A temple with glimpses of Buddhist history
Hidden in the foothills of Dumbara is the Bambaragala Raja Maha Vihara. All around Theldeniya, where you catch glimpses of the Victoria reservoir glinting amidst the Knuckles range from the winding hilly roads, many an ancient vihara dots the landscape, but Bambaragala is easily the most intriguing. We had driven in from Mahiyangana, passing Hunnasgiriya. [...]
Vesak: A time to reflect on the Buddha’s teachings
Vesak is also known as Vaishaka, Buddha Jayanthi, and Buddha Purnima. On Thursday (May 23) , Buddhist devotees will commemorate the three main milestones in the life of the Buddha: the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini Sal Uyana (Park) at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in Nepal; the Supreme Enlightenment in Gaya, India; [...]
Buddhist Philosophy in today’s world
On the televised media, on May 10th, I heard the President express the importance of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to update the dhamma preached by the Buddha some 2500 years ago. I would agree with him in so far as the dire need to make that ‘Quantum jump’ made possible by modern technology permitting what [...]
Letters to the Editor
Introduce mini-cruises around the island Further to your report on the government’s plans to restore 15 forts to develop tourism (Business Times, May 12), another idea may be to introduce mini-cruises around the island. A century ago the Lady McCallum sailed fortnightly from Colombo to various Sri Lankan ports promising ‘good accommodation’ and ‘excellent cuisine’. [...]
Appreciations
To an Admiral with stature DON BASIL GOONASEKARA In 1951, a young Sri Lanka Police Sub Inspector hailing from the Southern Province, decided to steer a major alteration of course, in his chosen career pathway, and said goodbye to the “Police khaki” uniform in favour of the naval sea-going blue and white, unfolding a distinguished [...]
The cruciality of activating school libraries right now
Last week was one where I spent much time with librarians. First, as the keynote speaker to the 18th National Conference on Library and Information Science organised by the Sri Lanka Library Association held at the Gampaha Public Library and then as a guest of the 34th Anniversary Celebrations of the National Library of Sri [...]
Happiness is….
“You know, Sanjo” said my friend Devendra as we sat on the balcony recently enjoying a drink and the evening sunset, “If you had to define Happiness, it is simply being content with where one is – and being content with what one is doing at that particular moment in time”. Now Deve has been [...]
The face behind a no-holds-barred book
Imagine British business magnate Sir Richard Branson straddling an elephant and riding the streets of busy Melbourne in Australia! This is what happened in the 1970s long before his fame-gain through the Virgin Group, dubbed an “irresistible” brand which is in many diverse sectors now, from travel to telecommunications, health to banking and music to [...]
Arts
A novel born in a gas queue Lal Medawattegedera in his new novel When Ghosts Die, rouses an Aragalaya in the Kanatte. Called Maragalaya it is a rebellion by dead spirits to oust the dead politicians from the exclusive cemetery. “An urn, a teapot and an extraordinarily ordinary woman called Mandara gain unexpected significance. The [...]