• Latest

Breathing new life into the Buddhist order

December 2, 2022

INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD

March 31, 2023
Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

March 3, 2023
Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

March 3, 2023
DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

March 3, 2023
A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

March 3, 2023
The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

February 7, 2023
Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

February 7, 2023
The Art of Local Writing

The Art of Local Writing

February 7, 2023
Carnival Magic

Carnival Magic

February 7, 2023
Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

January 11, 2023
Rumination and Emotional Process

Rumination and Emotional Process

January 13, 2023
Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

January 11, 2023
Retail
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • April 2022
        • May 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Breathing new life into the Buddhist order

in December 2015, General
0 0
0
The procession of monks bearing new alms bowls from Thailand
The procession of monks bearing new alms bowls from Thailand

The collection of food for alms, known as the pindapata, has been a mainstay of Buddhism in Sri Lanka over the centuries. Each year the Gangaramaya Temple allocates new alms bowls to thousands of clergy from across the country. It’s an event that honours Buddhism’s past and strengthens its future.

Words Prasadini Nanayakkara

Devotees offerings alms to the clergy with new alms bowls
Devotees offerings alms to the clergy with new alms bowls

Buddhist doctrine relies on the Buddhist order. Recognising this, the Buddha laid down a set of monastic rules contained in ‘The Basket of the Discipline’, or Vinaya Pitaka. This disciplinary code for monastic conduct is the lifeblood of the Buddhist order, and upholding its tenets is a fundamental element of Buddhist religious life. The practice of pindapata, the collection of food in an alms bowl, is regarded as an important practice in monastic conduct.

The Buddha likened the Buddhist order to bees collecting nectar from flowers without inflicting any harm. In the same way the monk, or bhikkhu, must go about his parish on foot collecting alms without becoming a burden to the devotees. In fact, the opposite should be the case: his presence in the community must spread happiness and harmony.

The alms bowl has a long history and was in existence even before the Buddha reached enlightenment. One of the earliest mentions of the bowl is when Sujata, a daughter of a wealthy family, offers the hermit Siddhartha (prior to becoming a Buddha) a bowl of milk rice.

The Buddha realised that the alms bowl would be a useful item for the bhikkhus when he put forth the rules of conduct, engaging in pindapata himself. He was collecting alms one day when his father, King Suddhodana, interrogated him about it, as he viewed the practice as an embarrassment to the royal family. The Buddha explained that collecting alms is a traditional practice, carried out by all other Buddhas before him.

The Buddha believed that pindapata serves two purposes. The first being that as the number of bhikkus grew into the thousands, it had become a greater burden for lay people to provide alms. Going from door to door with an alms bowl meant that each household could offer a portion of food set aside for the bhikku. The monks would visit every home in their path, without avoiding or favouring a particular household, so that both the rich and the poor could make offerings within their means. When the bhikku had collected enough food for a meal, the collection would cease. This way the lay people could collectively sustain the Buddhist order with ease.

Offering alms bowls to rural temples at an event in Anuradhapura in 2011
Offering alms bowls to rural temples at an event in Anuradhapura in 2011

Secondly, the practice cultivates humility. Having shed their attachments, bhikkus are independent and freeof all ties to family or loved ones. They no longer feel that their lives belong to or depend on another person. But through the practice of collecting alms the bhikkus gain a sense that their existence relies on the community. While lay people feel entitled to material comforts, privileges and the right to do as they please, as they earn their own livelihood, the bikkhu sense that their lives exists for others. The Buddhist order must therefore nurture the community that is responsible for its upkeep.

The collection of food for alms in this way strengthens the bond between the clergy and lay people. The alms bowl is a symbol of the clergy today. Among the alms that are offered by the devotees, the set of eight monastic requisites known as the ata pirikara takes pride of place. And among those eight items – three robes, belt, razor, needle, water strainer and alms bowl – the alms bowl is the most significant.

Over time, however, the ata pirikara became merely symbolic, its items unfit for actual use. The alms bowl, for instance, was made of iron that would rust due to contact with acidic food. The bhikkus who consumed food from rusty iron bowls would fall ill and so their use, and the practice of pindapata, was gradually phased out.

It also declined as a result of colonization, which diluted the influence of the temple and its clergy. The bond between the community and the clergy weakened too, as pindapata occurred less and less.

Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thero, the chief incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple, is well known for his philanthropic efforts, often concerning himself with matters of societal, cultural and religious importance. He is at the helm of many projects for the advancement of the Buddhist order, including offering scholarships for novice monks, providing sanitary facilities to monastic colleges, and working towards tax exemptions for imported educational books.

The Thero was therefore quick to recognise the benefit of re-establishing the practice of collecting alms for food. He reached out to benevolent devotees in Thailand, where pindapata still takes place, to bring large numbers of good quality alms bowls to Sri Lanka. To date the Gangaramaya Temple has offered alms bowls to 25,000 members of the clergy, with 3,400 offered at the event held last year.

This year, in commemoration of  the Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thero’s birthday on December 14, representatives of rural temples from across the Island will come to Gangaramaya Temple to receive 5,000 alms bowls. Considering that Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy comprises 35,000 people, this year’s event hopes to draw closer to completing the task of providing an alms bowl to every member of the clergy.

Tags: Buddhism
TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Explore Sri Lanka

Explore Sri Lanka Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • INKATERRA LA CASONA WINS THE ‘ANDREW HARPER EDITOR’S CHOICE’ AWARD
  • Investec Cape Town Art Fair
  • Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Find Us

Explore Sri Lanka
20-2/1 Lauries Place Facing
R. A. De Mel Mawatha
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka.
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
      • 2014
      • 2015
      • 2016
      • 2017
      • 2018
      • 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In