The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Sydney together with the SuttaCentral.net jointly organized a Dhamma Discussion with Ven. Ajahn Sujato Thero, Co-Founder of SuttaCentral and Dr Mark Allon (PhD Cambridge), Chair of School of Languages and Culture, the University of Sydney, on 13 March 2019 at the University premises. This is the first of the three events organized by the Consulate General in Sydney on the occasion of Tripitakabhivandana Tripitaka Week declared by the Government of Sri Lanka from 16 to 23 March 2019.
Tripitaka or the three baskets of the Pali Buddhist canon was declared a National Heritage by His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka on 5 January 2019 at the Matale Aluvihara Temple.
Welcoming the gathering, Consul General Lal Wickrematunge explained that the Sri Lankan Government initiative of the Tripitaka Week is to further recognize the importance of preserving Tripitaka by inscribing it in the UNESCO "Memory of the World Register". This will give wider public the access to the teachings of the Lord Buddha as the UNESCO Memory of the World Register is established to preserve documentary heritage while preserving, protecting and giving permanent access to all the Consul General added.
The keynote address was delivered by Ven. Ajahn Sujato Thero. Ordained in Thailand in the forest lineage of Ajahn Chah, the Ven. Thero has extensively studied early Buddhist texts in comparative, historical perspectives and made digitally available on SuttaCentral.net.
Ven Thero stated that the initiative taken by the Government of Sri Lanka is timely as the Pali Tripitaka from Sri Lanka should be inscribed in this register given its cultural, doctrinal and spiritual significance. He said that the Pali Tripitaka is the only continuous historical living tradition which has lasted up to present and that the people practice and live by the Tripitaka building a whole culture. Adding that the Tripitaka maintained a pure and pristine tradition whereas the additions which were invented later tended to be placed in separate books, Ven Ajahn Sujato Thero commended the measures taken to protect the Pali Tripitaka and inscribing it as a World Heritage.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Mark Allon stated that declaring the Tripitaka as a national heritage and measures to include it in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register must be appreciated, as it will be instrumental in preserving the Pali Buddhist Canon.
Ven Ajahn Sujato Thero and Dr Mark Allon engaged the scholarly audience in a discussion wherein they raised questions deep into the Pali Scriptures emphasising the timeliness of inscribing Tripitaka in the Memory of the World Registry. Members of the Buddhist Council of New South Wales including its Chair Mr Gawaine Powell Davies, were also present.
