Kaleidoscope Of Viewpoints

Our newspapers could have been revealed in Polonnaruwa in the calendar year 1156 just by shifting a couple of names and live sexy chat technical conditions." The greatest king was Parakrambuha. (I informed you the Ceylonese do not skimp on syllables.) He obtained his throne without way too a lot issues. He was nephew of the outdated king and, from his youth, had revealed he was abundant in genius as effectively as all the things else. They say he experienced some Tamil or South Indian blood undoubtedly he had the energetic method to issues which the Indians have. On his coronation in 1153 he explained, "It is my ambition that no drop of h2o in my kingdom attain the ocean devoid of having benefited mankind," This is the origin of the "tanks" of Ceylon. They are actually synthetic lakes the just one at Polonnaruwa itself handles four thousand acres. The whole thing is so flawlessly intended that when British engineers reconstructed the space they could not locate better places for the locks and gates than those the historic Ceylonese builders had made use of. The metropolis and cultivated rice paddies and gardens all about it prolonged for miles and miles. The web-site of the metropolis therefore much excavated, while covering an spot four miles lengthy, is only a smaller cleared patch in the jungle which has grown over the farm lands of previous Ceylon. Palaces with council chambers, sleeping flats and gardens mon- asteries for 1000's of monks theaters and photograph galleries fountains and baths with elaborate underground piping the primary Temple of the Tooth, and lots of other shrines, are scattered here and there. Just to stand at the doorway of the monastery known as Lamkatilaka (if you cannot pronounce that identify, check out its other 1, Jetavanarama) and to gaze at the gigantic Buddha on the far wall, additional than fifty-5 toes high even with- out his head, is to realize the psychological electricity of these previous Ceylonese who laid brick upon brick in this article 8 hundred decades ago. Most outstanding of all is the Galvihara, wherever four massive figures of Buddha are carved out of stable rock. It is as if you had slash a pound of butter in 50 percent, pushed the front portion away and carved the statues out of the minimize area. The standing Buddha is 20-two toes significant the re- clining Buddha forty-4 toes extended, and the sitting down Buddhas a little 86 CEYLON smaller sized. After all, the Christ of the Andes is only 20-6 toes large. Beside these colossal figures carved in the rock is a massive "site" of writ- ing. I questioned the Sisters to read through it for me. It is, they stated, anything like what the Rule of St. Augustine is for Catholic spiritual a rule of lifestyle laying down typical instructions for community residing. It's a superior thought to lower it into stone. Our copy of the Rule at Maryknoll is constantly putting on out the monks of Polonnaruwa had one that has lasted for 8 hundred many years. The issues is, it outlasted the monks. As I appeared, a inexperienced lizard skipped across the fantastic foot of Buddha. And between the ruined properties had been very little gray monkeys, collecting acorns and scratching them selves, just as their ancestors did in A.D. 1100. Their ancestors' homes are long gone extended considering that, but the lizards and monkeys stay. The households of guys are nevertheless there, even their Holy Rule, but the men are gone. Compared to Buddhism's age in Ceylon, the Church is a mere upstart. And Catholics clearly show some thing of the spunk of the early Christians. Portu- guese introduced the Faith about 1500. Dutch arrived around 1650 and Catholics experienced to go underground for a person hundred and fifty several years. Yet their figures grew. The main figure all through this time was Father Joseph Vas, a Goan, who came into the place disguised as a Tamil laborer. By skipping absent from the law enforcement generally plenty of, he managed to reside to a ripe previous age. Ceylon's Catholics are invigorating. More than seventy p.c of their clergymen are Ceylonese and 4 of the six bishops on the island are indigenous. There is a vigor and youth about them that bodes properly for the future. Many have examined in Rome, England or the United States they have a worldly polish as properly as stable Catholicity. Sisters too have joyousness and vitality. There are six hundred Ceylonese Good Shepherd Sisters and a lot of from other congregations as well. They will want, it looks, all the spunk and polish they have. Not extended ago, Catholic Sisters who had staffed some of the governing administration hospitals at the previous government's urgent invitation have been summarily dismissed. The final result is uncomfortable for those who invited them to occur and a very little little bit disastrous for the sick. Schools came upcoming. About two-thirds of all little ones in college attended Catholic educational institutions. At the very same time, the Ceylon Times estimated that be- tween 400,000 and 700,000 children had no colleges at all. Yet the Catholic colleges ended up taken more than or shut down and no new universities have been opened. The Catholics put up a rigid combat. Something of their calibre can be found from this incident. During the Christmas holiday of 1960-1961, Catholic people took turns occupying their universities on the premise that they experienced built the educational facilities and financed them, and therefore they could sleep in the school rooms if they wished. This was to stop the federal government from employing the universities for its very own purposes, considering that it took above the administration but not the assets COOLIE BISHOP IN A BUDDHIST World 87 of Catholic colleges. A youthful woman from the region was attending High School in Colombo considering the fact that matters were so unsettled, she decided not to go back again to her household city for Christmas but to invest the feast In Colombo. However, her mom wrote: My pricey daughter, As you might have listened to, the Catholics of our town are having turns in occupying the school just about every relatives has a night time of the 7 days. It may perhaps properly be that we will be called upon to go through for our Faith on the night our relatives occupies the faculty. I would not want anybody of my spouse and children to be absent on these kinds of a wonderful night. Come dwelling. The government gave a person of individuals "or else