Malaysians celebrate newly appointed Chief Monk for Jurisdiction
The Star, March 27, 2007
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- The Malaysian Buddhist fraternity was in full force at the felicitation ceremony of Ven B Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thero held at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Sentul last Saturday.
<< New man at the helm: Tan presenting Ven B. Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thero the letter of appointment at the felicitation ceremony.
Also present at the ceremony were Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ng Lip Yong who is also Batu MP, chief high priest of Malaysia Ven K Sri Dhammaratana, chiefs of Buddhist associations, monks from different parts of the country as well as Singapore and Sri Lanka, and hundreds of well-wishers.
The ceremony saw the re-enactment of Ven Saranankara’s conferment as the Adhikarana Sangha Nayaka of Malaysia in Sri Lanka.
Young children and teenagers, as well as actor Kenny Chan who plays the popular Nyonya character on TV, chanted sutras and sang hymns to enliven the ceremony.
Tan urged Malaysians of Buddhist faith to strengthen the promotion of Buddhism by holding more Dhamma talks.
Ng said he was proud that the Sri Lanka Maha Vihara and its abbot Saranankara were in his constituency.
He said abbot Saranankara had not only contributed a lot to the community, he had also roped in the people to help benefit even larger groups of needy persons.
Ng added that temples could have Dhamma talks and classes for not just children, but also adults. “I will try to attend too to understand Buddhism,” he said.