Lanka holds sole living link to Buddha’s enlightenment
Thousands braved the monsoonal torrents this week to converge on the ancient capital of Anuradhapura and celebrate the thrice blessed day of Vesak by paying reverence to the living symbol of Buddha’s enlightenment that no country but Lanka is honoured and proud to possess. For neither in the far off plains of Nepal’s Lumbini where [...]
Letters
Pampering politicians As a strong supporter of this government I cannot help feeling concerned at the total lack of empathy our leadership is showing in showering benefits on MPs. At a time when no one can gainsay that the vast majority of our populace is struggling to survive, why is it necessary to provide permits [...]
Appreciations
Dr. JUSTIN SAMARASEKERA Remembering an illustrious architect May 21, 2016, marked the hundredth birth anniversary of an illustrious personage – the architect Dr. Justin Samarasekera. His demise in 2003 left a void in the architectural profession. He is remembered not only for his forthright manner, his success based on ethical conduct, his knowledge and sagacity, [...]
Exciting range , vision and ambition at this year’s Gratiaen: Judges
Over the past two decades, the Gratiaen Prize has evolved to become a firm fixture in the Sri Lankan literary calendar, ensuring the continuation of Sri Lankan writing in English. This year, Thiyagaraja Arasanayagam won the 2015 Gratiaen Prize for ‘White Lanterns: Wesak 2011’, a manuscript of unpublished poetry. Based in Kandy, Thiyagaraja Arasanayagam is [...]
Asoka pillars – symbolic of the spread of Buddhism
Vesak commemorates three events, the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing Away of the Buddha, an event recognised as the most important religious festival of Sri Lanka. This year the state-sponsored Vesak festival is at the ancient Naigala Raja Maha Viharaya in the Hambantota District, presided over by President Maithripala Sirisena. The ordination of 35 youth as [...]
The Buddha, his life, teachings, and the environment
Buddhism is the teaching of how to understand fully what life is with its pleasures and its dissatisfactions and to work towards overcoming inevitable suffering by severing the samsaric cycle of existence. It encapsulates the truths propounded by the Buddha in India. (623-543 BC). Born in the fifth month of the year when the moon [...]
Washington Buddhist Vihare: Service to humanity
With the advent of the month of Vesak (May) this year, the first Theravada Buddhist temple in America celebrated its golden jubilee. The credit of establishing the temple goes to the late Agga Maha Pandita Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera. It was following his visit to Europe and America in 1964 that the idea was [...]
Attempt to understand ‘reality’ or not to attempt: Decision is entirely ours
Seeing “Things As They Really Are…” I suppose the above statement can be interpreted in many different ways. But whichever way one may seek to come to terms with it, in the end it all boils down to the basics – the natural laws of the universe. Scientists are busy at work even at this [...]
Maha Parinibbana– The passing away of Lord Buddha on a full moon night
The thrice blessed day, the birth, Supreme Enlightenment and passing away (parinibbana) of the Buddha is in the month of May (Vaisak). It is remarkable that all three important events in the Buddha’s life happened under trees. Prince Siddhartha was born in the shade of a Sal tree in Lumbini, attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi [...]
Two schools of Buddhist philosophy — Theravada and Mahayana
Sakyamuni Gauthama Buddha’s teaching is primarily concerned with the single problem common to all mankind – the problem of Dukkha or Suffering and how to bring it to an end. The missionary vehicle that carries his message to end suffering (seen in many faceted forms) is the Buddha Dhamma. About 250 years after the Great [...]
The significance of the seven weeks after Enlightenment
Vesak Full Moon Poya Day signifies three important events for Buddhists. They are the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gauthama, where at his birth, as legends in Buddhism record, he walked on seven lotus flowers and proclaimed to the world Aggo hamasmin lokassa, Setto hamasming lokassa, Jetto hamasmin lokassa, Ayamanthi majathi, nachchi dathi punabbhavo (I am [...]
Exploratory expedition into uncharted territory in Sri Lanka
My first meeting with the author, Dr. Avanti Perera, D.Phil (Oxon); LLM (Cantab); BA (English) (Colombo), a Senior State Counsel, was when she came to my cluttered office in the Faculty of Medicine in Kynsey Road several years ago, by prior appointment, to have a chat with me on my views about clinical negligence. The [...]
