Blogs from Mihintale, North Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

It's raining in Sri Lanka. A lot. I was not expecting this! I knew it was likely but I had naively thought rain here would be hot, tropical and short lived, not cold, dark skies like we have in England. Arriving in Anuradhapura, the advice is not to go up to Mihintale because the rain will make the rocks slippy, but a guide offers to take people up there and I am not sure I will get another chance. This is my first time in Asia proper, and my first time in a tuk-tuk. I'm amazed how far they will push these tiny vehicles, and how nifty they are. We really should have them in over-crowded Britain. Miraculously as we pull in to the car park the rain stops and we find ourselves at the base ... read more

The ‘Black Water Pond’ is evidence of Buddhism having prevailed long before the introduction of Theravada Buddhism. This place is a serene site with all that nature has to offer to us. The pond itself is a natural basin of black rock and as a result the water is of clear blue-purple. It appears that Tantric practices had been practised at this site. This is an important discovery as Sutra and Tantra, both of which I practise are not the way of the Theravada Buddhist. These are Tibetan Sharman techniques. The Black water pond is situated not too far from Mihintale, the site where Mahinda Thera started Buddhism. This to me seemed too much of a coincidence that he chose an area of Sri Lanka where Tantric practices had already prevailed many hundred years before. The ... read more

My second and last day with Kingsley on this trip. He was to take me to Mihintale and some neighbouring sites before catching the train to Colombo. After that I was on my own for three more days and then back home until next month when I will pass this town on my way to Jaffna. That night I slept too well. Kingsley politely mentioned my snoring; I know that when I am tired I do bring the roof down. So perhaps next time I should get him a separate room—the poor man. Got to do something about this noise, even the mosquitoes keep out! Mihintale Having left the Jeep at a nearby garage for the silencer to be repaired, we made our way to Mihintale the site at which Mahinda Thera appeared to King Devanampiya ... read more

This day was definitely the highlight of this trip. Never in my life had I done so much charity work in 1 day... Not only we did charity work at Mihintale, the holiest place in Sri Lanka, we also went to several refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka to give/offer/donate/distribute... This day was also one of the holiest day in Sri Lanka, as it was Poson day - the day when Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in 3rd century BC by Arahat Maha Mahinda (son of King Asoka of India), who appeared before the Sri Lankan King at Mihintale. Poson is also a full moon festival and is characterised by day-long processions and ceremonies at Mihintale and Anuradhapura. Being Buddhists, we were very honoured to celebrate this important day in Sri Lanka. More importantly, we ... read more