As you may have already known,
"Travel with Chathura" at Ruwanweli Maha Seya I have a lot to tell on this regard
but we'll see how it will work on This is ineffable I would gladly tell all that
I know about it It is known as Mahathupa, Maha seya Rathnamali Dagaba, Swarnamali Chaitya,
& Suvarnamali Mahaceti (in Pali) one of the most virtuous, sacred place
on earth. an auspicious event takes
place today. Ruwanweli Maha Seya’s Pinnacle (Kotha)
and Crest Gem unveiling Pinkama will be held after e
ighty years ..we'll go and worship, and be aware of One of the sacred places Earlier this was identified as
a part of the Maha Viharaya yet, today it belongs to the Maha Vihara This Stupa is one of the "Solosmasthana"
(the 16 places of veneration) and the "Atamasthana"
(the 8 places of veneration) My heart and soul fills
with devotion Pious Mind The devotees themselves
waited long to get the blessings This is exceptional as.. The previous Crest Gem was found cracked and discoloured, and the co
pper-plated Pinnacle was discoloured. Knowing that ;finding a benefactor, and
finding a rock crystal is one of the difficult tasks Soloski a renowned company took the
challenge of finding the perfect stone an Australian company
was able to find the crystal Forming the gemstone is another
difficult task The surface has been disigned with a
layer of gold This is being designed to hold
the stone weighs 60 kg blue sapphires red rubies 5320 gems have been employed more than 28 kg pure gold
has be
en used the surface is 3 ft tall a well known Singapore company
designed it Viswa Parami Foundation is shouldering the
cost of whole process. Some questioned... Why would people offer their
prayers on stones or .. a gemstone? prayers must be born
from your heart Thinking as Lord Buddha should
pray as you dedicated your whole life
on be half of him Crest Gem is placed where
the relics are being enshrined. Foremostly should have the faith for
what you believe Despite what people say Being a Bu
ddhist should have the resist of
your belief These are the deeds ,
We all want to do good If this is being kept inside a jewellery shop
are we going to worship? However perceive the
intended meaning properly Viharadhikari of Ruwanweli Maha Chaithyaramaya Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana
(High Priest, North Central Province) Contributes lots for the
upliftment of the Stupa. just wanted to clarify is the crest gem
being cracked? 10 years before we were
informed Crest Gem was partly ... cracked and requ
ired
an immediate replacing process gems were fallen off In 1957 was damaged by a lightning strike and also the gold chains carved in fell off but we cannot clarify or see these things
properly People who whitewashed the
ruwanweliseya also confirmed it After having conducted a sophisticated inspection we planned to have a new crest gem I have been trying to fix
this for fifteen years If the crest gem iscracked and damaged it is not practicable to apply a gold Surface Coating Similar to beauti
fying the crown when
the body itself receding as ugly If King Dutugemunu who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC
were not the most prominenant parts in most
ancient texts will be missing In the east vestibule of the temple was a statue of
the king Dutugemunu Should undoubtedly ensue his good deeds This is a special ritual followed by the
monks before the Ruwanweli seya I will sacrifice my life on Buddha
and his disciples Often, when meditating to overcome the fear bhikkhus who are in-depth explorati
on of Buddhist
meditation do come here They could be seen unlike ever It is believed to contain a drona of relics of Lord Buddha Drona is a unit of measurement
used in the past This is the model stupa of Ruwanweliseya
built by King Nishshankamalla. It still continue to exist In 1875, this was helpful to clarify the
shape of the stupa while building it. The Mahathupa was given a chathra or a parasol Later evaluated as the glistening koth kerella
in the 5th century the chathra contained a circle
of diamonds,
and there fixed a large ruby at the top According to Chulavansha ...after renovating ,Devanampiyatissa the first carved a thupika
in Ruwanweliseya in 12th century a large ruby at the top was to attract lightening and to be excited into
its piezo-electric properties to oscillate at its particular frequency This is the crest gem that was on
exhibition in Gangaramaya temple This was also donated by a
well known businessman They said the Vishwa Parami Trust foundation is the main b
enefactor
of this crest gem , the lightning conductor..etc Prabath Nanayakkara is the chief
person of the organization On be half of Travel with Chathura I thank
for all his good deeds There are certain rituals to follow
before entering I take the blessings of Buddha as a part of
the ritual I still place my hope and
prayers to return safely With that determination, let’s move on. The foundation stone of Maha Seya laid on
an Esala full moon poya day. Historical chronicles say the city was in
heav
enly celebrations on that day. Harvested paddy could not be dried
out due to continuous shadow. 96 crores of Arhat theros stepped
into Lankan land. Arhat theros stepped here by supernatural powers (rddhi balaya) Lot of rumours circulated recently,
so I’m in need of digging out the truth. Many told the Salapathana Maluwa has
been drilled ad tubes are fitted in them. But it is clearly seen that all
of them are lies. Bases of the scaffoldings are placed
on a small piece of coir rugs. They are fi
xed to the pagoda through rubber bushes. In case a kind of energy is exerted towards the stupa,
it goes to the outside of the stupa. On the area of pesa walalu, scaffoldings
are places on pieces of wood. Few years back, I watched a video
recorded atop the pagoda in an event of white-washing.But
it was not a complete video. So I determined to do a full video one day for the sake of
all the Buddhists throughout the world to enliven due respect and piety. Today, I got that opportunity.
