Culture of Buddhism Most Buddhist practices also involve chant in some form, and some also make use of instrumental music and even dance. Music can act as an offering to the Buddha, as a means of memorizing Buddhist texts, and as a form of personal cultivation or meditation. In order to purify the hearts of listeners, Buddhist melodies are strong yet soft and pure. Buddhist music plays a central role in everyday cultural practices of Buddhists since it is also played in many ceremonies such as weddings and funerals Buddhist music developed when Buddhism spread to Tibet. The Tibetan traditions of Buddhism encouraged
Buddhism and violence Buddhist nationalism and militant Buddhism. The Mahavamsa states that Lord Buddha made three visits to Sri Lanka in which he rids the island of forces inimical to Buddhism and instructs deities to protect the ancestors of the Sinhalese (Prince Vijaya and his followers from North India) to enable the establishment and flourishing of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. This myth has led to the widely held Sinhalese Buddhist belief that the country is Sihadipa (island of the Sinhalese) and Dhammadipa (the island ennobled to preserve and propagate Buddhism). In other words, Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists maintain that they are the Buddha's chosen