On the morning of 21 April, monks will set out from one of Sri Lanka’s most sacred cities and begin walking.
They will not stop for seven days.
The journey, part of an internationally recognised initiative called Walk for Peace, will take thirteen Buddhist monks led by the Most Venerable Paññakara Thero from Anuradhapura through the heart of the island, past ancient temples and through highland towns, before arriving in Colombo on 28 April.
The walk draws its purpose from a teaching attributed to the Buddha, calling on monks to move through the world for the welfare and happiness of the many.
Organisers say the event is a living demonstration of that principle — an argument, made on foot, that peace is built not through force but through presence and mindfulness.
The opening day will begin in Anuradhapura, where a ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. to receive a sacred sapling from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, one of Buddhism’s most venerated trees.
Religious observances will follow at the Ruwanweliseya, a stupa that has stood for more than two thousand years.
From there, the procession will move to Dambulla, setting out towards Kandy before making its way south and west to the capital.
Travelling with the monks throughout the journey will be relics from several of Sri Lanka’s historic temples, including the Mahiyangana Raja Maha Viharaya and the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya in Colombo, along with the Bodhi sapling.
In Kandy, the delegation will call on the chief prelates of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters, the two most senior bodies in Sri Lanka’s Buddhist establishment, before visiting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
The walk will end at Independence Square in Colombo, where a state ceremony is planned.
The relics and the Bodhi sapling will then be carried in procession to the Gangaramaya Temple.
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Sri Lanka’s government has signed on as a principal partner through its Clean Sri Lanka programme, with the tri-forces, the National Design Centre, and the Department of Information among the state institutions lending support.
Alongside the walk, an exhibition of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist craft traditions will open at the Gangaramaya premises on 28 and 29 April, featuring brass ceremonial objects, lacquerwork, clay figures, palm leaf crafts, traditional drums, and natural-dyed robes.
The event has a connection that extends beyond the island.
Organisers say the cultural programme is intended to contribute to a project in Texas in the United States, where the Tripitaka, the canonical texts of Theravada Buddhism, is being inscribed in ten languages and enshrined within 840 stupas as part of a Buddhist education centre.
Walk for Peace originated in the United States.
Its arrival in Sri Lanka, coordinated locally by Venerable Melpitiye Wimalakirti Thera, marks the first time the initiative has been held on the island.
(source- The Leader)
