Some 2,000 Buddhist monks abandon robes annually: Champika Ranawaka

MAy 12 (Daily Mirror) - As many as 2,000 Buddhist monks with higher ordination leave their robes annually and the economic crisis is one of the reasons for this, United Republican Front (URF) leader MP Patali Champika Ranawaka said. 

Addressing a gathering of leading Buddhist monks at the Nagananda Vihara in Manelwatte, he said everyone should cast aside their differences and unite to revitalize the economy.

He stressed the importance of obtaining blessings of the Buddhist clergy for this.