ABSTRACT
Most Theravada scholars have been repugnant to notions of faith and devotion within Buddhism. They are hesitant to admit that Theravada texts contain Buddhological concepts or Buddhist theological discussions. For most, a rational and creative work on Buddhist doctrines as a form of Buddhologyl or Buddhist theology is inconceivable. In most Theravada writings, one encounters an overwhelming emphasis on the scientific and rationalistic nature of the Buddha's teachings. These overt emphases do ignore Buddhological tendencies within Theravada. In the development of Sri Lankan Theravada with close contacts with Sinhala people, with their beliefs and practices, Sinhala Buddhism has inherited a vast corpus of Buddhological literature. In medieval Sinhala prose texts, Buddhist writers employed a kind of rationalism to justify the goodness of the Buddha and to argue for Buddha's greatness as a spiritual power sometimes consciously or unconsciously elevating him to a savior. With special focus on VidyacakravartI's Butsara1)a, a thirteenth century Sinhala text, I will examine some Buddhological and Buddhist theological orientations in Sri Lankan Theravada.
