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On the road again
After several decades, the practice of pindapata has been revived in Kandy. D.C. Ranatunga reports
A whole line of Buddhist monks – nearly 500 of them – wending their way round the Kandy lake carrying their alms bowls was a rare sight. It was equally a pleasant sight. After a lapse of several decades, the practice of going on pindapata (alms rounds) was recently revived in Kandy on a big scale. Monks of Malwatte and Asgiriya Viharas and other temples nearby joined up to go on pindapata – a practice dating back to the days of the Buddha. The revival came as part of the programme to commemorate the life-long service of Velivita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thera over 250 years ago.

"I am glad that the practice has been revived," the Most Venerable Rambukvelle Sri Vipassi Mahanayaka Thera of the Malwatte Chapter said. "I used to do it every day for several years when I was studying at the Maligakanda Pirivena," the 84-year-old Mahanayaka Thera recollected. "It is good for the monks to go on pindapata.”

"This is the greatest tribute we can pay the Sangharaja Hamuduruwo," a senior monk of the Malwatte Viharaya, Venerable Kulugammana Sri Dhammarakkita Thera said. By the time Velivita Sri Saranankara Thera got ordained, Buddhism had degenerated to such a level that traditional practices were totally forgotten. As a samanera, he started teaching people how they should practise religion. He taught them how to take Pansil and how to observe Ata Sil on Poya days.

He explained what dana, sila and bhavana meant. Along with the Silvat Samagama (pious team) he formed, he started going on pindapata visiting houses and prompting the people to part with some food from the meal they had prepared for themselves and thus acquire merit. He explained that the monks could survive only if they were looked after. The people responded to his call and the practice of pindapata was firmly established until the 1940s and '50s. Later the practice gradually disappeared.

"Our teachers told us that it was a common practice to move out of the temple around 5.30 or 6 in the morning on pindapata. But by the time we got ordained in the sixties, hardly anyone went on pindapata. Possibly better facilities, the urban environment and the need to get about may have contributed to a change in the pattern of giving alms. Even the system of education may have been a contributory factor," Ven. Dhammarakkita Thera explained.

Meanwhile, during the vas (rainy) season, lay dayakas started bringing alms to the temple. Either they would bring dry rations or cooked food. This was because during vas stretching over three to four months, the monks generally stayed indoors and the dayakas were expected to look after their needs.

Ven. Dhammarakkita Thera who is also the head of his temple and pirivena at Rambukwella has now arranged for the novice monks to go on pindapata every day. There are three villages around the temple. Every day two monks are sent to each village, where they go to a couple of houses.

How has the response been, I asked Ven. Dhammarakkita Thera. "The villagers are overwhelmed that the monks come to their doorstep to collect alms. Their bowls are filled to the brim. The dayakas eagerly wait for them. They are so enthusiastic and devoted," he said.

To start the practice all over again, there had to be a lot of preparation. He explained: "It was no easy task. We had to learn from scratch. Preparing the bowls and the bowl covers, the way to dress the robe when going on pindapata, how to carry the bowl – these were all new to us."

Ven. Dhammarakkita Thera himself went on pindapata setting an example to the novice monks. How did he feel? "I felt very strange on the first day. As we walked along the road, so many thoughts crossed my mind. I was wondering what the people would think, whether they would be laughing at us or whether we would be ridiculed. To stand in front of a door waiting for food was something unthinkable. I felt shy. All the thoughts were aimed at driving me away without waiting for alms.

Then I began to think for myself that this was something which we as monks were expected to do and which we had ignored doing. I was soon convinced that I was only doing what the Buddha wanted us to do. Then I felt relieved. From then onwards, I felt quite at ease going on pindapata." Among other senior monks who went on pindapata was the Ven. Lekakhadhikari Thera of the Malwatte Chapter.

Now that the practice has begun, it will be continued on a planned programme. Novice monks studying in pirivenas will be encouraged to go on pindapata every morning. To avoid any hardship to the dayakas, only two or three houses will be covered each day.
Quite apart from the fact that going on pindapata revives a tradition commended by the Buddha himself, Ven. Dhammarakkita Thera sees many other beneficial aspects. "Being able to offer alms when monks visit one's house enables even the poorest families to partake in a meritorious deed.

“However much they would like to offer alms to monks in the usually accepted way of either inviting them home or offering alms to several monks at the temple, they may not be able to afford it. Yet offering some food to a single monk will not be a problem. They will feel very happy that they have managed to offer alms and acquire merit.

“The practice will also make the household get up early in the morning and prepare something for the dane. Now they have something to look forward to. In turn, the community feeling in the village will be strengthened further and the relationship between the temple and the people will also grow," he says.

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