ලහිරු මුදියන්සේ  අද වෙසක්‌ පුරපසළොස්‌වක පොහොය දවස. ලොව්තුරා බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ සම්මා සම්බුද්ධත්වය අවබෝධකර වසර දෙදහස්‌ හයසියයක්‌ සපිරෙන ප්‍රවෘත්තියක්‌ ඇසෙනවා. භික්‌ෂුව මේ මොහොතේ වැඩසිටින්නේ මිනිස්‌ වාසයෙන් දුරස්‌ වූ හුදකලා කුටියක නිසා බාහිර සමාජයේ ක්‍රියාවන් ගැන දන්නෙ නැහැ. අද වැනි දවසක ලොව්තුරා බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ සම්මා සම්බුද්ධ ඥානයෙන් පරිපූර්ණවූ චතුරාර්ය සත්‍ය ධර්මයයි අවබෝධ කොට වදාළේ එවන් අර්ථවත් දිනයක […]

Courtesy The Nation The Buddhist lifestyle has some gems you can include in your daily routine to lead a content, peaceful life Vesak Day is celebrated across the world as the day Buddha was born. Observed by Buddhists across India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet among several other parts of the […]

The UN Day of Vesak 2017 – International Buddhist Symposium This video clip shown by Ven. Uda Eriyagama Dhammajiva Thera to attendees of a well attended Panel discussion on the theme of the UN Day of Vesak 2017, during the International Buddhist Symposium held on May 13, 2017 at the BMICH, highlights appreciatively the role […]

Janaka Perera Did the organizers of 14th UN Day of Vesak (2561st ) at the BMICH Colombo lost their bearings or were they affected by amnesia? Concerned Buddhists are raising the above question because a Christian fundamentalist Arun Dias Bandaranaike (Jehovah’s Witness) was invited to compere at the most important international Buddhist event on May 12? […]

Sumanananda Premseri  Wesak was grandly commemorated througout Malaysia this last one week with thousands of devotees thronging temples and Buddhist centres in all 14 states of the country, where Wesak is a national public holiday, offering flowers, incense, candles, oil lamps, electric lights, etc and receiving blessings from monks and nuns. Buddhists make up 19% of Malaysia’s population and all […]

Dr. Martin J. Verhoeven Religion East and West, Issue 1, June 2001, pp. 77-97 Abstract Western interest in Eastern religions, especially Buddhism, historically coincided with the rise of modern science and the corresponding perceived decline of religious orthodoxy in the West. Put simply: Modern science initiated a deep spiritual crisis that led to an unfortunate split […]

Mrs. M. Weeraratna Colombo 05 The practice of religion requires effort. It calls for personal sacrifice, self – restraint and discipline. Above all such practice must be overarched by compassion and kindness based on a clear moral footing. Then the practice becomes noble in character. When we look around our society we see Muslims conduct […]

In conversation with Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr Palitha Kohona Sri lanka will celebrate the United Nations Wesak day with much pomp and ceremony next month in Colombo and Kandy and in almost every temple in the country. Prime Minister Modi of India who has sought to employ Buddhism as […]

by  Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi This is what Bhikhu Bodhi said of Asoka Weeraratna Are Asoka Weeraratna’s services to the Buddha Sasana being deliberately sidelined at the UN Day of Vesak 2017 related stalls exhibiting services to Buddhism? Prologue Asoka Weeraratna was a man of vision who had the drive and stamina to translate his vision […]

Dr Anula Wijesundere ,Col. Anil Amerasekera Co – Chairpersons, National Joint Committee Buddhism is the national religion of Sri Lanka ever since the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka 2300 years ago by Arahant Mahinda and ready acceptance and embracement of Buddhism by King Devanampiyatissa and his subjects. It has enjoyed full state patronage right up to […]

Bhante S. Dhammika Australia Courtesy The Island May 1, 2017, 8:32 pm In an article I wrote for The Island and which was published on 21st April 2017, I highlighted several well-known details about the life of the Buddha, which most Buddhists assume come from the Tipitaka, but which in fact cannot be found there. I […]

By Kalinga Seneviratne, The Buddhist Channel, Sept 8, 2016 BANGKOK, Thailand — Mindfulness, the meditative practice, which has its roots in Buddhism as Vipassana Bhavana, encourages people to focus on the present, rather than on the anxieties of the past or future. In the previous decade, however, it has become somewhat of a fad around the […]

by  Professor Mahinda Palihawadana I think I was asked to take part in this discussion1 because I am a vegetarian and a Buddhist as well. If that is so, the impression probably was that I am a vegetarian because I am Buddhist and that in my opinion I have to be vegetarian in order to […]

ShankhNaad The greatest Crime islam committed in its whole history was the destruction of Nalanda, the world’s first University the seat of learning and wisdom, the birthplace of Wisdom and Philosophy the womb of Buddhism the fruit of culture and progressive thought and the pride of mankind east or west. Where great souls like Buddha, […]

www.biographyonline.net Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism share the same core beliefs and devotion to the life and teaching of Buddha but they do have some differences. Mahayana Buddhists believe that enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, and that one can guide and teach the doctrine to others while still on the course for […]

