A Tribute to Two Monks
by
Bhikkhu Bodhi
© 2005
"Have I not told you already, Ananda, that there must be parting and separation from all who are dear and agreeable to oneself
" These words, spoken by the Buddha to his devoted attendant on the eve of his parinibbana, took on an especially poignant meaning for me this past rainy season, when in quick succession my beloved ordination teacher, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera, and my longtime spiritual friend, Ven. Piyadassi Nayaka Thera, succumbed to the implacable law of impermanence. Ven. Ananda Maitreya expired on 18th July, just one month short of his 102nd birthday, Ven. Piyadassi followed exactly a month later, on 18th August, a little more than a month past his 84th birthday.
Both monks had lived full and fruitful lives in the Sangha throughout the twentieth century, leaving behind such deep tracks in the contemporary history of Sri Lankan Buddhism that it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that their death spells the end of an epoch. Yet, though the two were firmly rooted in Sri Lanka and its ancient Theravada heritage, neither was a narrow nationalist who restricted his field of activity to his native land. To the contrary, they both had a breadth of heart and range of vision that enabled them to feel at home anywhere. Their rich inner springs of compassion extended to people throughout the world, and even in their ripe old age they both traveled the globe to teach the Dhamma to all who would lend an ear. Both monks also transcended the limits of hidebound traditionalism, achieving for themselves a rare synthesis of tradition and modernity. They had studied English in their youth; had read widely in world literature, other religions, and modern modes of thought; and had developed approaches to the Dhamma that highlighted its timeless rationality and timely contemporary relevance.
My own relationship with these two elders was close and deeply personal, unfolding under such unlikely circumstances that it seems a karmic nexus had reached out across the oceans and linked us half a world away. The story of this relationship began in 1971, when I was living at a Vietnamese Buddhist center in Los Angeles and teaching world religions at a college in the sprawling conurbation of southern California. One day at our center we received notice that a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka would be coming to LA, and we invited him to stay with us and give a series of lectures on Theravada Buddhism. That Buddhist monk was none other than Ven. Piyadassi, who was then on his second world Dhamma tour. His lectures were excellent, conveying with crystal clarity and gentle humor the heart of the Buddha”s teachings which he knew so well. At the end of the week, when we parted at the LA airport, Ven. Piyadassi suggested to me that some day I should come to Sri Lanka and spend time in a Buddhist monastery.
This suggestion resonated with an idea that was already taking shape in my mind, and thus the following year, when I decided to come to Asia to enter the Sangha, I wrote to Ven. Piyadassi to remind him of his invitation. In reply he gave me the name and address of a "senior prelate," Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya. At first I hesitated to contact this elder, for he was already 76 years old and I feared that at such an age he might not be fit enough to teach me. Little did I realize I was being introduced to a monk of such amazing strength and vitality that he would still be striding the globe well into his 100th year. In any case, I took the chance and wrote to him, and his welcoming reply set me on a "journey to the East" that culminated in my ordination as a bhikkhu and a three-year tutelage under him at his small village temple near Balangoda.
The future Mahanayaka Thera ha…
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