last blog post on the Sri Lanka trip

One of the most peaceful memories I have of Sri Lanka is when I went to visit a stupa called Ruwanwelisaya. The tour guide said that it was built by a king after he managed to chase invaders out of Sri Lanka and unite the kingdom. In the process he had to kill many people and felt sad because of that so he had this stupa built.

Usually, people help construct stupas for free to gain merit for themselves but the king paid for the construction of the stupa, paid the workers' a salary, fed them and clothed them to gain all the merit for himself. According to the guide anyway.

It's a very beautiful stupa. My photo doesn't do it justice.

We walked around the stupa following the monk. Each of us held a lotus flower and we chanted. It was soooo quiet and peaceful. There was a lovely breeze and there were tiny birds flying around the stupa. I always believe that animals like peaceful places and they try to avoid places where there is strife or chaos. Our shadows moved along the walls with us. We prayed for peace and harmony and this was one of the rare times when I felt at peace. I'm not a religious person, but I like this feeling of being at peace.

In Sri Lanka we also went to a Buddhist Cultural Centre. We talked to the chief monk there and someone asked him about the percentage of Buddhists in Colombo. He said only 20% were Buddhists now. There are more Muslims. Someone asked him why and he said "Well, many Muslims are moving there.Also, Muslims are allowed to marry 4 wives and have many children. Monks don't have children and Buddhist lay people only 1 or 2 children." I found this kind of funny, hahaha...Reproduction is one of the reasons for a decline in Buddhism!Anyway, the centre was great, lots of Buddhist books where u can go to find out about the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka or about Buddhism in general. And the view from the rooftop is great:

I kinda miss Sri Lanka.