#tooth temple

[aucun-express-blog]

Temps de prière au Temple de la dent, à Kandy - Sri Lanka © Pierre Meunié / Pellegrin de sel

[aucun-express-blog]

Musicien durant une cérémonie bouddhiste au Temple de la dent, à Kandy - Sri Lanka © Pierre Meunié / Pellegrin de sel

[maxandgiu]

Last day in Sri Lanka. As we needed to leave quite early in order to cover the 100 km that separate Kandy from Colombo, we only had time for a quick visit to Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It is one of Sri Lanka's sacrest places, as it houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Although the tooth is safely kept inside a series of beautifully decorared chests, which we could admire for less than five seconds due to the long queue, it was still a very interesting and humbling experience to walk among the pilgrims, immersed in the scent of the lilies and jasmines offered to the Buddha. We are now ready for our next and last destination: Maldives!

[cluelessbackpacker]

Sri Lanka - An unintended, unexpected piligrimage

The Buddhist heritage and influence in Sri Lanka hits you the moment you step of the airport - from the street-side Dagobas, Buddha statues and the Bodhi Trees to the saffron-clad Buddhist monks and the evening prayer chants in town centers. 

For a country that is barely 30kms from our south coast, I realised that my knowledge of the culture and people was zilch. Little did I know that this country houses the most important Buddhist relics anywhere in the world and that Lord Buddha had visited Sri Lanka thrice in his life!

The trip has been nothing short of a pilgrimage for me:

I stood 20m from the tooth relic -  a casket containing Lord Buddha's tooth that was taken from his funeral pyre by a monk (rogue!) and carried to Sri Lanka

Touched the Dagoba which contains Lord Buddha's begging bowl!

The famous lonely planet cover photograph of the Thuparama Dagoba apparently contains Lord Buddha's right collar bone.

And the massive (but slightly underwhelming) Abhayagiri Dagoba supposedly contains an imprint of Lord Buddha's footstep

And of course the Maha Bodhi tree -  a sapling of the original Bodhi tree was carried from India and planted in Anuradhapura.

I can only hope that I am now loaded with Buddha's blessings :)

[aapkoachaar]