Backlogged Blog 2

So, I just returned from my 8 day tour of Sri Lanka’s “cultural triangle.” WOW. I was just floored. I got up at 5:30 to get ready, and arrived at the ISLE center for a 7:00 depart. It was a few hour’s drive up to Anuradapura, which was the farthest north we traveled. It was a little more than 200 Km from Jafna, which will be a reassurance to family, and a dissapointment to those friends who were hoping I could join the Sri Lankan civil war for my independent study. No dice.
Anyway, Anuradapura was amazing. We stopped halfway there in a random field full of cows (and cowdung), where our archeologist guides told us about megolithic societies. The connection was apparently that the area was the site of both megalithic and later societies, and was a materials waypoint on the way to Anuradapura. Anyway, we also went to see some nearby megalithic burial sites, reflecting the animistic religion that buddhism supplanted when it arrived in the 3rd century BC.
In Anuradapura, we arrived at our hotel and moved in, had lunch, then went out again to see Mahintale, the first monastery built in Sri Lanka (3rd century BC). I think that despite the grander sites that we saw, this one still moved me the most. It was a series of drip ledge caves carved into the rock (a drip ledge is a sharp chisel line across the top of the cave, such that rain drops from the overhang rather than following the wall inside). It was all very beautiful even in its austerity, and seemed to radiate a sense of serenity.
However, I don’t want to belittle the other sites we saw on our trip. Anuradapura was the first capital of the united Sri Lanka. It still holds the Sri Maha Bodhi, a tree planted from a cutting of the Bodhi tree the Buddha became enlightened under. Right nearby is a magnificent stuppa holding a bodily relic of the Buddha (Ruwanweliseya). (if I can figure out how, I’ll upload some pictures. If not, google image search?). We also saw the “twin ponds”, the moonstone at King Mahasen’s Palace, and went to Abhayagiri Vihara (an old monastary site.) Also in Anuradapura was a carving called “The Lovers.” Some archeologists speculate that it depicts King Dutugemunu’s son, and the low caste maiden he fell in love with and for whom he gave up his claim to the throne.
At Mahintale, there is an ancient stupa, and a pilgrimage place with a precarious ascent to a beautiful overlook of the jungle.
Next, we went to Sigiria, the second capital of Anuradapura. There, we saw an old rock fortress that has to be the most utterly impregnable place…ever. History tells of a certain Sri Lankan king who killed his way to the top. After he killed his father, his brother fled to India, fearing for his life. Before going, he vowed to return with an army to challenge his brother. His brother decided to move his residence (and the capital) to Sigiria, where he constructed this fortress. It’s surrounded by at least one moat and thick walls. Inside of this are three terraces which lead up to the sheer face of a plateau. The first third of the way up, there are stone steps cut into the rock, following which there were only hand and foot niches acending the vertical rock. Today, they have built spiral staircases, but the ascent is still dizzying. 2/3 of the way up, there are murals painted on the rock wall. Evidence suggests that there may have been 500 or more figures drawn there at one time, but today all but 23 have been washed away. The ones that remain are magnificent, and ancient poetry to to their beauty is carved into the “mirror wall” which faces them (about 1,500 bits of poetry and prose!). We didn’t climb all the way to the top, because there were killer wasps living there whose sting can cause excrutiating pain, brain damage, and death. They’re agitated by loud noise and vibration, and since some idiot German tourists were up there singing at the top of their lungs, we decided not to test our luck. It’s too bad though, because at the top is the citidel, which lies between two carved, giant lions paws. In any case, I doubt the brother who fled to India took this place by force.
Also in Sigiria: more monastic sites, more stuppas, and a giant standing Buddha constructed in a later age (10th or 12th century I think).
The last place we went is Polunaruwa, which was also the capital during the middle ages (10th and 12th century). Here, we saw one last stupa, the ruins of a large buddhist monastary, “the sage”, the inner citidel at Polunaruwa, the lotus pond, and a site (gal vihara) with 3 huge Buddhas (one seated, one standing, one reclining).
This entire trip was magnificent.
Our regular matierial culture course teacher is recovering from a pacemaker operation, so we haven’t actually had any of those classes yet. This whole field trip was for that class though, so we have to come up with a paper topic based on the trip. I think I’m going to do mine comparing the Buddha’s teachings on the importance of non-attachment to bodies, things, etc. to the physical, material representations of that religion (huge stupas, grand monuments, worship of the Buddha’s bodily relics, etc.).