On the occasion of the 75th birthday of Ven. Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera, Chief Prelate of Japan, President of the Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Association, Chief Incumbent of Savara Lankagi Vihara in Japan, Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara in India, Maligakanda Agrasravaka Vihara, Sapugaskanda Abeysekhararamaya and Banagala Seelarathna Pirivena Vihara
The remote village of Banagala was little known five or six decades ago but now the village is famous worldwide due to the world-renowned bhikkhu Ven. Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera and the immense service he has rendered to religious, cultural and social harmony.
Ven. Upatissa Thera turned 75 on January 5, 2025. The religious, social and cultural mission he has accomplished in these 75 years exceeds that of a head of state.
A plethora of world leaders respect him and are his close friends. Among them are His Holiness Pope Francis, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Dalai Lama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the late Sushma Swaraj, world religious leaders including Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic as well as other religious leaders.
Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera born on January 5, 1950 as the seventh of nine children to Jasing Liyanage Don Hendrik Jayasena and Ampagoda Liyanage Premawathi was named Jayasena Liyanage Don Hendrik Upatissa by his grandfather, Ven. Banagala Seelarathana Thera.
Upatissa is the lay name given to him based on the name of the village where Ven. Arahant Sariputta Thera was born. Today the custody of the relics of Ven. Arahant Sariputta and Mugalan Theras, the foremost disciples of the Buddha are entrusted to Banagala Upatissa Thera who was then known as Upatissa.
In 1955, while the Upatissa was receiving his primary education at the Banagala Primary School and Alapaladeniya School, he was nominated to train for the propagation of the Dhamma abroad after being ordained a bhikkhu with the mediation of Ven. Matiwala Sangharathana Thera, a close friend of Banagala Seelarathna Thera. Ven. Matiwala Sangharathana Thera was the incumbent of the Saranath Viharaya in Dambadiva and a leader of the Sri Lanka and Indian Mahabodhi Association. With the consent of Upatissa and his parents, Ven, Seelarathna Thera handed over Upatissa to Matiwala Sangharathana Thera at the Maligakanda Mahabodhi Headquarters in 1961.
In the same year, Upatissa came to Isipathanaramaya in Varanasi and enrolled in the Sarnath Mahabodhi College established by Anagarika Dharmapala in 1962. There, he studied Hindi with great enthusiasm.
Ordained
On October 19, 1967 Ven. Upatissa Samanera Thera along with nine other members and were ordained in Colombo. Of the other novices who were ordained with Ven. Banagala Upatissa Samaneera on that day, only Ven. Henegedara Seelaratana Thera and Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera remain.
In 1967, Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera was sent to the Sanchi Temple in India to perform the religious observances of the Sanchi Vihara and to provide the necessary facilities for pilgrims from India, Sri Lanka and other countries. The Ven. Thera had to explain the facts about Sanchi to the Indian, Sri Lankan and Western tourists who visited Sanchi.
He enrolled in the Government Higher Secondary School in Sanchi and learned Hindi and English and later received his higher education from S.S.L. Jain College. He then enrolled at the Bhopal University and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Archaeology.
Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera’s meeting with the Japanese national Takeko Yoshida who had come to Sanchi was a fateful meeting. This relationship which began over a cup of tea at the Sanchiya later led to Yoshida becoming a second mother to Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera.
This meeting led to Ven. Banagala Thera living in Yoshida’s house for many years, studying the Japanese language and early childhood development education at the highest educational institutions in Japan.
Theravada temple
It was Ven. Banagala Thera who took on the task of building a Theravada temple in Japan which was Anagarika Dharmapala’s dream at that time.
Later, due to the untiring efforts of the Thera, the Lankagi Vihara the first Theravada temple in Japan was built in Savara, Japan.
With his early education in Japan, he brought state-of- the-art early childhood education to Sri Lanka at a formal level, started many Japanese preschools and developed many poor villages.
Ven. Banagala Thera bridged the gap between the Mahayana Buddhist temples of Japan and the Theravada Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka and Buddhist religious leaders of both countries were brought together in harmony. He was thus able to carry out a great service to the people of this country, especially children because of Takeko Yoshida’s support. Even today, the Ven. Thera is respected and considered as a member of that family.
For Takeko Yoshida’s service, former President Ranasinghe Premadasa presented her with the ‘Sri Lanka Ranjana’ honourary award. This award was the best testimony to appreciate her services to the country. Later, under the recommendation of Prof. W.S. Karunaratne, Ven. Banagala Thera also worked as a visiting lecturer at the University of Kelaniya for a period of time.
Marking another milestone in the services he has rendered, the Thera started the ‘Yoshida Primary School’ as the first formal early childhood development education institution in the Japanese model at the Sapugaskanda Abeysekararamaya premises. He commenced the school with 30 children on 23 June 1979. It was opened with support from Yoshida and her friends. Today, it is a collective of Sinhala-English bilingual nursery schools and is rendering a great service as the Yoshida International School.
In 1999, Ven. Pangnatissa Na Thera appointed Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera as the Chief Incumbent of the Maligakanda Agrasravaka Maha Vihara and the Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara. Later, he became the caretaker of the Maha Bodhi Centre in Chennai.
Subsequently, in 2000, Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera was unanimously elected as the President of the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Association and the service rendered by it are immeasurable .
Today, his dedication has led to the progress of the Agrasravaka Vihara, the Sanchi Chethiyagiri Vihara and the Sanchi Mahabodhi Festiva. The Sanchi Chaitanya Complex is the only religious place depicted on an Indian currency note (on the 200 rupee note). The Indian Government issued a stamp in honour of Dharmapala and this can be considered as an achievement of the Mahabodhi Association under his leadership.
The Ven. Thera has participated in religious conferences in many countries as a speaker and as a guest. He is the only bhikkhu to have visited Saudi Arabia. His Holiness Pope Francis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maligakanda Vihara honouring the Ven.Thera. He visited countries such as China, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, India, South Africa, Thailand and Myanmar at the invitation of the highest state and religious leaders of those countries.
Future for children
The Ven. Thera, who sacrificed the love of his parents to enter the Sasana at the age of twelve, dedicated nearly six decades of his life to work for the people. He was not interested in building temples and monasteries. He was interested in building a prosperous future for the children. Racism and religious fanaticism had no place in his life. He was a follower of Dharmapala in the truest sense of the word. The Savara Lankagi Temple is still a haven for a large number of young people from this country who come to Japan.
The former Ambassador to Japan Rodney Perera said, “In the past, some people at the Tokyo airport would tell young people coming to Japan, if you go right it is the embassy, if you go left it is the Banagala Temple.” Because in the early days, young people coming to Japan were assisted by these two institutions. Sri Lankans who came to Japan at that time were provided food from the Lankagi temple.
Our blessings are with the Ven. Thera for long life and good health and to continue to provide his services to this country, religiously, socially and culturally and even internationally.
Inputs by Hemakumara Gunasekara
