Georgia Buddhist Vihara
Andrew Protiva
Founding
The Georgia Buddhist Vihara was founded on June 6th, 2000, and it was founded by Bhante Panamwela Wajirabuddhi (Ven. P. Wajirabuddhi). He was born in Sri Lanka and ordained as a novice monk in 1980. In 1987, he received higher ordination at Malwathu Maha Vihara. He continued his education, later completing monastic education at Darmaduthashrama College. He then went on to achieve a Thripitakavedi degree (BA), and next he completed a Masters degree in Pali. He eventually came to the United States and lived in California, eventually moving to Atlanta in 1999. In 2000, he established the Georgia Buddhist Vihara.
The mission of this Vihara is to…
- Educate both children and adults in the cultural values of Sri Lanka
- Practice Dana (generosity), Sila (morality), and Bhavana (meditation)
- Spread Buddhist values into the teachings of members
- Welcome all to hear, learn, practice, and question
Tradition
The Georgia Buddhist Vihara is a Temple and meditation center that teaches and practices Buddhism. There are many different types of Buddhism. The three largest categories are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. This Vihara represents Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhism. Within the Theravada branch, cultural differences have given rise to many different kinds of Buddhism, thus Sri Lankan Theravada differs from other cultural Theravada, such as Cambodian.
The Theravada tradition follows the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha was born around 450 BCE, and he became the first awakened being by realizing the 4 noble truths: Suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering, and the noble eightfold path. Fundamentally, suffering exists. It exists in birth and death. It exists in pleasure and in pain. It exists everywhere, because we are human. This suffering originates from three main avenues: desire, hatred, and ignorance. Even though suffering exists, it is possible to completely and totally eradicate it. The cessation to become free of suffering, and the eightfold path contains trainings to achieve it. Only by practicing the three trainings of wisdom, morality, and meditation, is one able to arrive at Nibbana. These truths, as well as all other teachings of the Buddha, make up what is known as Theravada Buddhism.
Operations
The Vihara conducts many different ranges of operations, from meditation days, to Sri Lankan holidays, and more.
The Poya program is conducted based on the phases of the moon. Sri Lankan Buddhists have adopted this lunar calendar and base their operation around it. The most important time is the full moon, where the most important practices are observed. The Vihara schedules its religious days based on this calendar. These days of practice are known as Poya days. These days are dedicated to practice, with various activities from sunrise to sunset. One of the main components of this practice is the observation of the 8 precepts. These are the original 5 precepts as well as to abstain from food after noon, to abstain from music and from “ornamenting the body”, to abstain from the use of fancy beds and seats. The remainder of the day is filled with sermons, meditation, and discussion. Another operation that the Vihara provides is Dhamma school (Dhamma is the Pali equivalent of Dharma). This occurs on Sundays, and it is intended to teach children about the Dhamma. It is similar in structure to the tradition of religious Sunday school. Children in grades Kindergarten through 12th attend, with various different content for different age groups. The last calendar item is weekly meditation and discussion. The Vihara leads the community in guided meditation, and then provides some sort of teaching. This can come in the form of discussion, a lesson, analysis, etc. Other various activities are held at the Vihara such as celebration of Sri Lankan New Year and youth retreats.
The community mainly consists of immigrants and immigrant families. This is because the Vihara observes and practices many Sri Lankan traditions that don’t happen in the west. In addition, many of their events are spoken in Sinhala, a language of Sri Lanka. Of course, no westerners would observe these event anyway, thus it is probably more effective at creating community for immigrant families. Many other events are conducted in English though, such as meditation and discussion days. This allows for the immigrant community to remain strong, while also allowing westerners to explore Buddhist teachings that align with western culture.
Overview and Comments
Fundamentally, the Vihara has two main components: the teachings and the religion. The Buddhist teachings present a set of principles for one to live by. They are not viewed as religion in the classic western definition. The highest and most important aspects of Buddhism are the philosophical ideas, and the results that they create. Ven. P. Wajirabuddhi describes Buddhism as a “way of life” – not a faith, not a practice, not a truth, but a way of living. The Buddhist way of life is simple, and it results in “satisfaction and peace”. Westerners are most interested in this component. The second component of the Vihara is Sri Lankan Buddhism, and this component is the greater of the two. In addition to spreading Buddhist thinking, the Vihara is a center for the Buddhist religion. The Theravada Buddhist religion is significantly different than the previously discussed Buddhist way of life. The Theravada Buddhist religion of the Vihara incorporates Sri Lankan culture and the Buddhist teachings. Now, culture is not something that exists as an entity, it is just a collection of norms that build through human interaction over time. Westerners don’t have much of a reason to be interested even if they are interested in Buddhist teachings. Of course, not many westerns are interested so the community is mainly those of Sri Lankan descent. The religious aspect of the Vihara is its greatest appealing factor for its community.
This Vihara was founded upon views that all of the different sects of Buddhism exist in harmony. An analogy was given by the Abbot, “There are many different rivers, some famous and others not so famous, some wide and some narrow, some beautiful with huge waterfalls and others without. But the water of all rivers flows to end in the ocean. Then the river waters mix with the salt water to give the single taste of salt.” The Vihara believes that it is more important to have the Buddhist lifestyle of calmness, loving kindness, joy, and peacefulness than to be incorrect in your practice or belief. This differs significantly from popular orthodox branches of religions such as Christianity and Islam.
Sources:
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html#ch3
(https://www.gavihara.org/2013/06/what-is-buddhism-by-bhante-wajirabuddhi.html)