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The sorry state of temple and house of the monk who brought Upasampada to Lanka
Don’t forget his service
By L.B. Senaratne
As ceremonies to mark the 2550th Buddha Jayanthi are held in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, it is disheartening to note that no action is taken to preserve two landmarks associated with an important Buddhist event in this country.
Yes, it is about the house and temple of Ven. Sangharaja Weliwita Asarana Sarana Saranankara Thera, a monk who was instrumental in reintroducing Upasampada (higher ordination) to Sri Lanka from Siam (Thailand) in the 18th century.

Two years ago, we celebrated the 250th anniversary of this event with large sums being spent on ceremonies connected with it but it is sad to note that not even a fraction of this sum had been allocated to preserve Ven. Welivita Thera's temple and the house where he was born.

Trekking nearly 25 miles to Sangharajapura at Welivita in the Tumpane Divisional Secretary's area, on a road that needs repair, I reached the house where the monk was born. There were no plaques or other signs to say that this was the house Ven. Weliwita lived in and the temple he resided at the time when he undertook the formidable mission of bringing Upasampada to the country.

The house, which now belongs to S. B. Weliwita, a resident of Kandy, is in a dilapidated condition. Some of the original wooden pillars have been replaced by concrete pillars, but the doorways seem intact. However the house needs repairs and should be brought under the care of the Archaeological Depart-ment.

Ven. Welivita Thera was instrumental in bringing about a Buddhist renaissance in the country at a time when there was not a single monk who was ordained in the 'Upasamapada Karamaya' or Higher Ordination. Several attempts to bring Upasampada from Thailand failed until it was brought by a delegation headed by Maha Thera Upali, a Thai priest, during King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe's reign after a mission to Thailand by Ven. Weliwita.

Ven. Welivita was born in the remote village of Welivita. His father Kiri Banda, a farmer, named him Kulatunge Banda. At the age of 12, Kulatunge Banda was entrusted to Ven. Suriyagoda Kithsi-rimevan Rajasundera Unnanse Thera. On entering the order, he was named Welivita Saran-ankara. It is in Suriyagoda in Yatinuwara that he learnt the basics and inner dimensions of Buddhism at a time when there were no books or scholars.

The teacher monk was one of the, if not the only, surviving member of the Sangha who was bestowed with Higher Ordination at a ceremony conducted on the river Getambe during the reign of Vimaladha-rmasuriya II. This area is now used by the Amarapura Nikaya for its ordinations.

But, as fate would have it, the teacher who was a close confidant of King Narendrasinghe, was accused of high treason and beheaded, leaving young Weliwita without a mentor.

Ven. Weliwita Thera moved to a cave at Balane. He had a young assistant. He had one cave for meditation and another for bathing. Both are overgrown with weeds and there is no sign to indicate that these are the caves where Ven. Welivita Thera lived.

There was a time when area chiefs, out of jealousy, banished Ven. Welivita Thera to Laggala without the knowledge of the king. The Thera was nearly beheaded for an alleged crime against the king during a visit to the Malwatta Chapter.

However, when a Brahmin came to the Kandyan Kingdom and had a debate on Buddhism, the king sought the help of Ven. Welivita Thera. When the king was told that the monk had been banished to Laggala, he sent his own palanquin to bring him back.

King Narendrasinghe entrusted his brother-in-law of South Indian origin, who was to be his successor to Welivita Thera. Narendrasinghe died without issue, ending the Sinhala royalty and paving the way for the Nayakkar dynasty to take over the Kandyan throne.

Having embraced Buddhism, King Vijaya Rajasinghe in 1741 negotiated with the Dutch for a delegation to proceed to Thailand for the purpose of conducting Upasampada rites as there was no one to be found in Sri Lanka.

The king called a meeting at Poya Maluwa Vihare in Malwatta and picked the delegation to go to Siam. The Dutch released a ship for Wilbagedera Nayidu, Doregama Rala, Matota Rala and disrobed 'Silvat tennas' to travel, but this delegation failed in their mission.

King Vijaya Rajasinghe was succeeded by another Nayakkar king, Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe, who committed himself to the upliftment of Buddhism. Having realised the difficulties of sea travel and on the advice of Wilbagedera who knew the sea routes by this time, he negotiated with the Dutch for a vessel. Ven. Welivita Thera insisted that the king should send a royal warrant to the king of Siam requesting a delegation. The delegation consisted of sixty members.

There were some difficulties in leaving Siam and it was only on January 21, 1753 that they set sail, reaching Sri Lanka on May 13. The delegation with Upali Maha Thera reached Kandy on Tuesday 18th, 1753 and Upasampada ceremonies were conducted on July 19, 1753, a Poya day.
The Thai delegation stayed at Godapola before they proceeded to Kandy and the Siamese monks taught the local monks the finer points of the Upasampada ceremony.

The Upasampada was first conducted on a member of the Thai delegation and secondly on Mahanayake Kobbek-aduwa and later on Ven. Welivita. The members of the Asgiri Sangha were not present for the first Upasampada ceremony.

The temple at Weliwita which is in a dilapidated state is surrounded by new buildings. The credit for keeping the old temple intact must be given to the present member of the Sangha, but it still needs repair.

The irony is that though the government spent millions to hold anniversary celebrations to mark the bringing of Upasamapada to this country, they did not think of giving prominence to the places where Ven. Welivita Thera lived, studied and meditated. The Thera should be recognised not only during celebrations but by every Buddhist.

However former President Ranasinghe Premadasa saw to it that at least a cultural centre was built near the site where the Bo tree stands at Weliwita.

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