Our beginnings

This fresh-water lake is one of the most charming features of Colombo. Its ramifications are so many that one is constantly coming across pretty nooks and corners quite unexpectedly, each fresh view presenting a wealth of foliage luxuriant beyond description. Palms in great variety intermingle with the gorgeous mass of scarlet flamboyant blossoms, the lovely lemon yellow lettuce tree, the ever-graceful bamboo, the crimson blossoms of the dark hibiscus, contrasting with the rich green of the areca, date and Palmyra palms, the huge waving leaves of the plantain, flowering trees and shrubs of every description of tropical foliage, the whole forming to the rippling water a border of unrivalled beauty and unfailing interest.

This is how Henry W Cave, the pioneering photographer and writer on Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then called) described the Beira Lake a century ago. The Lake remains a landmark in Colombo to this day. It was named after the Dutch water engineer Johann De Beer (1700 A.D) who built the moats and water defences of the Dutch Fort.

Today the Lake is adorned with a unique structure – the seema malaka , based on the traditional platform erected for the Buddhist monks to sit and conduct ecclesiastical proceedings in a no man’s land with no contact with laymen. It belongs to the Gangaramaya, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the City, with origins dating back to 1885. Apart from the regular meetings when the monks discuss ecclesiastical matters, they congregate at the seema malaka found in every temple, once a year at the end of the Vas (three month rainy period when stepping out of the temple is restricted) to conduct the vinaya karma – disciplinary rituals among the monks laid down during the Buddha’s lifetime. The allocation of the katina cheevara, the special robe offered by the lay devotees at the katina pinkama also takes place.

The seema malaka at the Beira is also used for the annual upasampada (higher ordination) ceremony once a year by certain sects of the Buddhist clergy.

Gangaramaya, situated opposite the seema malaka, is much more than a temple, in the conventional term. It is a place of worship, a seat of learning and a cultural centre. You light the lamps, offer flowers at the dagoba and worship in the budu-ge, the image house. The monks are always in attendance to recite pirith -stanzas to bless and protect you and tie a pirith noola – a thread of protection, and give you a sip of pirith vatura – water collected over days as pirith is chanted.

If time permits, you will listen to a short sermon based on the Buddha’s teaching. The monks will also not fail to have a friendly chat with you or take you around to show the artifacts and explain the significance of the numerous structures in the temple premises.

The full moon Poya day sees devotees throng to the temple to observe ata sil (Eight Precepts as against pan sil, the Five Precepts usually observed by a Buddhist as a daily routine). They gather at the bana maduwa, the preaching hall to listen to sermons delivered by the monks, and to meditate.

An imposing complex

Today Gangaramaya is an imposing complex. It was started towards the end of the 19th century by Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Nayaka Thera (1827 - 1911) who was playing a key role in ensuring a Buddhist and cultural resurgence at a time when Buddhism was on the decline following the influence of Christianity and Western culture. His greatest service was the establishment of the seat of Buddhist learning, the Vidyodaya Pirivena which was established in 1873 with just seven students. He himself, hailing from Hikkaduwa, the coastal town in the South, had his education at the Paramadhammacetiya Pirivena at Ratmalana in the suburbs of Colombo which was in existence since 1849.

These institutions concentrated in teaching Buddhist philosophy, classical Sinhalese as well as Pali and Sanskrit, the traditional Indian languages. The Vidyodaya Pirivena and a second institution, the Vidyalanka Pirivena set up two years after the first, were raised to University status nearly a century later and continue to function to this day – the first as the Sri Jayawardenapura University and the other as the Kelaniya University both getting their names from the places from where they function in theoutskirts of Colombo..

His chief pupil, Venerable Devundara Sri Jinaratana Nayaka Thera was given the responsibility in administering the temple. The temple land was a swamp adjoining the Beira Lake. The area was called Hunupitiya, the name used even today. Hunupitiya is one of 47 wards in the Colombo Municipality, which administers the City. Sri Jinaratana Thera from the deep South, joined the Vidyodaya Pirivena in the year the temple was established – in 1885. Though lean in appearance, he was most energetic and enthusiastic. His determination helped him to gain the cooperation of the Buddhists in the area to gradually lay the foundation to convert the little temple to be an institution of international reckoning.

