Dansala’s -way side street cooked food stalls – By Dr harold Gunatillake
Buddha. Feeding poor people is one of the duties of a Buddhist. Generosity is a core practice of Buddhism, and one of the traditional expressions of this is through offering food to the monks and nuns.
Buddhism emphasizes the fact that everybody lives on food and that is the main requisite. The Buddhist generosity culminates when one sacrifices his/her own life for the benefit of others. According to Buddhism, before asking the person to follow the teachings of the Buddha, one should check whether the person had enough to eat because the hungry cannot comprehend the essence of the teachings. The Buddha mentioned that hunger is the worst disease.
Wesak is the most important Buddhist festival, taking place at the full moon when the sun is in the zodiac sign of Taurus, and commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha.
It marks a season of donations, pilgrimages, and travel from rural areas to cities for sightseeing. Visitors are drawn to the cities, like Kandy, the hill capital of Sri Lanka, to view drawings depicting stories from the Buddha’s life, the lighting, and paper lanterns adorning houses and streets. Unfortunately, in the past, there were many pandals put up by the businesspeople, and crowds of people would celebrate much more in that visual atmosphere, than today.
The streets in Kandy were decorated with lanterns and sparkling colored lights. But the attractions that draw the largest crowds, both city residents and visitors alike, are the Dansalas,. They are roadside stalls with food, drinks, and desserts where people give food as an act of merit.
There were many Dansalas in the city with miles of people queued up to have their share of food.
The most popular dansala carried out for the past 20 years was at Senani Oak Ray hotel from where I am talking now.
They served village food, including polos, mango, dhal curries, and yellow rice, and over 6000 stomachs were fed, bringing much merit to the chairman Sujeewa Palliaguruge family and the staff of the various respective Oak Ray series hotels.
This dansala was solely financed by Sujeewa with no donations from the public as is the normal traditional practice.
Buddhists believe that feeding the less fortunate people brings the ultimate merit that takes them with them to the next life. Let me now take you to the most focussed dansala in Kandy, and let me repeat, which has been conducted for the last 20 years, at Senani Oak Ray Hotel just above Kandy Lake, every year.
Over 6000 people are fed in this dansala every year. It is a well-organized dansala, where people queue up orderly for their food, extending for a few miles.
Expectant mothers are given priority where they do not fall into the routine queue but are served as they arrive.
If people request for a second serve they only have to queue up in another spotwhere they are served ad-lib. So, please share and enjoy the rest of this video, and may you gain merit for sharing this video.
May the triple Gem be with you and bye for now.
There is no fire like greed, No crime like hatred, No sorrow like separation, No sickness like hunger of heart, And no joy like the joy of freedom. Health,contentment and trust Are your greatest possessions, And freedom your greatest joy. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of living in the way.
Gautama Buddha