Writes Ram Madhav Courtesy  samvada.org “During this period, the majority Sinhalese had grown by 38 per cent (from 10,979,400 to 15,873,800); Sri Lankan Tamils by 20.3 per cent (from 1,886,900 to 2,270,900) and the Indian Origin Tamils by 2.8 per cent (from 812,700 to 842,300). But the Muslims grew by 78.6 per cent (from 1,046,900 to […]

Senaka Weeraratna    Throughout Sri Lanka’s Buddhist History lasting for over 2300 years Vesak has been an exclusive Buddhist Festival with only Buddhist symbols and decorations been displayed to mark the most important occasion in the Buddhist calendar. Even at worst of times during colonial rule under three Christian powers, this festive day for Buddhists […]

Dharma Voices for Animals Colombo Sri Lanka Chapter This work in progress painting by Ms. Avanti Karunaratna is expected to be finished in early May, 2017 and will be displayed to the public in time for the celebration of Vesak and holding of the UN Day of 2017 Conference in Colombo. The Paththirippuwa, which is […]

Janaka Goonetilleke Ayn Rand called her philosophy “Objectivism”, describing its essence as “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. When Vasgo De Gama Invaded the spice market of Calicut and […]

Senaka Weeraratna Colombo: The election for the 24th President of the Bar Association takes place on February 21, 2017 . Three candidates have presented nominations for the post of the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), namely Anura B. Maddegoda, U.R. de Silva and R. Thangaraja. They have distributed their election manifesto […]

by Senaka Weeraratna Of all the international Buddhist Conferences held in Sri Lanka the one that stands out clearly above the rest is the Conference held in 1950, particularly because it led to the formation of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB). There was a huge need then for unity of all Buddhist schools and Dr. […]

By Ram Madhav, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sampark Pramukh Courtesy  SAMVDA New Delhi March 28: Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) – a Buddhist organisation many wish to call as Right or Ultra Right – is a new phenomenon in Sri Lanka. One may prefer to brand them in any manner one would like to. But the fact […]

රියර් අද්මිරාල් (ආචාර්ය) සරත් වීරසේකර සභාපති ජාතික රණවිරු එකමුතුව අපේ රට සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක්‌ යෑයි කීමට අද බොහෝ දෙනා මැලි වෙති. බිය වෙති. එසේ පැවසීමම ජාතිවාදය ඇවිස්‌සීමකැයි සමහරු සිතති. අද “ජාතිවාදය” නමැති වචනයද විලාසිතාවක්‌ සේ භාවිත කරනු පෙනේ. “සිංහලයා” ගැන හෝ “සිංහල බෞද්ධකම” ගැන හෝ කතා කළ විගසම ඔහු හෝ ඇය ජාතිවාදියකු ලෙස හංවඩු ගසයි. […]

Ven. Medille Pagngnaloka Thero මුස්ලිම් අන්තවාදීන් විසින් මේ සිංහල රට ආක‍්‍රමණය කිරීමට සියලු සැලසුම් හදාගෙන අවසානය. ඒ සදහා ඔවුන් දවසෙන් දවස ක‍්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ ඉතා සියම් අන්දමින් දෙස් විදෙස් සහය ඉතා ඉහළින් ලබා ගනිමිනි. ජනගහනයෙන් ආර්ථිකයෙන් භූමියෙන් මේ ආදි සෑම ක‍්‍රමෝපායකින්ම මෘදු ආක‍්‍රමණයක් සිදු කරමින් අනික් පැත්තෙන් සිංහලයාගේ මෙන්ම බෞද්ධයාගේ අවනතිය උදෙසා කළ හැකි සියලුම අන්දමේ […]

By Senaka Weeraratna Courtesy The Daily Mirror 2017-01-25 Secularism has become the buzz word for all those who wish to drive out Buddhism from public life in Sri Lanka, both overtly and covertly. When we refer to secularism we must be in a position to distinguish it from pseudo-secularism. What is practised in a large majority […]

By Kelum Bandara Courtesy The Daily Mirror Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thera, the Lekhakadhikari (Chief Secretary) of the Asgiriya Chapter, speaks about the Constitution-making process and the elements to be considered in this case. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, the Ven. Thera says the foremost status is historically-bestowed upon Buddhism in Sri  Lanka. Excerpts […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror For the first time in the history of the Dimbulagala Forest Monastery, a seven-year-old Muslim boy has been ordained, said Chief Incumbent Millane Siriyalankara Thera. The Thera said the mother of the boy was abroad and his father Hameed Ismail had brought him to the monastery. He had been ordained as […]

Senaka Weeraratna Secularism has become the Buzz word for all those who wish to marginalize Buddhism from public life, both overtly and covertly. When we refer to secularism we must be in a position to distinguish it from Pseudo secularism. What is practiced in a large majority of countries in the name of secularism is […]

By Seneka Weeraratna This is an edited version of an address delivered by Senaka Weeraratna, Hony. Secretary of the German Dharmaduta Society, on September 28, 2016 in support of his resolution entitled ‘Recognition of Buddhism as an official religion in non – Buddhist countries’ at the First Plenary Session of the 28th General Conference of […]

Senaka Weeraratna Chapter Leader Dharma Voices for Animals, Colombo, Sri Lanka Chapter Christmas is meant to be the season of joy, of holiday greetings exchanged, of gift-giving, and of families united. Is Christmas truly the season of joy for all? Does gift – giving during Christmas cover all forms of life? These are valid questions, morally speaking. […]