{"id":117927,"date":"2021-09-08T15:49:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T22:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=117927"},"modified":"2021-09-08T15:49:03","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T22:49:03","slug":"observing-ven-balangoda-ananda-maitreya-mahanayake-theras-125th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/09\/08\/observing-ven-balangoda-ananda-maitreya-mahanayake-theras-125th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Observing Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayake Thera’s 125th Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The\nwriter met with the most Venerable Aggamahapandittha Balangoda Ananda Maitreya\nMahanayake Thera in London, when he was 99 years old. The Venerable observed\nthe rainy season (Vassana retreat) in London at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Observing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nBuddhist Centre organised a religious ceremony on account of his 99th Birthday,\non 23 August. Many Buddhist devotees gathered at the Buddhist Centre to\nparticipate in a religious ceremony. Addressing a large gathering, the\nvenerable said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You\nhave organised a pinkama on my Birthday to celebrate. I will be 99 years old. That\nmeans my life span is fast coming to an end! Is this a thing to celebrate? It\nis an important day for me because the sooner I move towards death, the happier\nI feel as death means moving towards a new birth! I could not fulfil my desire\nin its pristine purity in this life, but I know in my next life, I will be much\nmore vigorous in carrying out my services to propagate Buddhism in the<\/em> world.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The\nwriter had direct access to the Venerable amidst the crowd. Seizing the\nopportunity, he wanted to discuss many things with the most eminent monk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\nwas born on 23 August 1896 to Heenmenike and Mathies Appuhamy. My certificate\nof birth carried the name ‘Punchi Mahattaya’<\/strong>. Fourteen days after I was\nborn, I lost my mother. My grief-stricken father not only left me but the\nvillage altogether. I was orphaned. My uncle Dingirihamy Mudalali and aunt\nYasohamine brought me up. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\nInternal revolution <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A representative from the\nMahabodhi Society visited our school in 1905, when I was nine years of age. Mr\nHarishchandra Walisinghe delivered a speech on Buddhism that made an internal\nrevolution in me. I wanted to emulate him. At the age of fifteen, my foster\nparents gave their blessings and I ordained as a ‘Samanera<\/strong>‘ priest at\nNandaramaya, Balangoda Udumulla Temple.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/em>Venerable Sir, with your long experience in life I\nwould like to hear from you about the moral decadence in Sri Lanka over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “Towards\nthe latter part of the British rule, Ceylonese were happy and did not eat beef\nat all<\/em>,<\/em> because the majority being\nBuddhists. When foreign influence began to invade, individuals like Anagarika\nDharmapala fought against foreign influence because he foresaw the impact on\nthe local community. Such protests gradually continued towards the ousting of\nthe colonial rule. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was rather\nunfortunate that once Ceylon gained Independence on 4 February 1948, our\nnational leaders continued to govern in a worse manner than the Colonials<\/em>.F<\/em>oreigners at least listened to peoples’ claims and agitations,\nbut Lankan leaders turned a deaf ear to any public outcry! The Ceylonese\nleaders caused a steep division in society by forming different political\nparties and working on their agendas. During the colonial era, local society\nwas united as one unit and preserved the Buddhist cultural values, but since\nthe Independence, morality and cultural values became tainted<\/em>.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nwriter focussed then on Buddhist stanzas like ‘Eththa Watcha’<\/em> and ‘Akastata\nBhummatta\u2019<\/em> and wanted to know from the monk whether Buddhists could\ntransfer merit to various gods (Devas) as is the current practice today; whether it could reconcile with such practices within the concept of\nBuddhism? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Buddhists\ndo not believe in an Omnipresent or Omnipotent God.\u201d Also, by merely repeating\nGathas ( stanzas) in parrot form, out of habit, or offering alms for the sake\nof name and fame, no transference of merit to any god will happen<\/em>.\u201d Today, when some people want to give alms to priests, they\nsearch for prominent priests (<\/em>‘big guns’ with an infectious laugh) and\nforget about the poor monks who lead sanctified and secluded lives. By offering\nalms to the sangha alone, one cannot expect any help from devas! In my personal\nopinion every deva has forgotten this country.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is\nthere a difference between the ‘Soul’<\/em> and ‘Athma’? <\/em>The writer\nbecame curious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>In Buddhist philosophy it\ndoes not mention the word Soul or Athma<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 How would you then, Venerable Sir, account for\nthe cycle of birth and rebirth? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare two answers to your question. Let’s take the sun as an example. A\nteacher may explain to young children that the sun is rising and setting down,\nalthough no such phenomenon occurs. On mature students he uses a scientific\nexample. We know that it is the earth that rotates while the sun is stationary.\nTherefore, Lord Buddha used the words ‘Soul’<\/strong> and ‘Athma’<\/strong> in the\nproper backdrops<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Likewise,\nLord Buddha’s teachings varied according to the level of intelligence of\nseekers of the truth. That is why Lord Buddha taught Vipassana Meditation to\ndeal with this topic to those aspirants<\/em> who had opened their intelligence. Also,\naccording to Buddhist philosophy, a person may be born in one of the six Deva\nworlds. To achieve that stage, one needs to lead a moral life in the human\nworld; mind you, some people have ascended to higher levels of intelligence due\nto their good karma!