Senior monks to talk on Buddha’s teachings

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is blessed by the visit of two senior Buddhist monks who will be sharing their knowledge and experience of Buddha’s teachings on September 1 and 4 at the Santavana administration and training centre in Sri Kepayan.

The talks are titled ‘The Buddhist Approach to Happiness’ and ‘The Buddha’s Message’ and will be presented by Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thera and Dr Madawela Punnaji Maha Thera respectively.

Sri Saranankara, chief monk of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple, Kuala Lumpur and spiritual advisor to the Maha Karuna Buddhist Society will talk on September 1 while Dr Madawela’s session will be on September 4. Both sessions will start at 8 pm.

Known to Buddhists as Bhante Saranankara, Sri Saranankara is well-known for his non-partisan approach to welfare work in Malaysia. Bhante started the free clinic, free tuition classes and the Metta Home through the Sri Jayanti Welfare Organization which he formed in 1991. Then in 2006, Bhante formed the Yayasan Maha Karuna, which means the Foundation of Great Compassion to serve the needy, irrespective of race or religion.

In 2007, Supreme Council of the Maha Sangha of the Malwatu Maha Vihara, appointed Bhante as the Chief Adhikarana Sangha Nayaka of Malaysia (Chief Judiciary Monk of Malaysia).

Dr. Madawela studied Modern Science and Western Medicine in Sri Lanka, and obtained doctorates in Western Psychology, Western Philosophy and Comparative Religion in the United States.

He has taught yoga and meditation in the U.S. and conducted research in Buddhist psychology and psychotherapy, in association with the Boston University and Harvard University. His teaching experiences include a stint as a Professor of Buddhism at Fo Guang Shan Monastic University in Taiwan, and conducting a course in Buddhist philosophy at the University of Vermont.

For further information, please contact Jing Ya at 0103456000 1pm-5pm or Ji Song at 014-7379569 5pm-8pm).