Two weeks ago I have visited a 150 year old temple in a village named Wallawe in Polgahawela.
The chief incumbent of this temple is Ven.Amilasiri who is doing a noble,unique service to the sasana in silence.
He is accommodating 12 old debilitated destitute priests.
who have been abandoned as there is no one to care for them in their old age.
Ven. Amilasiri gets very little help from the village due to poverty, and he depends on the occasional donations he gets.
The very ill priests are housed in a separate building. The beds in this building are in a very dilapidated condition.
The mattresses are all very dirty and some don't even have bed sheets.
Some priests cannot walk to the toilets and urinate on the bed it self .
In addition there are 23 samanera monks. All of whom are children who have been
Abandoned by their parents for various reasons.When they reach the correct age they are sent to pirivenas for their education'
Ven. Amilasiri has been attending to washing and cleaning the sick priests and their soiled clothes personally.
He never allowed the young samaneras to get involved lest they get disgusted of the monastic life.
He wakes up at 3am to cooks all by them the dane for the rest of the priests
After visiting and seeing the challenging work done by Ven. Amilasiri we as Buddhists
realized that we need to support him to carry on with his noble work.
On inquiring we learnt that he needs to cook 8 kilograms of rice per day . On Sundays he goes on pindapathe with 3 other samanera monks and collects the rations.
So let us get together to help Ven. Amilasiri to do this noble work.
Instructions for the Temple
If you wish to visit his temple it is situated in a village called Wallawe which is 4 1/2 km from Polgahawela junction on kurunegala road. There are 2 approaches one is a road on the right side after the 18th km post soon after you pass the petrol filling station and a bridge. The other is after the 19th km post, the first turn to the right If you take the first turn always keep to the right, and if you take the 2nd turn always keep to the left. You drive about 2 1/2 km down to come to the name board Sri Bodhirukkarama temple on the right. Turn here and drive down the path which ends in the temple.
Some useful items to take if you visit would be,
Rice Dhal milk powder tea sugar bedsheets, mackintoshes books for the samaner monks. etc.
If you need further information please contact me on 0718436954,
Residence 0112864519, surgery 0112873160 or Ven. Amilasiri on 0779853518 or 0716269713
Some pictures are attached.
With metta,
Shriyani.
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