The monk collected rare books on Buddhism written on ola, talipot palm leaf, the traditional art of writing for longtime preservation. The leaf is stripped, cured and stored for use later. When required for writing, it is unrolled and both sides are buffed and polished to a satin sheen by pulling the cured leaf strips back and forth on a smooth cylinder of arecanut wood. A stylus known as the panhinda is used for writing on the ola leaf. It is a skilled and artistic craft where the writing is done straight on the unruled pages with letters of even depth and boldness. The monk’s collections are preserved at the Gangaramaya.

Tolerance has always been watchword at Gangaramaya. When the General (the road was named General’s Lake Road after him) who lived opposite the temple banned the beating of drums in the evening, Sri Jinaratana Thera obliged silently. When the General announced that the birthday of Queen Victoria should be celebrated, he responded by organizing a week-long festival where sixty lowcountry and up-country drummers performed morning and evening. The General had no choice but to leave the area because he could not tolerate the noise of drumming.

Eager to make Buddhist literature available to the masses, Sri Jinaratana Thera saw the need for a printing press. He was most fortunate when a Scotsman, J Holmes Pollock gifted a press to him. It was in the year 1890. This enabled the temple to pioneer the printing of Buddhist texts including the Pansiya Panas Jataka Pota – 550 tales of the previous lives of the Buddha – a text that is most respected and venerated in the Buddhist home. It was the tradition on a Poya day at almost every temple even in the remotest area, for an elder to read the text with the devotees sitting round him listening attentively. The grandmothers would memorise the stories and relate to the grand children while putting them to bed in the night.

The original printing machine is being displayed at the Gangaramaya and a visitor to the temple can get a glimpse of how an old printing machine looked like.

Recognition for Sri Jinaratana Thera’s erudition and service to the Sasana came when he was made the chief Sanghanayaka of Kolamaba Nava Korale by the committee of monks of the Malwatte Vihara in Kandy, the sect to which Gangaramaya belongs. Malwatta, along with Asgiriya are the main Chapters of the Shyamopali Maha Nikaya (Fraternity of Upali of Siam), named after Upali Maha Thera who came to Sri Lanka on the invitation by Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1780), the King of Kandy and established the higher ordination of monks 250 years ago. The temples of the Siamese Sect (there are two other Sects – Amarapura & Ramanna) in all parts of Sri Lanka belong to one of these two Chapters.

Sri Jinaratana Nayaka Thera also started collecting Buddhist antiques. These, along with the relics, form a valuable collection of artifacts at the Gangaramaya.

Venerable Devundara Keerthi Sri Sumangala Jinaratana Vacissara Thera succeeded Sri Jinaratana Nayaka Thera and he continued the good work. He established the Sri Jinaratana Vocational Centre which is today the leading vocational training institute for the youth. The printing of Buddhist texts too continued. With his eyesight deteriorating, his health declined and when he passed away in 1984, his chief pupil, Venerable Galboda Gnanissara Thera took over as Viharadhipati or chief monk of Gangaramaya. In fact, Gnanissara Thera had taken charge of the operations much earlier because of the teacher-monk’s failing health.

Years of consolidation

Hailing from Galboda, a few miles outside Matara, the coastal town down South, on the Matara-Hakmana road, an 11 year old boy was brought to the Gangaramaya by Venerable Galboda Devananda Nayaka Thera and handed over to Vacissara Nayaka Thera. Reading his horoscope to see whether he was suitable for ordination, reputed monk Venerable Morontuduwe Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Thera predicted that the horoscope belonged to “a saviour who should be ordained for the welfare of everybody”. On the eighth day after his arrival at Gangaramaya, on 8 November 1954, he was ordained as Galboda Gnanissara Thera. Being the junior monk, everyone started calling him Podi Hamuduruwo. The day was so auspicious that Vacissara Thera established a Pirivena for novice monks on the same day and named it ‘Sri Gnaneswara Pirivena’. Podi Hamuduruwo was one of the pupils.

