Gautama Viharaya Narahenpita Distributes 1000 Food Parcels of Essential Items

18 April 2020 02:39 pm Ven. Omalpe Sumanarathana Thero of the Sri Gautama Vihara Narahenpita organised the dry ration Danamaya Pinkama for 1000 families around the area in aid of the Covid - 19 lockdown situation. As families stayed indoors during curfew and lockdown, sourcing essential food items was and is one of the main challenges faced by many. Realising this difficulty, Ven. Omalpe Sumanarathana Thero, Chief Incumbent of the temple organised this donation with the help of a few other devotees and donators of the temple. The total cost of the donation was over 1.4 million and almost 1.1 million was funded solely by the temple for this task. Ven. Omalpe Sumanarathana Thero said that the donations are not based on ethnicity, colour, cast or creed but in keeping with the Buddhist fundamental principles of equality and ‘Siyalu Sathvayo Niduk Wethwa, Neerogi Wethwa, Suwapath Wethwa’ (May all beings Be Devoid of Sorrow, Be Well, Be Wholesome). The Thero said that as Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic country with a majority of Sinhala Buddhists, the Buddhist bhikkus from ancient times have come forward to assist the people in times of need and calamity, be them Sinhala, Hindu, Muslim or any other. Likewise, the temple was queued up with every ethnicity of people from the neighbourhood and also regardless of social standing the bag of essentials which consisted of 5 kilos of rice, coconut, onions, potatoes and sugar were distributed equally.