Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jordan

Media Release

Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jordan Celebrates Vesak 2026

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Amman, together with the Sri Lankan community in Jordan, celebrated Vesak 2026 under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Udadumbara Kashyapa Thero, the incumbent priest of the International Vipassana Meditation Centre, Colombo 07, at the Chancery premises on 30 May 2026 in observance of the sacred Vesak Festival, commemorating the Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing Away of Lord Buddha.

The main event commenced with the observance of Buddhist religious rituals, including the offering of Buddha Puja and the chanting of Pirith by Venerable Kashyapa Thero. The Thero also conducted a Dhamma sermon, discussion, and meditation programme as part of the Ata Sil observance. The Ambassador of Thailand to Jordan, her spouse, and the staff participated at the Dhamma sermon.

As part of the Vesak celebrations, Sri Lankan children residing in Jordan participated in a Vesak card competition organized by the Embassy. The three winning cards were awarded prizes, and all participants received certificates of appreciation.

The Embassy premises were beautifully decorated with traditional Vesak ornaments, including colourful lanterns, illuminated decorations, and Buddhist flags, creating an atmosphere of serenity, devotion, and spiritual reflection.

The celebrations were wrapped up with a Dansala programme, which was organized by Trico International with the support of the Sri Lankan community in Jordan.

The event was attended by over 400 participants, including Embassy staff and their families, members of the Sri Lankan community, and several foreign nationals.

In addition, several religious programmes were conducted under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Kashyapa Thero at apparel factories in Jordan, where a considerable number of Sri Lankan workers are employed. These programmes were organized with the assistance of the respective factory managements and the support of Trico International.

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Amman
31 May 2026

අද දින සැමරෙන පූජනීය වෙසක් දිනය වෙනුවෙන්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ ලොව පුරා වෙසෙන බෞද්ධ ප්‍රජාවට, මාගේ උණුසුම් සුබ පැතුම් පිරිනමනවා. වෙසක් දිනය, බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ උපත, බුද්ධත්වය සහ පරිනිර්වාණය යන උත්තරීතර ප්‍රඥාවේ සංධිස්ථාන තුන බැති සිතින් යුතුව සිහිපත් කෙරෙන දිනයක් මෙන්ම මිනිස් මනසෙහි උසස් බව හෙළි කළ සහ දයානුකම්පිත, අර්ථවත් ජීවිතයකට පැහැදිලි මාර්ගයක් පෙන්වා දුන් දිනයක් ලෙස සැලකෙනවා.

යුද්ධ, ගැටුම් සහ දිනෙන් දින තීව්‍ර වන බෙදුම්වාදය හේතුවෙන් අස්ථාවර වී ඇති ලෝකයක, සාමය (ශාන්තිය) පිළිබඳ බුදුන්ගේ ඉගැන්වීම් නිතැනින්ම අදාළ වෙනවා. “අක්කොධෙන ජිනේ කොධං - අසාධුං සාධුනා ජිනේ ” එනම්, "ක්‍රෝධ කරන්නාට ක්‍රෝධ නොකිරීමද, අයහපත් කෙනාට යහපත කිරීමද" කළ යුතු බවට බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ දේශනා කර තිබෙනවා. අප, බෙදීම් ඇති කරන බලවේගයන් අභිබවා නැගී සිටිය යුතු අතර, සියලු ජීවීන් කෙරෙහි අසීමිත කරුණාව සහ සැබෑ දයානුකම්පාව පෙරදැරි කරගත් සමගි සම්පන්න ජාතීන් ලෙස ජීවත් විය යුතු වෙනවා.

අපගේ රජය විසින් බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේගේ ධර්මය, ජාතික පුනර්ජීවනයේ හරය ලෙස සලකමින් “ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නැවත ගොඩනැගීමේ” වැඩසටහනට නායකත්වය සපයනවා. එහිදී ආර්ථික ප්‍රකෘතිය කරා යන ගමන සදාචාරාත්මක වගකීමෙන් යුතුව, යහපාලනය සහ සමාජ යහපැවැත්මෙන් යුක්තව, ආර්ය අෂ්ටාංගික මාර්ගය අනුගමනය කරමින්, සාධාරණ හා තිරසාර සමාජයක් උදෙසා සිදු කරන්නක් වෙනවා.

