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Sambodhi Vihara celebrates 2550 Sambuddha Jayanthi
Two thousand five hundred monks will assemble at the Sambodhi Vihara, Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo 7 next Saturday, (May 6) for the opening ceremony of the Sri Sambodhi Sambudu Sath Budu Mandira - an imposing seven-storey mansion - erected to commemorate the 2550 Sambuddha Jayanthi marking the 2550th year since the passing-away of the Buddha.
The building comprises a meditation hall, an auditorium, an international Buddhist library and a series of kutis for meditators. Right on top is a dhatu mandiraya to house the relics of the Buddha.

The monks will be offered pirikara in the form of robes gifted by a 700-member delegation from Thailand led by Madam Bonkot Sitthipol of the International Meditation Centre in Thailand, due in Sri Lanka for the ceremony.

The Mahanayaka Theras of the three Nikayas will grace the occasion which will also be attended by Chinese delegation led by Most Venerable Shenhui Nayaka Thera, president of the Chinese Buddhist Society,a leading Buddhist organization in the country. Among the invitees are President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, heads of the armed forces and the police, diplomats and a host of VIPs.

The renowned meditation teacher S N Goenka will inaugurate the meditation programmes at the Sambodhi Vihara on May 11 (Thursday), at 7 p.m. On Vesak Day, he will conduct a meditation programme at 4.30 pm.
Describing the significance of the new building, the Viharadhipati of the Sambodhi Vihara, Venerable Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thera said that with the growing interest in meditation, it will provide a convenient and comfortable setting for those interested in meditation to participate in the meditation programmes. While the spacious meditation hall can house a large number of devotees, the kutis will provide convenient accommodation for individual meditators to be on their own.

He said the building is an adaptation of the Vijayanthi Prasadaya built by King Parakramabahu the Great and has been designed following the Polonnaruwa tradition. The Sambodhi Vihara was founded by the late Venerable Panadure Ariyadhamma Thera in 1985 and was later developed by Venerable Piyadassi Nayaka Thera.

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