Determi
nation is the most significant thing, I believe. Arhat Mahinda envisaged King Devenampiyatissa in
Apiliwith epigraph that Maha Seya will be erected in this place. Kind Dutugamunu removed it, dug out
the ground to a depth of 07 viyans. He ordered soldiers to layer circular stone, smashed them
by hammer and crushed them by tuskers. The layer of stone is followed by number of other layers viz. bricks, rough cement mixture, thiruwana stones, network of iron, sweet smelling clay,
white stone and the
n tempered clay. A special mixture was made by all these, and the mixture is laid along the area. Bronze plates of 08 inch thickness are placed on it. A layer of arsenic and sesame oil is applied.
04 inch thickness silver plates are layered thereafter. The foundation was laid like that on an Esala full moon poya day. There are many more stories. At the renovation of the stupa, a lightning conductor was placed. And that is the down conductor.
It is broken at several places.
That is what being ren
ovated. # The new conductor is fixed under the advisory and guidance of a French company, called ‘Franklin’ and we provide finances.# Many stories are woven around these conductors.
It is said they priceless and can be used for space travel purposes. This conductor is not at least 100 years old.
There is no need of dishonoring the stupa, but appreciate the noble work being done. I have climbed up to 30 ft. of pagoda.
It’s a spectacular view.
I can see Jethavana stupa. Far way, we can see Mihinta
le pagoda.
It’s a stunning view at a stretch. The wind swirls across Jethavana stupa embraces the Maha Seya, and then the Abhayagiriya.
This is a pious land. Even the wind of Atamasthana (08 places of veneration) brings much comfort.
I have never gained this much of comfort ever before. Neither I have been at this much high in Anuradhapura. The photographs provide proofs on how much the stupa
was crumbled with the collapse of the kingdom era. It was reconstructed in 1870 with the intervention
o
f Ven. Naranvita Sumanasara. In 1902, Vent hero reconstructed the stupa upto a height of 40 ft. Yet, it collapsed. The mission restarted in 1912 with the
patronage of an affluent individual. Ruwanweli Seya Development Committee was
established presided over the physician Kumarasiri Perera Ransiri Mel, and restarted the activities. That attempt succeeded. Unfortunately, the first Chairman of Ruwanweli
Seya Development Committee passed away
before completing the development activities. In 1939, t
he family members gathered together
and unveiled the pinnacle with the crest gem. The present image of the stupa dates back to that time. I wish to see this again before I die We should grant kusal to all the kings, gods
and each and every person who contributed to build the pagoda. This is the supreme and the most pious place in
the universe where the dispensation of Gauthama Buddha lies. You might be thinking who I am to speak like this. This is my country.
Our glory. So I want to enlivens ho
nour, due respect, piety towards the sacred Maha Seya.
What I love. Ruwanweli seya is the most
venerated stupa in Sri Lanka This is the ## met someone special. How much would be spent to white-wash the Maha stupa?
How much lime is necessary for that?
Who is doing this? This has come from generation to a
generation for over 80 years. Some descendants from Mathugama are
involved in this activity throughout this period of time Ayubowan! (May you live long)
We are meeting at wonderful place, aren
’t we?
So, your name?
Kumarage Sampath. How have you been doing this?
For 16 years.
When did your father started to do this? My father did this since 1981, and I joined in 1997. Why are you applying lime instead of rubber paint? Lime is applied for the safety of the stupa.
If we apply rubber paint, the pagoda will not be able to tolerate the heat, and then it will begin to crack. Lime absorbs water, and helps to release heat. How much lime is necessary at a time?
10 tons. Approximately 80 lakhs
per annum. There are so many things associated with Mahaseya.
Read on it. It’s hard to tell everything in this programme. White-washing begins in February.
The stupa is scratched thereafter. Lime is entirely washed away by the rain in March. By the end of March, white-washing starts. The task ends by May.
For a ladder of 35 ft. high, 650 bambbo sticks are used. 650 kg of coir ropes and 1000 metres of kiftan ropes.
It needs 36 coir brushes as well. By the time of Wesak thats how you
see this glo
wing Stupa Vishwa Parami group does something more. You pay homage to the crest gem.
The pinnacle lies above it.## It is 80 years old.
But it is gold plated.
It is not in high quality standard. It should be removed and repaired at a different place.
But even that cannot be done. So what should be done? They identified electro plating as the only option.
Therefore, they found an Italian company. This company renovated the Sugandha Kutiya at the Temple of Tooth Relic
where the sacred tooth relic i
s enshrined .That is 20 years back. When we compare ourselves with the image of a god in Devetha Kotuwa, we can think how small we are.
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