Island Hermitage
| Island Hermitage | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location |
Island Hermitage, Katudampe, Ratgama 80260 |
| Affiliation | Theravada |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Architectural description | |
| Founder | Venerable Nyanatiloka Mahathera |
| Completed | July 9, 1911 |
Island Hermitage,
Island Hermitage on (Polgasduwa) Dodanduwa Island, Galle District, Sri Lanka is a famous Buddhist forest monastery founded by Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera in 1911. It has an excellent English and German library. It is a secluded place for Buddhist monks to study and meditate in the Buddhist tradition.
The Island Hermitage was the first centre of Theravāda Buddhist study and practice set up by and for Westerners. Its many prominent residents, monks and laymen, studied Theravada Buddhism and the Pali language, made translations of Pali scriptures, wrote books on Theravada Buddhism and practiced meditation. The Island Hermitage once formed an essential link with Theravāda Buddhism in the West.
In 1951 Nyanatiloka moved to the Forest Hermitage in Kandy, then joined by Nyanaponika. Since 2003 the hermitage is run by a group of young Sri Lankan monks. There are currently no Western monks present.
The Hermitage is located in Ratgama Lake, a salt-water lagoon about two kilometers from the coast near Dodanduwa. It is 105 kilometers south of Sir Lanka's principal city, Colombo, and about 12 kilometers north of the provincial capital, Galle.
The hermitage consists of two islands: Polgasduwa and Metiduwa (or Meddeduwa). It is characterised by rich jungle vegetation and abundant bird, animal and reptile life. It is a peaceful place on an island on the large Bolgoda Lake (which is about two-and-a-half miles across and brackish as it connects with the sea). The terrain of the island is mostly flat or slightly undulating. The highest point is about 5 meters above sea level. On Metiduwa the vegetation consists of scrubs and small trees such as cinnamon and bombu, with mangrove and palm trees growing along the water's edge. On the higher ground at Parapaduwa there are larger trees such as mahagoney, mango and jak. There is a noisy breeding colony of egrets, night herons and cormorants and also a colony of flying foxes. There are many mongoose and monitor lizards on the islands.
Being situated an island in a lagoon, the climate is quite hot and humid.
Among the early Western residents were the Venerables Vappo, Mahanama, Assaji and Bhaddiya. The founder dāyaka (lay supporter) was William Mendis Wijesekera. He and other lay supporters from around Dodanduwa conveyed alms food and other requisites to the hermitage by boat every morning. In 1913 a dānasāla (refectory) was constructed.
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