Ten years later, on 21 June 1964, Podi Hamuduruwo received his higher ordination. The ceremony was held at the Malwatta Viharaya in Kandy at the historic poya ge where Upali Maha Thera conducted the upasampada ceremony on 19 July 1753 reviving the age old tradition in Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, he continued his studies, first at the Vidyodaya Pirivena and then at the Vidyodaya (now Sri Jayawardenapura) University from where he graduated in 1967. Further studies were hampered due to the illness of the Nayaka Thera who depended on the Podi Hamuduruwo to administer the activities of the Gangaramaya. He did not let down the teacher. Instead, he expanded the activities with the accent on helping the under-privileged youth.

Young, dynamic and energetic Podi Hamuduruwo was determined to expand the activities of the Gangaramaya and make it a reputed Buddhist institution concerned about the welfare of the masses.

The Master of Ideas

Podi Hamuduruwo is a Master of Ideas. He is always on the lookout to do something new, something better. The youth insurrection in 1971 got him thinking. “Why was there youth unrest”, he thought to himself. They were jobless. They had no avenues for employment. His solution? Training them in different skills and encouraging them to go for self-employment once they acquired the skills. He formulated the plans and established the Sri Jinaratana Adhyapana Ayathana Palaka Sabha to draw up training courses and administer the programme. School dropouts were picked for training.

Today, 46 technical courses are conducted at the Sri Jinaratana Training Institute. Over 7,000 attend classes daily. Training is free but if a student gets absent without a valid reason for a number of days, he has to pay a fine of ten rupees. The money is collected in a fund for use for charitable and social service activities. Those who complete their training are encouraged to contribute a small amount to the fund once they get a job and come to say good-bye. Recently a donation of Rs 250,000 was made from the fund to the first ever quintuplets born in Sri Lanka.

In addition to vocational training, there are many other courses. Over 3,000 attend secretarial courses every week and another over 25,000 males and females follow English classes. Most of them are employed and want to improve their knowledge of English. They read for a higher diploma in English. There are postal education courses as well. Those who attend weekend classes are mainly those who have jobs. A nominal fee is charged from them but the money goes to pay the teachers, who enjoy a little more extra money in addition to the salary they get.

The trainees have gym facilities to keep themselves fit. This again is a free service. Training is not limited to the youth in and around Colombo. Podi Hamuduruwo went to the outstations and set up training centres. Over fifty thousand youths are being trained free of charge at 40 centres stretching from Tissamaharama in the deep south to Maha Iluppallama in Anuradhapura in north central Sri Lanka. They receive training in many fields. To quote just one example. At Matara, 7,300 young men and women follow the secretarial course and over 25,000 have completed 25 technical education courses. Motor mechanism, blacksmithy work, welding, electrical wiring, radio repairs, tinkering and painting are taught at the Avissawella centre. Such is the varied nature of the courses.

Once they complete their training, a helping hand is given for them to set up a business. The Kataragama Pilisarana Authority, for example, distributed 100 sewing machines to girls so that they could set themselves up in self-employment.

With Podi Hamuduruwa’s dynamism, he has been able to build up a ring of benefactors ranging from USAID to foreign embassies to NGOs and individual donors who have found his projects a worthwhile cause to assist. They have been impressed with the results.

The annual cultural pageant

Seeing the absence of a worthwhile cultural event in the City, Podi Hamuduruwo planned to hold the Navam Perahera in the month of February every year. It not only draws locals in large numbers but is also a great attraction for the tourists who get a glimpse of the rich cultural traditions of Sri Lanka. It has now been accepted as the biggest cultural pageant in the City.

The significance of Navam Poya – the full moon day according to the lunar calendar, is that Lord Buddha accepted Arahants Sariputta and Moggallana as his chief disciples. Arahant Sariputta became renowned for his profound learning and wisdom (pragna) and Arahant Moggallana for his exceptional spiritual powers (iddhi).

