Arankele

Arankele is a meditation monastery. A new monastery to the front of the site has about 30 monks. This ancient cave shrine is still in use.

The walkway from the cave shrine runs about 300 meters to the main monastic complex. A great place for walking meditation.

The large tank which once supplied bathing and drinking water for the monastics is still full of water, but  is now full of water grass and purple lotus.

Something I haven't seen in other temple ruins, this building had a long narrow runway in the middle of it which made me think of walking meditation.

Yapahuwa

A sign at the bottom of these steps says something like "WARNING! You have hereby been warned that these stairs are dangerous." They are both very step and very shallow, making them quite difficult to descend. But, the view from the top is nice.

Hatthikucchi

I particularly like Hatthikucchi for its peaceful forest setting, the very few visitors and for this rock hill in the middle with nothing on top but a wonderful place to sit down and meditate.

This is the only structure I've seen that is oval shaped.

Tanthirimale

Tanthirimale monastery is spread out in an area of low rolling granite hills.

The reclining Buddha is unique in that the legs are not straight, but slightly bent at the knees.

Both sides of this narrow path are small lakes of murky water. As I approached the path, there was something large on it at the other end that sort of resembled a decaying cow carcass. As I stepped onto the path it moved - and a very large crocodile slithered into the water. Step, mamo buddhaya, step, namo dhammaya, step, namo sanghaya, ignore the water...

Temple of 500 Buddhas

I don't recall the name of this monastery we passed on the drive from Anaradhapura to Tanthirimale. They are constructing a unique pathway lined with about 500 statues of the Buddha. I guess it will be a reflection walkway instead of designed for meditation because it ultimately leads up to some kind of temple building too early in construction to be identified. Well, I guess the modern attempts at devotional expression deserve some honorable mention.

Anuradhapura

Like Polannuruwa, Anuradhapura is actually a city with ruins of many monasteries and temples from the days when it was the capital of Sri Lanka. I started at Isurumuni Raja Maha Viharaya and the nearby pleasure park.

I guess the king's pleasure park was nearby so he could easily follow a bit of debauchery with some humble abiding.

The model of the Thuparama Vatadage is interesting. I would never have guessed that some of these massive stupas were once enclosed in a building. The model is a bit of a ruin itself.

Scaffolding for real men. As you can tell from the ladder in the left foreground, the ladders up The Great Stupa are made of bamboo with the rungs tied in place.  The scaffolding at the top is also bamboo and reminds one of that game with a stack of sticks that you try to not knock down.

The Sri Maha Bodhi at Anaradhapura was grown from a shoot taken from the original Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India under which the Buddha sat and became enlightened. The tree in India was later destroyed by the wife of King Asok when she became jealous over the kings attention to Buddhism. The tree at Bodh Gaya today is from a shoot off the tree at Anaradhapura; thus, while it is a genuine descendant of the original tree, it is actually the tree at Anaradhapura that is the closest to the original tree. Today, there are actually multiple trees here.  The branch to the left being supported by golden posts is part of the original tree.

The steps up to a temple building are typically flanked by balustrades and guard stones and at the base of the steps will have a moon stone, a half circle stone with meaningful images on them. These are showcase examples.

The Abhayagiri stupa being restored. If you look closely, you will see a chain-gang of soldiers passing bricks up the side of the stupa to a team at the base of the rectangular part just below the crown.

Mihintale

Hey, didn't somebody say I would get a break from climbing at Mihintale? Climb to the monastery, then climb to the stupa; climb to the Buddha statue...

... and climb this big rock up difficult, worn ancient steps sketchily chiseled into the rock to see: hey, there's nothing up here! Well, there's a nice view back down on the monastery grounds.

Another favorite feature at most temples and shrines: the Bodhi Tree. The Bodhi Tree at Anaradhapura is grown from a cutting taken from the original Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya in India and many of the other temple trees in Sri Lanka were taken from the one at Anaradhapura. That's cool.

Nice. This is still part of the greater Mihintale site. It is a big place.

Common at old temple ruins, the columns have mostly been broken off and are just stubs now; but, these once would have held up a large wooden roof.

Ritigala

The ruins at Ritigala are spread out in a forest and connected by a peaceful walkway.

These paired, double platforms are a common feature of a number of ancient monasteries. At Ritigala, one of the platforms always has these pillars which appear to have supported an inset wooden floor. The crawl space underneath is a bit curious.

This temple still has a urinal in the corner. Given the placement of the aperture and the foot pedestals, I assume monks would have squatted on the urinal.  I've seen men do this on at gutters in India and it is surprisingly discreet. Although, I don't think we would get away with it in America.

Ritigala also adjoins a protected forest area with some beautiful trees.