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| Sunday, 1 June 2003 |
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Vesak 2547 : Kalutara pays unique homage by A Resident Devotee of Kalutara A veritable golden canopy it was over the bridges of Kalutara, with specially imported soft lights, a soft glow in tune with the gentle philosophy of the Tathagata. The concept must have been of the Associated Motorways Ltd. (AMW); for, vehicles belonging to AMW and obviously a generous donation of technical, skilled and unskilled labour were seen, busy as the proverbial bee, creating the effects that honoured the memory of the Buddha in a very special way. This among other activities made Vesak in the District of Kalutara, truly memorable, this year. It is learnt that the necessary funds were not drawn off the Bodhiya collections, but off private funds. It was not solely Aamisa Pooja or Ceremonial Honouring of the Gautama Buddha. There was one of the greatest gifts of the Dhamma, the greatest Dhamma Daana, when five organizations of the visually handicapped were presented with a copy each of Volume 1 of the Dhammapada in the original Pali, in Sinhala and in English all transcribed into braille. It had been compiled by the Secretary of the Bodhimaga Padanama, the Dhamma dissemination arm of the Kalutara Bodhi Trust (KBT), set up just eight months ago. The Most Venerable Bellana Gnanawimala Thera broke through tradition when he humbly rose from his seat to honour the handicapped and to present this precious gift to those who represented the visually handicapped. It was indeed a touching moment when R. A. Sirisena, General Secretary of the SLFVH, fingered the script in braille and chanted a verse of the Dhammapada. His pronunciation was perfect and the delivery impeccable. Another manifestation of Dhamma dana was the distribution of 2500 booklets containing seven brief discourses by seven Venerable theras, all pivoting on the theme of observing the Five Precepts. The theme of the commemoration event was Let us Beget a Society that Abides by the Five Precepts. The titles were all decided upon and communicated to the 541 Dhamma Schools in the District and other temples as well. The theme of the commemoration was loud and clear, for, the District was dotted with banners proclaiming it. It was a great day for the staff of the Kalutara Bodhi Trust from top management right through to the garden sweep, when they were called upon to distribute generous packets of dry rations to nearly 150 visually handicapped persons who participated in the ceremony to inaugurate the Kalutara Vesak Commemoration activities. The manifestation of the Dana Paramita or the Perfection of Generosity was expressed also when the Bodhiya provided cooked food to the weary, the hungry and other persons such as those who had observed sil as well as those not. Offering gilanpasa, lighting about 364 lamps each day making up a total of 2547 lamps to mark this 2547th year of the Buddha, voluntary service in hospitals, orphanages, homes for elders and the aged, by way of cleaning, colour washing, weeding, pruning, followed in the evenings by devotees wending their pious way to the temples with flowers and incense were all set out in the planned programme. Other programmes included devotional songs, with the Kalutara Bodhi Trust presenting Rs. 1000/= to each group that presents Bodu Gee or Songs in Praise of the Buddha. Apart from such Dhamma Dana and other forms of dana, another feature was Abhaya dana, when several heads of cattle were saved from the horror of slaughter and despatched to Tantirimale. Here the milk of human kindness would be poured upon the hapless creatures as though in return for the nutrition that the sacred animals have for ever bestowed upon humankind. Gratitude The Vesak Week saw a fitting finale when about fifty monks gathered at the Uda Maluwa of the Kalutara Bodhiya and chanted the Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta in the night of the May 18, the last day of the Vesak week. The Secretary Chitra Mendis in her address of thanks expressed her gratitude to the Maha Sangha, who were present in unprecedented numbers in Kalutara for any single event of this sort. They exceeded 500. She was particularly grateful to the Samanera monks, in whose hands reposes the future of the Saasana. Let there soon be the day when monks will congregate like this in all parts of our land and proclaim the dispensation of the Buddha. She recalled that at the funeral of Sir Cyril de Zoysa, way back in the fifties, the Venerable Dewamottawe Amarawansa Thera observed that Sir Cyril, the architect of the Bodhi Trust, who pioneered the work of the Trust along with a small group of lawyers, all on the Kalutara Bar, had the distinction of being the only person since the great Sinhala kings, who built a Caitya of the proportions of the Kalutara Bodhi Dagoba. She observed, that likewise, it was left to his nephew, Mr. Ajita de Zoysa, like the Situwaru or the affluent devotees of yore to bring together at this inaugural ceremony more than 500 Bhikkhus, reminiscent of the classical number of 500 Arahants who congregate on important occasions, beginning with the First Sangayana or First Conference held at the Saptapanni Caves in Rajagaha at which the Dhammapada too was codified. Mr. de Zoysa has brought together the Sangha and the laity on a scale rarely possible today. She did thank him most profusely for the great pains he has taken to organize the Great Commemoration. The fervent devotees, the large majority in this country will, she asserted, for ever cherish the sentiment ensconced in the crest of the Bodhimaga Padanama - May the Dispensation of the Buddha prevail long in the world: Ciran Tithatu Lokasmin Samma Sambuddha Saasanam. |
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