Ambassador for Peace Award for Bhante Wimala

by Manjarie PEIRIS, Daily News (Sri Lanka), Wednesday, January 14, 2009

It was a peaceful and sunny morning in the capital of Kenya. Ambassador Ram Sharada and Hon. Njeru Kathangu, a former Member of Parliament of Kenya welcome Venerable Bhante Wimala at the St. Johns basilica in the downtown Nairobi. They accompanied him to the Peace Centre located just a few blocks away from the church. In a simple and intimate ceremony, they awarded venerable Bhante Y. Wimala with a certificate of Peace Ambassador, offered by the Universal Peace Federation, International and Inter-religious Federation for World Peace.

The recipients of Peace Award are carefully chosen in recognition of their services as leaders representing the religious, racial and ethnic diversity of the human family, as well as all disciplines of human endeavor. They stand on the common ground of shared principles and are committed to the path of promoting reconciliation, overcoming barriers, and building peace.

"I was pleasantly surprised to see the excitement and enthusiasm of everybody who gathered there. I felt that their words and gestures came from their inner hearts with genuine enthusiasm. It was a great moment to witness such appreciation of the work that I do with so much dedication and enthusiasm." Said Bhante Wimala.

Ven. Mwalagho Kililo, the Secretary General of the Universal Peace Federation - African Region, Hon. Njeru Kathangu, Former Member of Kenya Parliament, Ambassador Ram Sharada, Rose Kegwiria of the Youth Federation for World Peace and Rangala Fredrick, the Deputy Director of Peace Festival, Kenya, were among the participants at this ceremony.

The Ambassadors for Peace should exemplify the ideal of living for the sake of others while promoting universal moral values along with strong family lives. They should help to strengthen inter-religious cooperation, international harmony, and renewal of the United Nations, creation of responsible mass media and establishment of global culture of peace.

They should surpass racial, national and religious barriers and contribute to the fulfillment of the hope of all ages - a unified world of peace wherein the spiritual and material dimensions of life are harmonised.

The Ambassadors for Peace serve as members on national, regional and global peace councils promoting and safeguarding world peace.

They contribute for development of a broad strategic alliance of partnerships among individuals, educational institutions, organisations, religions, corporations, the media and governments.

Bhante Wimala is the author of 'Lessons of the Lotus - Practical Spiritual Teachings of a Traveling Buddhist Monk' and 'Poems of Awakening'. The webpage of Bhante Wimala is www.bhantewimala.com.

Bhante Wimala was also awarded with Global Peace Award in the US last year by the Peace Centre in the US. and the Council of Christian Churches. Bhante Wimala has been a Buddhist monk for 36 years and is known throughout the world as a spiritual teacher and humanitarian. He is the Chief Monk and Spiritual Director of Theravada Buddhist Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

He is also the founder and spiritual teacher of the e-Samadhi Buddhist Meditation Centre in Tupadly (Prague) Czech Republic, Founder of the Lotus Buddhist Center. Since 1986, Bhante Wimala has been the Chairperson and Spiritual Director of Triple Gem Society, the Centre for Conscious Evaluation, in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. He is also the Founding Director and Spiritual Advisor of Prison Ministries which serve many state prisons in the USA.

Bhante Wimala has been the Chief Sanghanayake of USA and Canada since 1994. In 1994, he was appointed as the Sanghanayake by the Council of Monks of the Samastha Amerapura Sangha Sabha of Sri Lanka.

source: http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/01/14/fea11.asp