All set for next year's State Vesak Festival

Chaminda Perera

The State Vesak festival will be held at the Yudaganawa Rajamaha Viharaya, Buttala in the Monaragala district next year under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's patronage.

Several programmes are to be implemented in all temples in the district to coincide with the festival. This was disclosed at a meeting headed by Chief Sangha Nayaka of Colombo and Chilaw division and Kelaniya University Chancellor Most Ven Wellamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Thera yesterday to organise the State Vesak Festival and a number of programmes related to this.

The meeting was held at the Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs Ministry.

The Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Ministry will also launch a programme to develop selected temples in the district with the assistance of public and private sector institutions. Over 290 Dhamma school students in the district will receive scholarships at the State Vesak Festival.

It was also discussed to organise a competition to design Vesak greeting cards.

Ven Welamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Thera said temples in rural schools should benefit through the State Vesak Festival. The Nayake Thera said the government always selected temples in rural areas for the State Vesak Festival with the aim of developing such temples.

He said the Maha Sangha in rural areas are taking great pain to promote ties between the temple and laymen. Deputy Buddha Sasana Minister M K D S Gunawardena stressed the need to decorate key places in the Colombo city during the Vesak festival.

Samastha Lanka Shashanarakshaka Balamandalaya Registrar Ven Gonaduwe Gunananda Thera, Ven Galtenwatte Nandarathana Thera of Yudaganawa Raja Maha Viharaya, Ministry Secretary P N Dissanayake, Buddhist Affairs Commissioner Chandraprema Gamage and Prime Minister's Private Secretary Anuradha Jayaratne were also present.