Sri Lankan community in greater Washington area celebrate Bana at the Sri Lankan residence in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C., hosted two special events last week, – a Dhamma talk at the Ambassador’s residence as well as a Tsunami commemoration at the Washington Buddhist Vihara.

The Jan. 6, 2010 residence events was attended by a large number of the local Sri Lankan community’s Buddhists and non-Buddhists. It featured a talk by the venerable Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thero.

During The Dhamma talk, Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thero, a renowned monk in Sri Lanka, spoke of the teachings of Lord Buddha, explaining how the Buddhist path to happiness relies on cleansing the mind of negative thoughts and fears. This renewing process, he said, promotes feelings of peace and well-being within oneself, leaving the mind free and light.

One way to begin this journey of mental revitalization, he told the audience from the local Sri Lankan community, is to live neither in the past nor the future, but in the present. When one lets go of the past, one will live with an ease unburdened by mental fatigue, he said. Every event in life is meant to happen for a reason, Pitiduwe Siridhamma Tthero said, and if one is prepared to face each of them without worry, one will have a joyful life and appreciate the beauty it holds.

Venerable Maharagama Dhammasiri Nayaka Thero addressed the audience in remembrance of the nearly 40,000 men, women and children who died in the tsunami.

On Jan. 8, 2011, an audience once again gathered, this time at the Washington Buddhist Vihara, to commemorate the devastating Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami. The ceremony began with the lighting of tea lights. The Venerable Maharagama Dhammasiri Nayaka Thero addressed the audience in remembrance of the nearly 40,000 men, women and children who died in the tsunami, which swept west from the Indian Ocean across the coastline of Sri Lanka.

Ambassador Wickramasuriya thanked the audience for marking the sixth year since the tragic tsunami destroyed over 10,000 homes and displaced one-half million people along Sri Lanka’s coastal regions. With the help of both the local and international communities, the ambassador said, Sri Lanka has been able to take steps towards relief and recovery. Even though the country has been steadily rebuilding itself, he said, the people who lost their lives will never be forgotten.

Ambassador Wickramasuriya has also received blessings for the country from Washington Buddhist Vihara, Wheaton International Buddhist Center, New York Buddhist Vihara, New Jersey Buddhist Vihara and The Mahamevnawa Bhavana Monastery, New Jersey during his recent visits to the temples.

In addition, the embassy staff is preparing for a Jan. 14 Tai Pongal ceremony, a Hindu celebration of the harvest. In keeping with the embassy’s tradition of marking the significant holidays of Sri Lanka’s main religions, the embassy staff also hosted a Christmas celebration in December.