Podi Hamuduruwo’s concept since the inauguration of the Perahera in 1979, was to signify the Tisrana – Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, the three refugees that a Buddhist abides by. Each is represented at the colourful procession. The relics of the Buddha are carried on an elephant’s back representing the presenceof the Buddha. The bana poth, Dhamma texts are taken in the procession representing the Dhamma. Over five hundred monks, clad in saffron robes, each carrying a vatapata (fan) in the hand, march solemnly representing the Sangha. It is an inspiring sight indeed. Monks from temples all over the country participate.

On the day the Perahera was to be held for the first time, there was a torrential downpour in the evening in the City. No one thought it would be possible to start the Perahera. But Podi Hamuduruwo was confident that rain would not affect the Perahera. He appealed to the deities to see that the Perahera is not disrupted. And it did not rain in the Hunupitiya area so that the Perahera could be held as planned. “Rain keeps away last night” was how the newspapers reported the following morning.

Podi Hamuduruwo personally plans the Perahera meticulously. Young men dressed in white national dress carrying 50 Buddhist flags, 50 national flags and 50 provincial flags march in front. Fifty torch bearers carrying pandam, a traditional form of torch, follow along with a band of 25 Hewisi drummers. All forms of traditional dances are performed by experienced troupes garbed in colourful costumes. They are accompanied by troupes of drummers selected to suit each form of dancing. In all, the Perahera consists of nearly 150 items and the uniqueness is the clockwork precision followed by the organizers.

Strict discipline is maintained in conducting the Perahera. Podi Hamuduruwo does not tolerate indiscipline. On one occasion he sent home the best ves dance troupe when he found the leader smelling of alcohol. It was a good lesson to everyone. The dancer concerned gave up liquor, came back to the Podi Hamuduruwo who, when he found that he has been rehabilitated, sent him on several foreign tours with his troupe.

While the Perahera has been held annually for the past 25 years, there was just one occasion when it was cancelled. That was when the LTTE bombed the Central Bank casting a veil of sorrow and grief throughout the country. A million rupees that would have been spent on the Navam Perahera was handed over to the National Defence Fund.

Lover of the environment

Podi Hamuduruwo has a passion for plants and trees. He is a lover of the environment. His is a silent service to propagate the much valued timber like teak and mahogany. Not so long ago, by the side of the Beira along the Perahera Mawatha he raised a plant nursery. In it were mahogany, teak and jak along with herbal varieties. When they had grown enough to be planted, he distributed them to temples - from Colombo to Matara along the southern coast, Matara to Dikwella in the deep south, up to Hanwella along the Kelani Valley route and up to Kegalle along the Kandy road.

In a 740 acre property at Urumutta Estate at Akuressa, he has established a ‘Tree Bank’. It is run by the Bhadrawathie Fernando Charitable Trust. Nurseries of teak, mahogany, jak and herbal plants have been set up. Plants are regularly distributed among those who have a genuine interest in growing trees.

“Growing a tree is fun. It gives you tremendous satisfaction to see a plant come up. It is also a sound investment.

Take a simple example. When a parent gets a child, he plants ten mahogany plants in the garden to mark the happy occasion. If it’s a daughter, by the time she gets married the father has a readymade dowry. Imagine the value of ten 20 year old mahogany trees”, Podi Hamuduruwo points out.

The 400 odd employees at the Urumutta Estate are a contented lot. Apart from the wages, they get free rations including ten kilos of rice a month. Most of them are from the village.

Behind the complex of rest rooms he has built at Kataragama, is a block where rare species have been planted.

He is always on the lookout for land to grow trees. Wherever he starts a project, he involves the temple and the people because he plans all his work for their benefit.

Uplifting standards of monks and temples

When Podi Hamuduruwo was serving as the chief advisor in the Pirivena Unit of the Education Ministry, he saw how the Pirivenas lacked even the basic facilities. He initiated a programme to provide the needs of Pirivenas throughout the country.

All approved Pirivenas – 563 in all - where student monks learn the Dhamma, were supplied with office requirements. In addition, they were provided with proper sanitary facilities, water pumps, tiles, mats and other requirements. Podi Hamuduruwo collected the funds when, on a trip to Germany, he visited schools and appealed to the children to put aside a few coins. The Deswos Institute collected the funds.

