Amarapura Nikaya hails Speaker’s leadership
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, was conferred an honorary title by the Amarapura Nikaya this week.
Ven Pandit Kotugoda Dhammavasa Thera, making the presentation by the Amarapura Sangha Sabha, said it was the hope of the Sangha to have a righteous leaders and a person of integrity.
He said, the Maha Sangha respects Mr Jayasuriya as a trustworthy public servant, and a collective decision was made by the Amarapura Nikaya, to appreciate persons of integrity who toil for the motherland at a time when politics has fallen to the depths.
Ven Dhammavasa Thera said that the Sanga and the people have high hopes on leaders like Mr Jayasuriya to resurrect the image of the country.
The title was bestowed after a meeting of the executive committee of the Amarapura Nikaya Sangha Sabha at the Dharmapalaramaya, Mount Lavinia. The meeting announced the honorary title to the Speaker for his commitment to uplifting the Buddha Sasana and his other social obligations.
Ven Dhammavasa Thera noted unprecedented unity among the different Sangha sects and that the Maha Sangha is ready to bless the politician and give advice without prejudice, if a righteous leader emerges to turn Sri Lanka into a just society.
"As the center of Buddhist affairs, we have to be shameful of the spread of the drug menace, and the responsibility rests on religious leaders and the politicians, to rescue the land from this menace. This is where we have to give merit to leaders who set an example by practice to love the motherland," Ven Dhammavasa Thera said.
In accepting the honour, Mr Jayasuriya said he would live up to the expectations of the Maha Sangha.
He said his close association with the temple from childhood has contributed to achieving many things in life. He preserved the sacred oath to serve honestly and lead a righteous life.
The teachers at Ananda Vidyalaya got nothing from the country but gave something to the country, he said.
He said that after schooling at Ananda, he joined the army, and later became an entrepreneur, diplomat, a mayor, opposition leader at a local authority and a minister, and then was named the Speaker.
He said he upheld the values of honesty and integrity and contributed to protecting and safeguarding democracy.
“When we turn back and look at the post- independence era we could see more drawbacks than what has been achieved for the past 70 years. The cause is the conflicts between religions and politics. We stagnated in the national conflict, since we have failed to come to some national reconciliation so far. It is up to us to find a way out of this problem rather than pass it on to the next generation. It is only then that we can make this nation righteous and the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’,’’ he said.
The anusasana was given by the chairman of the Amarapura Sangha Sabha, Ven Ganthunue Assaji Thera, and the secretary of the Amarapura Sangha, Prof Pallekande Rathanasara.
The Minster of Buddha Sasana, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, and Minster of Plantation Industries, Navin Dissanayake also spoke.