ABOUT SIRI VAJIRARAMA
A living legacy of
light
Since 1901, the temple has been a home for Dhamma, learning, quiet reflection,
and compassionate service.
WHO WE ARE
A Temple Known Around the World
Siri Vajiraramaya was founded in Colombo in 1901 by the learned monk MostVenerable Pelene Siri Vajirajana Maha Nayaka Thera, who came from the south of SriLanka. Over the decades it became one of the best-known Sri Lankan temples abroad,because of resident monks such as Venerable Narada and Venerable Piyadassi, whoseteaching carried the Buddha's message to many countries.
Students from Sri Lanka and overseas came here to study under its scholarmonks. Among them were Venerable Nanamoli, who translated the Visuddhimagga (ThePath of Purification) and the Majjhima Nikaya into English, and Venerable Gnanavira, whowrote widely on the Dhamma.
For more than a hundred years, children have learned the Dhamma at theDaham Pasala on Sundays. T oday the temple remains a place of practice, learning andcommunity, and keeps finding new ways to share the Buddha's teaching.
A living legacy of light
1901
The Beginning
Siri Vajirarama Temple opens its doors as a place for Dhamma and learning.
1918
Dhamma School
A new generation begins to learn the teachings and carry them forward.
1950
Community and Care
The temple grows as a centre for practice, education, and community.
2026
A living tradition
125 years later, the light continues to reach new generations.
Vajirarama Tradition
Ven. Pelene Mahanayaka Thero and the Vajirarama Tradition
This year (2009) Vajiraramaya, Bambalapitiya completes its one hundred years of service to the Sasana. The monastery enters into its second century with the able leadership of the Venerable Tirikunamale Ananda Maha-nayaka Thera, a pupil of the late Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayaka Thera. It is appropriate that we reflect on the path of trodden by the Vajirarama monks at this memorable juncture of the history of the monastery.
The silent revolution brought about by the Venerable Pelene Vajiranana Mahanayaka Thera, with Vajiraramaya as its base, may be described as ‘the Vajirarama tradition’. One might even feel that to say that one single Vihara provided the base for a revolution in the Sasana is an exaggeration. What in fact happened was rather a renewal of the ancient tradition than inauguration of one anew. But the ancient and correct tradition was long lost to the society that many felt the act of renewing the ancient tradition to be an introduction of a new tradition.
Renewal of the ancient tradition as well as the determination of what is right in the face of the new changes in society are two outstanding features of the Mahanayaka Thera’s service to the Sasana. The unique feature of the latter activity was the amalgamation of modernity with antiquity. In other words, within the Vajirarama tradition both antiquity and modernity co-existed harmoniously. The aim of this paper is to make an overview of the Vajirarama tradition, or the ‘Vajirarama mark’ of the contemporary Sasana.
Beginnings
The Venerable Pelene Mahanayaka Thera, born in Pelena near Matara received initial entrance to the monkhood from the Most Venerable Veragampita Siri Revata Thera, came to Colombo in order to attend well-known Vidyodaya Pirivena for his higher studies. In 1900 he completed his Pirivena studies with distinction, and started living at the place called ‘dharma-sala’ – a building the people in the surrounding area had built for their religious functions, which later became ‘Vajiraramaya’. This was in 1901, and the only available room in the building was reserved for Vajiranana Maha Thera and the rest of the monks had make-shift rooms with partitions made using robes. The monastery with these simple beginnings became Vajirarama proper when Muhandiram P.J. Kulatilake built the library with two rooms and donated it to the Sangha. This happened in 1909.raph here
Vajirarama Monks
Missionary Work
The excellent command of the English language by monks who were ordained by Pelene Vajiranana Maha Nayaka Thera made them ideal ambassadors of Buddhism.
In 1929, Ven Narada was selected to represent Sri Lanka at the opening of a new vihara in Benares, India, where he served as a translator and there got his first taste of missionary work. In the years that followed, he traveled widely. By the time he passed away (1983), he had visited all continents, except the Antarctica. In many of the countries he was the first Theravada Buddhist monk to have set foot in recent times. In his travels he helped to establish Buddhist Societies in many countries. In the words of Olcott Gunasekera, Ven Narada had the erudition and the serenity, the gentleness and piety, and above all a perfect command of the English language to put across the most abstruse teachings of the Buddha in a simple, eloquent and persuasive manner. (See Ven Narada).
Ven Piydassi followed the footsteps of Ven Narada and travelled widely carrying the message of the Buddha both to the East and to the West. As a research student at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University, USA , he got an opportunity to discuss the Dhamma with members of other faiths and address audiences keen on studying Buddhism. Being a profound scholar, extraordinary skill at communications, and a charisma of personality that cements scholarship to communication skills were identified by Professor Raplh Buultjens as the three attributes Ven Piyadassi possessed to be a successful missionary. (See Ven Piyadassi).
Both Ven Narada and Ven Piyadassi wrote in English and their publications helped the English readership to get a fine grasp of the religion.
In the early years, there were other Vajirarama monks who travelled and made contacts with Buddhist clergy in other countries. Ven Soma ( he was Victor E P Pulle – a Sinhala Catholic – prior to becoming a monk) with his friend Ven Kheminda (G S Prelis was his lay name) went to Japan in 1934 wityh the help of a Japanese scholar, N R M Ehara. There they translated the Chinese version of Vimuttimagga into English and publsied it as ‘Path to Freedom’. In 1936 they left Japan and spent time in Burma studying under the meditation teacher Jetavana Sayadaw before returning to Sri Lanka the following year.
The first Theravada Buddhist group from Sri Lanka to Germany in 1957 comprised the Vajirarama monks Ven Soma, Ven Kheminda and Ven Vinitha.