The language of compassion as reflected in book ‘Maithri Sagaraya’ by Denagama Siriwardena

Denagama Siriwardena

The link between the noble teachings of the Buddha, his inspirational life of wisdom and liberation and the relevance to modern society as well as literature was explained by veteran Anthropologist Prof. Praneeth Abeysundara last Saturday at a forum to appreciate the book Maithri Sagaraya, authored by Denagama Siriwardena. The book is a collection of stories based on the life of the Lord Buddha. The event was held at the Piliyandala Wewala Udyogipura Sri Wijayaramaya Buddhist Temple.

Prof. Abeysundara especially connected the link between language and religion, mentioning for example that Tamil language is linked to the Kovil tradition and that in similar vein, the Sinhala language had been evolving around the natural habitat and belief systems of the Sinhalese people. 

“Aesthetics and literature speak the language of healing and is the conduit through which man attains his humanity. Without this factor influencing his life, man is an animal with base instincts. Literature and art provide a higher dimension of thought, refining the mind and it is an extremely unfortunate fact that today’s education system does not recognise this and is based upon commercial aspects alone,” he stated.

“Would a youth who is exposed to literature, spirituality and art, especially the kind of literature a country which professes Buddhism could produce, in broad daylight, slit the throat of someone he claimed to love?,” Prof. Abeysundara queried, stating that in such a dismal societal background, books such as Maithri Sagaraya offered an oasis of solace. 

“Buddhism is about the fostering of kindness – the meth guna in human beings. But do people today even know how to talk kindly to each other? Are children encouraged to spend time reflecting on the virtues of the Buddha, getting to know the poetry, literature and depth of thought associated with the pragmatic doctrine preached by the Enlightened One?” asked Prof. Abeysundara. He presented examples of how the Sri Lankan education system was producing expert exam takers without either wisdom, compassion or connectedness with the literary- cultural space of their country.

“We are producing young people who do not know or care about the legends of national literature and whose hearts are not moved by poetry or art. They do not understand how their language is closely connected with the resources and richness of mother earth. They do not know that it is the traditions associated with the soil, water, earth resources and all of biodiversity which creates the language heritage of a people as terms such as Wana Mal, Hatti Mutti, Iwum Piyum, to name a few phrases denote,” he explained.

Closely associated with the literary journey of a lifetime of Denagama Siriwardena, he spoke of the sacrifice a writer makes, such as going through economic hardship in choosing the non-materialistic route of literature.

“A person who dedicates himself to literature is the voice of the voiceless. Yet most of the time his own voice pertaining to his own struggles are not heard and whatever such a person has to go through in an unfeeling society that upholds all that is mercenary, remains unknown. We know that Denagama Sirirwardema spent years devoting himself to teaching in the remotest of schools and then selling paddy in the local market after he lost his job after taking part in the July teacher strike of 1980. Do we know much he would have struggled to manage his family duties as well as finding money to travel to neglected outskirts of rural most villages, talking to people no one was interested to talk to?” Abeysundara questioned. 

The appreciation of the Maithri Sagaraya book was organised under the patronage of the Chief Priest of the Wewala Udyogipura Sri Wijayaramaya, the Most Venerable  Wepathaira  Hemaloka of the Shamopali Mahanikaye Sri Rohana Parshawaya and former academician at the Ananda Vidyalaya who grew up in the same village location; Wepathaira in Denagama, Hakmana, as Siriwardena. 

Maithri Sagaraya was self-published by Siriwardena in September 2022, The author who will be celebrating his 78th birthday on 19 February, had spent his lifetime collecting incidents from the life of the Buddha, painstakingly attempting to understand the significance of even the minutest of factors to be able to pray tribute to the Buddha in offering a literary work such as Maithri Sagaraya to this country. The book is currently being translated to the English language. 

The short descriptive stories in the Maithri Sagaraya is written in literary narrative style, akin to separate short stories and portrays the everyday incidents the Lord Buddha faced in his life, marking the triumph and the challenges.

The Most Ven. Wepathaira Hemaloka who knew the author as a child and was familiar with his life of thought and reflection, spoke in detail how Siriwardena’s deep respect and love for the Buddha made him relentlessly pursue the task of writing Maithri Sagaraya during this life span. 

The Venerable Thero explained how Siriwardena overcame illness that struck him in the past few years to persist in carrying out this spiritual as well as literary mission. The Ven. Thero further explained that both his father and the father of Denagama Siriwardena were farmers, noting that the bond with the earth and the village literary traditions associated with farming such as Pel Kawi that Siriwardena was exposed to, influenced him to become an empathetic artiste of human consciousness. 

“It is works such as the book authored by Denagama Siriwardena that may impart wisdom to the future generations to save this country from the current dilemmas it faces such as debt traps. Buddhistic wisdom tells us that any debt should be taken so that prosperity is achieved by wisely investing in the strategy to get out of debt. But today our society is unthinking and so are our aragalayas,” the Ven. Hemaloka Thero stated. 

The Buddhist clergy members who delivered their insights and sermons at the event included the Ven. Prof. Medagoda Abayatissa, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi, Ven. Ehegoda Vippassi and Ven. Thenegama Dhammaloka.

Denagama Siriwardena in speaking of the time he spent writing the book stated that it was the happiest five months of his life.

“Often when I contemplated writing this book I felt I was not suitable. Who was I to write about the Most Noble One? Yet, I felt I must do this to the best of my ability. At one point I felt that I may depart from this life before I could write what mattered most to me. I was very ill and I felt I could die any moment. Yet, strength returned to my body and mind as I started writing this book. I completed it, writing at a stretch without any other distraction, aided by the unstinting support of my family. However the research that went into it I had started from a very young age. A problem I faced however was that I used to get very emotional when I dealt with many of the sufferings that Thathagatha undertook on our behalf, to show us humans the way towards complete mental freedom,” he explained.

Denagama Siriwardena has authored a range of work that include children’s books, educational material, novels, poetry and short stories that uphold the rights of the working class, reflect sociological realities and speak empathetically about all human beings irrespective of caste, religion or ethnicity.

The books such as ‘Mithuro,’ and ‘Uthurata Senehasa Pe Dakune Maha Yathiwarayano’ (The great Buddhist Priest who cared for the North) focus on promoting a positive connection between the Sinhala and Tamil communities and have been translated to English and Tamil respectively. His books on Buddhism and the Buddha include Dalen Mideema (Bhawana Athdakeem – experiences of rebirth), Yali Ipadeemak Mata Natha (I have no rebirth), Budhun Samaga Giya Gmanak – (the journey undertaken with the Buddha), Dabadiwa Wandanakaruwange Athpotha – (handbook of the Dabandiwa pilgrim), and Podi Hamuduruwange Bhawana Satahan (the meditative journal of the junior monk). 

The Harmony page, which is committed to uphold all that is pure and beautiful that could be reached within the human mind, will publish a full review of the book Maithri Sagaraya in the weeks to come. 

(SV)