Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c9.10

c9.10

The reason for the special payments for ecclesiastical work was that it was felt unbecoming for the patron to obtain the credit for a meritorious action, unless the cost was really borne by him; unless, indeed, he did so bear it, there was no real merit acquired. The feeling came out as strongly when the Ruvanvæli dāgaba was built (see Chapter I., p. 4), and Duṭṭha Gāmaṇi deemed it unmeet that such work should be executed by unpaid labour, and took extraordinary precautions to prevent any voluntary work being done, lest any of the merit should be lost to himself; he could share the merit by deliberate gift, without loss to himself, but if voluntary work were done secretly, only the doer obtained the merit. The lamp of sacrifice burned as steadily in India as in mediæval Europe. There is no more evidence that in the religious architecture of the East any saving of cost was attempted or desired, than there is of any such thing in mediæval English building of church and shrine.*