Felicitated as Chief Sanghanayaka of the Western Province

Ven. Gonaduwe Gunananda Nayaka Thera (Centre) when the sacred relics of Lord Buddha were brought from Taxila Museum in Pakistan to be exhibited for the general public in the Purana Vajirakoth Viharaya Kalutara. (file photo)

He has declined several earlier felicitations and awards offered to him from different organisations, in order to get involved full-time for the benefit of Dhamma education of children

Appreciating the immaculate services rendered by the Thera, the Department of Buddhist Affairs appointed him as a member of the Advisory Committee of Dhamma School Education

Ven. Gonaduwe Gunananda Nayaka Thera, General Secretary of the All Island Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya, has been felicitated with the honorary title of Chief Sangha Nayaka of the Western Province, Sri Lanka. The Nayaka Thera has been a stalwart of the revival and enhancement of Dhamma Education in Sri Lanka during the past four decades.   

Historically, the traditional Buddhist education system carried out by the Maha Sangha in the Pirivenas (the ancient seats of education) in Sri Lanka, faced a standstill with the intervention of foreign missionaries who arrived in the country with the downfall of Sinhala sovereignty. This gloomy period continued for several centuries. Fortunately, in1880 Colonel Sir Henry Steel Olcott, a powerful American theosophist, who had a keen interest in Buddhism, arrived in Sri Lanka. Immediately after arriving in Sri Lanka, he became a Buddhist by reciting the five precepts under the guidance of the Maha Sangha. He was saddened to see the plight of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and joined hands with the Maha Sangha for the revival of Buddhist education. Olcott is considered as one of the heroes who participated in the struggle for the revival of Buddhism at that time. Along with the Maha Sangha, he was a pioneer in inaugurating Dhamma schools in the country. The first Dhamma school of the country was located at Vijayananda Viharaya in Weliwatte Galle in 1880.

Furthermore, along with the revival, several Buddhist schools were also started in different parts of the country. Ananda and Nalanda Colleges, in Colombo,Dharmaraja College, Kandy, Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala and Mahinda College, Galle, were some of these schools.   

The awarding ceremony will be held tomorrow at the historical Malwatte Vihara Uposathagaraya, Kandy   

The energetic attempt of the Maha Sangha, along with Colonel Olcott, paved the way for starting Sunday Dhamma schools, affiliated to Buddhist temples, throughout the country. A large number of Buddhist priests, laymen and women volunteered as teachers in these Dhamma schools. The Dhamma schools became very popular, and the religious education imparted to children through Dhamma schools produced a religious and devoted generation of youngsters. Towards the end of the 20th century, due to certain upheavals like ‘private tuition’ which became a fashionable style of education in the country, and ‘parental negligence’ (to a certain extent), the attendance of children in Sunday Dhamma schools started to dwindle. Ven.

Gonaduwe Gunananda Nayaka Thera who observed this severe downfall and the calamity taking place in Dhamma education in the Kalutara District, initiated several moves to combat the damage caused. He travelled to all parts of the district, including remote villages, and met parents and had discussions with incumbent priests of temples and carried out a powerful campaign to start new Dhamma schools and reopen the closed ones. As a result of his commitment and vigilance the number of Dhamma schools in the district increased rapidly in a few years. Today, there are about 580 Dhamma schools in the district. This accounts for an increase of about 200 Dhamma schools in a matter of ten years. The Kalutara Bodhi Trust also supported the Nayaka Thera’s effort in many ways. Mr Indradasa Hettiarachchi, who was the Kalutara District Minister at the time, and being a member of Kalutara Bodhi Trust, could persuade the Trust to support the move. The initiatives for the upliftment of Dhamma education implemented in the Kalutara District were caught up in other districts also, and there had been a remarkable increase in the number of Dhamma schools in the country. Today there are more than 100,000 children following Dhamma education in the Kalutara District alone. Similar numbers are reported in most other districts also.   

Ven. Gunananda Nayaka Thera has also observed that most of the volunteer Dhamma school teachers were not conversant enough in teaching methodology, for the transfer of Dhamma knowledge. In order to counteract this drawback, he thought of starting a training programme for Dhamma school teachers. This proposal was put forward to the Kalutara Bodhi Trust, and the Trustees after several deliberations, agreed to take up the challenge of funding this massive project which involved about 8,000 teachers. This was considered as one of their enormous commitments towards enhancing the Buddha Sasana, as an integral part of their public empowerment programmes.   