The practice of going on pindapata – a practice commended by the Buddha himself where the monks go from house to house carrying the alms bowl for their meals – enabled the not so well to do devotees to practise dana (charity) since many did not have the means to arrange for alms-givings in their homes. When the monk came and stood in front of the house silently, the housewife would part with some food cooked for breakfast or lunch, serving the food to the bowl. The monk would give merit and depart. In order to enable everyone to participate the monks went on different routes every day. This practice was prevalent in Sri Lanka even at the time of Velivita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thera over 250 years ago (he himself had the prefix Asarana Sarana Pindapathika before his name). It gradually died down and one reason was the unavailability of proper alms bowls.

Most of the bowls tended to rust and could not be used. Just as the practice of going on pindapati died down, the close relationship between the laity and the clergy too deteriorated. The distance between the temple and the village increased. In a bid to revive the practice, Podi Hamuduruwo took the initiative in getting down stainless steel alms bowls from Thailand and distributing them free to needy monks. This has now become an annual event and up to now over ten thousand bowls have been distributed. Every year, at least five hundred monks are given robes and alms bowls. These are donations from foreign benefactors.

A large amount of monks have passed through the Pirivena established on the day Podi Hamuduruwo was ordained – on 8 November 1954. Some of them have reached great heights. Among them are the present Maha Nayaka of the Malwatta Chapter, Most Venerable Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera, the head of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, Venerable Dr Kollupitiye Mahinda Thera and the head priest of Sri Maha Bodhi temple and Ruvanveliseya in Anuradhapura, Situlpahuva and Tissamaharama.

Several of Podi Hamuduruwo’a own pupil monks have been sent on missionary work in foreign countries having completed their education. Heenbunne Kondanna Thera has set up a temple in Statten Island, New York. Siyambalagoda Ananda Thera is in Seattle in Washington State and Vitarandeniye Kassapa Thera is in Birmingham.

Assisting him in the work in Sri Lanka are Kirinde Assaji Thera and Pallegama Ratanasara Thera both of whom have obtained their Masters degree and PhD from the Delhi University.

Podi Hamuduruwo was responsible in getting the authorities to accept the Prachina Pandit (oriental studies) qualification to be of the same status as the bachelor’s degree. It was he who mooted the idea of an international institute of education for Buddhist monks. Bus fare is not charged from monks thanks to his initiative.

When the Peradeniya University decided to close down the Sangharama – the residential monastery for monks, Podi Hamuduruwo took it over and administered it with the assistance of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House) when it was under the Wijewardene family. It was the founder of Lake House, D R Wijewardene who formed a Trust and created this monastery on a magnificent site on the banks of the Mahweli river. Podi Hamuduruwo’s objective was to fulfill Mr Wijewardene’s wish in establishing the Sangharama which was to enable Buddhist monks to obtain a University education in order that they may be able to carry out missionary activities both at home and abroad.

The artistic touch

An inherent quality in Podi Hamuduruwo is his ability to attract goodwill and support for his projects. He gains tremendous financial and other forms of assistance to his projects probably because these are all in the interest of either the religion and the clergy or the needy among the laity.

He also values the artistic touch in his creations. Take the numerous religious attractions in the Gangaramaya complex. The Vihara Mandiraya (image house), Atavisi Buddha Pooja Mandiraya (where offerings are made to the 28 Buddhas), the Bodhimandapaya erected round the Bo tree, the Dharma Shalawa (preaching hall) and the Seema malakaya are works of art. They have been designed according to traditional style and executed tastefully. In fact, the Beira Lake and the surroundings form a serene Buddhist environment thanks to his vision and foresight.

Planning ability

A fine example of his planning ability is the set of rest rooms for pilgrims to ataragama, a place in the deep South hallowed by the Buddha and sacred to the Hindus.

This complex close to the Kiri Vehera provides free accommodation to pilgrims. Cottages with attached wash rooms are equipped with ceiling fans and beds – three in each. There is space for mats to be spread on the floor.

A village was set up in Kataragama to settle over a hundred poor families who were provided with all facilities. Special attention is paid to educating the children of these families.

Just outside the City, in Kotte, a Home for Disabled Children is being r un. There are 250 inmates. Close by is a Home for Elders.

