tidbits
அஜான் சிரிபஞ்ஞோ
கோலா லம்பூரின் விவேகானந்தர் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையில் படித்த, உலகத்திலேயே பெரும் பணக்காரர்களுள் ஒருவரான திரு அனந்த கிருஷ்ணன் பௌத்த மதத்தைப் பின்பற்றுபவரென்று கூறப்படுகிறது. ஒரு தமிழர் பௌத்தரென்பதோ, ஒரு மாபெரும் பணக்காரர் பௌத்தரென்பதோ ஆச்சரியப்படத்தக்க செய்தியில்லை. ஆனால் அதிசயம் என்னவென்றால் அவரது ஒரே மகன் (தாயார் தாய்லாந்து நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்தவர்) பௌத்தத் துறவியாக வாழ்வதையே விரும்பித் துறவு பூண்டுள்ளார் என்பதே. உண்மையான மகிழ்ச்சி பெறப் பணம் ஒரு பொருட்டல்ல என்பதற்கு இதுவே மிகச்சிறந்த எடுத்துக்காட்டாகும் .
அவரது மகனது துறவரம் பூண்ட பாலி மொழிப் பெயர் 'அஜான் சிரிபஞ்ஞோ'. அவர் அஜான் சா நினைவு நாளன்று ஆற்றிய உறை இதோ 2 3.
அஜான் சிரிபஞ்ஞோ பற்றி மேலும் படிக்க ...
சூரிய விழி மற்றொரு அருமையான Blog Entry
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இந்தோனேசியத் தமிழருள் 28% பௌத்தர் என்று விக்கிபீடியா கூறுகிறது.
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in Mahayana Buddhism
.....following excerpts from here ........
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Here it should be a matter of interest to refer to the modern Japanese scholar Shu Hikosaka’s work. On the basis of his study of Buddhist scriptures, ancient and medieval Tamil language literary sources, as well asfield survey, he proposes the hypothesis that, the ancient mount Potalaka, the residence of bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara described in the Gaṇḍavyūha and Xuanzang’s Records, is the real mountain Potikai or Potiyilsituated at Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district, Tamilnadu, lat. 8º 36´, long. 77º 17´. With 2072.6 m, it is the highest mountain in the Tinnevelly range of Ghats.[30] In his work, Shu also develops an interestingtheory concerning the etymology of the name Potalaka. According to him, the original Tamil name Potiyil is a derivation from bodhi-il, where bodhi is a loan from Āryan languages meaning ‘Buddhism andBuddhists’, and the Tamil word il means ‘place, residence’. Thus the whole name indicates ‘the residence of Buddhists or Bauddha ascetics’. The word kai in Potikai is colloquial Tamil and has the same meaning asil”.[31] In Sanskrit and Prākrit Mahāyāna texts another change took place─the il was translated back as loka, ‘the world or place’. Thus Potalaka is a corrupted form of Buddha-loka, ‘the place of Buddhists’.[32] Shu also says that mount Potiyil/Potalaka has been a sacred place for the people of South India from time immemorial. With the spread of Buddhism in the region beginning at the time of the great king Aśokain the third century B.C.E., it became a holy place also for Buddhists who gradually became dominant as a number of their hermits settled there. The local people, though, mainly remained followers of the Hindureligion. The mixed Hindu-Buddhist cult culminated in the formation of the figure of Avalokiteśvara. The worship of Śiva Pāṃṣupata, however, remained popular too and blended with that of Avalokiteśvara.[33]
If Shu is right, the possible historical logic of the development of the concept and image of Avalokiteśvara may have been as follows. (1) In pre-Buddhist times, Mount Potiyil/Potalaka was revered as a sacred place, the abode of deities and protective ghosts, by the local people. We do not know its original ancient name. (2) With the spread of Buddhism in South India, the place became popular among Buddhists as many oftheir hermits settled there. (3) Gradually the association with Buddhism became dominant and the new name Potiyil/Potalaka or “Place of Buddhists” was popularly used. (4) As Buddhists preached compassion, thenew teaching merged with the old worship of a protective deity into a new cult. The conscious efforts of the Buddhist settlers, who possibly were responsible for the creation and introduction of the titleAvalokiteśvara too, may have been the decisive factor that launched this process.[34] (5) Gradually, the concept and figure of Avalokiteśvara became universally known and worshipped by all Buddhists and foundits way into texts and iconography while mount Potalaka was mythologized in the course of time. (6) The triumph of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium C.E. led to the merger of the cult ofAvalokiteśvara with that of Hindu gods, e.g. Śiva.[35]
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At the Kota Cina Archeological site near Medan, Indonesia
Chola Style Buddha Statues have been found according to this book link
See Figures 6-1 and 6-2 page 153, 154
(In Figure 1 the head went missing in 1940. Somebody made a clay replica. Obviously a poor replica.)
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"One of the most popular Buddhist songs of Sri Lanka sung by the veteran Tamil singer A M U Raj"
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History of the Theravada Ordination Lineages
Exceprts from here
With the defeat of the Cholas in Sri Lanka in 1070 CE and the establishment of the new capital at Polonnaruwa, the Theravada bhikshu ordination lineage was re-established in Sri Lanka by bhikshus invited from Pagan. King Anawrahta, however, questioned the purity of the Mon bhikshuni lineage and, consequently, did not send any bhikshunis to re-establish the bhikshuni ordination. Thus, the Theravada ordination lineage of bhikshunis was not revived at that time in Sri Lanka. The last inscriptional evidence of the presence of a bhikshuni nunnery in Burma is in 1287 CE, when Pagan fell to the Mongol invasion.
Sri Lanka was invaded and most of it ruled, from 1215 to 1236 CE, by King Magha of Kalinga (modern-day Orissa, East India). During this period, the Sri Lankan bhikshu sangha was severely weakened. With the defeat of King Magha, Theravada bhikshus from Kanchipuram, a Buddhist center within the weakened Chola Kingdom in present-day Tamilnadu, South India, were invited to Sri Lanka in 1236 CE to revive the bhikshu ordination lineage. The fact that no Tamil bhikshunis were invited suggests that the Theravada bhikshuni sangha was no longer present in South India by this time. The last inscriptural evidence of a bhikshuni sangha in North India, including Bengal, is from the end of the twelfth century CE. It is unclear which lineage of bhikshuni vow the nuns held.