- 208 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Since the third century BCE, when the king of Sri Lanka converted to Buddhism, the island nation off the southern coast of India has represented a central interest of Buddhist scholarship. The association between its politics and religious life has not always remained harmonious, however, and has contributed to the contemporary turmoil that threatens to tear it apart. In this valuable book, renowned religious scholar Bardwell Smith elucidates the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka from the time of one of its earliest rulers through to its present-day strife.
The essays collected here for the first time explore various themes of Sri Lanka's long history in novel and constructive ways. Topics include Sinhala Buddhists' sense of manifest destiny arising from Sri Lanka's oldest historical chronicles, the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa; the nationalist implications of the chronicles' depiction of the third-century Mahavihara monastery as the site of "original Buddhism"; and concepts of order and legitimation of power in ancient Ceylon. With a new introduction and final chapter, Smith sheds fresh light on today's Sri Lanka, connecting historical studies with contemporary issues.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Preface
- Note on Transliteration
- Introduction
- 1. Concepts of an Ideal Social Order as Portrayed in the Chronicles of Ceylon
- 2. Kingship, the Sangha, and the Process of Legitimation in the Anurādhapura Period, Third Century BCE to Tenth Century CE
- 3. Varieties of Religious Assimilation in Early Medieval Sri Lanka
- 4. The Pursuit of Equilibrium: Polonnaruva as a Ceremonial Center, 993–1293
- 5. Sinhalese Buddhism and Its Modern Quests for Identity: The Dilemmas of a Pluralistic Society
- 6. Identity Issues of Sinhalas and Tamils: Dilemmas of Identity in the Throes of Social Conflict
- Epilogue: A Vision of Pluralism Enacted
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Index