Blackwell Reference Online

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[xi] By about the 12th century Theravada Buddhism had recovered its former dominant position among the Sinhala-speaking population of the island of Ceylon. Despite the medieval immigration of Tamil-speaking Hindus and later political domination by various missionizing European nations, Buddhism remains the religion of the Sinhala majority in the modern state of Sri Lanka, with about 13 million adherents. Traditional Sinhalese Buddhism was closely associated with Sinhalese nationalism and monarchy and existed in a complex relationship with various deva cults at the local level. The last century has seen the rise under European secularist and Theosophical influence (see Theosophy) of a Buddhist modernism. Deva cults and traditional ritual practices were seen as corruptions of the original pure Buddhism. A strong reformist tendency emerged, with a rather rationalistic interpretation based partly on the work of late 19th-century scholarship, notably that of T. W. Rhys Davids (1843–1922) and the Pali Text Society (founded 1881). The reasonable and ‘scientific’ nature of Buddhism was stressed. This led to some revival of Buddhist missionary activity and influenced modernizing tendencies in other Buddhist countries. Traditional attitudes remain dominant in village Buddhism, with modernizing tendencies widespread among the Western-educated; there are many intermediate positions. [28; 29; ... log in or subscribe to read full text