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A fitting tribute to a sage

By Nilika Kasturisinghe
'The Great Revival' a coffee table book recalling the life and work of Velivita Saranankara Sangaraja Thera was launched on Wednesday by the Buddhist Publication Society to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the restoration of the upasampada (higher ordination).

"A fitting tribute to a man, a sage who fought against all odds to revive Buddhism in this country," said Prof. J. B. Dissanayake, delivering the keynote address at the book launch

The book which marks the establishment of the Shyamopli Maha Nikaya comprises photographs by Sarath Perera, text by D.C. Ranatunga and layout and design by Ruwan Peiris.

Describing the beautiful photography, Prof. Disanayaka rightly said, "It is like a television documentary captured in print, a moving picture."

In 1753, exactly 250 years ago on the full moon day of Esala, an event took place that brought about a great revival in the history of the Buddha Sasana. A delegation of senior monks from Siam led by Upali Thero visited Ceylon bringing the upasampada and thereby a revival of Buddhism in the country.

Suriyagoda Temple located on a hillock is where the samanera who became the Sangaraja, the king of the community of monks, spent a good part of his life, 30 years. Prof. Disanayaka himself with kinship to these parts speaks of "the wonderful world of magic and mystery that surrounds those who visit the temple".

An ola leaf inscribed by Saranankara Sangaraja himself has been photographed for the benefit of the readers of this book, a photograph which ordinary readers otherwise would not have access to.

The most Ven. Saranakara has stated in this ola leaf how he came to find the 'Jataka Potha' (the book relating the 550 previous lives of the Bodhisatva) on the door frame of the 'vi atuva' (room or receptacle used for paddy storage). The monk had then gone to the forest and found a suitable tree to use as timber for the door frame and only then removed the 'jataka' book. As Prof. Disanayaka states this tells us something about the values he upheld.

To read the 'tripitaka' and 'jataka katha' one needed to know Pali, but there were few at this time who knew Pali. And the monk visited in a cave in the mountains of 'alagalla' the Leuke Rala who was not on good terms with the king and being kept as it were under house arrest in his quest to learn Pali grammar. Prof. Disanayaka stressed the risks that the Ven. Saranakara had to face to learn Pali and bring back this language.
"A bhikku is a monk who has gone through upasampada. A monk however old cannot be called a bhikku unless he has undergone this rite of passage," Prof. Disanayaka said.

Describing one photograph in 'The Great Revival' of young samanera monks, Prof. Disanayaka a linguist stressed the presence of 'pin pata', ("a colour we have which others do not" - these young samanera monks have 'pin pata' - the appearance of having earned much merit).

Speaking on behalf of the BPS, the Ven. Prof. Mettavihari thanked the team which worked on this book and Ven. Kulugammana Hamuduruwo who accompanied the team to each temple and helped in the creation of the book.

Prof. Mettavihari said his wish was to "To give back to this country this dhamma which has been given to us."

A branch of the Buddhist Publication Society, BPS, more known to its English readers abroad has been opened at the Narada Centre, he said.

The launch held at the Galle Face Hotel on Wednesday evening was attended by luminaries in their chosen spheres such as Pandit W.D. Amaradeva, Lester and Sumithra Peiris, Reggie Candappa among others.

The facilitator of the event Deepal Sooriyarachcchi invited the participants to light the lamp symbolising the act of dispelling the darkness of ignorance.

Asoka Gunaratne, Manager of Gunaratne Press handed over the first copies of the book to Ven. Prof. Mettavihari, who in turn presented them to those who worked to create the book.

Describing the 4 ½ month journey which went into the creation of "The Great Revival", D.C.Ranatunga who wrote the text for the book said, "All in all it was a valuable learning experience for us."

"The two Mahanayakes were punctual, friendly and most courteous," he said while narrating details of the assignments to shoot the photographs which possess the power to instill serenity in the hearts of those who look at them

"Setting off in the early hours of the morning, drinking plain tea from Sarath's flask, and stopping for a stringhopper breakfast became routine for all of us," Ranatunga said.

An undergraduate of the fifties, Ranatunga appears to have retained the freedom of spirit and taste of patriotism, which was part and parcel of independent Sri Lanka.

Though once again in the throes of a new imperialism, we can still treasure those rare moments in time when our motherland was liberated in spirit as well as body.

Presiding at the sessions, Bhikku Professor Dhammavihari stressed the need for standards to safeguard Buddhism. He called for a private body of laypersons and bhikkus who check and identify attempts at discrediting the Dhamma.

"You need an SLS in the dhamma, which presides over its authenticity, because cassettes, CDs, internet are freely available, he said. "Be careful," he cautioned, "I am calling upon someone in this audience because I have called upon the government so many times.”

Member of the Board of Directors of the BPS, Lakshman de Mel delivered the vote of thanks.

Where young expressions blossom

Joyous screams and free-spirited brush strokes by young hands, even the confidence to caricature their own art teacher are all part of a day in the life at the Shyamala School of Art.

Situated against the backdrop of tranquil paddy fields and lush greenery, the Shyamala School of Art at Thalawathugoda celebrated its first anniversary on May 30.
Children between the ages of 5-8 enjoy experimenting and building up confident personalities as they work with no prompting from their art teacher. "The work of a child is not touched by me," says Shyamala Pinto Jayawardena, the founder of the art school.

" I believe in total freedom of the child. However as children grow into adolescence, we do face the battle of defeatism which can be easily overcome by giving them projects they like to handle. These create self-confidence and satisfaction, though these works don't necessarily become the ideal pictures you want to hang in your sitting room."

Looking back on the first year, Shyamala attributes her achievements to prayer, hard work, intense personal commitment and the support of her family.

A mother of two, Shyamala has over 20 years experience teaching art and design. She believes that creativity brings joy to many who experience the aesthetic beauty of what an artist brings forth and in giving this happiness, the artist in turn receives happiness.

She holds classes for both adults and children and also for those preparing for G.C.E O/L and A/L exams.

Blend of colours

Geetha Senewiratne will hold her seventh solo exhibition on June 22 and 23 at the Rainbow Room of the Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo.

"Expressions in Light and Shade" will see a wide selection of paintings in diverse styles, all exuding a skilful blend of colours and flow of the brush.

She has been painting for almost 30 years, but her creativity has not been confined to painting.

Geetha has even tried her hand at sculpture and studio pottery. She was awarded the Sri Lanka Art Society prize for the best sculpture in 1983, for her work - "Dushkarakriya".

Her paintings have also been selected for display in exhibitions held in India and Japan.

Keen tussle at Shakespeare contest

Girls' High School, Kandy is the only outstation school to have made it into the finals of the Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition. The finals to be worked off on June 21 and 22 at the BMICH will see a keen tussle between four girls’ schools and four boys' schools vying for the honours.

In the girls' category are Bishops' College, Methodist College and St. Bridget's Convent along with Girls' High School. Royal College, St. Joseph's College, St. Peter's College and Nalanda College are the finalists in the boys' section.

The schools will each perform extracts from a selected Shakespeare play. Bishops' will present a scene from The Merry Wives of Windsor, Girls' High School the Taming of the Shrew, Methodist Romeo and Juliet and St. Bridget's The Merchant of Venice.

Variety is less among the boys' schools with St. Joseph's, St. Peter's and Nalanda all doing scenes from Julius Caesar while Royal will present Othello.

Several well-known theatre personalities are involved with the productions: Irene Wanigaratne for Bishop's, Ruwanthie de Chickera for Methodist, Jith Peiris for Girls' High School, Jehan Aloysius for St. Joseph's and Jehan Bastians for St. Peter's among them.

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