KAMALIKA PIERIS

The bhikkhus, who have gone into the north and east and tried to re-introduce Buddhism there, in modern times, usually start off alone. They do not seem to have the support of the Maha Sangha, at least initially. They do have quiet support, they could not survive otherwise, but there is no visible march of the Sangha into the   north and east today, as far as I can see.

Randeniyage writing  in 2019 spoke of Kudumbigala Aranyaya where Thambugala Anandasiri Thero  used to give  4 hours continuous Dhamma Deshana on Maha Ariyawangsa Sutta. As a teenager we used to visit those shrines including Buddhangala on the way to Kudumbigala. There was a Dagoba on top of Belumgala which was difficult to climb although not too high. Ven. Anandasiri Thero used to live in the main cave among leopards, bears and elephants. He had to leave and later went to Moneragala area where he was killed by an unknown party during Premadasa time.

The Sangha was at one time, considered to be an obstruction to archaeological conservation because lacking technical knowledge, and they disturb valuable archaeological evidence when they get into an archaeology site before the Department. This has been openly stated and examples provided where, for example, bhikkhus have happily whitewashed frescos in caves and trampled prehistoric material. This was decades ago. I think the bhikkhus are more knowledgeable today. Some of them have studied archaeology as well.

There are two high profile Bhikkhus in the north and east today. They are Ven. Santhabodhi at Kurundi and Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana in Batticaloa. They are in high profile because both are targeted by the Tamil Separatist Movement.  This led to much publicity.

Ven. Santhabodhi, who is known for his work at Kurundi, is also head of    the Amarapura temples in the Northern Province.   He is   head of Vaddamana pabbata vihara at Vedikinarimalai, Vishudharama Raja Maha vihara and Sugandhipuram vihara    at Puthukudiiruppu, Agbo vihara and Shailataramaya at Vedivettukallu,   Helambakanda purana len vihara   at Otiamalai, Sri Visuddharama at Oddusuddan,   and Kailabe vihara at Ruvanmaduva. (Kurundi Vihara vamsaya p 280.)

Ven. Santhabodhi was the bhikkhu responsible for the conservation of the Kurundi stupa. He said that when he visited Kurundi and saw a set of pillars which were still in situ and upright, as well as other ruins such as a moonstone and a set of steps,   he thought. We must restore this immediately; otherwise the Tamils will take over.

He approached the Department of Archaeology, who said they did not have the money. If Santhabodhi could find a sponsor, the Department would carry out the work.  Bauddhaloka Foundation came forward as the main sponsor, others also supported and the work started.

 Santhabodhi faced many obstacles, chiefly law suits relating to Kurundi. There were a series of cases in the law courts against the Department of Archaeology and me, said Santhabodhi. These dragged on for two years. Lawyers appeared free for Kurundi and they won. These law suits halted work on the stupa and Kurundi work was done in a stop-start manner.   Santhabodhi   was tenacious and stuck to the Kurundi project after law suits ended. We got here with difficulty, said Santhabodhi, when Kurundi stupa was completed.

Ven. Santhabodhi, who was responsible for the revitalization of Kurundi vihara in Mullaitivu, has also successfully revived another temple, Sapumalgaskada at Vavuniya. When work on Kurundi stopped due to law suits, Santhabodhi turned his attention to Sapumalgaskada, which seemed suitable for conservation.

When work on Kurundi temporarily stopped, I then looked to see what should be conserved next, and we were told of Sapumalgaskada. Tamil Separatists living in Marathoni, a Tamil village about 7 km away, had   marked out Sapumalgaskada and announced that there had been a kovil there. This was the usual ploy of marking out Buddhist ruins and then announcing that a kovil was also there. We heard of this and went to Sapumalgaskada. We found that it was suitable for conserving, it had a ramaneeya parisaraya.  We started work in 2108.

Like at Kurundi, Sapumalgaskada monastery was excavated and conserved due to the sole effort of Ven. Santhabodhi. Tamil Separatist Movement arrived at Sapugaskanda and tried to create trouble.  They came several times. They said on Tamilnet with my photo that we were intruding .But Santhabodhi said he learnt from the Kurundi experience and made sure there was no Tamil Separatist interference at Sapumalgaskada. He managed to complete the renovation on schedule.

My plan is to excavate and conserve about 7 or 8 other temples in   the north in the next five years, said Santhabodhi in September 2020. Plaices that is inaccessible to day. To do this, we need support and I do not mean money alone. I am doing this as a national task. You must help, he appealed to the public in a YouTube statement.

Santhabodhi wants to conserve the Buddhist ruins found in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu. Vavuniya and Mullaitivu have the most Buddhist ruins  seen in the north. These two districts are mainly forest. Therefore the Buddhist ruins in it were left undisturbed, he explained. The Buddhist ruins in Mannar, Jaffna and Kilinochchi on the other hand were destroyed as these places got populated. Since Vavuniya and Mullaitivu are under populated even today, we can easily conserve the Buddhist ruins    there   and through this, once again establish Buddhism in the north, said Santhabodhi.

Wigneswaran has said that   Buddhism is dead in north and Buddhism had no right any longer to reappear there.  We must now oppose this, said Santhabodhi .The north and east are not historically Tamil.  Tamils were brought there only 200 years ago. Then created a false history for the north saying it was their homeland. We must root this homeland concept out. When the Buddhist ruins in the north are conserved no one will be able to say that these provinces were not Buddhist. We can use this to squash the homeland concept, continued Santhabodhi.

 Today Buddhism is a minority religion in the north and east. To re –introduce Buddhism to north and east we need a national plan and support of national minded people.  We need the support of Sinhala-Buddhist worldwide, helping in any way they can.

