Swarnamali Stupa Wandanawa on June 4, 5 2011

I was so delightful to attend the 'Swarnamali Stupa Wandanawa' held at the Ruwanwelisaya on June 4th & 5th 2011, to commemorate 2600 Sambuddha Jayanthi and 60th Annivesary of Sri Kalyani Yogashrama . This was organized by the Sri Kalyani Yogashrama Sanstha with the guidance of Most Venerable Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thero. Huge crowd gathered.

swarnamali stupa ruwanwelisaya sri lanka

To commemorate the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi Ven. Kadawedduwe Sri Jinawansa Thera founded the Kalyana Yogashrama Sanstha on 18th June 1951. Nimalawa Aranya Senasanaya in Kirinda was selected as the first aranya of a number of aranya senasana that was to be named Kalyana Yogashrama Sansthawa. With the passage of time the fame of Kalyana Yogashrama grew. People in many walks of life flowed in to the Aranya in search of the authentic way of meditation. But setting up the Kalyana Yogashrama Sanstha was no easy task. Although most ley persons were attracted to Ven. Kadawedduwe Sri Jinawansa Theras extremely eloquent sermons, there were people, the ley and monks alike who resented and envied his success. But thanks to his conviction the Kalyana Yogashrama Sanstha now has over 150 Aranya with over 1500 monks.(2007 figures) All the monks in all the Aranya belonging to the Yogashrama Sanstha, work according to the same time table. They all worship three times a day. They start the day at four a.m. and meditate for an hour. Unlike in temples of today the main focus of an Aranya is meditation.

source: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/08/26/imp02.asp

Sri Kalyani Yogashrama is an independent part of the Sri Lankan Ramañña Nikāya Buddhist ordination line, with their headquarters in Galduva. They are keeping a strict standard of Vinaya (commentarial interpretation), recognised as the strictest standard of any major organisation in Sri Lanka. It is the largest forest sect of the Sri Lankan Sangha. Their monks are easily recognised by the palm-leaf umbrella they are using and by the habit of wearing the Sanghati (double robe) whenever they walk outside the monastery boundaries. Remarkably for Sri Lanka, all castes are accepted for ordination. Foreign monks, who wish to become resident at one of their monasteries, are usually expected to undergo the so called "Dalhi-Kamma" at Galduva, a short ceremony meant to reconfirm the validity of their original Upasampada according to Galduva standard. After that they are accepted according to their normal seniority. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Kalyani_Yogasrama_Samstha