Cheif Sanghanayaka calls on Dr. Dayan

( July 17, 2012, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) On Wednesday 11th J u ly, 2012, Venerable Dr. S u mana Siri, scholar, ling u ist and a leading advocate of co-existence and dialog u e among religions, paid a call on Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Paris .

Venerable Dr. Sumana Siri, a Singapore-Malaysian Buddhist monk of Sri Lankan origin who holds a postgraduate degree in Applied Theology from Oxford University , is the founder and Director of the Buddhist Realists’ Vihara in London and the Buddhist Realists’ Centre, Milan and Penang . He was appointed Chief Sangha Nayaka Thera of the UK & E u rope in 2007. He also holds the title ‘Tripitaka Vagishvaracarya’.

Prof. Rohan Gunaratne, Professor of Sec u rity St u dies at the Rajaratnam School of International St u dies in Singapore calls Rev. Dr. Sumana Siri “a remarkable h u man being ...The first B u ddhist monk to be ordained in Singapore, he speaks eleven lang u ages. Well versed in Western Philosophy, Law and Christian Theology, the Reverend is a beacon of hope for spreading peace and understanding in ourtrou bled world.”

Rev Dr. S u mana Siri presented Ambassador Jayatilleka with an autographed copy of the publication entitled “REALISTS” iss u ed on the occasion of his 45th monkhood anniversary. Dr. Jayatilleka presented Ven S u mana Siri with a dossier of UNESCO’s International symposi u m on the theme “The contrib u tion of the B u ddha’s teachings to Universality, H u manism and Peace”, organised at his initiative in 2011 as Sri Lanka ’s Permanent Delegate, on the occasion of the Samb u ddhathva Jayanthi.

In an extended conversation with Ambassador Jayatilleka, Ven. Dr. S u mana Siri said that “Monks sho u ld be more visionaries than missionaries”. He also made reference to the examples of Singapore , which is m u ltiling u al, m u ltiracial and m u ltic u lt u ral, and to Thailand , Myanmar/B u rma and Bh u tan where some of the most profo u nd B u ddhist thinking can be fo u nd today.

Ambassador Jayatilleka said that “Tolerance and respect are val u es ta u ght in B u ddhism. An a u thentically B u ddhist o u tlook which by definition is u niversalist and h u manist, wo u ld provide the best path for reconciliation in Sri Lanka .”