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nhuman being consists of a mind <\/strong>and matter<\/strong>. The mind is a series\nof impermanent occurrences as unchanging essence( ‘soul<\/strong>‘). The Physical\nbody is a stream of material state subject to momentary change<\/em>.<\/em> In Buddhist, philosophy the word soul does not\nexist at all. This practice of understanding is dependent on one’s level of\nintelligence, wisdom, and training<\/em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The\nwriter then became curious about ghosts, a subject that the Venerable was\nfamiliar with publicly. Reverend Sir, Currently, there is a Chair for\nParapsychology at the University of Edinburgh to deal with the study of\nghosts. Do you accept that ghosts do exist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 When a person dies, that person will be\nborn in a different world, sometimes with a subtle body due to his attachment\nto his loved ones and property. In that fine (astral) body form the dead person\ncan live for some time until that astral body ascends to a higher phase with\nthe help of meritorious deeds done by his relatives. It all depends on the\namount of direct transference of merit to the dead person. Some astral bodies\ncan travel at a tremendous speed faster than light<\/em>!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is\nit that some individuals can see such subtle bodies whereas others do not? The\nwriter queried. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof the dead could freeze their astral bodies, and others may not, that is why astral\nbody can be seen<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astrologers\ndo often say that humans belong to various categories, known in Sinhala as \u2018Gana,\u2019<\/strong>\nmeaning Rakksa, Deva and Manussa, Gana. Is there any truth in the saying that\nonly those born under Manussa Gana can see ghosts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is\nonly an astrological interpretation. Now, I belong to Rakksa Gana, and do you\nfind me as a horrible person?\u201d (Venerable monk gave my chin a little tickle).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Concept\nof worshiping Sai Baba <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\nBuddhists worship Sai Baba these days! Some Buddhists have a different opinion\nand say because it is due to devotees\u2019 confused state of mind. What do you\nthink about this question, Sir? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nvisited Sai Baba some 20 years ago when I suffered a cataract in my eyes. Everyone\nadvised me against the operation because I was over 70 years of age. I was\nconfused. But out of the blue, a Dayaka, in our temple, requested me to be his\ntranslator as he could not speak English. He wanted to visit India to see Sai\nBaba and promised to look after all my expenses, including my air ticket. I\naccompanied him to Bangalore.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em> Sai Baba came\nstraight to where I was standing. Next moment Sai Baba waved his right hand in\nthe air and wrote something and walked away from me. After taking a few steps\nforward, he turned back and walked back towards me, smiled and said, “Get\nyour eyes operated<\/strong>“. I was stunned. At that exact moment I wanted to\nask him about my eyes! Two weeks after my return from India I went blind.\nImmediately, I was admitted to the General Hospital and got my eyes operated\non. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\npeople spread the rumour that the Venerable was involved in politics ! The\nwriter was compelled to enquire about it, but the venerable quite calmly said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\nam not a politician but a steadfast Buddhist priest. I knew President Premadasa\nfrom his youthful days when he came to our temple to learn Dhamma lessons. I\nwas in the USA when the President named a village in Balangoda as ‘Ananda\nMaitreya Gama in the Gam Udawa programme’<\/strong>. I was clueless about the whole\nexercise. When I returned to Sri Lanka, President Premadasa invited me again\nand showed me a video of a plot of land and said: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamuduruwane,\n<\/em>do you like this place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>It was a plot of land near\na river and ideal for my meditation. I told him so, and I proceeded to England.\nBut when I returned home, he phoned me again and requested me to occupy the new\ntemple he had built (completely without my knowledge). Mr Ranasinghe Premadasa\nhad already named it<\/em> The Battaramulla Chitta Viveka Asramaya.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\nPremadasa said, “Hamuduruwane, this is a personal religious gift to you\nfrom me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 ”\nWhat are your final plans, Venerable Sir? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to engage in Dhamma\nwhenever I get an opportunity. But the problem is that I never get a free\nmoment whether I am in Sri Lanka, England, or the USA, because people always\nvisit me seeking advice. My main aim is to accomplish a higher level of mental\ndevelopment. When I die, I would like to be reborn in Sri Lanka again to\ndevelop Buddhism further and propagate Lord Buddha’s philosophy throughout the\nworld.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMost Ven. Aggamahapandittha Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayake Thera expired\nat the age of 103! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

tilakfernando@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando The writer met with the most Venerable Aggamahapandittha Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayake Thera in London, when he was 99 years old. The Venerable observed the rainy season (Vassana retreat) in London at that time. The Buddhist Centre organised a religious ceremony on account of his 99th Birthday, on 23 August. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-drtilak-s-fernando"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}