Temple visit

The nineteenth century Gangaramaya temple sits on the edge of the Beira lake, a waterway that snakes and pools in two halves in central Colombo. Sri Lanka, although officially Buddhist, has always tolerated all religions and embraced their practice. Mosques sit alongside the many temples and shrines, and churches of all denominations are to be found amongst them. The branch of Buddhism practised in the island is Theraveda, and derives from Thailand rather than India.

We entered the compound and removed our shoes to stroll through the large complex of buildings, a somewhat eccentric collection that encompasses artefacts from China and South East Asia. Grouped around a magnificent Bo tree and open flagged courtyard, a serenity pervades the enclosure as monks and workers go about their daily business.

Entering the image house was breathtaking experience, the size, scale and colour of the decorated Buddha sculptures more Hollywood than holy. The pantheon of immense figures, so intensely coloured, is hard to take in and is awesome in the true sense of the word.

The image house

Moving out into the sun of the courtyard we were excited to see two elephants, one eating his breakfast and the other partly submerged in a shallow pool being scrubbed by two young men with a coconut husk loofah. This bath went on for the entire time of our visit, so thorough were they in cleaning the whole area of the large beast.

Breakfast and bath time

A set of stairs led to an old wooden building that houses the library, where glass cases hold ola leaf manuscripts inscribed with religious texts, and an odd collection of china and bric a brac that seemed to have been accumulated with no specific purpose. The central stupa, blindingly white in the sunshine  is flanked by Boddhisatva figures, their arms raised in blessing. Beyond is a vast two storey building that accommodates the monks and provides an open space for prayers and eating.

There is also a temple museum filled with an amazing assortment of exhibits including precious stones, coins, painted banners, Buddha statues, clocks and porcelain. An enormous glass cabinet at its centre holds a collection of exquisitely carved ivory objects ranging in size from tiny combs to huge tusks. It is apparently the collection of the head monk whose eclecticism stretches to two vintage Rolls Royces parked outside.

We encountered a young monk who gave us a blessing, placing a brass bell shape over our heads and then tying a bracelet of fine white cotton around our wrists. He chatted easily about visiting Melbourne and his religious training, obviously quite urbane and charmingly down to earth. We left the compound to the sonorous tolling of a bell, calling the monks to prayer.

Catching up on the news