Pindapatha Promoting Inter-Faith Harmony

Young monks from Myanmar engaging in the pindapatha charika

Inter-religious clergy who participated at the almsgiving

People waiting by the roadside to offer alms

Pix by Kithsiri De Mel 

Alms being offered by people

In what would be known as a rare occasion, clergy from all four religions of the country got together on Tuesday (13) at the Vivekaramaya Temple in Mirihana to serve alms to 80 monks, including 60 young monks from Myanmar, engaged in an alms procession (Pindapatha Charika). The event was organised with the support of the Vivekaramaya Temple trustee board, Mirihana Buddhist Women’s Association, Dharmashakthi Organisation and Maharagama Divisional Secretariat. The event was conducted under the supervision of Western Province Chief Sanganayaka Ven. Kithalagama Hemasara Thera was specifically conducted to provide relief to monks of the Amarapura Chapter in Myanmar. 
Speaking about the event, Retired Methodist Church Bishop Rev. Asiri Perera said that it was quite a unique occasion. “I’m a Christian, but the recipients were Buddhist monks. We are fellow human beings. I believe that a new culture should be built in Sri Lanka, going beyond the barriers of religion. We must treat each other as human beings. We have all our religious belief systems, which we have to preserve and which we will preach. But at the same time, if we lose touch with our human values, we are worthless. Religion must encourage us to be better human beings in this world. Particularly, in Sri Lanka, in recent times we have had various conflicts, coming up again racially and there has been religious strife from time to time. This was done in view of Vesak and when we talk about Vesak, we also need to remember that it is the main religious festival in Sri Lanka because a majority of people are Buddhist. We Christians should then ask how we could associate with Buddhist clergy and engage in these religious events. Building bridges is the best way to find harmony on this land with the four major religions in this country. There should be no encouragement at all for any kind of strife. We will not allow extremist elements, often motivated by certain political powers. A majority of people who follow their religion are people of peace. The event that took place on Tuesday reflects that. That’s what we want the entire Sri Lanka to experience and see,” he added. 
In his comments, Sheikh A. N. M Firdous, treasurer of the Dharmashakthi Organisation, said that only those with a pure heart could engage and participate in an almsgiving of this nature. “If the heart is pure, then everybody can get together to do meritorious acts of this nature. People fight despite having a religion. But here we have to be humans first and then follow our respective religions. Humanity always comes first. With the strength and guidance given by respective faiths, we can achieve success in our lives,” he said while adding that it was a privilege to be a part of the event.