මේ අසිරිමත් වෙසක් මංගල්‍යය හුදු උත්සවයකට වඩා ඔබ්බට යන ජිවිතාලෝකයක් වේවා යැයි මා ප්‍රර්ථනා කරනවා. මෙත්තා (මෛත්‍රිය), කරුණා (කරුණාව), මුදිතා (අනුවේදනීය ප්‍රීතිය) සහ උපේක්ඛා (සිතෙහි මැදිහත්බව) යන සතර බ්‍රහ්ම විහරණයන්, ජාතීන් අතර සැබෑ සාමය, සහයෝගීතාව සහ අන්‍යෝන්‍ය අවබෝධය ළඟා කර ගැනීමේ මඟ පෙන්වනු ඇතැයි මා විශ්වාස කරනවා. බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේගේ ධර්මය ආගමික වතාවත් වලට පමණක් සීමා නොවේ. එය දෛනිකව අප රාජ්‍ය පාලනය සිදු කල යුතු ආකාරය, ආරවුල් විසදිය යුතු ආකාරය සහ එකිනෙකාට සැලකිය යුතු ආකාරය මූර්තිමත් කරන්නක් වේ. බුදුන් වහන්සේ ඉගැන්වූ පරිදි, "අත්තාහි අත්තනෝ නාථෝ" එනම්, "තමාට පිහිට තමාම වේ". අද දිනයේදීත්, එළැඹෙන සෑම අවස්ථාවකදීත්, උතුම් වු ධර්ම මාර්ගයේ ගමන් කිරීමට අප සියලු දෙනාටම ශක්තිය සහ ධෛර්යය ලැබේවා.

இந்த புனிதமான வெசாக் நன்னாளில், இலங்கையிலும் உலகெங்கிலும் உள்ள பௌத்த சமூகத்தினருக்கு எனது மனமார்ந்த வாழ்த்துக்களைத் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன். வெசாக் தினமானது, புத்தரின் பிறப்பு, ஞானோதயம் மற்றும் மறைவு ஆகிய மூன்று உன்னத ஞானத்தின் அடையாளங்களை நினைவுகூர்கிறது. இவை மனித மனதின் உண்மையான ஆற்றலை வெளிப்படுத்தி, கருணையுடனும், அர்த்தத்துடனும் வாழ்வதற்கான தெளிவான பாதையை வழங்கின. போர், மோதல் மற்றும் ஆழமாகிவரும் பிளவுகளால் சிதைந்துள்ள இவ்வுலகில், அமைதி (சாந்தி) குறித்த புத்தரின் போதனைகள் இன்றைய உலகிற்கும் மிகவும் பொருத்தமானவையாக இருக்கின்றன.

புத்தபகவான் அறிவித்தபடி, “அக்கொதென ஜினே கொதங், அசாதுங் சாதுனா ஜினே” - கோபத்தை அஹிம்சையால் வெல், தீமையை நன்மையால் வெல். நாம் பிரிவினையின் மாயைகளிலிருந்து விடுபட்டு, எல்லையற்ற நல்லெண்ணத்தாலும் அனைத்து உயிர்கள் மீதான உண்மையான கருணையாலும் வழிநடத்தப்பட்டு, நல்லிணக்கமுள்ள தேசங்களாக வாழ வேண்டும். நமது அரசாங்கம், தர்மத்தை தேசியப் புதுப்பித்தலின் மையமாக வைத்து, “இலங்கையைப் புனரமைப்போம்” எனும் திட்டத்தை முன்னெடுத்துச் செல்கிறது: பொருளாதார மீட்சியை அறநெறிசார் முகாமைத்துவம், நல்லாட்சி, மற்றும் சமூக நலனுடன் இணைத்து, நீதியானதும், நிலைபேறானதுமான சமுதாயத்திற்காக உன்னத எண்வழிப் பாதையில் பயணிக்கிறது.