Alive to the nation’s needs

Podi Hamuduruwo is always alive to the needs of the nation and keeps a close watch on what affects the people. Once when he met late President J R.Jayewardene at an opening of an exhibition of paintings at the Lionel Wendt, he asked the President why “the brain was being taxed”. This was the time when import duty was being levied on paper including newsprint as well as books, magazines and journals. When Podi Hamuduruwo explained the position, within three days at the next Cabinet meeting, it was decided to remove the duty.

It was Podi Hamuduruwo’s idea that free school uniforms be given to all the school children.

“I suggested to the Education Ministry during the time of President R. Premadasa when I was serving on an advisory board that if all school children are clad in a uniform they would feel odd to be seen in cinema halls or on the beach and other undesirable places during school hours. A sense of discipline will also be inculcated through a uniform. The idea was accepted and implemented straightaway by the President,” he recalls. He mooted the idea of giving the free meal to school children too.

He initiated a movement titled Bauddha Balaya to promote the monks to mould the people towards following the Buddhist way of life. “It was not to attack anyone or any organization. It was an attempt to improve ourselves – to make a self-assessment and see where we faulter and take necessary steps to avoid such faults”, he explains. Printed material was sent to temples throughout the Island indicating basic instructions on how alms-givings should be organized, how pirith should be chanted and how to get the cooperation of the devotees for temple work.

Research in Buddhist studies is another aspect which attracted his attention. He picked up 27 topics related to the teaching of the Buddha as well as other aspects like Buddhist education and Buddhist way of administration. Based on the research findings, two volumes on the subject of dana (charity) were printed – 4,000 copies in Sri Lanka, 6,000 in Bangkok and 10,000 in Taiwan and distributed free. “It was a unique publication where one could get all references to ‘dana’ in any Buddhist text. But the response was weak. I didn’t receive any feedback. That convinced me that our people are not interested in such material”, he says.

Then he turned his attention on reprinting the Pansiya Panas Jataka Potha – the popular text that every Sinhala Buddhist home prefer to have. Yet his was a different approach. While relating each story in its original form, the new edition gave simple explanations in Sinhala on selected words that are not commonly used. These were not presented as appendixes but were used in brackets after each difficult word for easy reference. Another feature was a single line word of advice at the end of the tale capturing the morale of the story. Five volumes are planned. Three are already out in print.

The collection of artifacts found at Gangaramaya is rare. Whether it be the gaja mutu (pearls from elephant tusks), the dakshina vrutha sankaya (the right hand shell), the variety of pitchers made of gold, silver, jade and ivory, the intricately carved pol mala by a Japanese artist or the ivory replica of the Kelaniya temple, the artifacts are unique.

Gangaramaya provides spiritual relaxation to everyone irrespective of the religion he or she professes. As one walks in, he is greeted by a huge mural on the temple wall depicting the attaloka dhamma – the eight vicissitudes of life: gain and loss, good repute and ill repute, praise and censure, pain and pleasure.

Absorbed in these thoughts, you proceed to light a pol thel pahana, offer a flower at the feet of the Buddha, worship at the bell-shaped cetiya, look round the replica of the world famous Borobudur temple and get the blessings of Podi Hamuduruwo.

At the Seema Malakaya, religious observances are a regular happening. Offerings are made to the Buddha every evening accompanied by shabda pooja - the beating of drums. Meditation classes are held on three days of the week for the benefit of lay persons. These attract office-goers who can spend some time to learn meditation while going back home from work. Dhamma sermons are held once a week. Rare Buddha statues from different Asian countries are exhibited so that those interested can get a good idea of the different styles of sculpture.

Recognition for services rendered

Podi Hamuduruwo has been appointed the ‘Sanghanayaka’ (high priest) of the Western Province by the Malwatta Chapter. The Asgiriya Chapter has honoured him with the conferment of ‘Darshana Visharada’ equivalent to a doctorate. Podi Hamuduruwo has completed fifty years in the robe. To mark the event he has mapped out a project to give a hundred thousand scholarships to needy students. The funds are to be obtained through an exhibition to be held at Gangaramaya for one whole year.