During the long years of rule in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese, Dutch and British, Buddhism, which was the religion of the country, suffered a setback. In the late 19th century, there was a national struggle initiated by monks to revive Buddhism. At this time, American national Colonel Henry Steel Olcott arrived in Sri Lanka in search of the pure teachings of Lord Buddha. 

His arrival was a blessing. He supported the Maha Sangha of Sri  Lanka to help in the struggle for the revival of Buddhism. He actively participated in the process of establishing Sunday Dhamma Schools affiliated to Buddhist temples. He was also a pioneer in establishing Buddhist public schools such as Ananda College in Colombo, Mahinda College in Galle and Dharmaraja College in Kandy. A few decades later, Anagarika Dharmapala staged a similar campaign to enlighten the public with regard to the practice of the Buddhist way of life in day-to-day activities of the people. A young lawyer of Kalutara who followed, as it were, the ideals of Anagarika, decided to initiate new means of stimulating people to adhere to the teachings of the Buddha. This lawyer was none other than Cyril de Zoysa who later became a well-known philanthropist and entrepreneur in Sri Lanka.   

In recognition of the very special nature, qualities and national service rendered by him, he was honoured by the British Government with a Knighthood of the British Empire (KBE). The prefix ‘Sir’ is added to his name to recognise this honour

Cyril de Zoysa was born on October  26, 1896 to a family of repute in Balapitiya. Educated at St. Thomas’ College in Matara, Richmond College in Galle and Royal College in Colombo, he sought and gained admission to Law College of Sri Lanka. After passing out as a Proctor of the Supreme Court (ProctorSC), he joined the Kalutara Bar as a practising lawyer. Brought up as he was in a staunchly Buddhist home, he felt the urge to pay homage to the Buddha in customary style by lighting an oil lamp and offering flowers before the Bodhi located not far from the court complex. Before independence, the colonial Government Agent (GA) whose residence was the bungalow on the hillock had already introduced a tax for lighting an oil lamp at the Bodhi. The GA who wore an air of superiority and defiance of native practices had permitted a devotee by the name of Sendanayake who was a logger supplying coal to the Ceylon Government Railway to light but one single lamp for which he had to pay an annual tax of the princely sum of one rupee to Kachcheri. These facts were documented among Kachcheri papers. The Bodhi premises, so lit up by a single oil lamp, are now illuminated by many thousands of electric lamps. This marvellous pageant of lustre is an outcome of the commitment of the hero of this memoir. Be that as it may, all these premises have been entrusted to the Buddhist public. The Office of the Kalutara Bodhi Trust is today located in the ‘Residency’ or residence of the Government Agent, and a Chaitya of a very special style has been constructed in a beautiful location. These two are perceived as victories achieved due to the unswerving efforts and imposing personality of Sir Cyril de Zoysa.

The young lawyer, Cyril, did not confine himself to his professional field but was engaged in several other activities which were beneficial to the masses. As an educationist, he founded Kalutara Vidyalaya and Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya in the heart of the Kalutara town. These two institutions are very popular secondary schools today and cater to the needs of about 8,000 or more schoolchildren in the district. As an entrepreneur, he started the Swarnapali bus service which was renamed South Western Bus Company. The fleet of buses of this company covered several routes from Colombo to Galle extending to Kataragama. Kalutara being a rubber-growing area, he started a factory to manufacture a variety of articles using rubber latex as raw material, thus producing value-added merchandise. All these initiatives provided employment to thousands of people. 

As an educationist, he founded Kalutara Vidyalaya and Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya

As an outstanding Buddhist, Sir Cyril was the President of Colombo YMBA for nearly nineteen years from 1960 until his demise in 1978. As a politician, he had been President of the Senate, the higher Chamber of Parliament. This prestigious position was held by him from 1955 to 1961. In recognition of the very special nature, qualities and national service rendered by him, he was honoured by the British Government with a Knighthood of the British Empire (KBE). The prefix ‘Sir’ is added to his name to recognise this honour. 

Engaged in his legal practice and honing entrepreneurial skills, yet Sir Cyril had the mind to devote time wholeheartedly to develop the Bodhi premises. To start with, he motivated six of his colleagues at the Kalutara Bar into joining him to form the Board of Trustees and inaugurated the Kalutara Bodhi Trust (KBT) on November 7, 1951. The purposes for which monies received at the “Shrine” entrusted to the Trust thus formed are: firstly, for the maintenance and improvement of the shrine; secondly, for the performance of appertaining religious rites and observances; thirdly, for the benefit of Dhamma and Sangha by providing for the dissemination of Buddha Dhamma, and the fostering of the Order of Sangha by providing for their instruction in the Dhamma and their maintenance and welfare.” 

Thus did the lawyer in Sir Cyril, founder of KBT, spell out so succinctly in the KBT Constitution, the gamut of activity with which the KBT is entrusted. 

Along with various development activities of KBT, the Bodhi premises gained increasing grandeur and became an attraction to men and women of other faiths and ethnicities as well. Most pedestrians and motorists along Galle  Road stop at the Bodhi for a serene moment, savour of its beauty and make contributions to its upkeep. The ever-increasing, generous contributions made by the public are spent very transparently on specific, planned activities. 