இந்த வெசாக், தனியொருநாள் பக்திக்கு அப்பாற்பட்ட உத்வேகத்தை அளிக்கட்டுமாக. மெத்தா (கருணை), கருணா (இரக்கம்), முதிதா (பரிவுணர்வுடன் கூடிய மகிழ்ச்சி), மற்றும் உபேக்கா (சமநிலை) ஆகிய நான்கு பிரம்மவிஹாரங்களும், நாடுகளை உண்மையான சர்வதேச அமைதி, ஒத்துழைப்பு, மற்றும் பரஸ்பரப் புரிதலை நோக்கி வழிநடத்தட்டும். தர்மத்தை சடங்குகளுக்குள் மட்டும் சுருக்கிக் கொள்ளாமல், நாம் ஆட்சி செய்யும் விதத்திலும், முரண்பாடுகளைத் தீர்க்கும் விதத்திலும், ஒருவரையொருவர் நடத்தும் விதத்திலும் அதனை அன்றாடம் கடைப்பிடிப்போம். புத்தர் போதித்தது போல, “அத்தா ஹி அத்தனோ நாத்தோ” - ஒருவன் தனக்குத் தானே புகலிடமாவான். அந்த உன்னதப் பாதையில் நடப்பதற்கான வலிமையை நாம் அனைவரும் இன்றும் என்றும் பெறுவோமாக.

I extend my warmest greetings to the Buddhist community in Sri Lanka and across the globe on this sacred occasion of Vesak. Vesak Day commemorates the Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing of the Buddha, the three hallmarks of supreme wisdom that revealed the human mind’s true potential and offered a clear path to compassionate, meaningful living.

In a world torn by war, conflict, and deepening divisions, the Buddha’s teachings on peace (Shanti) remain urgently relevant. As the Buddha declared, “Akkodhena jine kodhaṃ, asādhuṃ sādhunā jine” - conquer anger with non-anger, conquer evil with good. We must rise above the illusions of separation and live as harmonious nations, guided by boundless goodwill and genuine compassion for all beings. Our government, placing the Dhamma at the heart of national renewal, leads the “Rebuild Sri Lanka” programme: aligning economic recovery with ethical stewardship, good governance, and social well-being, walking the Noble Eightfold Path for a just and sustainable society.

Let this Vesak inspire more than a single day of reverence. May the Four Brahmavihāras; Mettā (Kindness), Karunā (Compassion), Muditā (sympathetic joy), and Upekkhā (equanimity), guide nations toward genuine international peace, cooperation, and mutual understanding. Let us not confine the Dhamma to ritual, but embody it daily in how we govern, resolve disputes, and treat one another. As the Buddha taught, “Attā hi attano nātho”- oneself is one’s own refuge. May we all find the strength to walk the noble path, today and always.

Vesak Day Message from the Prime Minister

It is an honor to extend Vesak day felicitations to all citizens of the nation during this sacred period in which lives are shaped in accordance with the noble teachings preached by the Lord Buddha, and upholding the practice of Dhamma.

Just as the external world is illuminated by lanterns, this Vesak season should also be an opportunity to illuminate our own hearts with compassion, kindness, and wisdom. Let us dispel the roots of greed, hatred, and delusion, and transform our lives into a nobel period that brings peace and serenity.

“abhittharetha kal‍yāṇē” – Let us hasten towards the common good. The theme for this year’s State Vesak festival reflects the social needs of the present time. While eliminating narrow beliefs and mindsets, this Vesak festival should become a source of blessings and strength for us to build a nation dedicated to the common good and radiant with the values of the Dhamma.

Followed by the guidance of the Mahanayake Theros and the All Island Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya, I extend wishes for the State Vesak Festival, jointly organized by the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government.

Through the deep bond that exists between the state and Buddhism, the progress and prosperity of the country can be achieved through righteous governance. It is essential that we cultivate the patience needed to overcome the economic and social challenges we face as a nation, founded on the noble ideal of “May all beings be well, happy and at peace” where justice is ensured for all regardless of caste, race, or religion.

I respectfully invite all of you to join in celebrating an environmentally conscious and nature-friendly Vesak, walking the Middle Path. Let us move forward together towards a society grounded in principled conduct.

May everyone be blessed with a peaceful and meritorious Vesak!

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
Prime Minister
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

May this thrice blessed day of Vesak bring peace and happiness to all beings!

සම්බුදු තෙමඟුලෙහි සිරියෙන් මේ වෙසක් දින සියලු සතහට සාමය සහ සතුට උදා වේවා!

மும்முறை ஆசீர்வதிக்கப்பட்ட இப்புனித வெசாக் திருநாள் அனைத்து உயிரினங்களுக்கும் அமைதியையும் மகிழ்ச்சியையும் தருவதாய் அமையட்டும்!