(36) Visit to the Sacred Island of Sagamitta Nun's Arrival and Cape Sacchotai, the northernmost point of Sri Lanka, which brought the Bodhi tree.

Travels to Buddhist sites in India and Sri Lanka (36)
Visit to the sacred island of Sagamitta Nunarai, which brought the Bodhi tree, and Cape Sacchotai, the northernmost point of Sri Lanka

After visiting Nagadeepa Island off the coast of Jaffna, my next stop was the beach where Sanghamitta, the nun who brought the Sree Maha Bodhi tree, had landed.

The temple, Dambakorapatuna Sangamisusa Temple, is now standing there. Although ordinary tourists rarely visit this place, it is an indispensable place for me to go to see a sacred Buddhist site.

Now, we have arrived at that temple.

Unlike the temples we have seen so far, it is modest in size, but as usual, it is new. This temple must have been sanctified and improved in recent years.

There was a large sign behind the chedi. Let's take a peek.

They politely tell you "YOU ARE HERE" on the map. That's how minor this place is, I guess.

And to the right of it was a painting showing the arrival of the Sangamitta nun.

The very same scene was depicted with a different touch on the sign next to it. The tree depicted here is the Bodhi tree from Bodh Gaya in India, which was planted in Anuradhapura and became known as the Sree Maha Bodhi tree.

By the way, do you all remember the Sangamitta nuns? Many of you may have a vague recollection of her as she appeared only briefly in a previous article. Since we are here, let us hope that she will reappear here.

Nun Sangamitta was the sister of Elder Mahinda, who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

Being the sister of Mahinda, who was the son of King Ashoka, she was also the daughter of King Ashoka.

This noble noble brother and sister brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

As for the Bodhi tree she brought(29) Why wasn't I moved by Sri Lanka's holy sites and Buddhist monuments--thinking about religion and the "context of life?"I hope you will refer to this article as well.

I also went out to the beach where the Sangamitta nun is said to have landed.

Oh, this is truly beautiful. It's the ocean. We're at the ocean!

...That is all.

Indeed, this may be a sacred place in Sri Lankan Buddhism.

However, it is also true that it was a place that was difficult for me to identify with because I am not in that context. It seems that I am numb to sacred places created in the context of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.

After this, we decided to go to Cape Sacchotay, the northernmost point of Sri Lanka, since we had come all this way. It takes about one hour by car from the landing place of Sangamitta.

The map shows the very tip of Sri Lanka. I was surprised at how far I had come.

We are almost there. The seaside area has the atmosphere of a small fishing village, and even for someone like me from Hakodate, it evokes a sense of nostalgia.

Finally, we arrived. I had imagined a cliff like Cape Tachihaye in Hakodate, but it is just an ordinary beach.

To be honest, it was just a plain beach with nothing on it. But this was a wonderful place. I had spent a long time on the road that day, and I was exhausted, but this place saved me a lot. I was completely healed by the calm and relaxing seaside air.

I stayed here for a while looking out at the ocean.

This beautiful view of the northernmost tip of Sri Lanka is still burned in my mind.

Let's go home. It has been another long day.

The schedule in Sri Lanka was much harder than expected. Almost the entire day was spent on the road. It was no wonder, since we had come to the northernmost tip of Sri Lanka in just a few days after starting from Colombo and its vicinity.

I believe it was the good environment and food in Sri Lanka that kept me from collapsing.

This concludes our itinerary in Jaffna. From here, we will travel southward through Sri Lanka to the sacred Buddhist sites in the south-central part of the country. The next destination was Dambulla. I will never forget this place in my life. I am sure that I will never forget this place in my life, and I am even sure that I will never see another World Heritage site that surpasses it in my future life. I hope you will enjoy the next article.

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