I find that people are willing to help, those we meet always say, this is excellent we like to help, but the message has not gone out to all. We do not have a way of going to the people but when we do, they support. At Sapumalgaskada, they gave dry goods, as well as money.

Some have helped in ways other than money. Government officials have helped us secretly, asking us not to mention their names. We need the help of more people, in several other ways.  We have to go to Colombo 7 or 8 t times,   to deal with issues. If we have a group in Colombo who could do this for us, that will be a help.

Santhabodhi went on to say that we must eradicate Tamil Separatism as soon as possible. Conserving Buddhist ruins in north and east may help. We must revive Buddhism to its highest level of practice.  

The country must be made a united one, ekatchatra. Otherwise we will have war again. For this our Buddhist   heritage in North and east may help, when revived. Help to make our plan a success. Support it. The support of the Maha Sangha is requested as well, concluded Santhabodhi. Santhabodhi  said all this in https://youtu.be/YL_QBySHXTYI .

Among the Buddhist monks to rise to fame  or otherwise  in Sri Lanka in recent times, the 47-year-old Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana from the Batticaloa District is surely the star of the moment, admired and perhaps even envied, by many, said Nadia Perera.

Ven. Sumanaratana is the head Sri Mangalarama Raja Maha Vihara. This vihara is the only Buddhist temple in Batticaloa Distirct. Heavily bombed during the   Eelam war, it was rebuilt later. It has a stupa and several other buildings.

It is not surprising that this is the only vihara in Batticaloa. According to the 2012 census, the total population was 525,142. Of which 381,285 were Sri Lankan Tamils, 133,844 Moors, 6,127 were Sinhalese, 2,794 Burgher, 1,015 Indian Tamils, 58 Veddah, 16 Malay, and 3 Sri Lanka Chetty.

Ven. Ampitiye Sumanaratana is a very active monk, with a strong personality. He is a highly visible,   lone bhikkhu. Some support him in his work while others threaten to kill him. [1] He was shot at, while in the avasa, but the shot had missed him.

He has his own You tube site, dating from 2015. this website had around 330   video clips hewn I counted in June 2024. They mostly record Sumanaratana’s clashes with others and his numerous complaints, but they also show the positive work he is doing under great difficulty. http://www.youtube.com/@VenAmpitiyeSumanarathanaThero

SUmanaratana’s main activity is to provide support for the impoverished Sinhala villagers in Batticaloa.  But he has also tried to strengthen Buddhism in the area through his temple. The army and civil arakshaka had   helped him build the chaitya.

Opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran writing to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on  October 27  2023 said Mangalaramaya Ampitiya Sumana Thero has threatened to cut Tamils living in Sri Lanka’s south to pieces”.Ven. Sumana Thera has repeatedly attacked TNA Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and has also gone on to explicitly threaten all the Tamils living in the south, stating that he will cut them to pieces,” said Sumanthiran in his letter to the chief of police.

The MP said the monk’s remark is blatantly an offence” punishable under Sections 3(1) and (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No 56 of 2007.Why has the police not taken immediate action against the said venerable thera?” the MP asked.

The comments from the TNA MPs came after a video of the monk making the vitriolic remarks went viral on social media. Videos of angry outbursts by the same monk have gone viral in the past. This particular incident reportedly occurred after a cemetery said to have been the final resting place of Sinhalese people who lived in an area of Batticaloa was allegedly bulldozed, which had angered the monk.

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) MP Mano Ganesan also questioned the monk’s behavior. If he has an issue with the MP of the area and municipal commissioner, there are channels to address such grievances. But here he’s inciting racial hatred and violence. This is unacceptable and disgusting,” Ganesan said.

There is a third bhikkhu who should be mentioned here,though he  is not engaged  in developoing Buddhism in the north and east.he is Ven.Walahahengunawewe Dhammaratana , chief priest of Mihintale  Raja Maha vihara.

Derana news 15.12.23 showed Dhammaratana complaining to Asgiri and Malwatte that  two intelligence officers had come incognito,  to Mihintale and  removed the army protection, civil defense force protection and the subda puja  from Mihintale.

The Sangha allege that the government is against Buddhism and that they are hitting at the heart of Buddhism.However, Dhammaratana said that they will ensure that devotees who come to Mihintale on Poson Poya will have access to the basic facilities that were provided in the previous years, despite the lack of State assistance. Ven. Dhammaratana  said that they have not received any funds for2023  State Poson festival due to the government’s strict financial management, adding that they have only asked for money, from the government, to pay the electricity bill and for a few facilities.

Walahahengunawewe Dhammaratana is a strong- spoken   political monk. He had made all sorts of charges. For instance, when JVP went to India on an official invitation in   February 2024 he told reporters ‘we feel there is some deal,”  He has made several controversial accusations as well.

Ven. Dhammaratana has launched a political movement, under the banner ‘Thrainikayika Bhikkhu Ekamuthuwa’ (Bhikkhu collective of the three nikayas), rpoerted  Dassanayake and Gamage in January 2024.

Despite being a small political force, it is still a significant development, said Dassanayake and Gamage. It is led by a powerful monk of the established Siyam nikaya, with the support of a group of politically-savvy campaigner monks. The movement has the potential to empower a more vocal and new kind of militant/agitating monks, likely increasing polarization among the Sangha. His speeches invokes the legacy of Ven. Gangodawila Soma.

Ven. Dhammarathana said it is the saffron robe that has the ability to change the roguish political culture that has brought about the collapse of this country. Due to the destruction caused by the politicians, a situation has arisen where it is impossible to stay aloof.We won’t contest .We will give leadership, and support suitable persons. The duty of the political monk was to select the rightful” leader, like the Sangha had done in ancient times, concluded Dassanayake and Gamage. (Continued)

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[1] https://youtu.be/5y5KtltXE-oApprox Nov 5, 2022