Funday Times

Lankan envoys honoured in India
As priest Nigrodha got ready to leave, the king invited him to have daily meals, at the palace. Accepting this invitation, he went on his way to see his mother. The following day, he came to the palace, with 32 other priests. The king was very happy to receive them. He offered alms to all of them. The king was highly impressed by the calm and serene demeanour of the Buddhist priests. The king and his men, observed the 'Pancha sila' - the five precepts.

King Asoka, up to then, had seen only the 'Tirtha-kas'(ascetics of other faiths). They were not so disciplined like the Buddhist priests. He started comparing the two groups of ascetics and contemplated on the weakness of the former and the merits of the latter group. Realising that it was a pleasure to meet these priests, he decided not to offer alms to those others, who used to frequent the palace. There were about sixty thousand of these ascetics, who had visited the palace regularly for alms.

King Asoka desired to learn more about Buddhism. He went to Arahat Moggaliputta-Tissa and learned from him. It was then that he added the epithet 'Devanampiya' (heard by the gods) to his name. Around this time, envoys from Lanka had reached Pataliputra. The king hosted them well, providing all the facilities to make their stay a happy one. The Lankan envoys, then, handed over the gifts sent by Devanampiya Tissa. Accepting them, King Asoka said how pleased he was, with the unseen friend.

King Asoka conferred honours on the Lankan envoys. Arittha was conferred the title of 'Commander-in- Chief', the Brahmin, the 'Dignity of the Chaplain' (Advisor) and the ministers were given the rank of 'Staff-Bearer'. He bestowed on the Treasurer, the rank of 'Guild-Lord'. After consulting his own ministers, King Asoka decided to send a return gift to Devanampiya-Tissa. He wanted the envoys to carry the message that he had, by then, embraced Buddhism, by seeking refuge in the Triple Gem. He had become a lay disciple. He wanted them to request King Devanampiya Tissa to have a second consecrating ceremony.

The envoys were amazed to notice the peaceful and calm behaviour of King Asoka. They couldn't believe that this was the same war hero, who killed thousands of people, in the battlefield. Noticing the look of surprise on their faces, the king inquired, "Why are you gazing at me like this? Do you think I am still Chandasoka you've heard of? No. I have ended that evil period. I'm Dharmasoka now. I advise you to seek refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha", said the king.

The Lankan envoys spent seven months in India and returned to the island. They informed Devanampiya Tissa,. About the big change in the life of Asoka, and handed over the gifts brought from him. They added that Asoka requested the king to have a second consecration ceremony. Honouring the friend's request, Devanampiya Tissa had his second consecration ceremony on a Vesak full moon day, adding 'Deva-nampiya' to his name. It is really from then on, that he was kno-wn as 'Dev-anampiya Tissa.

King Asoka was very glad to hear this news about his unseen friend. Asoka was getting heavily involved in religious work. He had convened the 3rd Buddhist Council and had made arrangements to send Buddhist missionaries to neighbouring countries. Arahat Moggaliputta-Tissa, helped the king in this great task. He selected Mahinda, one of his sons, to visit Lanka. Mahinda had entered the Bikkhu Sasana then and was known as 'Mihindu Thera' Arahat Mahinda).

Arahat Mahinda's mother was Princess Devi. Vidisa was her home town. King Asoka, while he was still a prince, met Devi when he was traveling from Avanti to Ujjaini. He was then the Viceroy of Avanti. It was this beautiful princess, that Asoka made his wife. But the princess refused to leave Vidisa, her home town. When Asoka became Emperor, he had to be separated from Devi. By then, Asoka and Devi, were blessed with two children, a son Mahinda by name and a daughter Sangamitta.

An eagerly awaited community event
Just as much as the 'perahera' is a community celebration, so is the 'pirit' ceremony when held in the village temple. Not only the whole village but people from adjoining villages too gather for the ceremony, which is normally held throughout the night - 'sarva ratrika' (all-night) and sometimes for seven days without a break known as 'sati pirit' (week-long 'pirit'). Being a big 'pinkama' (meritorious deed), the whole village gets involved in planning the 'pirit' ceremony.

Taking the lead would be the chief monk of the temple who would form a committee of laymen to be in charge of the ceremony. Key people will be given numerous tasks and they in turn would get the support of the others.

The making of the 'pirit mandapaya' - the enclosure from where 'pirit' is chanted is an elaborate affair. It will have sufficient room for at least fifteen monks to sit. In addition, there should be enough space to keep a table where the 'pirit pota' (book of pirit) where the stanzas are written on ola leaf. In every temple such a collection neatly bundled is kept in the library to be used when 'pirit' is chanted. The 'pirit paen kale' (pot of 'pirit' water) is also kept on the table with 'pirit nool' (bundle of thread) spread out from it.

The 'dhatu karanduwa' (relic casket) is kept at a higher elevation on the table..

The 'manadapaya' is gaily decorated either using 'gokkola' (tender coconut leaves) or paper. Either way, talented artists in the village voluntarily offer their services and would try to do their best so that the decorated 'mandapaya' would be talked about in the village for many moons.

While elaborate designs are created in 'gokkola', delicate designs would be carved out when paper decorations are used. They will invariably all be in white and rarely are coloured tissue paper used. White cloth is spread on top covering the enclosure. Various kinds of leaves and herbs are hung giving an appearance of a mini greenwood. Chairs with white cloth spread on them as is normally done for monks, are kept for the monks to sit and recite the stanzas. While the entire community of monks recites the opening stanzas, which run to about one hour, they take turns to recite the rest, two monks at a time.

'Punkalas' - clay pots with opened coconut flowers - are kept outside the enclosure on the four sides. 'Meti pahan' - small clay oil lamps are kept on them and are lighted throughout the chanting of 'pirit'.

Drummers play a key role at a 'pirit' ceremony. They would sound the drums at regular intervals from the early part of the evening as a reminder to the village folk. At the commencement of 'pirit' they lead the procession of monks from the residential quarters in the temple where the monks would gather, to the preaching hall where the 'pirit mandapaya' has been erected. Just prior to the commencement of 'pirit', a session of 'magul bera' drumming takes place at the entrance to the 'mandapaya' and thereafter at regular intervals, the drummers pay 'sabda puja' (sound offerings) when monks stop reciting the stanzas and allow the drummers to perform.

Once the monks take their seats, 'gilampasa' (a soft drink) would be offered. A junior monk would, in the meantime, attend to details inside the 'mandapaya' and pass on the 'pirit' thread to the devotees who will all be seated on mats ready to listen to the chanting. The chief dayaka or the lay devotee would invite the monks to chant 'pirit' in the traditional manner by offering a 'bulat vattiya' - an open basket containing betel leaves, arecanut, and chunam.

The chief monk would accept the invitation on behalf of the 'Maha Sangha' and deliver a short sermon on the merits of 'pirit' chanting after getting the devotees to observe 'pansil' (five precepts). The chanting then begins.

Listening to 'pirit' is a pious activity by the devotees who firmly believe it would give them protection and is beneficial to the community. 'Pirit' chanting would be done in a temple at least once a year, if not more frequently, and is an eagerly awaited event.

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