In the afternoon of Saturday, May 14th, a day before the sacred Buddhist Day of Vesak, a large gathering of several hundred persons of Sri Lankan origin, as well as American and other nationals, convened at the Mindfulness Meditation Center of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in Covina to witness a solemn event.
In preparing the venue for the momentous occasion, dozens of Buddhist Monks, temple devotees, and volunteers worked long hours to decorate the building and the entire premises with Buddhist Flags, custom-made sculptures, and colourful floral arrangements.
The two-part event of the day commenced with the customary Perahera (Pageant) from the outskirts of the temple premises with the attendance of many Venerable Buddhist Monks from the numerous Sri Lankan and other Asian Buddhist Temples situated in the greater Los Angeles area. The Venerable Buddhist Monks were accompanied by a troupe of traditional Sri Lankan drummers, consisting of students from the Academy of Performing Arts of the Sri Lanka Foundation. Next, the devotees of the Mindfulness Meditation Center and other guests joined the procession carrying the casket of sacred relics to the inner chamber of the Budu Medura on the temple premises.
The President of the Board of Trustees and the chief benefactor of the project, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe and Mrs. Aeshea Jayasinghe entered the Mindfulness Meditation Center with the Perahera and, amidst the chanting of the Venerable Buddhist Monks, led the ribbon-cutting and unveiling the memorial plaques to formally open the venue to the public, after engaging in the ceremony to hoist Sri Lankan, American and Buddhist Flags,
In the programme that ensued, blessings were invoked on the large gathering by more than 30 Buddhist Monks from temples in the greater Los Angeles area as well as from other parts of the US and other countries including the Most Venerable Thirikunamale Ananda Mahanayaka Thero from Sri Lanka, the Most Venerable Digamadulle Vimalananda Nayaka Thero from Melbourne, Australia, the Most Venerable Sitinamaluwe Sugathasara Nayaka Thero from Brisbane, Australia, the Venerable Kapugama Seelawansa Maha Thero from Sri Lanka and the Most Venerable Maharagama Dhammasiri Nayaka Thero from Washington DC. After several messages of the Dhamma followed by traditional drumming, the stage was set for the important handing over of the premises to the Maha Sanga (Venerable Monks). Dr. Walter Jayasinghe proceeded to dedicate the Mindfulness Meditation Center to the Chief Prelate of the center, Venerable Makandure Dhammapeetihi Thero, by way of handing over the Sannasa or the Scroll of Memorandum in keeping with the time-honoured Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition.
Addressing the distinguished gathering, Venerable Dhammapeethi Thero traced the history of the landmark project, which was initiated by a small group of Sri Lankans more than five decades earlier. They were committed to continuing their traditional religious practices and providing their children with an environment close to their religious and cultural heritage. The establishment thus fulfilled this need. Later, the property for the first temple, popularly known as the “Beachwood or Hollywood temple,” was acquired, and the temple was formally established. This was due to much hard work by several residents of Sri Lankan origin in the Los Angeles area. These original trustees, some of whom are still highly active, were instrumental in setting up the temple with resident monks. However, in their infancy, they had to go through many growing pains. As a result, there was a transition period when few determined and dedicated committee members met almost weekly for a whole year to keep the temple open even when there was no priest in the temple. At that point, the committee decided to seek advice from one of the most prominent monks in Sri Lanka, the late Most Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Mahanayaka Thera. With the late Most Venerable guidance, the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara became an affiliated Centre to Siri Vajiranana Bhikku Training Centre in Maharagama, Sri Lanka. Later in 1978, at their invitation, Most Venerable Ahangama Dhammarama Nayaka Thera arrived from Sri Lanka and became the Viharadhipathi of the temple. The Sri Lankan community welcomed the opportunity as the temple provided them to engage in traditional religious activities.
Over the years, the temple has grown significantly in the number of devotees served. Therefore, the resident monks, trustees, and the temple development committee decided to move the temple premises to a more suitable location with appropriate zoning to function as a religious institution. As a result, after much dedication, hard work, and philanthropy, the current location in Covina was realized in 2020 to serve the community. Since then, the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara has extended its service as Mindfulness Meditation Center – Covina to benefit many people from different faiths.
Since its inception, the success of this endeavour has been shared among all the Buddhist monks at the temple, the Board of Trustees, Office-Bearers of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, and devotees. All of them dedicated their valuable time, energy, and material and spiritual resources to the progress of the temple’s religious and social activities. In his brief address to the gathering, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, while illustrating the humble beginnings of the temple, paid homage to several persons, including the pioneers of this noble project, the deceased Messrs. Harry Hatharasinghe Cyril Karunasena and Chandra Haththotuwegama. He expressed his appreciation of their colossal efforts from its inception in the 1960s to make this day a reality. Dr. Jayasinghe and his family are more than pleased to dedicate much-needed resources to enable the community to benefit from the Mindfulness Meditation Center under the proficient guidance and leadership of the Venerable Dhammapeethi Thero.
Once the programme to dedicate the Mindfulness Meditation Center to the Maha Sangha was concluded, the gathering proceeded to partake of dinner by way of a traditional Sri Lankan style ‘Dansela,’ courtesy of Dr. Walter and Mrs. Aeshea Jayasinghe, honouring their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Once guests were seated in specially constructed marquees in the parking area of the premises, a short programme to honour Dr. And Mrs. Jayasinghe commenced with a colourful dance performance by students of the Sri Lanka Foundation Academy of Performing Arts.
A message of felicitations was conveyed by Mr. Nandi Jasuntiliyana, formerly the Deputy Director-General of the United Nations and Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and President Emeritus of the International Institute of Space Law & Policy. In his address, Mr. Jasentuliyana humorously elucidated how his close friend Walter met Aeshea more than 50 years ago! He gave a first-hand account of how Walter drove from the East Coast to Chicago in the midst of a winter storm upon receiving a message from Aeshea’s father. Hereafter, they, along with Aeshea’s mother, moved to California in search of warmer climes. Together with their hard work, their marital harmony resulted in fostering a great family and a steely resolve to help the community in a multitude of ways.
The day’s activities concluded with a serene Bhakti Gee recital in keeping with the traditional Sri Lankan Vesak
period festivities.
