EFFORTS BY LATE VEN SOMA THERO IN ESTABLISHING SRI LANKAN THERVADA TEMPLES IN OTHER STATES OF AUSTRALIA:
Adelaide, South Australia temple
Adelaide Sri Lanka Bauddha Vihara dayaka, Dharmin Senanayaka, he was also a devotee of Ven Soma. He said that after the visit to Adelaide, Ven Soma was very helpful during the time the temple was being established. In 1995, Ven Soma helped to select the Buddha statue that is at the temple now. Ven Seelarathana was the first monk at the temple. There was also another monk Ven Somarathana, who was an incumbent and is currently in New Zealand.
Soma Thera is at Vietnam Temple Adelaide
(A group photo was taken after the meeting with Sri Lankan Community in Adelaide)
Buddhist Vihara (Temple) of Queensland (Goodna Temple)
In 1998 a group of Sri Lankan Buddhists living in Brisbane began discussions on establishing a Buddhist Temple to cater to the needs of the Buddhists and to make the teachings available to others who were interested in Buddhism. There was an existing Buddhist Temple in Brisbane, which at that time was facing certain problems. To overcome this issue, devotees decided the solution was to establish a second temple.
One of the members, Pushpakumara Arachchige was tasked with speaking to Venerable Soma Thera of the Buddhist Vihara Victoria in Melbourne. With the advice, guidance and supervision given by Venerable Soma, the devotees began the work on establishing a temple. Venerable Soma had one request, that the Constitution should be approved by himself and that the mentor should be the chief incumbent monk of Buddhist Vihara Victoria. While initially this was followed, after some time, the mentorship was taken up by the Mahanayaka of the Dhammarakshita nikaya of Amarapura Nikaya.
On the request of the devotees, Venerable Soma selected a monk, Venerable Sitinamaluwe Sugathasara Thero, from the Siri Vajiragnana Dharmayathanaya at Maharagama, Sri Lanka. The new temple was inaugurated as an Incorporated Association under the leadership of Venerable Sugathasara Thera, who is the Chief Incumbent of the temple. Before the temple was inaugurated, Venerable Soma visited Brisbane and met with the devotees, such as Pushpakumara Arachchige, Wasantha Ranasinghe, Kumudini Vithanage, Lalantha Jayasekera, Premasiri Weerasekera, Siri Jayasinghe, Nimal Wickramasinghe, Prabha Vithana and Ruwan Abeyweera among others, who were working to establish the temple.
During this time, Pushpakumara Arachchige was the Vice President, but when the temple was established, Venerable Soma Thera requested Wasantha Ranasinghe to become the Vice President. The Chief Incumbent monk is the President and Patron of the temple. From the very inception, the committee made it a rule that each office bearer would be in office only for one or a maximum of two years and even today the office bearers change each year.
Although a new temple was established, the committee ensured that no rivalry arose with the temple that had already been established. Venerable Soma approved of this and on his visit had visited the other established temples as well. This harmony among temples has proved to be a great asset to all, as both temples are today flourishing with a large number of devotees attending the ceremonies and making use of the facilities and services provided to them.
The most important advise given by Venerable Soma when he visited Brisbane was that the five precepts be observed diligently by all who considered themselves followers of the Buddha’s teachings. Venerable Soma stressed that observing the fifth precept and giving up alcohol was one of the most important steps they could take. He went on to expound on the evils of alcohol consumption, both from health and wealth perspective.
The success of this temple can be attributed to the strong and wise leadership given by Venerable Sugathasara Thera, who was Venerable Soma’s choice to lead the devotees.
Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple in Canberra ACT
Sena Athugala, who lives in Canberra, recounted how Venerable Soma was instrumental in starting up a Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple in Canberra.
Sena had been involved with the Thurunu Saviya programme started by the Late Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Mahanayaka Thera when he lived in Sri Lanka. During the monthly meetings of this and other organisations at Siri Vajiragnana Dharmayathanaya in Maharagama, he had met the late Venerable Soma Thera.
After migrating to Australia, Sena was involved with the Buddhist Temples of other Theravada countries like Laos, Thailand, and Burma. Although the devotees were of other Buddhist nations, the administration was carried out by Sri Lankans like Sena. When Soma Thera arrived in Melbourne, Sena got in touch with him and invited him to Canberra for a short visit. When Soma Thera visited Canberra, he resided at the Thai Temple. It was during this time that the idea of establishing a Temple for Sri Lankans was discussed. Soma Thero was very encouraging and gave advice on how to establish a Buddhist Temple. Since the Sri Lankan community in Canberra was still small, it was not possible to establish and maintain a temple exclusively for Sinhalese.
The idea came to fruition later, around 1996, when the Aust Sri Lanka Buddhist Association Inc, was established with great veneration by the Late Professor Thissa Rajapathirana and the Late Mr. Ananda Weerarathne. Although Venerable Soma was not personally involved in establishing the temple in Canberra, the idea for a temple was first made by him, and he advised and encouraged the community to establish a temple.
Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple in Sydney New South Wales
Soma Thera was not involved with the establishment of the Lankarama Vihara, but he had approved Ven Dhammagavesi’s move to Sydney.
Ven Dhammagavesi arrived in Australia on Ven Soma Thera’s invitation and the approval of Ven Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayaka Thera and lived in Melbourne for some time before moving to Sydney.