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Tara Lanka Study Group preparing for its one hundredth Medicine Buddha puja, held at Abhayagiri Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, April 2022. Photo courtesy of Tara Lanka Study Group.
Tara Lanka Study Group in Sri Lanka has been organizing Medicine Buddha pujas in accordance with advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The island country, which is currently experiencing many extreme hardships, has a rich Buddhist history dating back two millennia. Ven.Tenzin Lekdron, who is the study group coordinator, shared this story on two big events that took place recently.
On April 9, 2022, Tara Lanka Study Group in Sri Lanka organized their one hundredth Medicine Buddha puja. Despite severe difficulties, more than one hundred Tara Lanka people from different parts of the island gathered at Abhayagiri Temple in the ancient and sacred city of Anuradhapura for this milestone event.
Participants were expecting to hear Lama Zopa Rinpoche offer the Medicine Buddha lung via Zoom to those gathered. An hour before the event, however, he asked Khandro Kunga Bhuma, who was to be arriving in Sri Lanka for a private visit, to take his place. You can imagine that at first there was some panic, but after a few phone calls, a plan was made. Khandro-la agreed to offer an in-person teaching to Tara Lanka students a few days later. Despite the last minute changes, the event at Abhayagiri Temple was a big success.
Offerings for the Medicine Buddha puja at Abhayagiri Stupa, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, April 2022. Photo courtesy of Tara Lanka Study Group.
Malintha Perera from Tara Lanka organized all the logistics for the Medicine Buddha puja event, including getting the approval from the head monk at the temple and ensuring technology was available and working in that location. She arranged speakers, shelter, and food along with transport—an almost impossible task given Sri Lanka’s severe shortages. In addition to the onsite participants, many others, including people from outside the country, were able to attend on Zoom.
A monk from the temple led Pali prayers, which is an indication of the expanding interest and understanding between our traditions. Two learned speakers—Prof. Sunil Wijesiriwardana and Dr. Bertram Liyanage—gave introductions to Mahayana Buddhism, addressing key elements relevant to the attendees. Prof. Wijesiriwardana explained Mahayana ideas and their history in Sri Lanka. Dr. Liyanage spoke about the eighteen Nalanda masters and their influence in Sri Lanka.
Medicine Buddha puja event at Abhayagiri Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, April 2022. Photo courtesy of Tara Lanka Study Group.
On April 22, Khandro-la gave an in-person teaching to about thirty Tara Lanka students. Malintha Perera said that Khando-la’s talk was a “very deep teaching on dependent origination, taught in a very practical way, which also encouraged us to develop compassion.” Dr. Liyanage, who also attended, said “I never expected to hear such wisdom.” Of Khandro-la, Ruwan Basnayaka said, “Although I’ve heard about Buddha nature, this is the first time I was able to see the qualities of a Buddha embodied in a human.”
Since May, Tara Lanka Study Group has done two extensive Medicine Buddha pujas, taking Rinpoche’s most recent advice on board. Malintha organized these pujas and is aiming to continue to organize them until conditions change in the country. Dedications of these practices are also being made for the building of a 15-meter (50-foot) Medicine Buddha statue in the future.
Tara Lanka is proud to be giving people the chance to once again practice the bodhisattva path in Sri Lanka.
Tara Lanka students with Khandro-la, Sri Lanka, April 2022. Photo courtesy of Tara Lanka Study Group.
You can learn more about Tara Lanka Study Group on their website: taralanka.org.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.