Sir Cyril de Zoysa:

A life committed to social service

Amara Hewamadduma

The 115th birth anniversary of Sir Cyril de Zoysa falls today - October 26, 2011. Known as a compassionate man of rare intellect, his birth will be commemorated on this day, by a grateful community. The Kalutara Bodhi Trust of which he was the founder has organized a number of events to honour his memory and to transfer merit to him according to Buddhist tradition.

Solomon de Zoysa, Notary Public, father of Sir Cyril de Zoysa born in Totamune Kankanangedera in Velitota, Balapitiya, travelled almost daily to and from his office in Ambalangoda in a buggy cart. Cyril was not too pleased with the fact that his father hired a buggy cart for the purpose. He pondered over this and came up with a solution. He presented his father with a brand new buggy cart and a bull, which he bought with the money he earned by giving private tuition to students. The cart and the bull both cost him Rs 500.

Kalutara Bodhiya

Sir Cyril de Zoysa

“My father blessed me. I realized that my gift was a source of great joy to him, which in turn was a source of joy to me.” Thus did Cyril make his father indeed very happy. Totamune Kankanangedera Vatta was the residence of Solomon and Harriet de Zoysa, Cyril’s parents. As a Notary Public, Solomon had to work from time to time in several places, such as, Matara, Hingula, Akuressa etc. and on one occasion he had to take up residence in Galle. It was during this period when he was stationed in Galle that Cyril, second in a family of five children, was born. That was on October 26, 1896.

Ancestral home

Soon after Cyril was born, his father decided to shift to Matara and open an office there. As the entire family moved to Matara it was St. Thomas’ College, Matara, that Cyril had to attend from a very tender age. After some time, he left this school and entered Richmond College, Galle. There too he spent only about one year, bade farewell to Richmond and entered Royal College, Colombo. His closest friends at that time were John Kotalawela and Nicholas Attygala. Having passed the Cambridge Senior Examination in 1916 he was admitted to Law College.

After successfully completing the Law College examinations, he commenced his career in 1921 at the Balapitiya Police Courts. At this time his family was back at the ancestral home in Velitota Kankanangedera Vatta. Cyril did not practice for too long at Balapitiya. He left Balapitiya to join the Kalutara Bar as an apprentice under Crown Proctor Arthur de Abrew. Very soon young Cyril made a name for himself as a clever lawyer.

This move to Kalutara paved the way for a host of changes in Cyril’s life. From his early childhood, he derived great joy in pleasing his parents, also evincing devotion without measure to Buddhism. Among the sacred places of Buddhist worship, it was the Kalutara Bodhiya that became the prime object of his devotion. At this time the Government Agent of Kalutara had issued strict instructions to the Police to place a guard at the entrance to this sacred place, and to chase away anyone who seeks to enter the precincts to offer flowers or light a lamp.

Having heard of this, Cyril approached the place. He decided to construct by force an altar to place flowers (a mal asana) and after a battle he constructed four such altars in all four directions, right round the Bodhi Tree. Thereafter, the people who had been kept away from the sacred place began to visit the place freely.

Prime business

With the passage of time it occurred to Cyril that he could not make substantial progress by engaging solely in his practice as a lawyer. He therefore purchased a bus for passenger transport. This venture brought him increasingly steady profits. He invested in another bus and soon established the Swarnapali Bus Company. He issued orders to his drivers that they should stop the buses as they pass the Bodhiya and drop a coin into the tills placed by the roadside. This order was obeyed to the letter. A large sum of money was collected and every cent so collected was used strictly for the improvement of the Bodhiya.

With time, in 1941, Cyril became the Chairman of the Urban Council, Kalutara. He considered it his prime duty to develop and protect the Kalutara Bodhiya. With this, his own steady progress became increasingly evident. Soon the Swarnapali Bus Company became known as the South Western Bus Company. It had acquired a substantial fleet of buses and had become a prime business in the country. Cyril had also become the Director, so to say, controlling the affairs of the Bodhiya. Cyril often reflected on his conviction that his continuing success in all matters was due to his boundless devotion to the Bodhiya.

