Sri Lanka may be thought of as the sacred land of Theravada Buddhism, but in fact, Mahayana Buddhism also took root in this land. Especially in the 8th century, Sri Lanka was the center of esoteric Buddhism, which had a great influence on the world.

I decided to head for the interior of Sri Lanka to visit its traces.

In my last article I talked about the armed uprising by Marxist students in 1971. This armed uprising was not merely Marxist in nature. In fact, the deep-rooted caste problem in Sri Lanka was also a major factor in the uprising.

In this article, I will discuss such caste in Sri Lanka.

I have been in the process of studying Dostoevsky for the past few years, mostly European history. And now I am learning about India and Sri Lanka.

But I wondered, "What do I really know about Europe, India, and Sri Lanka? What do I think I know about Europe, India, and Sri Lanka?" Coming to the University of Peradeniya made me aware of this question once again.

Many people may have an image of Sri Lanka as a country of black tea. I was one of them.

I have always been a coffee drinker, but the more I learned about tea, the more I became interested in it, and now I drink it frequently. In this article, I would like to share my experience at a Sri Lankan tea plantation.

During my stay in Sri Lanka, I also had a number of amazing and wonderful experiences, the most surprising of which was the audience I was able to have with both Siamese presidents in Kandy.

This was something I had not expected at all, and it was definitely one of the most exciting days of my three-week stay in Sri Lanka.

This article will introduce the iconic Buddha Tooth Temple in Kandy. We will also talk about its interior and nighttime pujas.

In the latter half of the article, we will consider the diversity of Sri Lankan Buddhism, using the temple in the precincts of the Buddha's Tooth Temple as a clue. In Sri Lanka, there existed a culture similar to the Japanese Shinto/Buddhist syncretism.

Kandy, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka.

It is truly wonderful to have such a large lake and abundant greenery in the center of such a large city. It is also pleasant to feel the laid-back atmosphere as a whole. It is also a great place to take a walk.

Kandy is a very comfortable city. I highly recommend this ancient city.

It takes about three hours to get from Sigiriya to Kandy. On the way, I decided to visit a place where a major event took place that had a bearing on Sri Lankan Buddhism and, by extension, on all of world Buddhism.

That will be this alvihara.

The most famous mural painting in Sigiriya is the Sigiriya Lady, a 5th-century nymph whose work has been compared to that of the Ajanta Grottoes in India.

And this mural was still amazing! This is another must-see spot in Sri Lanka.