|
|
|
| Sunday, 11 December 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Buddhist monk who promoted education
Though there were monks, they were not learned, well educated or pious. Thus, education in temples degenerated. It was at this time that Welivita Saranankara Thera came to rescue both Buddhism and the Sinhalese people. There was a child called Kulatunga Bandara in the village of Welivita, in the upcountry. This child who observed the five precepts well, often went to temple and observed 'Ata Sil' or the eight precepts, on poya days. He preferred to lead a pious life and was ordained under the name 'Welivita Saranankara' at the age of 16. He was very interested in learning, but it was difficult to find the teachers and textbooks needed. The teachings of the Buddha had completely been written in the Pali language. The Thera was able to learn Pali from a teacher named Lewke Rala who lived far away. Saranankara Thera learned not only Pali, but also other languages such as Sinhala and Sanskrit. As he learned these with much perseverance, he soon became a pundit, a great genius. Saranankara Thera who realised that the lack of textbooks is a great obstacle to those who are interested in learning, wrote a number of Sinhala and Pali texts in order to help them. He led a very simple life and went from village to village, helping people and preaching the dhamma. During this period, a certain Brahmin pundit from India arrived in the King's Court in Kandy, but there wasn't anyone learned enough in the court to talk with him. Once, Saranankara Thera was invited to the court by the King. The pundit who spoke with the Thera was pleased with the learned monk.At the time, there were no Upasampada monks (those with higher ordination) in the country. He brought Upasampada monks to Sri Lanka with the help of the then King. Thereafter, the Upasampada began in Sri Lanka again. He also sought the assistance of the King to renovate and reconstruct the abandoned and dilapidated temples and dagobas. It was during this time that the Dambulla, Degaldoruwa and Ridi Vihara temples were renovated. The Dalada Perahera was added to the Kandy Perahera under the guidance of Welivita Saranankara Thera. An educated group of pupils were employed to carry on the services started by the Thera. King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe, who appreciated the service rendered by Saranankara Thera, offered him the title of 'Sangaraja'. There are many lessons that can be taken from the character of this Thera. He often preferred to help those needing help in education. - L. W. Gamini C. Kumara The celebrated aviator - Amelia Earhart
Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas in the USA. She was the elder of Edwin Stanton and Amy Otis Earhart's two daughters. The two bright sisters didn't have a happy childhood. Their father was an alcoholic and was often unemployed. The family travelled a great deal. The girls often recited poetry while doing their chores, but also loved sports, including basketball and tennis. Their parents encouraged them to try new things. Amelia wanted to attend college after finishing school. But she met some World War I (1914 - 1918) veterans and decided to study nursing instead. During the war, Amelia worked as a military nurse in Canada and later became a social worker and taught English to immigrant children. Besides work, Amelia had one hobby. She enjoyed watching airplane stunt shows, which were popular in the 1920s. Then one day, she took a 10-minute plane ride and knew what her vocation would be - she would learn to fly. Amelia did several odd jobs and with the help of her mother, she put together the fee for the flying course - $ 1,000. In those days, $ 1,000 was an extremely large amount of money. After 10 hours of instructions and several crashes, Amelia was ready to fly. She made her first solo flight in 1921. The flight went well. By the next year, Amelia had saved enough money to buy her own plane. Till 1928, flying was only her hobby. This changed when Amelia received a call from Captain Hilton H. Railey. He asked her to join pilots, Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon on a flight from the United States to England. Though Amelia was just a passenger, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic on a plane. The plane they flew in was 'The Friendship' and the trip was made on June 17-18, 1928. A publisher named George Putnam wrote an article on the flight, and in 1931, Amelia married him. After this, Amelia got tremendous publicity. In May 1932, she crossed the Atlantic alone, and set a new transatlantic crossing record of 13 hours, 30 minutes. She received a medal from the American President Herbert Hoover for this. Several years later, she became the first woman to fly from California to Hawaii, which was a difficult route. Amelia's last flight began in June 1937. She and navigator (person directing the route) Fred Noonan set out to fly around the world. They were in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra aircraft. The two of them took off from Miami in America to South America. Then they crossed the South Atlantic Ocean to Dakar in Africa and from there to Thailand and then to Australia. However, after they left Lae in New Guinea for Howland Island, the American Coastguard lost contact with the plane. They received a final message on July 2, 1937 at 8:45 am, and Amelia's tone was described as frantic (worried). Despite an extensive search, the American Navy never found any trace of either the plane or the aviators. Their disappearance is still a mystery. While some believe that she and Noonan were captured and executed (killed) by the Japanese, others feel that President Roosevelt sent Earhart on a secret spy mission. However, none of these theories have been confirmed. In a tribute to Amelia, her husband published her biography titled Soaring Wings in 1939. The biography described her adventurous life. What motivated Amelia to keep flying? Maybe it was "a lonely impulse of delight". |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
About four hundred years ago, the coastal areas of our country were
ruled by foreigners such as the Portuguese and Dutch. As they were not
Buddhists, the Sinhala Buddhists and the monks faced many difficulties.
They weren't able to get a good education due to these reasons. 
Amelia Earhart was one of the world's most celebrated aviators (people
flying planes). She broke records and chartered new skies in the course of
her short life. She disappeared while on a flight around the world. 
