Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa Thera elected as Mahanayaka of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya

• Ven Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa Thera served with utmost dedication for the furtherance of the Buddha Sasanaya

The Amarapura Maha Nikaya has elected Venerable Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa Thera as the Mahanayaka of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya. The Ven. Thera will receive his credentials today at the BMICH. 
Ven Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa Thera was born on April 28th 1955. Having entered the monkhood in 1962 he received his higher ordination on July 6th 1975. The Ven. Thera served with utmost dedication for the furtherance of the Buddha Sasanaya in various capacities. 
I as a very close associate (for the last ten years) of our beloved Thera take

this opportunity to felicitate and wish our beloved Madampagama Assaji Tissa Mahanayaka Thera on the elevation to this high office in the Amarapura Maha Nikaya and wish him God’s blessings to carry out all his responsibilities. 

Interfaith relationships 

I am greatly indebted to Ven. Assaji Thera for the inspiration he has been to me on developing interfaith relationships as a Christian clergyman. It has widened my vision and mission to work for God’s Kingdom. I consider Ven. Assaji Thera as a “Guru” to me on this subject. During the time I provided leadership to the Methodist Church Sri Lanka, I had great confidence in seeking the intervention of Ven. Assaji Thera to resolve misunderstandings that the non-Christian community had about our mission work. The Ven. Assaji’s appointment as Mahanayaka of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya brings great joy not only to the Buddhists but also to all people belonging to different faiths and ethnicities in Sri Lanka and around the world. 
During the last four decades, our nation has gone through ethnic and religious discord which made many of us feel that this nation will not recover and come back to its former glory as a peace-loving nation. Many people belonging to different ethnicities and religions opted to leave the country looking for greener pastures which resulted in a brain drain. 

Religious extremism 

The powers that be did extensive damage to the peace and harmony of the nation by promoting ethnic and religious extremism. Many of the national religious leaders had to “dance to the tune” of the political leadership, for their survival. The necessity and the justification of the thirty-year war were overemphasised by certain politicians with the blessings of such Buddhist clergy. It was almost impossible to find any Buddhist monk who would be willing to espouse ethnic and religious harmony during the civil war. With the birth of numerous religious extremist groups in the post-war period, Sri Lanka had to face another challenge in the search for unity and peace.
As a nation, we must be grateful to Ven. Dr Madampagama Assaji Tissa Mahanayaka Thera for becoming a voice in the wilderness to speak openly and work at the grassroots level to restore peace and harmony among the Sri Lankan multi-ethnic and religious society. He strived to enlighten the clergy of all four religions whom he came in contact with. With that the time has come for every right-thinking  Sri Lankan to reconcile with the fact that Sri Lanka is a pluralistic society. While holding firmly to one’s dhamma or faith, there has to be the willingness to learn from the other about their faith. In that process, there is the mutual benefit of discovering similar teachings in each other’s religion. Likewise, the necessity to acknowledge with profound understanding the differences in each other’s faith was also promoted by our Ven. Assaji Tissa Thera. He firmly believes that this would bring greater enrichment to a peaceful society.
Ven. Prof.  Pallekande Ratanasara Mahanayaka Thera, Ven. Dr Siyambalagaswewa Wimalasara North and East Chief Sanganayake Thera of Siam Nikaya Malwatte Chapter Thera, Ven Prof. Kumburugamuwe Vajira Nayake Thera – the  Chancellor of the Sabaragamuwa University, Ven, Kalupahane Piyaratena Thera, Rev. Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, Rev. Father Oswald B. Firth, Rev. Fr. Rienzy Perera, Rev. Fr. Anura Perera and a few other Hindu and Muslim clergy clustered together with Ven. Assaji Thera to work for inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony. This work was an uphill task. Many misunderstood and rejected them and even nicknamed them as “palli nikaya’.  
As the interreligious harmony-building work moved forward,  Ven. Assaji Thera formed the Dharmashakthi Organisation a few years back to provide a forum and a base for meaningful interreligious dialogue and work which is now moving forward from strength to strength.
Ven. Assaji Thera is coordinating the movement named “Yahapath Sri Lankawak sandaha sanga” (Sanga for a better Sri Lanka) They signed together with the Global Tamil Forum, The Himalaya Declaration which is now being discussed with the political leaders, religious leaders and the people at the grass root level to achieve peace with justice. 

Missionary journeys 

Ven. Assaji Thera has travelled to various countries on missionary journeys to preach Buddhism. He has also been invited to be a keynote speaker and a resource person at various  Peace Conferences in the UK, USA, Switzerland, North Korea, South Korea Canada, Malaysia, Myanmar Thailand, India, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar Mongolia, Russia and several other countries.
Today we rejoice over the recognition that our beloved Ven. Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa Mahanayaka Thera has received from his Amarapura Maha Nikaya, not only as a high office he is to hold but also a momentous recognition of his commitment to interethnic and interfaith harmony in Sri Lanka. All persons committed to interfaith harmony will perceive it as a recognition of the paramount importance of Interreligious harmony in a land where the four major religions are been practiced. 
May All Beings be Happy!
(The writer is a Retired President Bishop, Methodist Church Sri Lanka and Advisory Member of the Dharmashakthi Organisation)