A great Buddhist monk honoured

A felicitation ceremony is scheduled to be held with great reverence tomorrow (May 3) at 2:30 p.m. at the BMICH to honour Most Ven. Dr. Pallegama Hemarathana Nayaka Thera, Chief Sanghanayaka of Nuwara Kalaviya and Atamasthanadhipathi, who has received an honorary doctorate from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Saranath, Varanasi, India.

- BY VEN. DR. ASSAJI THERA Chief incumbent of the Gangaramaya

'Honour those who are worthy of honour' is one of tenets in the Buddha's teachings. Honouring the honourable is, on one hand, an expression of the spiritual richness of a society, and on the other, a gesture of gratitude.

Most Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera is a Buddhist monk who has taken on great responsibilities beyond his age. He was appointed Chief Incumbent of Jethavanaramaya in 1989. In 1990, he became the Deputy Chief Sanghanayaka of Nuwara Kalaviya, and in 1997, he was appointed Chief Incumbent of the Ruwanweliseya Chaitya as well as the Chief Sanghanayaka of Nuwara Kalaviya.

Following the passing of the former Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Dr. Pallegama Siriniwasa Nayaka Thera, Ven. Pallegama Thera was appointed Atamasthanadhipathi (Chief Custodian of the Eight Sacred Sites of Anuradhapura) in 2022. This appointment was made by the unanimous decision of the Atamasthana Executive Council.