A scholarly presentation on the Significance of Preserving the Pali Tripitaka by Most Venerable Ajhan Sujatho was held on 20, March 2019 at the Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara Canberra to mark the ‘Thripitakabhivandana’ Week of Sri Lanka (16th – 23rd March 2019) which was held in support of Sri Lanka’s application for inscribing the Pali Tripitaka in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
This event was organized by the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra in collaboration with the Australia Sri Lanka Buddhist Association, Canberra. The High Commissioner S. Skandakumar in his welcome address elaborated the purpose of the event and thanked the Thero for taking time to travel to Canberra to conduct this presentation. At a ceremonial unveiling of the newly erected Stupa of the Sri Lanka Canberra Buddhist Vihara, on 2nd March 2019 the High Commissioner had announced that as a follow up to President Maithripala Sirisena's declaration on 5th January 2019, of Tripitaka as National heritage, a ‘Tripitaka Week’ would be celebrated Nationally and through Missions overseas from 16th to 23rd March 2019 with appropriate events.
In his presentation, Venerable Ajhan Sujato enlightened the gathering on the other versions of Tripitaka that have already been inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of World Register. He highlighted the historical, pedagogical social and cultural significance of preserving the Pali Tripitaka in Sri Lanka to make the Buddha’s timeless message available for future generations. The Thero commended the Sri Lanka’s initiative to preserve the Pali Tripitaka.
Venerable Ajhan Sujato of the Western Australia Buddhist Society is a scholar who is currently engaged in a project with the National Museum of Sri Lanka and the University of Sri Jayawardenapura that aims to preserve the Pali Scriptures that dates back to the 13th Century.
Over hundred devotees comprising Sri Lankan expatriates and Australians participated in the event and the High Commission provided refreshments to the gathering.
In another event to mark the Tripitaka week, the students of the Dhamma School conducted an educational audio-visual presentation on Tripitaka and the significance of preserving it for future generations on 23 March 2019 at the Sri Lanka Canberra Buddhist Vihara. This event was conducted with the guidance of Venerable Aparelle Soratha Thero. Parents of the students and the community members were participated at the event.
