking a central authority, has not formulated a planned or conscious response to these societal shifts.
Positive traditional developments persist, such as the contemporary hermitage movement, which preserves Theravādin traditions.
Ven. Pānadurē Ariyadhamma, an educated, urban-origin monk, successfully developed a modern form of public Buddha worship that attracted large followings.
The majority of monks are still recruited as children from rural areas, receiving education in monastic institutions that may not adequately prepare them for the modern world.
Joining the Sangha is a less effective path to wider opportunities for poor village boys than previously; monks attending university have a high rate of disrobing.
A significant development is the de facto re-establishment of the Order of Nuns (bhikkhunis).
Previously, Sri Lanka had women observing Ten Precepts (dasa sil mātā) but not fully ordained nuns.
Efforts to revive the Order of Nuns saw Sinhalese women ordained by Korean nuns and supportive Sri Lankan monks in India (Sarnath 1996, Bodh Gaya 1998), despite initial opposition in Sri Lanka.
Since then, ordination ceremonies for nuns have been conducted in Sri Lanka, and a training program has been established.
The re-establishment of the nuns’ Order is viewed as the most positive impact of globalization on Sri Lankan Buddhism, partly facilitated by international initiatives.

The challenge

The traditional “village-dwelling” monk system, despite its flaws, effectively disseminated Buddhist values in rural communities.
With the decline of village communities, local monks may continue as ritual specialists or amateur social workers but often struggle to be effective religious leaders or symbols of higher spiritual values.
To retain its educated young members, the Sangha must offer more engaging and meaningful roles.
State patronage ensures the Sangha’s institutional survival but does not guarantee its moral and intellectual leadership among the Buddhist public.
The Sangha needs to utilize mass media, including radio and television, to reach a national audience and strengthen its presence in urban areas, especially slums.
While Radio Ceylon broadcasts pirit, this alone is insufficient to counter secular trends. Television presents a powerful potential tool.
The future impact will depend on whether capable monks emerge to effectively use these new communication methods.
Even with skilled communicators, lay religiosity is expected to persist, and the homogeneous Buddhist society of ancient Ceylon is unlikely to be restored. The Sangha will not adopt an authoritarian role like ayatollahs.

Theravāda Buddhism

Acknowledgments and recommendations for further reading

Preface to the second edition

1 Introduction

A. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

B. A SOCIAL HISTORY OF BUDDHISM?

2 Gotama Buddha’s problem situation

A. VEDIC CIVILIZATION

The Vedic tradition

The early Vedic period

Later Vedic society

Religion in the later Vedic period

Karma and escape from rebirth

B. THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF HIS DAY

To whom did the Buddha’s message appeal?

3 The Buddha’s Dhamma

The Dhamma in its context: answers to brahminism

Buddhism as religious individualism

An ethic for the socially mobile

The Buddha on kings and politics

4 The Sangha’s discipline

General principles of the vinaya

Dating and development of the rules

The middle way between discomfort and indulgence

The disbarring offences and enforcement of chastity

Hierarchies of age and sex

The formal organization of the Sangha

Sect formation: Theravāda defined

Maintaining conformity

Relations between ordained and laity

5 The accommodation between Buddhism and society in ancient India

A. BUDDHIST DEVOTION

The Buddha as an object of faith and devotion

Pilgrimage

Relics

Mortuary rituals and ‘transfer of merit’

B. SECULAR POWER: ASOKA

Asoka’s inscriptions

Asoka in Buddhist tradition

The missions: interpreting the evidence

6 The Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka

The Sinhalese Buddhist identity

Periodization of Sinhalese Buddhist history

Sources

Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism

Cosmology

A Buddhist society

Worship of Buddha images

Role of the village monk

The achievements of Mahinda’s mission

Establishing Buddhism in a new country

The Sangha’s duty to preserve the scriptures

The use of Pali: Buddhaghosa

Translation and popularization

Village dweller and forest dweller

The structure of the Sangha in Ceylon

Formal state control of the Sangha

Sangha and state in Anuradhapura

The Sangha as landlords

Decline …

7 Protestant Buddhism

The disestablishment of the Sangha

The British missions

Early Buddhist reactions

The rise of the Buddhist laity

The impact of the Theosophists

Anagārika Dharmapāla

Lay religious activism

Other characteristics of Protestant Buddhism

Limited scope of Protestant Buddhism

8 Current trends, new problems

Religious pluralism

The new ethos

Unintended consequences of lay religious activism

Recent economic and social developments

The cultural effect of the war

Hinduizing trends

The decline of rationality

The crisis of authority

Altered states of consciousness