On the 24th of March 2002 Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara was ceremonially opened with a handing over ceremony being conducted on the new Vihara premises. The Dayakas of Buddhist Vihara Victoria together with thousands of devotees gathered at the new Vihara premises in Berwick from early morning on this Sunday to participate in the various ceremonies that were held throughout the day.
Though the morning was chilly, the temperatures soared into the low thirties during the day, but the mild breeze made the heat endurable.
The premises were a riot of colour with the Buddhist Flags that were
everywhere. Rows of flags marked the perimeter of the area, which was to be the main meeting hall, the next stage of the construction work. Flags were also placed around the area where the Chaitya would be constructed. A single tall flag post stood in front of the building with a Buddhist Flag fluttering in the breeze, waiting to be raised.
The opening ceremonies began with the lights being turned on by Walter Peters family, who donated all the electrical wiring and fixtures and Mano Bandara family who obtained the supply and did all the wiring and
connections as his donation. The saving on costs for the supply of electricity is valued at over $15,000.
Following this the most Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Maha Nayaka unveiled the Buddha Statue. It was the same statue that was in the former Vihara premises at Noble Park. However, the statue was different
because now the eyes had been painted at a special Nethra (or eye placing) ceremony. The sacred relics of the Buddha (Dhatu) were also placed in the Statue by Venerable Wimalananda Thera. There was a gasp of dismay when the little casket in which the relics were held slipped and fell to the floor, but luckily, the casket was securely closed, and the relics did not fall out.
Next followed the offering of milk rice or the Kiripidu puja. The milk rice
that had been prepared by devotees was arranged in little bowls specially obtained for the occasion and were placed on the new granite offering table donated by Venerable Vidura Thera. The gathering chanted Ithi Pi So… honouring the Buddha while the offerings of milk rice were being made. After the Buddha Puja, the 10 monks, who were present for the opening ceremony were offered the morning meal which
consisted of milk rice and other foods prepared by the devotees.
Venerable Soma Thera raised the Buddhist Flag as the next event on the programme. Devotees who gathered round the flag post kept up a steady chant of Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu while the Flag rose majestically
up the post fluttering in the breeze.
Next the devotees and well-wishers partook of the breakfast of milk rice
and roamed around the new Vihara premises.
The building that had been completed at present is the monk’s residence. Until the main hall is constructed the Daham pasela and
other religious activities will be conducted in these premises. The area
where these activities are being conducted for the present is the Dana
Sala.
In the meantime, the ladies had been busy organising the mid-day meal for the monks. Devotees had brought the food they had prepared to be offered to the monks and to those who were participating in the ceremonies. Following the dana and the homily and blessings, the monks retired, while the devotees were given lunch, after which they too rested in the shade and chatted quietly.
The next and most important part of the ceremony was arranged for 3 o’clock. By that time the gathering had again swelled, and the hall was
filled to overflowing with everyone eager to participate in this event. This was the traditional handing over ceremony. The Dayakas were handing over the premises to the Sangha for their use as an abode for the Sangha and a place of worship for everyone. Monks from all other Sri Lankan Viharas in Melbourne, as well as monks from Brisbane and Sri Lanka were present on this auspicious occasion. Ten of the monks, who were present, had received higher ordination at the Siri Vajiragnana Dharmayathana in Maharagama.
After a brief explanation of what was about to take place the stanzas of traditional donations were repeated by the Dayaka Sabha, while water was poured over the hand of the Most Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Maha Nayaka Thera as a symbol of the handing over of the premises. The Venerable Prelate then accepted the offering. It was a moment of great happiness to everyone who had strived towards this moment: those who had made countless donations, those who had worked hard before, during and after the construction stage to ensure that the work went smoothly, those who had donated their time, expertise and labour to make this moment possible, everyone had waited eagerly
for this moment.
The ceremonies were now drawing to a close. After the handing over ceremony everyone gathered outside. Venerable Soma Thera described the long journey which began in 1986 that had now reached its first milestone with the completion of the first stage of Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara. The journey was undertaken with great care every step being examined closely to ensure that the direction was correct. Viharas are not built in a day and a heavy burden should not be placed on anyone during this process.
Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara came about as a result of an idea conceived by Polly Weerakkody, who went on to draw the architectural
designs and plans which he then placed before the Venerable Madihe
Pannaseeha Maha Nayaka Thera during a visit to Melbourne in 1993.
It was the Maha Nayake Thera himself who had given the name Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara to the project. Since then, the property at Berwick was purchased and during the interim period the mortgage on the land was slowly paid off. Devotees, impatient to see the new
Vihara made numerous queries as to when construction would begin.
When the time was right, a technical committee was formed and the
construction work was undertaken. Due to cost constraints some modifications were made to the original building design, but the overall beauty of the design was not compromised. When construction got underway, devotees who had been waiting for this moment came up with more donations and contributions that it became unnecessary to go ahead with the application for the bank loan.
The former premises of Buddhist Vihara Victoria were sold to a Buddhist group from Burma who were looking for a place to start a Temple. The two communities were re-forging historic links that had been forged between our two countries more than two thousand years ago. Following Venerable Soma Thera’s address, Saman Fernando spoke a few words (on behalf of the Dayaka Sabhawa). “Building a temple with bricks and mortar is easy, but building a virtuous community is the more important task. The real benefit of the temple is achieved when our youth is directed in the Path of Nibbana” he said. In describing the objectives of Buddhist Vihara Victoria, he explained that Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara was intended to be a Buddhist Education, Research,
Information and Cultural centre (BERIC) to disseminate the Dhamma to the wider Australian community and to the world.
Polly Weerakkody then described his visualisation of the layout of the
Vihara. While the Vihara was to be a traditional Sri Lankan place of
worship, it would also blend in with the Australian surroundings and become a part of the landscape. Polly, who had written a song about the
Vihara was then persuaded to share it with the gathering.
The Venerable Uhumiye Sumanasara Nayake Thera gave the final address and gave blessings to everyone who had shared in making
the idea a reality.
Refreshments were then provided to the devotees.
The culminating event of the day was the chanting of pirith. Instead of making this one all night event, pirith was chanted over a period of seven days. Before the chanting the meaning of the Sutras being chanted during that evening were explained which then gave the listeners a better understanding of the sutras being chanted. As chanting each night was only over a period of two hours, it was also possible for people to listen to all the Sutras which are normally chanted during an all-night session.
From the 24th until the 30th for seven days, the Sutras were chanted by the nine monks residing at the Vihara. On the 30th Venerable Sanghananda Thera and Venerable Vijitha Thera also participated in the
final session of Pirith.
One more event was conducted prior to the conclusion of the ceremonies. This was the ceremony in which a special area of the grounds was consecrated. The Vihara had been handed over to the monks but for these premises to be a true Buddhist Vihara it had to be consecrated and prepared through a special ceremony carried out by monks who conduct a special act of discipline (Vinaya Karma) in the
selected area.
This area is paved with crushed rock with the 4 main directions and 4
sub-directions being marked with large granite stones. In 2004, these four granite stones were replaced by four stone pillars, that Soma Thera had commissioned to be carved for this purpose prior to his passing away.
Once this ceremony is conducted, the Vihara becomes a true abode for monks and the sima malaka will be used by the monks for their acts of discipline carried out twice a month and on special occasions.
On the final day of the ceremonies, the 31st April 2004 an almsgiving was offered to 22 monks from all over Melbourne with the final event being the first session of the Suvisi Vivarana puja.
Finally, one of the most important events that took place at this time was the planting of the Bo tree. The Bo sapling from the Sri Maha Bodhi and the sapling from the Ananda Bodhi were both placed in their permanent place of abode at the new Vihara Premises by the Most Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera, Venerable Soma Thera and the other monks residing in the Vihara. Little children placed baskets of flowers around the Bodhi trees, and everyone took it in turns to put soil around the newly planted saplings. When the saplings were placed
in the ground, a very fine drizzle of rain passed over like a blessing. Everyone realised this was an auspicious moment.
14
January