Dabare’s Krasna Chamber Ensemble in concert
Renowned violinist Ananda Dabare’s chamber orchestra comprising young musicians will showcase their talent at the Lionel Wendt next week. The Krasna Chamber Ensemble concert will be held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on June 1, at 7 p.m. Oboist Hasitha Pathirana will be playing Vivaldi’s Oboe Concerto as a guest artist while Dabare will play [...]
Kishani and Soundarie tread the German trail
On the evening of April 4, the auditorium of the Russian Cultural Centre was adorned by an angelic entry of two bright stars in Colombo’s musical skyline. In a dazzling pleated dress as befits an operatic soprano, Kishani Jayasinghe appeared from the right while Soundarie David in a flowingly elegant saree entered unobtrusively from the [...]
India through Lankan eyes and Lanka through Indian eyes
Royden Gibbs, one of Sri Lanka’s finest artists, is famous for his ability to travel to a place and capture not just the beauty, but also the history and culture of the space and successfully represent it on canvas. He has travelled extensively throughout his career, most widely in his own country. However, his latest [...]
Polish award-winning young cellist to perform
The Chamber Music Society of Colombo, presents “The Virtuoso Cello”, a concert featuring Polish cellist Magdalena Sas at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, on Wednesday, May 25 at 7.30 p.m. Ms. Sas an accomplished and prize-winning young cellist, will perform Joseph Haydn’s First Cello Concerto and Vivaldi’s double Concerto for Violin and Cello in B Flat [...]
Making every moment count
Homes buried under tonnes of earth…an entire village, visible mere moments before, disappearing in the blink of an eye under a mountain of rubble and freshly unearthed soil…lives lost…livelihoods destroyed…parents desperately seeking their children and children desperately seeking their elders…the list goes on and on and in the midst of all of this, the little [...]
Small weapons of mass destruction
Before getting rid of termites on your property, let’s be fair. The termites, after all, were the original inhabitants of the patch of earth you built on. Our long battle against them has been fraught with harm against not just them but the environment and ourselves. The trouble with termites is they like wood and [...]
Enjoy the beauty and sophistication of Italy
The very first edition of the ‘Italian Week in Sri Lanka’ will take place in Colombo from May 28 to June 5 within the framework of the Italian National day celebrations. The Italian National Day on June 2 commemorates the day, back in 1946, when the Italian people chose through a popular referendum for their [...]
‘Sparkle’ at the Metho walk
On Saturday, May 28, the girls of Methodist College – young and not so young will join together in celebration of a unique milestone, the school’s 150th anniversary which is being celebrated this year. The Metho Walk, titled ‘Sparkle’ begins at 6.30 a.m. from the school premises, and the walkers will head along Dharmapala Mawatha, [...]
Johnson’s Baby surprises 100 mums
Johnson’s Baby surprised over 100 mums who welcomed their bundle of joy on Mother’s Day with gifts and mementos. These mothers, who were celebrating their very first Mother’s Day with their newborns, were greeted at leading maternity hospitals like Castle Street Hospital, Joseph Frazer Hospital, Durdans Hospital and Lanka Hospitals. Johnson’s Baby made the day [...]
Help abandoned animals this Vesak
“Even if a person throws the rinsings of a bowl or a cup into a village pool or pond, thinking, ‘May whatever animals live here feed on this,’ that would be a source of merit” -The Dhammapada. The season of Vesak is an occasion to show compassion to a group of dogs and cats abandoned [...]
Fairway National Literary Awards 2016 – Call for entries
Fairway Holdings presents the Fairway National Literary Awards 2016 for the second consecutive year to recognise exceptional talent in creative writing in the Sinhala, Tamil and English languages in Sri Lanka. All novels published in our country between June 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016 in all genres will be eligible for these awards. The [...]
Inter-church rally
The annual inter-church rally to mark the feats of Pentecost will be held on Saturday, May 28 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour in Colombo. Members from the Catholic Church, the National Christian Council and the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka will give messages while choirs from these [...]
National Trust lecture: The Sacred Garden
The Sacred Garden: Recent Problems and Prospects in the Conservation of Lumbini by Dr Locana Gunaratna will be the 84th in the monthly lecture series of the National Trust – Sri Lanka at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, May 26. Lumbini, the [...]
Help the Kotahena Sri Radhakrishna temple doantions
The devotees of Kotahena Sri Sri Radhakrishna temple are engaging in the service of building a temple for lord Krishna at Kotahena. They hope to complete the temple within two years. Although a substantial sum of money has already been spent on the initial construction work, due to the increased cost of building materials it [...]