Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka

Special Lecture on the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan

Prof. (Dr) Shakir Ullah, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Archaeology and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the Hazara University in Mansehra Pakistan presented “Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: The Emergence of Buddhism in Gandhara” on 29th January 2026 at 1pm on hybrid mode as a Special Lecture organized by the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. Prof. (Dr) Shakir Ullah shared his vast experience and knowledge of Buddhist Archaeology in Pakistan. The presentation was followed by a stimulating discussion on Buddhist art and archaeology.

Celebrating 181 Years of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka! 🇱🇰

We are delighted to share that our 181st Founding Day Commemorative Programme was held successfully 07 February 2026 at our premises.

The highlight of the evening was a profound and insightful lecture by Ven. Siri Wajiraramaye Ñāṇasīha Thero (Mr. Olcott Gunasekara, prior to ordination) on the topic, "Bridging the Past and the Future: Keeping RASSL Relevant for a New Generation." We extend our deepest gratitude to the Ven. Thero for his inspiring words, which truly embodied the spirit of our society.

We also thank our President, Ms. Shereen Amendra, our Council members, and all attendees who contributed to the engaging discussion that followed.

Here is to the next chapter of knowledge, heritage, and relevance! 🍀

The Architecture of Silence: Buddhist Meditation Monastries of Ancient Sri Lanka

Presented by Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya

Date: Tuesday, 23rd February 2026
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Hybrid mode, Council Room of the RASSL.

"Discussion on PaliVerse Project: Making the Buddha's Teachings Accessible to All
Presented by Mr. Michael Xynos, Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Greece

Date: Tuesday, 17th February 2026
Time: 3pm
Venue: Council Room of the RASSL.

181st Founding Day Commemorative Programme

On behalf of the President, Ms. Shereen Amendra, and the Council of The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, it is with immense pleasure that we extend a cordial invitation to you to participate in our 181st Founding Day Commemorative Programme which will be held at our premises on February 7 (today), 2026, at 3:00 P.M.

A key feature of the commemorative programme is a lecture delivered by Ven. Siri Wajiraramaye Ñāṇasīha Thero (Mr. Olcott Gunasekara, prior to ordination), under the title "Bridging the Past and the Future: Keeping RASSL Relevant for a New Generation."

The tentative programme for the evening is as follows:

🍀Welcome Address – Ms. Shereen Amendra, Hony. President
🍀Introduction of the Guest Speaker – Mr. Muditha Karunamuni, Hony. Treasurer
🍀Special Lecture – Ven. Siri Wajiraramaye Ñāṇasīha Thero
🍀Discussion
🍀Vote of Thanks – Ven. Dr. Waskaduwe Siri Sarana Thero, Hony. Jt. Secretary
☕Tea

We look forward to seeing you at the programme.

"Emergence of Buddhism in Gandhara"
By Dr. Shakir Ulla
From Pakistan

Date and Time: Thursday, 29th January 2026 at 1.00 pm

Venue: Council Room of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka
No 96 (First floor, Mahaweli Center),
Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7

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A Special Lecture on "The Emergence of Buddhism in Gandhara" will be presented by Dr. Shakir Ulla of Hazara University in Pakistan.

Title: The Emergence of Buddhism in Gandhara
Date: Thursday, 29th January 2026
Time: 1pm
Venue: Council Room of the RASSL
Mode: Hybrid

Please join us at this Special Lecture.

You are warmly invited to attend the upcoming RASSL Monthly Public Lecture, a vibrant platform for insightful dialogue and intellectual exchange.

Topic: Urban Agriculture and Sacred Landscape: Anuradhapura

Speaker: Prof. Wasana De Silva, Professor in Architecture, Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa

Date: 25th August 2025

Venue: Council Room of the Royal Asiatic Society, 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 07. (1st floor of the Mahaweli Centre Building)

Time: 5:30pm

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විවිධ භාෂා සංස්කෘතීන් තුළ "ආදරය" සංකල්පයේ සාපේක්ෂ විශ්ලේෂණය ' යන තේමාව ඔස්සේ, රුසියාවේ දකුණු යූරල් රාජ්‍ය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පූර්ව පර්යේෂක රාජකීය ආසියාතික සමිතියේ සමලේකම් පූජ්‍ය ආචාර්ය වස්කඩුවේ සිරි සරණ හිමියන් විසින් 2025 ජූලි 28 සඳුදා සවස 5.30ට කොළඹ 07 ආනන්ද කුමාරස්වාමි මාවතේ අංක 96 දරන ස්ථානයේ පිහිටි රාජකීය ආසියාතික සමිතියේ රැස්වීම් ශාලාවේදී රාජකීය ආසියාතික සමිතියේ මේ මස දේශනය පවත්වනු ලබයි.
ඒ සඳහා මාර්ගගතව පහත සබැඳි ඔස්සේ සම්බන්ධ විය හැකිය.

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