Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China, Dr Palitha Kohona, attended a pirith chanting ceremony

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China, Dr Palitha Kohona, attended a pirith chanting ceremony, held at the Lingguang Temple in Beijing, on the occasion to mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, on Feb 26.

The Sri Lankan Embassy, in Beijing, said in a statement that on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship, between Sri Lanka and China, the Sri Lanka-China Buddhist Friendship Association,in collaboration with the Buddhist Association of China, conducted a Pirith Ceremony at the Abhayagiriya Temple, in Anuradhapura, and at the Sri Lanka Vidyalaya, Maradana, on 26th February 2022.

Ven. Fa’Xian Thera spent two years at the Abhayagiri Temple, in the early fifth century AD, collecting and translating Sinhalese language Buddhist texts.

The Buddhist Association of China made arrangements for Venerable Theras from the Lingguang Temple, in Beijing, and the Putuao Temple, in Guangdong, to join the ceremony, online. The pirith ceremony, by the Chinese Buddhist monks, was led by Most Ven. Chang Zhang Thera and Most Ven. Ming Sheng Thera.

Despite the COVID-19 related restrictions in China, Ambassador, Kohona, and some embassy officials, also attended the event, online, from the Lingguang Temple – a historic temple, where the Buddha’s Tooth Relic is enshrined in China.

After the formal ceremony, the Ambassador and the Embassy officials were given the opportunity to worship the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha.

The Lingguang Temple was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The Temple has been designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in the Han Chinese Area by the State Council of China in 1983.