Regarding the alms giving to the Maha Sangha who perform the ‘Gilanpasa Pooja’, ‘Multhan Buddha Pooja’ and ‘Sambuddha Pooja’

Reverend Thero,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

The Sacred Tooth Relic, which is housed atSri DaladaMaligawais regarded as the living SammaSambuddha. The rituals performed and the Buddha Pooja performed to living Buddha by Venerable Ananda Thero, is Similarly performed for the Tooth Relic, which was brought to Sri Lanka in the year 310 AD, at the time of King Kithsirimevan of Anuradhapura and has been continuously maintained under the patronage of all the kings who came to power. Wimaladharmasuriya the first, who later built the Kandyan Kingdom and other kings such as King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe who created the Sasanaupliftment have also made arrangements and issued orders to conduct daily Dalada Pooja and ceremonies till the end of Gauthama Buddha Sasana.Those kings ordered the Buddha Pooja to be prepared very cleanly & deliciously also both Malwathu and AsgiriyaMahaVihara have been assigned to conduct the ‘Theva’ rituals.

Officers were also appointed to assist in the proper conduct of the Dalada Pooja and villages were handed over to them by the kings.It goes without saying that the real situation in those villages and duties is a bit different nowadays. In accordance with the royal decree and historical traditions, the service of conducting the ‘Theva’ continues as annual shifts of tenures changing between Malwathu&Asgiri chapters,under the patronage of the Most Venerable MahanayakeTheros. Arrangements have also been made to extend the assistance of the officials including the KariyakarawanaKorala who are functioning under the direction of the lay custodian,DiyawadanaNilameto carry out the rituals properly.

Today, many devotees offer to sponsor the ‘Multhan Buddha Pooja’ & ‘Gilanpasa Pooja’ but only a very limited number of devotees can be accommodated in a year.

Three weeks before the due date, the KariyakarawanaKorala will make arrangements to inform the relevant devotees about the allocated date and time for the morning or mid-day ‘MulthanBuddha Pooja’and the evening ‘Gilanpasa Pooja’.

In cases where no notice is given to the KariyakarawanaKorala ten days in advance, the necessary arrangements will be made to give the relevant ‘MulthanBuddha Pooja’ to other devotees or to carry out all such activities from the ‘Multhan Buddha Pooja Fund’ of the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

Also, you have the opportunity to prepare the ‘Sangika Daana’ according to the proper hygiene practices and offer it to the Maha Sangha who is engaged in the ‘Theva’ activities.

The contributing devotees should either provide the necessary offerings for ‘Gilanpasa Pooja’/‘Multhan Pooja’ or contribute the required funds.

An additional amount of Rs. 20,000/- has to be obtained from each party as expenses to prepare the Sambuddha Pooja by deploying a team,to perform these rituals by the officials of ‘Udumale’ and ‘Pallemale’, for those who maintain the almshouse, to purchase maintenance materials and to cover a variety of essential expenses. Please note that this is a requirement with the present situation.

If any of the devotees who have accepted the Sambuddha Pooja find it difficult to provide the offerings, they may have to give a contribution of Rs.30,000/- to purchase the offerings and cover other essential expenses. (Accordingly, the total amount to be paid along with the aforesaid amount is Rs. 50,000/ -)

Accordingly, we kindly request that the relevant donations be credited to the ‘Multan Buddha Pooja Fund’ of Sri DaladaMaligawa atAccount No. 0001279019of Second Town Branch, Bank of Ceylon or to be handed over to KariyakarawanaKorala and obtain a Receipt.

If you would like to know about these offerings and alms giving rituals, please call 071-6861069 for more details.