Sri Lanka takes immense pride in preserving the Buddha Dhamma in its pristine form since Ven Mahinda, son of the great Buddhist king, Asoka of India, brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 4th century BC, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said joining the United Nations Day of Vesak celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Prime Minister addressing the main felicitation ceremony on Saturday noted that it was from Sri Lanka that Theravada Buddhism spread to South East Asian countries, such as, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

From these countries, Buddhism spread to other Asian countries, such as, China, Korea, Japan that followed the Mahayana tradition, the Prime Minister pointed out.

Speaking on the harmony existing among Buddhist nations the Prime Minister said that there had been intermittent upsurges and decline in the religious practices by the Sangha and the laity in Buddhist countries at times during their long histories. He pointed out that on such occasions, other Buddhist countries intervened and had come forward to assist and resuscitate the religious practices of the declining country.

The Prime Minister pointed out that when Sri Lanka experienced a decline in higher ordination of the Sangha in the 18th century, Thailand had come forward to resuscitate higher ordination in Sri Lanka by sending a delegation of 21 members of the Sangha headed by the Most Ven Upali Thera in 1753 AD.

“Similarly Sri Lanka had assisted Myanmar and Thailand through exchange of members of the Maha Sangha on several occasions when these countries faced similar adverse situations,” the Prime Minister added.

Reminding the gathering that it was in 1999 that the UN General Assembly recognized Vesak as a UN day to be celebrated by the world, he added that, that the then Sri Lankan Foreign Minister late Luxman Kadirgamar and representatives of other Buddhist countries at the UN had done yeomen service to recognize Vesak as a UN Day.

“This move was timely and it signified the growing importance and recognition the world community bestows on Buddhism,” he added. Appreciating Thailand’s efforts in organizing the event on an annual basis Prime Minister Jayaratne said that Thailand since 2001 has been organizing the UN Vesak Day internationally with the active cooperation and participation of all other Buddhist countries who celebrate Vesak in their own countries on a grand scale.

The UN Day of Vesak Celebrations – 2011 was held in Bangkok, Thailand from May 12-14, 2011.