Cyril’s efficiency and the attention he paid both to the public and to his employees led to his own rapid progress. It was he, who for the first time provided an opportunity to the people of this country to travel in a double decker bus. It was at a time that Cyril was prospering in a manner never dreamt of, that the government of the day decided to nationalize all bus companies. Cyril remained unruffled. Without any hesitation he handed over to the government all buses, bus depots and all equipment. It was, as it were, that Cyril was more pleased with the take over than even the government! He saw it as a blessing in disguise as he embarked on a number of other ventures after this ‘bus affair’.

Social service work

He bought a large factory belonging to the Latex Corporation at Nagoda, Kalutara, and started a number of industrial ventures producing tyres, tubes, batteries, electric wires, cables etc. Now Cyril became the owner of five large factories. Much of his time was spent on social service work. He was President/member of a large number of societies such as the Boy Scouts’ Association, Sinhala Sports Club, Kalutara Town Club, Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, National Council of the Blind and Deaf, Chief Protection Society, Law Society, Maha Bodhi Society, and Colombo YMBA etc.

Everything he touched turned to gold. He rendered prime service to society eliminating corruption, protecting and fostering every cause he espoused. Cyril became the President of the Colombo YMBA at a time it had lapsed into inactivity. He turned it around, built a hall at the YMBA Headquarters in memory of his parents; thereafter the YMBA building in Colombo Fort became what it is today.

In addition, he donated his house and property in Kalutara for the purpose of building a school. The two popular schools known today as Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya and Kalutara Vidyalaya are the two schools he founded.

Dhamma education

Having also observed that pilgrims to Kataragama faced many difficulties, he took steps to build a large Pilgrims’ Rest at Kataragama.

Himself a lawyer, Cyril was President of the Law Society for full nine years. At this time, the Law Society was lacking in a building of its own. Cyril pioneered the construction of a building befitting the stature of the Society.

Cyril always had deep devotion to his religion and to religious affairs. He placed a premium on Dhamma education. To foster this, he ensured the publication of a large volume of Dhamma books, during his tenure as President of the Colombo YMBA.

Cyril de Zoysa was also a pioneer in paving the way for the establishment of the Department of Cultural Affairs under the government. Amidst this busy schedule Cyril was appointed Vice President of the Senate. This is because the authorities, the Maha Sangha and various business sources considered Cyril a proverbial Midas who had the good fortune of turning into success everything he touched, a man with a compassionate heart and rare intellect. Titles, position and recognition simply followed him. He never sought after them.

Pinnacle of success

He was appointed to the Senate so that the political arena may benefit by his encyclopedic knowledge. He held the position of Vice-President for six years and thereafter he served for eight years as its President. However busy his schedule became, the service he rendered was ever increasing, never decreasing.

During this period he gathered together all the land, buildings etc. that he owned at Velitota Kankanamge Vatta in Balapitiya, and constructed a large textile weaving centre there. It was his intention to provide the villagers an opportunity of making a living without moving away from their homes. Thousands of villagers found gainful employment there.

Cyril, who as President of a large number of organizations rendered active and continuous service carrying each of them to the pinnacle of success and development. Such excellent service, unbroken and unwavering, earned the admiration and respect, sometimes even the awe, of many a person both at home and abroad. In recognition of his excellence he was honoured as a Knight of the British Empire (KBE). Sir Cyril’s practice was to wake up very early, around 4.00 a.m., each day, and commence the day’s work by visiting the Bodhiya and there paying homage to the Buddha. Before going to bed he was unwavering in the practice of observing the Buddhist precepts and according to tradition, transferring merit to the Devas or celestial beings.

Twilight years

When he visited his village or travelled towards Galle, he invariably stopped his car near the tombs of his parents, alighted from his vehicle and paid homage to their memory, before proceeding further. Sir Cyril de Zoysa was a man who dedicated all his life, wealth, time, labour and intelligence to his village, country, nation, religion and politics and spent the evening of his life very happily.

On an occasion when he was interviewed by a journalist, this is what he had to say: “Now I am free. However much of wealth one possesses it is to no avail.

They are all empty things. I was born without wealth and I shall die without wealth. My joy, my solace, my strength - all lie in the Buddha Dhamma. As long as I live I shall have the protection of the Devas.” It was not for his own well-being that Sir Cyril de Zoysa lived and amassed wealth; it was in the cause of the country, nation and religion.

This great human being who lived a life committed to service, who in his twilight years had given up all attachments and who was at peace with himself passed away on January 2, 1978.