Delivers speech via satellite

President felicitates Ven. Rambukana Siddhartha

COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a speech over the Satellite technology to felicitate Ven. Rambukana Siddhartha Nayaka Thera on the occasion of "Yathiwara Gee Poojothsawaya" which commemorated three decades of service to the art of lyrics by the venerable Thera, held at BMICH, Colombo, yesterday.

The President lamented that owing to security reasons he was unable to be physically present on the occasion which is all the more important because it involved the felicitation of a members of the Buddhist Clergy.

He said the erudite Buddhist monks memorised the Buddha's Teachings and compiled the Thripitikaya, wrote the great chronicle Mahawansa and fostered the Sinhala literature by writing valuable poems.

As much as they contributed towards the Buddhist literature their contribution to the art of song composition is extremely valuable because the songs composed by Buddhist monks, unlike the common songs that we hear everyday, soothes the mind with virtues of the Dhamma, the universal compassion, the mother's love and national glory.

The President called upon the electronic media to broadcast songs composed by Buddhist monks often to inspire a sense of appreciating the taste of Dhamma which is calm and tranquil.

The President concluded his speech by reminding the song "Buduhamuduruwo Apith Dakinnethi" composed by Ven. Rambukana Siddhartha Thera and paid homage to all the Bhikkus including Ven. Siddhartha Thera who take great pains to make this country a good place to live in, to build up a society which is disciplined and bring up a people who appreciate the taste of high quality music.