Sir Cyril de Zoysa has placed almost all his wealth in a separate Trust in his personal name to be used by the Kalutara Bodhi Trust. The name of this philanthropist who has rendered yeoman service to the nation and Buddhism will be written in golden letters in our chronicles

The newly-created Bodhi Trust successfully negotiated for the acquisition of the Residency of Government Agent to be handed over to the Bodhi Trust. The ‘controversial residency’ was refurbished and converted into the administrative unit of the Bodhi Trust. 

With this, the area of the Bodhi premises to the East along the main road began to be known as the upper-compound (ihalamaluwa) and the lower section towards the rail track the lower-compound(pahalamaluwa). The site became a more popular place of worship. There are regular religious activities in which multitudes of people participate with due reverence. 

With time, Sir Cyril “set in motion, with great energy and dynamism, plans for building a hollow Dagoba”at the premises. He consulted the reputed engineer Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe and soon ‘blueprints were drawn for a modern-day engineering marvel. Built upon a pre-stressed concrete frame, the Chaitya has a diameter of 95 feet and a circumference of 300 feet.’ The foundation was laid in 1964 and pinnacle ten years later in 1974. The Chaitya overlooks Kaluganga. It was envisaged that the Chaitya in this position would be a marvellous icon, across the bridges, for visitors approaching Kalutara from Colombo. A unique feature of the Chaitya is that within the inner ‘chamber’ of the ‘hollow dome’ are a variety of facilities for worship, including Buddha Statues and a small inner Chaitya with sacred relics. 

This great philanthropist passed away in 1987 at the age of 82. Today, the Kalutara Bodhi has gained world recognition and devotees from various countries regularly visit the premises and participate in religious activities. Sir Cyril de Zoysa has placed almost all his wealth in a separate Trust in his personal name to be used by the Kalutara Bodhi Trust. The name of this philanthropist who has rendered yeoman service to the nation and Buddhism will be written in golden letters in our chronicles. 

Sir Cyril was the first and last Managing Trustee of KBT; Sir Albert Ernest (A.E.) de Silva was the first chairman. The sixth and incumbent Chairman Ajita de Zoysa was elected in 1982. Son of Advocate V.T. de Zoysa, (Sir Cyril’s brother who was himself a Trustee and Chairman), Ajita has been the longest serving Chairman of KBT. In recognition of his multiple services, he was awarded this year the highest national civil honour of Deshamanya. A brief review of his outstanding contributions, like that of his distinguished uncle, should be relevant. Under his dynamic leadership, along with the patronage of the Maha Sangha, a project was launched to offer books and stationery required by Samanera Bhikkhus of Kalutara District to facilitate their studies. At the same time, the Samanera Bhikkhus were offered robes and other day-to-day essential requirements. This programme commenced in 2002 and is 
being continued. 

Another initiative designed to ‘empower’ Buddhist monks is the scholarships programme, under which Bhikkhus who are qualified to continue Pracheena studies are offered a substantial monetary grant monthly to help them continue their studies. Already, more than 400 Bhikkhus have been beneficiaries. 

The latest educational project handled by the Bodhi Trust is the free in-service training programme offered to teachers in the 550 or more Dhamma Schools in the district, where over 150,000 children are receiving Dhamma education. Some 8,000 teachers are voluntarily involved. It is patently clear that the quality of Dhamma education could be enhanced by providing training to teachers. The services of highly-qualified teacher education professionals were availed of to handle this programme. This has been very successful and almost 4,000 teachers have already undergone training. 

As yet another initiative for ‘empowering the masses,’ the Bodhi Trust established Bodhignana Library in a two-storey building, a short distance away from the Bodhi premises. It houses over 50,000 volumes on Buddhism and on many other fields of learning. The membership of the library has exceeded 8,000. Soon, the library has become an important supportive seat of education for children as well as the adult readership. The reference section of the library with a massive collection of literature on Buddhism and modern encyclopaedias has become very popular. 

Apart from these activities, the Bodhi Trust, today, under the chairmanship of Ajita de Zoysa, continues to be engaged in all other relevant missions in line with the vision of the founder. 
A noteworthy feature of the present development programmes of the Bodhi Trust is the application of modern technology, engineering and architecture. These projects are carried out in particular under the direction and guidance of the youngest Trustee, Ashan, son of Ajita de Zoysa, and a grandnephew of Sir Cyril. The outcome of one such project is ‘Bodhi Ghara’ or protective structure round a Bo-Tree in pahalamaluwa. This is also a shelter for devotees. This structure of strictly traditional style based on Nillakgama Bodhi Ghara, which is so far the best preserved of the ancient Bodhi Gharas, is a fine mixture of the traditional and the modern, savouring of the fact that ‘forever the twain shall meet.’ Thus, it is as if Sir Cyril continues to serve through his progeny. 

The present Bodhi Trust following the footsteps of founder Sir Cyril de Zoysa has gained world recognition for Kalutara Bodhi as an important modern-day place of Buddhist worship. All this veneration is part and parcel of the selfless efforts made by the founder for the benefit of Kalutara Bodhi. 

Let me end this note about the philanthropist, Sir Cyril de Zoysa, by quoting a great thinker: 

“Try not to become a man of success, rather become a man of value.” - Albert Einstein 

By Deshabandu Indradasa Hettiarachchi
 Member of Kalutara Bodhi Trust, 
 Former MP for Horana and former District Minister, Kalutara