Hi my loving Hivers
Welcome to my travel blog. Last Sunday was a full moon poya day, so I had the opportunity to visit a Hebi temple in a beautiful and peaceful environment near our area. In the morning, I took the opportunity to have fun with my friends at Unawatuna Beach and in the evening I reserved the opportunity with my wife and daughter because it is a religious custom to go to a temple on Poya days and worship. We arrived at the Japanese Peace Temple located in Rumassala village in Unawatuna city, which has attracted local and foreign tourists.
Rumassala area is a village surrounded by natural environment located on top of a small mountain. With the increase in tourist attractions, many hotels and lodges have been built. Also, Rumsala can be called a very busy area nowadays due to the abundance of local tourists. The tourist attraction has also increased due to the beautiful beach called Jungle Beach below the Rumassala Peace Pagoda. Since the value of a piece of land here is high, many villagers have sold their land at a higher price and settled in other areas.
You can reach the Peace Temple after going to Galle city on the Matara Road from Colombo along the coastal road. You can also go by train. It can also be reached from the Pinnaduwa entrance on the Southern Expressway.
You can see how the villagers build small street shops out of tents and cater to the needs of tourists. Before entering the Japanese Peace Temple, you will find stalls selling flowers, oil, and lampshades to worship the Buddha. The price of the things in these stalls is a little higher than the price of the normal market, so we brought the essential things from home for the pilgrimage.
There is no need to pay for parking in any private parking lot because of the parking space at the Japanese Peace Temple itself. As it was a Poya day, a large number of local devotees could be seen coming to this holy place. My lovely daughter was very hopeful about this trip, and you can see the happiness in her heart after reaching the destination.
After entering the temple grounds, we can see the Bo tree, which is worshiped at the top of Buddhism. Inside there was a newly built small Buddha statue. It is a wonderful haven not only to take a rest and relax, but also to spend time happily.
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The inside of the temple is usually open only on Poya days. For the first time in my life, I was fortunate to see Japanese Buddhist cultural elements and practices. I was able to incorporate Japanese Buddhist rituals and elements into my life for the first time. The drums of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be heard outside the temple. But we were able to hear the drumming of the Japanese Buddhist culture in a louder volume inside the Buddha temple.
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Japanese Buddhist culture was clearly seen inside the temple house of Rumassala Japanese Peace Temple. Several statues of Buddha painted in gold were seen. Almost all Buddhists can be seen worshiping Buddha statues. The decorations were almost different from Buddhist temples in our country. We were also lucky to see Japanese Buddhist culture.
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The windows, doors and interior architecture are also different. I'm not going to compare because I don't know much about Japanese architecture. Another custom was to offer sweetmeats containing small seeds to all the pilgrims. It was learned that it is done only on Poya days. It is a Japanese custom.
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On one side of the temple ground on the top of the hill, overlooking the Indian Ocean, there was a Buddha statue. Buddhists had arranged to worship it by offering flowers. A lamp was also lit.
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Generally a main bells can be seen in every temple. It was used to inform the villagers of an emergency or a special occasion in the temple.
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Performing the Aloka Pooja to honor Dagaba is a ritual done by us Buddhists from the past. My wife and I used coconut oil and curtains to light the empty lamps located in a lamp fence. The daughter was a little afraid of fire, so she did not participate in the activity.
Researchers have also found that there are about 150 species of medicinal plants in this lovely forest, which is the home of many valuable medicinal plants. It is also said that the land of Rumssala, with its highly uneven soil properties, is in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape. Another opinion given by the researchers is that the drugs in Rumassala are similar to those in Ritigala. In ancient times, these lands may have been used as medicinal gardens.
After reaching the high area of Dagaba, you can see the entire Rumassala mountain and the blue Indian Ocean. Apart from that, places like Galle Harbour, Galle Fort and Dewata City can also be seen. Behind the villages we were lucky to see some famous mountain ranges live.
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Another beautiful opportunity was seen to give more nature to Dagaba place. At the end of the evening and the dawning of the night, everyone who was there had the opportunity to watch the sun disappearing from the western sky. Many people's mobile phone cameras were pointed towards it. In fact, you can see the sunset from the top of the mountain.
Around the Japanese Peace Pagoda, several golden Buddha statues were built and you can see devotees offering flowers and worshiping. Japanese characters can be seen behind the Buddha statue. I was not able to understand the characters because no one at the place had any knowledge of the Japanese language.
All around the Japanese Peace Pagoda, elephant sculptures were drawn in the lower region. Elephants have a good connection with Buddhism. Therefore, they may have been included in this pagoda.
Elderly men and women sat on the ground in front of the pagoda and recited verses and worshiped Dagabha and Buddha.
In another place, a statue of Buddha in meditating posture could be seen. Electric bulbs were lit to increase the brightness of the Buddha image.
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Many problems in life are forgotten when looking around from the top of Dagaba. Touching the wind ripples brought great relief. Galle city ranks first among the places that have attracted local and foreign tourists. What makes Galle more beautiful is its beautiful beach. Rumassala is a very beautiful place in Galle city. The blue beach that is found when going down through the jungle through Rumassala mountain about one kilometer is named as Rumassala. Rumassala is also known as Bonavista.
Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana were displayed in English to provide proper understanding.
The Peace Pagoda at the top of Rumassala Hill was built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fu, a Japanese monk. It is also one of the five peace pagodas in the country. All history details are displaying the name borad.
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If you come across a beautiful event where you can see rare species of plants that only caught the eye in the Himalayas, that is the only event in the beautiful Rumassala in the vast city of Galle. There are many interesting past stories associated with Rumssala, which are full of historical value. It is said that Rama's brother Lakshmana fell ill when Hanumanta, the leader of Rama's monkey army, came to Sri Lanka. Hanuma went back to India in search of the necessary medicine, but forgot the name of the desired plant, so he brought back a part of the Himalayas. Legend also has it that Sonduru Rumassala was created from the part that fell from the palm of the hand while carrying the small piece of mountain that was left behind on the way back.
The temple can be seen on the top floor of Dagaba. Although the architecture of the windows is different, the roof is made according to Sri Lankan architecture. This is the best example of the integration of two nations.
When Dagaba was about to come down from the upper floor, I watched the sunset again. The setting sun cast a beautiful reflection on the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Different types of trees were seen on one side of the temple grounds. They bring a fresh beauty to the temple grounds. Moreover, it also provides shade to people when the sun is high.
