Letters

The poem 'Where have all the flowers gone?' (The Sunday Times June 15) by Punyakante Wijenaike is thought provoking.

On a Poya day people come around looking for flowers and pluck them stealthily from other people's gardens, after ruining the flower-beds.

They don't realize that although their intention is good in that the flowers are for the worship of the Buddha their actions are not..

The Buddhist scriptures have a stanza for those devotees who observe a beautiful flower on a tree but are unable to offer it to the Buddha.

Kusumam Pallitham atham,

Vannaganda Saman vitham,

Buddha setham Sarithvana

Arkasemapi Piayee.

It means: Those flowers so beautiful to behold over there, I offer to the Buddha, while they are in the sky.

Concerned reader

Dehiwela