Visiting Buddha 2

The next morning we were off to Dambulla – a much shorter drive – to see still more Buddhas.
Dambulla – population over 60,000 – was the first actual town I visited. It seemed strange to see so many buildings after several days in the country
Our objective was the Golden Rock Temple, a UNESCO heritage site since 1991. It wasn’t hard to find.



This temple dates back to the first century BC. An ancient King of Sri Lanka, escaping from his Indian enemies, found 5 main caves (there are said to be about 80 in all in the area). He turned them into a temple shortly afterwards. Other kings continued his work and, by the 11th century, the Golden Rock Temple had become the major religious center which it remains today.
From early days, a drip line was carved in the rock above the caves to keep the interiors dry. In 1938 arched colonnades and gabled entrances to the five major shrines were created which makes it look much newer than it is.



The caves are over 150 m (over 490 ft) above the entrance requiring a pilgrim’s dedication to get to.



This is a much more colorful place than the Buddhas-in-the-jungle I visited the day before. The walls of the caves are painted (and regularly repainted) as are the over 150 statues.





There is a huge reclining Buddha there too -- completely painted, including the soles of his feet.



It is a peacful place. There were only a few western tourists there and a small number of Sri Lankan pilgrims. Since it is not a museum but an actual monastery, the monks come and leave offerings at specific times of day,closing the shrines to visitors for a few minutes. One of those times occurred during my visit. That gave me the chance to contemplate the lotus pond



the view



the living gargoyle (wrong religion; I know but look.......)



and enjoy the sunshine as other visitors were doing.



It also allowed me to contemplate my ignorance once more. I felt I needed a lot more knowledge of Sri Lankan history and Buddhism to be able to fully appreciate what I was seeing.
As we made our way down the steps after the visit, avoiding the souvenir sellers, I was glad that my afternoon activities would be much different – and easier for me to understand.