Frohnau Buddhist Temple receives a sapling of the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi

Saturday, 13 October 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A sapling of the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi was planted auspiciously at Frohnau Buddhist Temple in Germany on 30 September. The sacred sapling was presented to Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany Karunasena Hettiarachchi on 27 September, by a delegation comprising senior Buddhist monks, including Chief Sangha Nayaka of North Central Province Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Dr. Pallegama Siriniwasa Nayaka Thero.

Senior Government officials, German Dharmaduta Society trustees Senaka Weeraratne and Ananda Wimaladharma, and a large number of Sri Lankan and German Buddhists participated in the ceremony. The sacred Bo sapling was brought to the temple in a colourful procession organised by the devotees.

After the alms giving ceremony, special religious observances were conducted to bless the President, Prime Minister and the people of Sri Lanka and Germany.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Hettiarachchi thanked all parties who assisted the Embassy in this meritorious act of bringing down the sacred sapling, especially the President of Sri Lanka. The Ambassador also thanked Presidential Task Force on Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease Project Director and Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Chairman Asela Iddawela and the representatives of the German Dharmaduta Society for their assistance.

As Sri Lanka and Germany celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations, the planting of the sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi in Frohnau Buddhist Temple further strengthens the bilateral, religious and cultural ties between the two countries, and also creates an opportunity for all Buddhists in Germany to pay their reverence to the sacred sapling.