{"id":72469,"date":"2017-12-04T17:41:48","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T00:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=72469"},"modified":"2017-12-04T17:41:48","modified_gmt":"2017-12-05T00:41:48","slug":"declare-sangamitta-day-as-the-national-womens-day-in-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/12\/04\/declare-sangamitta-day-as-the-national-womens-day-in-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Declare \u00a0Sangamitta Day as the National Women\u2019s Day in Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr.P.G.Punchihewa<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

This year, Unduwap full moon \u00a0\u00a0falls on 3rd<\/sup> December, the day commemorating the arrival of Bhikkuni Sangamitta to bestow (pabbajja )ordination on Sri Lankan women and also \u00a0bringing \u00a0with her a sapling of the Great Bodhi tree at Buddhagaya.<\/p>\n

It was 2263 years ago that Thera Mahinda arrived in this island .According to Geiger that was in the year 246 B.C., on the full moon day of Poson . His arrival with the five disciples opened a new chapter in the history of the island. They not only introduced a new faith based on the sublime teachings of the Buddha , but also \u00a0gifted the country with a new civilization and a culture.<\/p>\n

Arrival of Theri Sangamitta in the Island six months later marked the second stage of this Cultural Revolution.<\/p>\n

When Anula, consort of King Devanampiyatissa sought ordination and the King concurred, the Thera Mahinda addressing the King, told him,\u00a0 It is not allowed to us O Great King ,to bestow the pabbajja (ordination) on women. But in Pataliputta there lives a nun , my younger sister known by the name Sangamitta .She who is ripe \u00a0in experience shall come hither, bringing with her the southern branch of the great Bodhi \u2013tree and \u00a0bringing also bhikkhunis renowned. When this Theri is here she will confer the pabbajja upon these women.\u201d<\/p>\n

A request was sent to Asoka by Devanampiyatissa to send Bhikkhuni Sangamitta to bestow pabbajja on Sri Lankan women. Recalling, his son \u00a0\u00a0Mahinda and Sumana the grandson, leaving \u00a0to Sri Lanka few months back, Asoka was not keen \u00a0to part with her daughter too. But Sangamitta was keen not to disappoint the brother. She said, Weighty is the word of my brother .Therefore I must depart there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Theri Sangamitta sailing from Pataliputta to Tamalitti at the mouth of the Ganges and from there, braving the Indian Ocean \u00a0\u00a0with a retinue of bhikkhunis and a mixed group of laymen \u00a0arrived \u00a0at Jambukola north of the Island on the full moon day of Unduvap. Among the bhikkhunis who accompanied her, according to Dipavamsa were \u00a0Uttara, Hema , Pasadapala,Aggimitta , Dasaka, Phegghu,Pabbata , Matta , Malla and Dhammadasiya. It also mentions that they were\u00a0 \u00a0young, probably as they had to face the vagaries of a foreign climate which was different from that of Pataliputta. Although Thera Mahinda arrived with five other Theras, Theri Sangamitta was accompanied by a bigger group of bhikkhunis ; there was a big task awaiting her. Already Queen Anula with five hundred women of the royal palace and an equal number of maidens were ready to receive the ordination .Once they received the ordination there were many to follow them .Dipavamsa mentions names of several others like Soma ,Dhamma Sobhani , Dhamma and others who subsequently entered the Order.<\/p>\n

The bhikkhunis from Jambudvipa also had the added task of teaching the Vinaya (disciplinary rules) to the newly ordained nuns, and all the bhkkhunis who came from Pataliputta were well versed in Vinaya. \u00a0Dipavamsa mentions several of the local bhikkhunis, namely Mahila ,Sata Kali and Uttara who mastered the \u00a0Vinaya rules within a short time.<\/p>\n

Theri Sangamiita\u00a0 while being \u00a0mindful of \u00a0the progress of the doctrine was also keen on the welfare \u00a0of the bhikkhunis .At her request additional dwellings \u00a0were erected for the increasing numbers of women entering the Order.King Devanampiyatissa who visited the Theri \u00a0\u00a0had arranged to erect a pleasing convent for the bhikkhunis which came to be known as Hatthalakavihara.<\/p>\n

