Ven. Hagoda Indasara Thera and his mission

THIS article is dedicated to the memory of Ven. Hagoda Indasara Thera and 31 other monks who were killed by the LTTE way back in 1987 on June 2. Eighteen years have gone by since the gruesome massacre that took place in Arantalawa.

Majority of the monks were below 15 years of age and eight monks survived the massacre. One monk was completely paralysed and still moves around in a wheelchair.

Ven. Hagoda Indasara Thera was known to the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka as a devoted Buddhist monk who was determined to safeguard Buddhist interests in the East. He came to Ampara, Digamadulla way back in 1956. As a junior monk he lived in Hagoda Nigrodaramaya.

He studied Sri Lankan history and was fascinated by the ancient splendours of the East and the valuable temples built by the ancient Sinhala kings. He found some of them desecrated and also noticed that many temples were shamefully neglected.

He stood face to face with destiny. He also discovered that the Buddhist image in the East was desecrated. He assured as a young monk that he had not only the duty but also the right to stay in the East and protect the holy places for the Buddhist community.

We need today to remember Ven. Hagoda Indasara Thera who sacrificed his life along with 31 other monks to protecting the Buddha Dhamma.

If one cultivates hatred with ignorance and continues to live with hatred, not respecting human values, the final result is evident.

Buddha, proclaimed as a peerless teacher: "Ignorance is the foulest stain of all." By ignorance he meant belief in self and all the wrong thinking, wrong actions and wrong speech that arise from it. Ignorance is the primal condition behind all manifestations of life.

Leader of a movement who believes the killings and destruction are the only way to liberation, will never liberate his people. He will only push his people further into darkness.

This is the universal truth. Christians, Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists must protect these religious sites understanding each other's values.

Ven Hagoda Indasara Thera and 31 other monks, sacrificed their lives to protect Buddhism and religious sites in the East.

- D. Sirisena.