Sri Lanka’s prominent role in protecting the Buddhasasana and the teachings of the Enlightened One have been highly praised at the United Nations Vesak Day celebrations last week in Thailand.
Ven. Prof. Phra Brahma-pundit, President of the International Council for Day of Vesak, President of International Association of Buddhist Universities, and Member of Supreme Sangha Council of Thailand thanked Sri Lanka for the continuous efforts of Sri Lankan Buddhists to protect, sustain and propagate the teachings of the Buddha. He told the UN Vesak Day in Ayuthya on June 1 that Theravada Buddhist nations should jointly make efforts to propagate the teachings with emphasis on its relevance to find answers to the problems in the world.
The Ven. Nayaka Thera said, “Relations between Thailand and Sri Lanka are over millennia, as we exchanged teachings of the Buddha to establish and to revive the Buddhasasana, over and over again.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who delivered the keynote speech at the UN Vesak Day held separate meetings with Ven. Somdet Phra Ariya-vangsa-gatayana, the Sangharajas of Thailand. He also paid his respects to Sangharajas of Bhutan, Myanmar and China and with the delegation leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and several other Buddhist countries to discuss the plans for further strengthening religious ties.
Sri Lanka is always grateful to Thailand and Myanmar for assisting the revival of the Sangha order in Sri Lanka.
Sangha Order
This year Sri Lanka celebrates the 270th anniversary of the efforts of Most Ven. Upali Maha Thera of Thailand who was requested to by the King Rama of Siam, now Thailand, to help the Most Ven. Saranankara Sangaraja of Sri Lanka to revive the Sangha Order of Sri Lanka. He came to the country in1753 and performed Upasampada (Higher Ordination) for a group of Sri Lankan bhikkhus and established the Siyam Sector of Sangha in Sri Lanka.
The Upasampada was not observed in Sri Lanka for centuries until this time. Upali Thera believed the bhikkhus in Kandy have degenerated, and his efforts were aimed at “purifying” the practices.
It was also through the efforts of Ven. Upali Thera that the procession of the Sacred Tooth Relic was reorganised in its present form. Annually in Kandy, there is a celebration which includes a parade in which the focus is a relic believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. This procession was originally focused on to honour Hindu deities, particularly those incorporated into Sri Lankan Buddhism.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena also called on the Sangharaja of Myanmar and expressed gratitude to Burma, now Myanmar for the establishment of Buddhist order Amarapura and Ramanna.
The Prime Minister, in his keynote address titled, ‘Buddhist wisdom coping with global crises’, emphasized that to overcome a crisis of such magnitude, the only way is through a collective reach out in service of others, as the Buddha said.
Annual assembly
He said, “The success of this annual assembly is also mainly due to the farsighted patronage of the King of Thailand Maha Vajira-long-korn. His Majesty is special to the Maha Sangha and people of Sri Lanka, as we remember His Majesty visited Colombo, Kandy, and Galle in Sri Lanka in 1993. Some 30 years ago, as then Crown Prince visited Deepa-duptama-arama temple in Colombo, where since 1897 Royal ancestors of His Majesty’s family were ordained and lived in bhikkhuhood.”
While in Kandy, His Majesty visited the Sacred Tooth Relics of the Buddha at Sri Dalada Maligawa. When Premier Gunawardena called on King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the King told him that fond memories of his visit to Kandy were still in his heart.
Premier Gunawardena told the audience that included more than 2,000 bhikkhus including the Sangharajas of Thailand, China, Bhutan and others Buddhist and other religious leaders, “As Buddhists, for us, every other crisis, is only a new opening to engage solving and managing issues with a Fresh State of Mind.”
“A lifelong engagement in deep thoughtful establishment of practices, towards caring for the environment -human, animal, and plants- was founded by the Enlightened One. The importance of “being content”, is only echoed in Buddhist teachings underlining the responsible and moderate use of time, and resources for human progress. The “Middle Path”, is the only moderate pragmatic way forward, and the need to “Mindfully be Engaged” with one’s self in the path until cessation or end was reached,” he said.
