President Anura Dissanayake Invited to Attend 75th Anniversary of Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has accepted an invitation to attend the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara in India, according to the Chief Incumbent of the temple, Most Venerable Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera.
The prelate, who also serves as the President of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka and the Chief Sangha Nayaka of Japan, said he personally extended the invitation to the President to attend the Sanchi Maha Bodhi Festival, which will be held in November 2027 to mark the temple’s 75th anniversary.
The Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara was built to enshrine the sacred relics of the Buddha’s chief disciples, Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Moggallana. The relics were discovered by archaeologists during the British colonial period among the ruins of the ancient Sanchi Stupa complex in Madhya Pradesh, India, which dates back to the reign of Emperor Ashoka. The temple was officially inaugurated in 1952 by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera stated that President Dissanayake accepted the invitation during a recent meeting, where they also held extensive discussions on the activities of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka, its Dhamma propagation efforts in India and Japan, and the child education and social service initiatives carried out in Sri Lanka by the Yoshida Social and Cultural Foundation.
During the meeting, the Chief Incumbent also presented the President with a copy of Anjalikaraniyo, a biography of Ven. Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera authored by renowned Mumbai-based journalist Shakeel Siddiq.
Also present at the occasion were Ven. Banagala Vimalatissa Thera, Administrator of the Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara, Ven. Lunugamwehera Vimalananda Thera, and Channa Kalugampitiya, Secretary of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka.
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