As per the foregoing Judaism is
not dogmatic or self-conceited and advocates the
pluralism of religion and also permits the people
freedom of thought and expression, which are totally
absent in Christianity and Islam. Judaism does not deal
with a
creator God who punished and rewards his own creations
without any cause or reason. In this scenario, it is
perfectly possible for Buddhism, to gain the attention
of the young Jews of Israel.
Rohan L. Jayatilleke
It was the Friday of the first week of ebruary 2006. It
was just spring in India and the spring welcoming
festival of `Vasantotsava’ was just round the corner
wherein men and women in gay abundance parade the
streets, splashing coloured water from locally bamboo
made syringes, at one an other, symbolising spring is
there to wash away all the old ill-feelings and among
them and be comrades-in-arms for the rest of the year.
Ramagram in Varanasi, is the home town of Rama, little
away from the castle of the Brahmadatta dynasty (whose
last survivor passed away last year) and from Ramgram
about 6 kms away across the Ganga, the holiest river of
India, is the village of Lanka, where Ravana ruled and
abducted Sita from Ramgram. Annually around April there
is a festival at Ramgram, wherein young men as well as
old dressed like ancient warriors, with long poles in
their hands run to Lanka shouting to retrieve Sita from
Ravana and then kill Ravana.
This is the story in the epic crafted by poet Valmiki in
his epic Ramayana.
Valmiki was born and lived in Varanasi (Benares).
Varanasi, since 5000 B.C. or even earlier had been a
very popular Hindu centre, to which seers (Rishis) after
long periods of meditation at Uruvel, across the
Neranjjara river in Gaya District with their new
concepts wait to discuss them and debate on them with
seers at Varanasi. Hence this area was also called `Isipatana’
(place where seers descend). This is a reason why the
five erstwhile five ascetic friends of Prince Siddartha,
deserted him, when he gave up penances and proceeded to
Varanasi. The Buddha too chose Varanasi for his first
sermon Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta.
While being seated in the small stall, a young lady with
a pleasant disposition, excused herself and sat next to
me and said “You look very tired”. I explained my
experiences of the research tour to Ramgram and Lanka
villages. She was enthralled and out conversation now
drifted into religions of Sri Lanka and of her country
Israel. She very happily said that Buddhism is slowly
and steadily gaining ground in her country Israel. I
then, revealed to her, one of their former Prime
Ministers, late Ben Gurion, appreciated Buddhism much
more than Judaism and he had very close and intimate
contact with Ven.Nyanaponika, the founder of Buddhist
Publication Society (1958) a German Jew. “Right” she
said, “you seem to know more about Israel than me. I
responded that in 1960 when working at Hatton (Sri
Lanka) in the government service, one Mrs. Glazer a
Jewish lady running a tourist hotel was my tennis
partner and she revealed to me all about Israel, her
people and religions. My newly found companion at the
tea stall was Ira Shraberiman from, Israel and still
another Israel young Gentleman Shay Dori joined-out
animated conversation as regards the present Buddhist
structure in Israel, the Vipassana Meditation Course at
Tovana, Israel. Israel is a republic in the Middle East
established in 1948 as a national State for the Jewish
people who were either gazed to death in the Holocaust
60 years ago of Adolf Hitler and who wandered all over
Europe with no permanent home.
The new homeland of Israel is in the formerly mandated
territory of Palestine. The languages in use are Hebrew
and Arabic, which are both official languages. The major
religions are Judaism, Sunni, Islam, Christianity and
Druze.
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with a
history of well over 3000 years.
The Bible makes no reference to Judaism, which is first
noted in a rabbinic text composed centuries later, nor
does it have a word for religion. What it contains are
laws and customs, rules and regulations dealing with
every aspect of human life.
Nowhere does the Bible or any subsequent Jewish
literature, present a formal creed demanding acceptance.
Although Judaism has no formal creed, certain basic
elements can be discerned among the Jews of every age.
For the Jewish people however, God chose time and place
in which to reveal his special relationship with them.
According to scriptural account, God speaking through
Moses at Sinai instructed the Children of Israel in
every detail of the law. According to the Mosaic Law
people entered into a govenant with God. The Bible
offers no theological arguments for the existence of
God. Thus Jews became God’s, `peculiar treasure’ a
people chosen among all nations to bear witness to them
Christianity and Islam which are later creeds, had
borrowed heavily concepts, rituals and rites of Judaism.
As per the foregoing Judaism is not dogmatic or
self-conceited and advocates the pluralism of religion
and also permits the people freedom of thought and
expression, which are totally absent in Christianity and
Islam. Judaism does not deal with a creator God who
punished and rewards his own creations without any cause
or reason. In this scenario, it is perfectly possible
for Buddhism, to gain the attention of the young Jews of
Israel.
My Israel friend Ira gave me the website of a Vipassana
meditation programme running very successfully at Tovana,
Israel. (www.tovana.org) My next stop being Nepal to
complete some earlier researches I had done on newly
excavated and identified Kapilavastu, the home
principality of Buddha at Tilauracot, in Nepal Terai, 26
kms away from Lumbini (Nepal) as against the Indian site
at Piprahwa, in Indian territory, still being claimed as
Kapilavastu, which is just Nigrodharama, where Buddha
stayed at when sojourning to Kapilavastu to visit his
ailing father and later this site being transformed into
a monastery with a large stupa and cells for bhikkus,
whose remains very visible at the site. This site is now
provided with a gateway and in a few months time like at
other Buddhist sites, the Archaeological Survey of India
would charge an entry fee of two US Dollars, a proposal
made by this writer to the authorities some years ago,
to defray the heavy cost of maintenance, excavations,
identification and conservation.
The people of Israel are highly intelligent, very
pleasant in their features and methodical and friendly
in all their activities, gives a perfect resume of the
Vipassana Meditation Course functioning at Tovana.
Vipassana Course at Tovana
Vipassana is a technique of Buddhist meditation practice
for 2,500 years in East Asia and brought to the West in
the last century. Vipassana means, “correct seeing” or
“seeing within (the nature of thing)” The essence of
Buddha’s teaching (the Dharma) is that there is deep
dissatisfaction with our existence, and that there is a
way to freedom.
අමාවක
පුර අටවක
පසෙලාස්වක
අව
අටවක