Got this email initiated by Ms. Sriyani. Two years back our family visited this place and offered dry rations and pirikara for sick monks. Ven Amilasiri thero is doing a great job there. Please help to this place if you can.
Dear All,
Two weeks ago I visited a 150 year old temple in a village named Wallawe in Polgahawela. The chief incumbant of this temple is Ven. Amilasiri who is doing a noble, unique service to the sasana in silence. He is accomadating 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 matresses are all very dirty and some dont 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 realised that we need to support him to carry on with his noble work.
On inquiring we learnt that he needs to cook 8 kgs of rice per day . On sundays he goes on pindapathe with 3 other samanera monks and collects the rations for the.
So let us get together to help Ven. Amilasiri to do this noble work. 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.
Ven. Amilasiri on 0779853518 or 0716269713
With metta,
Shriyani.
7 comments:
I first visited the Aramaya where sick monks are being looked after by Ven. Amilasiri in late December with some dry rations. I noticed that there was a lot of clothes to be washed and asked him whether he has a washing machine. He said no. I bought a brand new 9kg washing machine and a power guard for it and got the agents to deliver it in March. I also decided to have my mother’s first death anniversary alms giving there instead of having a regular alms giving at home. So I reserved the 30th April several months in advance. I also asked Ven. Amilasiri about the washing machine that I got delivered and he said that it is installed. From that time onwards, I have been in touch with Ven. Amilasiri. At his request, I deposited Rs. 15,000 to his account for the alms giving. This was in March. I also bought 36 Sivuru for the monks and other Pirikara.
When we visited the temple at 11.15am on 30th April, we noticed that there was a another bus and a van and a gathering of over 30 people who had come there with the alms complete with Pirikara etc. Since I wanted a clarification, I wanted to meet Ven. Amilasiri. A monk there said that Ven. Amilasiri had gone to Kurunegala to see a sick monk. Then I contacted Ven. Amilasiri over the phone and he said that he had to come to Colombo to face an interview at the Prime Minister’s office (a contradiction here). I told him that there is another party who had come with alms. To this he replied that he only undertook the alms giving which we had reserved several months ago and the other party had just turned up there without informing him. I asked the party about this. They said that they had contacted Ven. Amilasiri and reserved the date (30th April) on 1st April 2011. I have all the reason to believe that they were telling the truth. During the same telephone conversation, I asked Ven. Amilasiri where he had installed the washing machine as I wished to paste a small plaque on it in memory of my mother. He said that it is installed in the bathroom.
If Ven. Amilasiri’s version was true, then the people at the temple should have cooked food for the alms giving with the money that I sent. There was no sign of it although I went to the kitchen as well. Then I asked to see the Washing machine and was taken to the bathroom where there were two somewhat old and small washing machines. I told them that the one that I sent was a brand new one and I could recognize it. Now I was beginning to get more suspicious and insisted that I see it. Then one of the young monks said that he will get it from a room. He went to the second room to the left at the sanghawasa which was in complete darkness and pushed out a Singer Refrigerator in its packing saying “here it is!” When I told him it is a refrigerator, the pushed out the washing machine that I had donated. It was in its original packing! Now this was supposed to have been installed more than a month ago. The monk also said that there is no light in that room. As a result, I am not sure what else was there. I was disgusted and left it as it is.
Finally when the alms were being served, we noticed that there were only 17 adult monks including the sick monks and 8 samanera’s. Way different to the Nos. given to us earlier when we bought a total of 36 Sivuru.
If Ven. Amilasiri had made a genuine mistake and double booked the alms, then he could have told the truth. He could also have stayed back to explain rather than saying the he had to go to Colombo (contradicted by the other monks who said the he has gone to Kurunegala to see a sick monk). I do not know why he told me that there are 35 sick monks when the actual No. was less than half that.
Lots of questions and not many answers. Let the donor beware.
Hi Lasantha,
Can you drop your phone number to krishantha99@yahoo.com. I will ring you back.
With Mettha,
Krishantha.
Hi Krishantha
I am appreciating your service regarding maintain such a blog.
I would like to know whether Lasantha saying is true or not.
I have visited this place last December and donated bulks of dry foods, cloths (bedshhets,towels) and adana, brushes, etc.. .Also done some donation and was very pleased about the place.
I saw that this was well maintained and around 20 elderly monks were staying over there additional to young samanera monks. (I didn't count as I don't want to do such).
I couldn't meet Ven Amalasiri as he was at Colombo on that day.
I am supposed to visit there again this December. So I want some clarification about this please.
Hi Sandaruwan,
I still don't know validity of Lasantha's comment. I didn't want to investigate what has happened. I tried to contact him but failed. However, I encourage you to continue donations to Buddha and Sanga. You will earn good Kamma of your donations regardless of the receivers quality. Don't hesitate to donate even to the same place. I could imaging what you might felt after the donations. Don't destruct
your mind with bad thoughts. I don't say Mr. Lasantha is wrong. But what I believe is, don't look after the things that you already got rid by giving away. You gave them to someone that's it. No need check what he/she is doing with it. If the receiver of your donations used them for good, then you can really be happy and improve your good Kamma/merit by recalling it.But if he/she doesn't use them appropriately then you will destroy your already earned merits by thinking negatively. Hope you got my point.
With Mettha,
Krishantha.
It is up to you all to decide - Please listen to NethFB balumgala investigation
Please listen to Balumga investigation on Amilasiri himi - it is up to you to decide http://youtu.be/V2r_bKatw3s
Krishantha, My family is getting ready to take some pirikara and dry rations to this place. Saw this blog only now. Could not watch balumgala investigation. Appreciate if you can enlighten us on the current situation of this place if you have any information. Thank you
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