Banagala Upatissa Thero

Banagala Upatissa Thero (Sinhala: බානගල උපතිස්ස නාහිමි) (born 5 January 1950) is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk. He is the President of the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, the national branch associated with the historic Mahabodhi Society founded by Anagarika Dharmapala, and serves as the Chief Sangha Nayaka (chief prelate) for Japan. He has participated in forums on interfaith dialogue and peace. His work also includes educational and humanitarian initiatives.^[1]

Upatissa Thero was born in Banagala, a village in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, as the seventh child of Jayasena and Premawathi. He attended Banagala Primary School and later studied at Mahabodhi Inter College in Sarnath, India, followed by the Government Higher Secondary School in Sanchi.^[2]

At the age of 17, he entered the Buddhist monastic order and was ordained under Hedigalle Pannatissa Maha Nayaka Thero, who was then the Chief Sangha Nayaka for India. He studied Buddhist philosophy, the Pali language, and Vinaya (monastic discipline) in Sri Lanka.^[3]

Upatissa Thero obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bhopal University (now Barkatullah University) in 1973 through S.S.L. Jain Degree College in Vidisha, and a Master of Arts degree from the same university in 1975 in Indology and Museology. He also earned a diploma in Japanese from Tokyo Nihongo Gakko in Shibuya, Tokyo, and received training in early childhood education at Lumbini Kindergarten, affiliated with Shibamata Taishakuten Temple in Tokyo.^[3]

As President of the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, Upatissa Thero has been involved in initiatives aimed at maintaining religious and cultural links between Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries, including Japan, China, Myanmar, and Thailand through inter-monastic cooperation and cultural exchange programmes.^[4][5] During his presidency, the society participated in establishing Buddhist temples and educational centres serving both monastic and lay communities.^[6] In collaboration with the Japanese philanthropist Takiko Yoshida, the Yoshida Shokanji International School and several early childhood education centres were established in Sri Lanka.^[7]

In March 2015, together with other senior members of the Mahabodhi Society, he extended an invitation to the 14th Dalai Lama to visit Sri Lanka. Although the Dalai Lama expressed interest in visiting specific sacred sites in Sri Lanka, the visit did not take place due to visa restrictions.^[8]

Upatissa Thero is the Chief Incumbent of the Mahabodhi Agrasrawaka Maha Vihara, located at Maligakanda, Colombo. The temple houses relics of Arahants Sariputta and Moggallana, unearthed in the mid-19th century at Sanchi and Satdhara in India. The Thewawa ritual service, performed at dawn, noon, and evening, was resumed during his tenure after a hiatus of about four decades.^[9]

In January 2015, Pope Francis visited the temple, which was the second recorded papal visit to a Buddhist place of worship. The occasion included the opening of the relics, an event usually reserved for annual observances.^[10][11]

His responsibilities include monastic education programmes and cultural exchange initiatives involving Buddhist communities from Sri Lanka and abroad.^[12][13]

Upatissa Thero contributed to the establishment of the Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies in Madhya Pradesh, India, which offers programmes on Buddhist and Indic traditions.^[14]

In 1989, Upatissa Thero founded Shiyukiyohopin Lanka-ji Temple in Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, described as the first Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist temple in the country.^[15] The temple hosts Vesak celebrations, Dhamma discussions in Japanese, and community programmes.

Upatissa Thero is the Chief Incumbent of the Sanchi Chetiyagiri Vihara in Madhya Pradesh, India. The temple, located within the Sanchi complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses relics of Arahants Sariputta and Moggallana. It hosts the annual Sanchi Mahabodhi Mahotsava, first held in 1952 with participation of then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.^[16]

Upatissa Thero has attended interreligious dialogue and cooperation involving leaders from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Mahayana Buddhism.^[17]

Examples of his participation include:

• Attendance at a 2003 meeting with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan peace process.^[18]
• Attendance at the Quest for Peaceful Interfaith Co-Existence conference in Pakistan in 2015.^[19]
• Co-chairing the Localizing Response to Humanitarian Need forum in Colombo in 2017.^[20]
• Co-inauguration of the Dharma-Dhamma Conferences at Sanchi University, India, starting in 2018.^[21]
• Attendance at a 2022 Muslim World League forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, leading the first Sri Lankan Buddhist delegation.^[22][23]
• Attendance at the 2024 International Conference of Religious Leaders in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[24]
• Attendance at the 2025 Islamic Summit under the theme 'Islam and Buddhism' organized by the Muslim World League in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.^[25]

Siddiqui, Shakil (2017). Anjalikarniyo (2nd ed.). India: Indra Publishing House. ISBN 978-93-84535-90-2.