With the royal patronage received and the establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order, thus two thousand two hundred and sixty three years ago Sri Lankan women came to be liberated.The fetters that tied them to the material world were broken . Spiritually they could reach the highest levels. It has to be mentioned that the planting of the Bodhi sapling from Buddha Gaya was as equally important as the establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order. Elaborate arrangements had been made in Pataliputta for its dispatch and in Anuradhapura for its reception .Once it was planted eight shoots had grown from it and they were planted in several places around Anuradhapura and \u00a0in Katargama; the two main Aryan settlements in the island. Another thirty two had been planted in different places covering most of the key points in the country affirming the establishment of the Buddhist Order in the major parts of the Island.<\/p>\n

Theri Sangamiita was also accompanied by eighteen princes from royal families to watch over the Bodhi tree and eight from Brahman families and of traders and persons from the cowherds, the weavers, the potters and from all other handicrafts. While the Thera Mahinda with\u00a0 bhikkhus and Theri Sangamitta with the bhikkhunis were concentrating on the spiritual advancement of the people, the craftsmen would have taken upon them the task of improving the economic and social advancement .For\u00a0 example bringing\u00a0\u00a0 cowherds itself was important. To dissuade a community which for centuries mainly\u00a0 lived by hunting, obviously needed an alternate occupation if they were to live by the teachings of the Buddha. Though pottery, weaving and paddy cultivation were known to pre Devanampiya tissa times as seen from the archeological remains, chronicles and folk lore, the arrival of craftsmen from overseas would have given a new impetus and brought in new technologies which blossomed later into a culture\u00a0 of its\u00a0 own identity.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the Theri \u00a0Sangamitta to establish the Bhikkhuni Order ,with the Bo sapling, accompanied by a group of disciplined and erudite Bhikkhunies is an unparalleled event in the history of the Island. She was a unique lady. Being the daughter of the most powerful ruler at the time , her renunciation itself has \u00a0to be admired . Following the words of the Buddha caratha bhikkave carikam bahujana hitaya bahujana sukhaya.\u201d (Go forth o monks for the benefit of the many, for the happiness of the many) she left her mother ,father and her motherland.She perhaps is one of the few early bhikkhunis who undertook missionary work to propagate Buddhism. Most of the theris mentioned in Theri- gatha during the time of the Buddha mainly looked for their own salvation .She \u00a0came over to Sinhala -deepa and spent the rest of her life in this island serving the people, particularly the women for a better spiritual and a worldly life. It is the lead given by her that resulted in such heroines like Viharamahadevi ,Somadevi etc to play a vital role in the history of the country .The bhikkhuni order she set up in the Island was instrumental in establishing the Order in other countries too. According to Chinese tradition Bhikkhuni Devasara\u201d from Sri Lanka set up the Bhikkhuni Order in that country. Thus she was the torch bearer for the emancipation of women not only in Sri lanka but also in some of the South Eastern and Eastern Asia countries.<\/p>\n

\u2018International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for women’s rights. \u00a0After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations as International Women’s Day\u2019(wikipaedia)<\/p>\n

The International Women\u2019s Day \u00a0is of recent origin and \u00a0is an alien concept and has no bearing on women of this island whereas women in Sri Lanka two thousand years back \u00a0threw away the shackles that \u00a0bound them. Declaring the day Bhikkhuni Sangamitta arrived in the Island as the National Women\u2019s Day\u00a0 is the least the present generation could do to honour this great lady.<\/p>\n

It is for all these reasons that SriLanka should\u00a0\u00a0 be grateful and remember this great personality. It is suggested that the Sangamitta day be made the National Women\u2019s Day in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Dr.P.G.Punchihewa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr.P.G.Punchihewa This year, Unduwap full moon \u00a0\u00a0falls on 3rd December, the day commemorating the arrival of Bhikkuni Sangamitta to bestow (pabbajja )ordination on Sri Lankan women and also \u00a0bringing \u00a0with her a sapling of the Great Bodhi tree at Buddhagaya. It was 2263 years ago that Thera Mahinda arrived in this island .According to Geiger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72469\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}