Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has said the task of transforming the country does not rest with the government alone, and that the spiritual guidance of the Maha Sangha is an important source of strength for the state’s development effort.
She was speaking at the ceremony conferring the title of Mahanayaka Thero of the Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya on the Most Venerable Mahakande Rathanapala Thero, held on August 15. The senior monk is Chief Incumbent of the Wathuruwila Vanavasa Sangha Headquarters and Director of the Sri Gnananda Vanavasa Maha Pirivena. The Prime Minister’s Office released her remarks.
Modernisation and its limits
Amarasuriya said the country is not moving forward simply by building new things, but by renewing what already exists and creating conditions in which people can build better lives. She pointed to modernisation across health, education and transport, including the introduction of metro services, as part of that programme.
What the country should aim for, she argued, is not merely prosperity but “a society that is better, more compassionate and more responsible, enabling people to lead fulfilling lives.” New technology, infrastructure and economic opportunity are essential, she said, but so is developing the human qualities needed to use them properly.
The Prime Minister said the Vanavasi tradition offers relevant examples for that journey, citing the way forest-dwelling monks live in harmony with nature and with restraint, and the simplicity, discipline and sense of responsibility towards the future the tradition reflects.
She said everyone shares a responsibility to protect new facilities and systems, make responsible use of the opportunities they create, contribute to their further development, and preserve them for future generations.
Amarasuriya also praised the newly appointed Mahanayaka Thero’s nearly six decades of service to the preservation of the Vanavasa tradition, Buddhist education and the continuity of the Buddha Sasana.
Source: Ada Derana.
