The Global Walk for Peace in the Island of Peace formally concluded on Tuesday with a state ceremony at Independence Square and the enshrinement of a sacred Bodhi sapling at Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya. The Vietnamese-led Maha Sangha delegation has since departed Sri Lanka, transiting through Istanbul en route to the United States.
The procession set out from Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya on Tuesday morning and reached Independence Square for the official ceremony at 4:00 p.m. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, ministers, foreign ambassadors and heads of the security forces attended alongside the three main Buddhist chapters and multi-religious leaders.
During the ceremony, President Dissanayake presented a sapling of the Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to Venerable Pannyakara Thero of Vietnam.
The procession then carried the sapling to the Maharaja Media Network headquarters at Braybrooke Place, Colombo 02, where Capital Maharaja Group Chairman Sashi Rajamahendran, Group Director Chevaan Daniel and MTV CEO Yasarath Kamalsiri received the delegation. The monks reached Gangaramaya Temple at around 7:20 p.m., where the sapling was enshrined amid Seth Pirith chanting before the delegation viewed an exhibition at the National Design Centre on the temple premises.
The walk began on April 22 in Dambulla and traversed Kandy, Kegalle’s two forest reserves and Yakkala before arriving in Kelaniya. A street dog named Aloka walked alongside the monks for several days.
The eight-day pilgrimage promoted non-violence and global harmony amid heightened Middle East tensions.
