“Walk for Peace” to take place in Sri Lanka from April 21 – 28

Twelve monks, led by Venerable Pannakara Thero, who led the American Peace Walk, have arrived in Sri Lanka on the 21st of this month for the ‘Walk for Peace Programme in Sri Lanka’. The group, led by the Maha Sangha, will engage in this peace walk for seven days from April 22nd to April 28th.

The peace march will commence on April 21st after receiving blessings from the historic Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and a Sri Maha Bodhi sapling, which will be received with the blessings of the Maha Sangha led by the Atamasthanadhipathi Thero, will also be carried in this peace march.

Similarly, after special religious ceremonies held in front of the historic Ruwanweli Maha Seya, the message of peace will be conveyed to the people of the Anuradhapura district.

The peace march, which will start from the sacred city of Dambulla after the Sangha Dakshina on the morning of April 22nd, is scheduled to reach Independence Square on April 28th via Naula, Matale, Kandy, Kadugannawa, Kegalle, Tholangamuwa, Kajugama, Yakkala, Mahara, Kelaniya.

The sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, which was brought there to mark the end of the peace march, is scheduled to be handed over to the Maha Sangha, who have arrived from America on a diplomatic mission, by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Arrangements have been finalized to hold the “Walk for Peace” across Sri Lanka from April 21 to 28, led by Venerable Pannakara Thero and a group of senior Buddhist monks, Ven. Dr.  Melpitiye Wimalakitti Thero said.

The monks are scheduled to arrive in the country on April 21 and proceed to Attana galla Rajamaha Viharaya. They will then obtain a sapling from the Sri Maha Bodhi before beginning the walk towards Ruwanwelisaya and later to Dambulla Rajamaha Viharaya.

The walk will officially commence on April 22 from Dambulla to Matale, continuing to Kandy on April 23. On April 24, the journey will resume from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya expected to attend.

The monks will then travel through several areas including Kegalle, Yakkala, and Mahara, before reaching Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya on April 27. The walk will conclude on April 28, with the public invited to meet the monks at Kelaniya Temple, followed by a national ceremony at Independence Square under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The visiting monks are expected to remain in Sri Lanka until May 1, after which sacred relics and the Bodhi sapling will be taken to the United States.

“Aloka,” the famous peace dog which has drawn public attention in connection with the upcoming “Walk for Peace,” will also with the monks in the “Walk for Peace” in Sri Lanka.