President honours Ven. Piyatissa Nayaka Thera at New York Buddhist Vihara
NEW YORK – President Maithripala Sirisena, who was in New York last week for the UN General Assembly sessions, paid a special visit to the New York Buddhist Vihara in Queens where he honoured Ven Kurunegoda Piyatissa Nayaka Thera for his longstanding services in the cause of Buddhism.
A distinguished academic, Ven Piyatissa Thera, 89, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vidyodaya University, a second BA degree, with honours, from the University of London, and a Master of Arts degree from Temple University, Pennsylvania, USA.
The presentation, which included a Sannas Pathra ( Letter of Commendation) and a Pan Kendiya ( Water Jar), was made in the presence of more than 250 Sri Lankan expatriates comprising Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.
Born in Kegalle district (Hatara korale), Kurunegoda on December 29 1928, Ven Piyatissa Thera was ordained on November 1941 and received Theravada Higher ordination on June 22nd 1950. He obtained his primary education (as a monk) at the Bodhigupta Pirivena in Denagamuwa, and higher education at Vidyodaya Pirivena. He completed his monastic education with honours and awards.
Before arriving in London as a Dhammaduta Monk, he was a teacher at the Bodhigupta Pirivena in Denagamuwa, Polgahawela; deputy principal at the Sri Gnaneswara Pirivena in Hunupitiya, in Colombo; deputy principal at the Government Central College in Polgahawela; and a teacher at the Ananda College.
In Britain, he was the first meditation master-in-charge of the Oxford Buddhist Meditation Center in Oxford from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1981 he was the deputy head of the London Buddhist Vihara. During this time he has propagated the Buddha Dhamma in England and Europe and seve r a l universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
In the US, Ven. Piyatissa Thera was invited to New York in 1981 by the American Sri Lanka Buddhist Association. Since then he has remained as the incumbent and abbot of the New York Buddhist Vihara. During the past 32 years, he had done great service to the Buddhist community. He was a vice president of the American Buddhist Congress; a vice president of the World Buddhist Sangha Council; an executive council member of the World Conference of Religion and Peace (WCRP); president of the Sri Lanka Sangha Council of America; president of the Buddhist Literature Society, and a faculty member of the New School University for Social Research in New York.
Ven. Piyatissa Thera has helped establish five Buddhist temples in Staten Island, Long Island, New Jersey, Boston, and South Carolina. During the December 2004 tsunami catastrophe, he led Sri Lankan community’s efforts to help those who suffered from one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Sri Lanka. Under his leadership, The New York Village with 51 houses in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka was built and donated to the families who lost their houses in the tsunami. This village includes playground, technical college with computers to learn English and Information Technology.