Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka

together in adoration. As regards dágaba worship in Sri Lanka, the local Buddhists have a
separate stanza for worshipping each of the sixteen sacred places hallowed by the Lord
Buddha on his three visits to the island. There is also a popular stanza that covers in a
general manner all the three categories of worshipful objects mentioned above:
Vandámi cetiyaí sabbaí
sabbaþhánesu patiþþhitaí,
sárìrikadhátu mahábodhií
buddharúpaí sakalaí sadá.
“Forever do I worship all the dágabas situated all over, all the bodily relics, the
Mahábodhi (tree), and Buddha-images.”
The worship of the dágaba or stúpa is an important merit-acquiring act of devotional
Buddhism in Sri Lanka as also in other Buddhist lands. The first such dágaba to be
constructed after the official introduction of Buddhism into the country by the Arahant
Mahinda was the Thúpáráma at Anuradhapura, which enshrines the collar-bone of the
Buddha. It was constructed by the first Buddhist ruler of Sri Lanka, King Devánampiya
Tissa, in the 3 rd century B.C. Since then dágabas have become so popular among the local
Buddhists that almost every village temple has a dágaba as an indispensable feature. A
special ritual connected with the dágaba is the enshrining of relics, which is done with
much ceremony at a specially selected astrologically auspicious moment called näkata
(Skt. naks2atra). A similar ritual is that of pinnacle-setting (kot-pä¿andavìma), which is the
concluding stage in the construction of a dágaba.
It should be mentioned here that scriptural sanction for dágaba worship is found in the
words of the Buddha himself in the Maháparinibbána Sutta (D II 142), where he has
enumerated four categories of individuals worthy of dágabas. These are the Tathágata, a
Paccekabuddha, a disciple of the Tathágata, and a universal monarch (rájá cakkavattin).
The worship and offerings made to the Buddha’s body after his passing away may also
be cited as an instance in this connection.
The most important item that comes within the uddesika kind of sacred object is the
Buddha-image, which is found in every temple in its image-house (vihárage). In addition
to the central image or images, the inside walls of the temple—and sometimes the
ceiling as well—are covered with paintings depicting events from the Buddha’s life, as
well as from his past lives as a Bodhisatta, recorded in the Játaka stories. An important
ceremony associated with the Buddha-image is the ritual of painting its eyes (netrapinkama),
which is performed with much care on an auspicious occasion as the last item
of its construction. Until this is done the image is not considered an adequate
representation of the Buddha.
3. Group Worship
Collective worship of the Buddha is generally performed in a public place of worship so
that anyone who wishes may participate: in a temple before the shrine room, at a dágaba,
a Bodhi-tree, or any other such place. The devotees stand in a row in front of the place of
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