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Josef Autser says that he expects to visit Aukana continually and enjoy the solace and emancipation in the shade of the statue of the Buddha
An Austrian tourist on a visit to the Aukana sacred city has taken a keen interest in ‘Clean Sri Lanka Programme’ initiated by the government and joined it.
Fifty-year-old Josef Autser is an engineer by profession and a Catholic by birth, but later showed a great devotion towards Buddhism. He had been destined to visit Aukana in 1988 which brought about a marvelous change in him.
This change made him to take up the practice of Buddhist meditation. This new found religion compelled him to continually visit Aukana to engage in religious activities and to practise meditation quite often; the meditation sessions continuing right throughout the night.
“Josef is now an ardent devotee of Buddhism and visits to the place where the Aukana Buddha statue is placed. This time he has decided to stay in the temple for several days”
- Ven Dhammakirthi, Chief Incumbent of Aukana Raja Maha Vihara
He said he greatly cherished the Aukana Buddha statue, which considered is a masterpiece in the art of sculpture. While attending to religious observances and practising meditation, he has also spent time cleaning the surroundings. He said that cleaning the surroundings of the Buddha statue was surely a way of paying homage to the Buddha. He has in fact been part and parcel to the Clean Sri Lanka Programme and shown his involvement through practice.
While collecting garbage disposed haphazardly and removing them with his own hands methodically, he has helped create public awareness on the importance of environmental protection.
The foreigner separates all the garbage very carefully into solid waste and degradable waste and does it with great devotion
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He said that he expects to visit Aukana continually and enjoy the solace and emancipation in the shade of the statue of the Buddha.
Chief Incumbent of Aukana Raja Maha Vihara Ven. Shastravalliye Dhammakirthi said that Joseph has taken a keen interest in Buddhism and has visited Aukana many times since 1988.
“Josef is now an ardent devotee of Buddhism and visits the place where the Aukana Buddha statue is placed. This time he has decided to stay in the temple for several days,” Ven Dhammakirthi said.
“It is of significance that he, after performing religious activities, starts the cleaning of the temple ground and its surroundings. He is individualistic in his routine, his life, his attitudes and his ideas. He separates all the garbage very carefully into solid waste and degradable waste and does it with great devotion. He says his village is rich in scenic beauty and wants every inch of Sri Lanka to be so. Mr. Josef explained to the students in the Dhamma School on how to protect the environment. He often meditates in front of the statue. It is rarely one would come across a layman so nimble, sharp in intellect and so overpowering in personality. In the matter of environmental protection he is far ahead of any environmentalist in terms of understanding the subject. One day he spent the whole night in meditation. He says that he experiences a great relief through meditation. He maintains the fact that Aukana is a familiar place to him.
“It is quite possible that he had been associated with this area in a previous birth although he has been born in a foreign country in this birth. It could be a matter of rebirth. He was pleased when he heard about the Clean Sri Lanka Programme. He started to clean the temple ground and its surroundings to extend his cooperation for it. He does everything neat and tidily. In fact as an environmental lover he has set an example to the people of our county,” Ven Dhammakirthi said.
“Mr. Joseph is planning to live a religious life in Aukana after retirement,” the Chief Priest added.