Ninth item among ‘Atapirikara’ (eight-fold offering) creates a stir

A special pinkama was held in the city quite recently under the patronage of the Mahanayake Theras of the tri-nikayas to invoke the intervention of the pantheon of deities to protect the country from natural calamities.

Organizers of the pinkama had come across an unexpected problem when it was the time to make the traditional ‘pirikara’ offering to the Maha Sangha. They had accidentally discovered an extraneous item placed inside the boxes that contained ‘atapirikara’. It was a booklet that described in glowing terms the yeoman service rendered to Buddha Sasana by the previous regime! It soon came to light that a well-known Buddhist prelate was responsible for placing the booklet in the special box.

Soon messages passed back forth between the organizers and the yahapalanaya authorities and finally organizers started removing the booklet from the hundreds of ‘atapirikara’ boxes. 

However, the prelate who had got the booklet introduced into the boxes raised a strong objection to removing it. Not to be outdone, the official in charge of the ‘atapirikara pooja’ arrangement, put his foot down. “Remove all the booklets… It is my own neck at risk!”