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Tripitaka declared a national heritage; history is made again at Aluvihare Temple
View(s):The Tripitaka, the sacred Buddhist cannon, was declared a national heritage by President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday at a ceremony at the historic Matale Aluvihare Temple, where resident monks in the 1st century BC compiled it for the benefit of generations to come.
The Tripitaka being ceremoniously taken in procession. Pic by Sudath SIlva
As Buddhist flags were hoisted all over the island to mark the landmark event, yesterday’s ceremony was attended by Mahanayakes, more than 1,500 Buddhist monks, hundreds of dignitaries and a large number of devotees.
Early this week, the President’s proposal to make the Tripitaka a national heritage won cabinet approval. Moves are now underway to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status for the scripture comprising the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutra Pitaka and the Abhidharma Pitaka.
The chronicle Deepavamsa records that during the reign of King Walagamba during 1st Century B.C., the Tripitaka was written down on ola leaves by the Aluvihare Temple monks who had memorised it
After the passing of the Buddha, his teachings were handed down through oral tradition.
In the 1st Century B.C. during the time of King Walagamba, there was a severe 12-year famine which came to be known as ‘Beminitiya seya’. At that time Sri Lanka came under regular South Indian invasions and the king went into hiding. It is said the famine-stricken monks survived on leaves and wild berries. Amid crisis and turmoil, the learned monks felt that it would be difficult for new monks to memorise the teachings of the Buddha. While some 60 erudite monks found refuge in the Malaya (hill) country, some went to North India. The monks who went to the hill country lived on the river banks and they suffered starvation and hardhsip. They saw wild animals dying of famine and felt the need to preserve the teachings of the Buddha.
When the famine ended and the threat from South India receded, King Walagamba returned from his hideout to regain his kingdom in Anuradhapura. The monks also returned to the kingdom and they gave priority to the task of recording the Tripitaka for the sake of future generations. Having realised Anuradhapura was not a suitable place to undertake the task, they moved to the Aloka Cave in the Mathula Colony with the permission of King Walagamba. The text was written in Pali. At present, this place is known as Matale Aluviharaya.
In 1956, the Venerable Weligama Soratha Thera, the Venerable Balangoda Ananda Nayaka Thera and the Venerable Labugamuwe Lankananda Nayaka Thera translated the text into Sinhala and it came to be revered as the Golden Buddha Tripitaka.
The original Tripitaka written on Ola leaves had many errors. Therefore the Tripitaka was written again in Pali on Ola leaves by scholar monks. This task was undertaken in 1981 at the Aluvihare Temple and it took ten years to complete the project.The Asgiri Ola Leaf (papyrus) gives details about how more than 30 generations of head monks maintained the Tripitaka through the oral tradition and this was mentioned in the Tripitaka written at the Aluviharaya in Matale.
It says Tissa Thera with Chief Temple Bikkhus formed the Abhayagiri Nikaya at the place where they had disputed against the Maha Vihara…..This was to ensure the continuation of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in the future. The Chief Theras of five Nikayas having gathered at Lovamahapaya and concluded a forum of 500 chief monks led by the Chief Temple Thera at Thuparamaya, Kunnagaththa Thissa, gathered at Alu Lena in Mathula Danawwa, chanted and wrote the Tripitaka which 36 generations of Chief Theras beginning with Upali Maha Thera had memorised and kept in mind, after the passing of the Lord Buddha.
In the book of Nikaya Sangarthaya or Sasanawatharaya, the number of generations of Chief Theras who passed down the Tripitaka through oral tradition is given as 38. In Poojawaliya written by Mayurapada, Chief incumbent Buddhaputhra Thera (during the Gampaha period), it is mentioned that 500 monks wrote the Tripitaka while residing in Aluviharaya. The names of 38 theras are also mentioned in the book.