The Kalutara Bodhi Trust took immediate steps for project planning, preparing training materials and appointing highly qualified personnel to serve as teacher trainers. Training classes were conducted at the Bodhi premises, and all expenses projected and calculated to be amounting to several million rupees, will be borne by the Bodhi Trust. Out of about 8,000 Dhamma teachers, nearly 5,000 have already undergone training (by the end of 2019). This programme has been of much benefit to Dhamma teachers. The quality and methodology of imparting Dhamma knowledge have been greatly improved by this move, and the teachers highly appreciate the on-going teacher training programme.   

Ven. Gunananda Thera is a high-calibre scholar who has attained eminence in the academic field. He graduated from the Kelaniya University in 1966 and completed his postgraduate studies in 1983. He has declined several earlier felicitations and awards offered to him from different organisations, in order to get involved full-time for the benefit of Dhamma education of children. In 1978 he became the Viharadhipathi of Vajirakoth Maha Viharaya of Korosduwa, Wadduwa. As an honour for his unfathomable devotion and commitment to Dhamma education, he was appointed as the Chairman of Kalutara District Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya.   

Ven. Gunananda Nayaka Thera has noted that the scarcity and cost of Dhamma text books, is another hindrance to Dhamma education and in general, for poor attendance in Dhamma schools. He discussed this matter with the Secretary of the Cultural Department and insisted that Dhamma text books have to be supplied to Dhamma schools free of charge. This request was accepted by the government, which decided to supply free text books to all Dhamma school children of the country from 1982.   

The centenary of the establishment of Dhamma schools was celebrated in 1980. In the Kalutara District, a landmark of this event was the initiation of the Dhamma School Development Fund proposed by the Nayaka Thera. The proposal was readily accepted, and at the very start, the Kalutara Bodhi Trust contributed Rs.200,000 for the fund, while the Mahapola Fund contributed Rs.250,000. In appreciation of the vital importance of this fund, generous contributions flowed in, and in a short period of time it reached a target of Rs. one million.   

The Fund became a windfall for enhancing Dhamma education in the Kalutara District and a large number of new programmes could be started using the interest of the fund capital. Mr Indradasa Hettiarachchi, being the Kalutara District Minister at that time, decided to contribute 10 percent of the annual allocations levied for the District by the government, for the Dhamma School Development Fund every year. This move by the minister set an example for almost all other District Ministers to initiate similar funds in their districts too.   

Ven. Gunananda Nayaka Thera has proposed several improvements to the Dhamma school examinations system. At that time, the Y.M.B.A was the agent responsible for conducting Dhamma school examinations, and the pattern was to hold islandwide examinations only for Grades six and above. There was no evaluation process for primary level students from Grade one to five. A common examination for Dhamma school students from Grade one to five was held for the first time in the Kalutara District in 1982. The results of the examination were released in a matter of two weeks, and the certificates were issued to children immediately. This was a great success, and the process was highly appreciated by the parents. The example set by the Kalutara District was accepted by the Department of Buddhist Affairs, and measures were taken to proceed with the examination for Grades one to five also on an all island basis.   

Appreciating the immaculate services rendered by Ven. Gunananda Nayaka Thera, the Department of Buddhist Affairs appointed him as a member of the Advisory Committee of Dhamma School Education. This paved the way for his services to be extended to the entire country.   

Another remarkable step taken under the auspices of the Ven. Nayaka Thera was the advent of the ‘Dhamma School Week’ formally started in the Kalutara District. This created an opportunity for the parents to get involved with Dhamma school teachers and the students in carrying out social services and caring for hospital patients. Later the concept of ‘Dhamma School Week’ was extended to other districts also, and today it has turned out to be an annual event for all Dhamma schools in the country.   

As a mark of recognition of the immaculate services rendered for the augmentation of Dhamma education in the country, Ven. Gunanada Thera was appointed as the General Secretary of the All Island Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya in 2002. After being selected to this important and powerful position in the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka, he could extend his bold perspective in a variety of avenues for the benefit and quality improvement of Dhamma Education in Sri Lanka.   

The benevolent services carried out by Ven. Gonaduwe Gunananda Nayaka Thera, continually throughout a period of over four decades, have been highly recognised by the Maha Sangha of Sri Lanka. As a mark of respectful appreciation of the services, he has been unanimously selected to be awarded the post of Chief Sangha Nayaka of the Western Province of Sri Lanka. This prestigious felicitation is one of the highest recognitions duly awarded by the Most Ven. Maha Nayaka Thera of the Malwatta Chapter to the Maha Sangha.