Chula Wickramasinghe, Hiran Cooray and Asoka
Kuruppu The
Nation - May 23,
2015
Here, atop the Kudumbigala Rock, experience the
ascetic’s tranquil way of life firsthand. Wrapped in an atmosphere
of calm, Buddhist monks, who have renounced even the austere
comforts of the village temple, lead an isolated existence,
absorbed in mediation, seeking the all elusive inner peace. They
follow in the steps of their religious brethren, who continuously
made this rocky habitat their forest hermitage for 2,000
years. Cloistered from external distractions, ensconced
amidst rocks and trees and balmed by a soothing breeze, they strive
to attain Nirvana, which Buddhists hold as the spiritual kingdom
where freedom of the mind reigns supreme.
Leave behind your emotional baggage, conditioned
thoughts, prejudices and perceived notions at the foot of this
rock, steeped in history. And begin to take the first step on a
pilgrim’s progress to explore the serenity of an entirely different
world. The long and winding path to the top of the rock is
placidly beautiful with each step inviting you to take the next,
which inexorably you do. The soil on the ground is sandy white,
clean and pure.
Tall trees and even taller boulders flank the
enchanting path as it twists and turns leading toward the summit
where the ambience provides one with the opportunity to discover
the joys of losing one’s ego. At one point in the trek, you find
the path taking you through two giant boulders, a rocky canyon.
Rocks rise on either side and some slope away.
On the way, you might happen to chance upon a
solitary monk on the path cleaning the ground with a broom. He
meets you with a smile and for a moment stops his cleaning activity
to greet you. You inquire from him a few details of the place you
are in and he smiles and tells you to make those inquiries from the
monk at the top of the summit who might find the time to explain
such matters. He explains-again with a few words and a smile, not
in any apologetic or condescending way but in a matter of fact
manner-he has to clean his path in the time he himself has allotted
to that task, for time is of the essence. Thus you begin to
understand that here on this isolated rock the sense and degree of
discipline exerted by its inhabitants towards time management is
ever present.
A band of monkeys flitting from tree to tree, from
rock to rock, having all the time to spare, follow your movement
and keep close guard and watch as you make your progress up the
rock, wondering perhaps who it is who dares invade the celestial
citadel of tranquility of which they appear to be the self
appointed custodians.
Further up you come across a few ‘kutis’, the
private meditating and living chambers of the resident monks,
quaintly secluded under protruding boulders. Away from the path and
deeper in the surrounding forest inhabited by wandering elephants
and honey seeking bears, are over 200 archeologically listed rock
caves which some monks use as their ‘kutis’.
Soon, after a journey that has taken you half an
hour, you take the final step and ascend the plateau. Throughout
the climb, apart from the solitary monk doing his cleaning chores,
you have not come across any one. But you are not alone and neither
are you the first. More than 2,300 years ago this rock was the
chosen seat of an ancient monastery of meditating monks, and has
been so ever since except for a few hundred years when western
colonialists occupied Sri Lanka. The monastic complex was
originally established in 246 BC, during the reign of King
Devanampiyatissa, the king who first made Buddhism the religion of
the land. As further evidence of this is a small brick built
ancient stupa stands at the right end of the tableland. It was
built by King Kavan Tissa (205-161BC) the father of King
Dutugamunu.
After years of remaining uninhabited during the
period when Sri Lanka was under foreign domination, the lost rock
of Kudumbigala was discovered in 1942 by Upasaka Maithree, who had
been a catholic from the town of Negombo and an employee of the
Ceylon Railways. He was also an amateur explorer and one day whilst
he was sojourning in the East Coast and foraying into the
surrounding jungles he stumbled upon the hidden history of the
rock. He was so allured by the spiritualistic air that pervaded the
placid atmosphere, he experienced a mystic conversion and 10years
later, returned to the still uninhabited rock to take up abode as
Upasaka Maithree. He lived and mediated on this rock and then
invited an ordained monk to take up residence with other monks,
invitations which were duly accepted. He passed away on this rock
in 1971 after expressing a wish that his remains should be kept on
display in a rock cave. His wish was honored and his skeleton
remained on display behind a glass frame until 1994 when it was
vandalized and his bones thrown into the jungle.
Kudumbigala, along with its sister rock Balumgala,
is part of the Kudumbigala Tapas Vanaya, a 640 acre area under the
Chief Monk Ven Palawatte Buddhawansa Thera. Today there are about
15 monks who have chosen out of their own free-will to dwell in
this wilderness in pursuit of that eternal goal. They live a
solitary existence and have their own individualistic way of
attaining it. No rudimentary or regimented codes exist to govern
their routine or their conduct. No external authority is imposed
upon their lifestyle, no big brother watches to monitor their
progress. Here, the individual is totally responsible for himself
and has the unbridled freedom to forge his own future.
A small hall next to the stupa serves as a dining
area and as a place where Dhamma sermons are preached to the laity
when the occasion so demands. But this, too, is limited for there
is a general reluctance on the part of these taciturn monks to
preach, on the basis that one must first attain higher states of
wisdom before one can teach anything meaningful.
This hall is the only meeting place for the monks,
but even here in this dining hall many don’t eat but serve
themselves from the pots on display and retire to their kutis to
partake their food. They will consume any food that is available in
the pots which are offered by the villagers and other donors and do
not discriminate between the food offered; their purpose is solely
to nourish the body that contains the mind, not to gain satiation
from sense-based gratifications. The mystic lure of Kudumbigala’s
ascetic way of life will hold one in a seductive spell; and draw
one back to hark the call of meditation rock.
Kudumbigala Monastery lies 11 miles from Panama and 17 miles away
from the Kumana Village.
Kudumbigala monastic complex was built in 246 BC,
during the time of King Devanampiyatissa. It was first established
as a refuge for the Buddhist monks, who wanted to get away from the
busy cities. Archeologists had recovered 200 rock caves belonging
to this forgotten monastery.
The inscriptions in Brahmi script and other evidence
in the recently discovered cave, Maha Sudharshana Lena, shows that
Kudumbigala was established as an Aranya Senansanaya in the
pre-Christian era. A stone inscription has it that the Maha
Sudharshana Lena was built and gifted to the Arahats by the Giant
Warrior Nandimitra, one of King Dutugemunu’s “Dasa Maha Yodayas”,
the ten giant warriors.
The importance of the Kudumbigala monastery cannot be expressed in
words. The Only Cylindrical Dagaba to survive in Sri Lanka today,
is in this monastery.
LTTE terrorists have thrown tar on the head of the
Buddha statue. That was the last warning given to the monks vacate
the place.