Swarna's book on Buddhism

Title of my book is, Buddha in Sri Lanka: Remembered yesterdays.

This book gives the reader an intimate view of how Buddhism exists as a lived vibrant culture in Sri Lanka. I share stories of myself, my family, friends, and acquaintances, as we all lived Buddhsim in Sri Lanka. I detail Buddhist beliefs, customs, rituals, ceremonies and folklore. I try to make the stories come alive through many Jathaka stories.

A particularly notable aspect of my book is my detailed discussion of the sangha, the institutional monkhood in Sri Lanka, the oldest monastic instituion in the world. I try to show the ordinary reader its history, codes of conduct, the evolution, and resilience over time. I try to show the difficulties the monks face living in the twenty-first centry and balancing their lives trying to live according to a code of conduct set by the Buddha twenty-five hundred years ago.

Lastly I have shown how a wide variety of extra-religious beliefs which we practices, alternative alters which are strictly not a part of textual Buddhsim, have over time become amalgamated with what passes off collectively as Buddhism in Sri Lanka.