Ven. Ratwatte Siddhartha Thera

A strict follower of Vinaya Code

A. A. De Silva P.C.

On the 11th September, 2008, the mortal remains of Venerable Ratwatte Siddhartha Thera, were cremated at the Ratwatte Burial Ground in Mahaiyawa, Kandy. Nearly sixty years ago, Brindley Ratwatte, the youngest son of late Sir Cuda Ratwatte, the 1st Adigar and late Lady Ratwatte, after his secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy and passing out of the Ceylon Law College entered the Legal Profession. After practising his profession for a short but an eventful period in his home town, Kandy, he joined Julius and Creasy, the well known firm of solicitors, as an assistant in which role he helped the firm as well as the many clients who consulted him on many legal issues that arose during the middle part of the 20th century.

It soon became obvious that, Brindley both by temperament and inclination was not happy to spend his entire adult professional life in the Law Firm though he could have easily risen to the top level of the institution. A few years later, he accepted the invitation of the country’s leading book publishing and printing house, M. D. Gunasena and Company for the purpose of helping the Gunasena conglomerate to launch into the wider field of Newspaper publishing business. After the setting up of the Daily Sinhala Newspaper, Dawasa and the English Daily, The Sun, Brindley having fulfilled his task and his obligation and undertaking given to Gunasena Group were discharged. Thereafter this multi faceted person took up a Senior position in another highly recognised Industrial and commercial enterprise.

The Colombo Commercial Co. Ltd. at a time when this organisation was being re-organised and restructured due to various changes taking place in the country’s economic sphere. It was during this period, after a quarter century of busy lay life that the spiritual urges in Brindley began to appear clearly which though latent were not able to visibly surface due to the busy, though productive lay life he led in the material world. It was evident during this period that Brindley had himself turned toward spiritual advancement in his life.

Many were the occasions he visited the hallowed places of Buddhist worship in Dambadiva and Burma and on several occasions he had practised meditation at the foot hills of Himalayas. It was during such visits to India that he came into contact with the Internationally known meditation Master Goenkaji whose method of Vipassana Bhavana was introduced to this country by the great master at the request of Brindley who by then had become a close Dhamma friend of Goenkaji.

Brindley was an heir to a great cultural and Buddhist heritage in that the members of his family had served the Buddha Sasana over a long period of time. His uncle, late Harris Lewke Ratwatte Disawe - younger brother of his father had been the Basnayake Nilame of the Maha Dewalaya, the Vishnu Dewalaya of Kandy and thereafter the Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Yet another uncle Senevi Ratwatte, a younger brother of his father was for a long time the Basnayake Nilame of the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Dewalaya.

His Cousin, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, daughter of late Barnes Ratwatte Disawe his father’s younger brother, both in her capacity as wife of late Prime Minister, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and later in her own right as the Prime Minister had played a pivotal role in establishing and supporting the International Vipassana Bhavana Centre in Colombo 7. Brindley’s own nephew Mohan Panabokke (Sister’s son) is the current Basnayake Nilame of the Vishnu Dewalaya, Kandy. Damayanthi, his own wife being the daughter of late Mr. & Mrs. D. B. Ellepola and grand daughter of late Sir Tikiri Banda Panabokke, Adigar and late Lady Panabokke brought to the marriage a very rich cultural and religious background.

He was aware and deeply conscious of the fact that his direct ancestor, Ratwatte, Adigar and the Disawe of Matale, the fifth signatory to the Kandyan Convention of March 2, 1815 was one of the Kandyan chiefs who persuaded and prevailed upon Governor Robert Brownrigg, the representative of the British monarch, George III to include the 6th Clause in the Kandyan Convention by which the British rulers solemnly undertook to safeguard and protect the Buddhist religion and its places of worship. In his adult life he bemoaned the fact that the British rulers had deliberately observed this important condition in the breach and had also ignored and violated both the substance and the spirit of this clause.

But later, he was happy that when the 1st Republican Constitution was being drafted in 1972, the Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike instructed her Minister of Constitutional Affairs, the eminent Lawyer Dr. Colvin R. de Silva to amend the wrongs done by the colonial rulers and the result was that Clause 6 of the Constitution included the duty of the State to protect and foster Buddhism and also to give the foremost place to Buddhism.

He was equally happy that Six years later when the 2nd Republican Constitution was being prepared in 1978 J. R. Jayewardene, the Prime Minister from July, 1977 to September 1978 directed his brother, the distinguished Lawyer, Dr. H. W. Jayewardene, Q.C., and the drafting committee to include in Article 9 of the Constitution the very words of Article 6 of its predecessor constitution.

During the turbulent 1980’s there were wide spread disturbances through out the country, causing grave concern among the people regarding the cultural and religious upheaval that resulted from the visible breakdown in Law and Order during the period. At that stage the high priesthood of Kandy belonging to both chapters of the Siyam Nikaya on several occasions reminded Brindley Ratwatte, that he owed a duty by the people to begin a movement to bring about a reawakening of the appreciation of the country’s valued traditions based on its Buddhist heritage and went on to remind him that such a course of action should begin before it is too late.

Brindley who gave serious thought to the many requests coming from the Buddhist hierarchy, decided not to start a reawakening movement in the wider field of cultural activities as such a course would come into clash with the many political forces in the country. He decided to take a non-controversial course of action by starting an organisation to improve the spiritual well being of the people according to the essence of the Dhamma.

Having expended a considerable part of his own wealth, he with the help of his associates and friends particularly Parinda Ranasinghe, the former Chief Justice, N. G. P. Panditharatne, the one time head of the well known firm of Auditors - Ford, Rhodes and Thornton and Bertie Amarasekera, the former head of the Law Firm Julius and Creasy set up the International Vipassana Bhavana Centre - Dhamma Kuta in Mahakanda, Peradeniya which is open to all so as to train themselves in the practice of Vipassana Bhavana opening the entrance door to the path to final liberation. By the passing away of the Ven. Siddhartha Thera, his wife and the two children, daughter and son have suffered immeasurably by the loss of her former husband and their former father. My wife and I who have known Damayanthi, Brindley and later the Ven. Siddhartha Thera for an unbroken period of over half a century have lost a valued counsellor and adviser on many aspects of the Dhamma.

Having realised the Meditation Centre was being run on highly organised lines and the intended benefits are being enjoyed by the persons needing them and Damayanthi herself devoting her full time as the head instructress, Brindley thought the time had come for him to relinquish his responsibilities as a layman. On one occasion, the saintly Bhikku, Gnanawimala Thera of German Origin and of Polgasduwa Island, hermitage fame had indicated to Brindley not to waste any further time but to diligently work for his own liberation as the saint had already done it himself. Ten years ago, Brindley Ratwatte was robed by the Venerable Mahanayake Thera of Malwatte Chapter under the name of Ratwatte Siddhartha.

For Ten years, continuously he followed the 227 Vinaya rules not breaking a single despite his many physical ailments during the last three years. There is no doubt that his many meritorious deeds and the strict adherence to the Vinaya Code would necessarily shorten his Journey in Sansara.