The enshrinement of the Bo Sapling of the Sacred Sri Maha Bodhi gifted to Thailand by Sri Lanka under the auspices of President Maithripala Sirisena took place on February 19, 2019 at Wat Vajirathammaram Temple in Ayutthaya Province presided over by the Prime Minister of Thailand, General Prayut Chan-o-Cha.
Minister of Buddha Sasana and Wayamba Development, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera was President Sirisena’s Special Envoy to the enshrinement ceremony. Minister Jayawickrama Perera was accompanied by a delegation of bhikkhus led by the Atamasthanadhipathi, Most Ven. Dr. Pallegama Siriniwasa Nayake Thera. Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Minister in charge of the National Office of Buddhism in Thailand together with Thai bhikkhus received the Sri Lanka delegation and the sacred Bo Sapling on arrival. Following the religious ceremony at the Swarnabumi International Airport, the sacred Bo Sapling was moved to Ayutthaya Province for enshrinement.
The sacred Bo Sapling was enshrined at the Wat Vajirathammaram Temple in Ayutthaya. A large gathering of bhikkhus of both countries, political dignitaries, members of the Sri Lankan community, and Thai public Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Kshenuka Senewiratne, and Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, Chulamanee Chartsuwan, were present at the ceremony.
Thai Prime Minister Gen. Chan-o-Cha said that this gift of the sacred Bo Sapling is a kind gesture of Sri Lanka to the Royal Thai Government and the enshrinement ceremony is truly meaningful and greatly auspicious for Buddhist devotees and people of Thailand. The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the President and the Government saying the country is a close friend of Thailand.
Minister Jayawickrama Perera, conveyed President Sirisena’s deep regret for his inability to participate in the enshrinement ceremony. The Minister said that during the colonial period, when the foundation of Sri Lanka’s bhikkhuhood eroded, it was the King of then Siam(current Thailand) with his capital in Ayutthaya, who sought to re-establish the higher ordination tradition, by sending bhikkhus from his kingdom led by Upali Thera, which culminated in the establishment of the Siam Nikaya of Sri Lanka. It is therefore fitting, he said, that this Sacred Bo Sapling is being enshrined in a temple in Ayutthaya. The Minister of Buddhasasana thanked Prime Minister Chan-o-Cha for his presence at the ceremony, which he said was a demonstration of his extreme reverence to the Bo Sapling and the depth of the friendship between Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Minister Jayawickrama Perera wished King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, the Prime Minister and the people of Thailand the supreme blessings of the Noble Triple Gem.
The visiting Minister also called on the Thai Minister of Culture Vira Rojpojchanarat.