Author name: Tharindu Withanage

The grand “Buddha Rashmi” Vesak Zone, which commenced on 30.05.2026 under the guidance of the Chief Incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple, Venerable Kirinde Assaji Thero, concluded on the evening of 02.06.2026. To commemorate the successful conclusion of the Vesak Zone, the Sri Lanka Police organized a vibrant floral procession from the Gangaramaya Temple to Seema Malakaya that evening. More than 170 police officers, coordinated by the Police Buddhist and Religious Affairs Association under the leadership of Priyantha Weerasuriya, participated in the procession. Officers carried traditional ceremonial items including Sesath, Muthukudda, Buddhist flags, and floral decorations, while *Hevisi* drummers and cultural dance troupes added colour and splendour to the event. Personnel from the Police Cultural Division, the Police Special Task Force, and Police Headquarters took part in the procession, which was conducted with distinction. With the assistance and security arrangements provided by surrounding police stations, the event was held in a dignified and spectacular manner. Following the procession, Malcolm Ranjith, who had arrived at the temple premises, engaged in a cordial discussion with Sajith Premadasa and later participated in the activities of the Dansala organized within the temple grounds.

Recognizing the importance of fostering a positive change in public attitudes towards religion as a means of promoting a more virtuous society, the Sri Lanka Police have, over the past several days, conducted a series of religious programmes islandwide in observance of Vesak Poya Day. As part of this year’s Vesak commemorations marking the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of Lord Buddha, a grand devotional musical program was organized and broadcast live via social media as a key highlight. Accordingly, under the auspices of the Police Buddhist and Religious Affairs Association, the “Vesak Bhathi Gee Suyamaya 2026” was held in a grand manner at the Police Headquarters on the evening of 1 June 2026, under the patronage of the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, and the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Ananda Wijepala. Blessed by the Maha Sangha, the event commenced at approximately 7.00 p.m. with the participation of senior police officers led by the Inspector General of Police, Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, along with invited dignitaries. The devotional program continued for two hours, featuring melodious performances by police officers accompanied by the Sri Lanka Police Western Band. Performances by the Police Cultural Division, along with vocal presentations by veteran singers including Senior DIG Mr. Kithsiri Jayalath (Southern Province) and Police Constable Buddhika Ushan both of whom have earned notable recognition within the Sri Lanka Police added colour and vibrancy to the event. Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Chairman of the Police Buddhist and Religious Affairs Association, IGP Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, together with the Vice Chairman Senior DIG Mr. Sanjeewa Dharmaratne (Administration) and Secretary DIG Mr. Mahinda Dissanayake, the program was successfully organized. The event was coordinated by the Police Media Division with the support of the Police Information Technology Division, Crime Records Division, and Communications Division, and was broadcast live on the official Sri Lanka Police Facebook page.

The “Vesak Bathi Gee Saraniya” (Vesak Devotional Songs Festival), organized by the Presidential Secretariat in conjunction with the Colombo Hunupitiya Gangaramaya “Buddharashmi” Vesak Zone and the “Bauddhaloka” Vesak Zone, was ceremonially held at the Presidential Secretariat premises on 31st May 2026 at 6.30 p.m. The occasion was graced by the presence of Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Mr. Roshan Gamage, Inspector General of Police and Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in Charge of the Western Province Mr. Sanjeewa Medawatta, and several other distinguished guests. The devotional music programme, featuring devotional singing groups of the Sri Lanka Police and the Tri-Forces, together with students from several schools in the Colombo area, will continue to be held daily at the Presidential Secretariat premises from 6.30 p.m. until 1 June 2026. In parallel with the programme, a rice dansala jointly organized by the Presidential Secretariat and the Sri Lanka Army was inaugurated at 7.00 p.m. near the Presidential Secretariat. The inauguration was attended by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Inspector General of Police and Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya, and senior officers of the Sri Lanka Army. The rice dansala will continue to serve devotees and visitors until 2 June 2026. In addition, an ice cream dansala was inaugurated on 30th May near the Presidential Secretariat to facilitate the large crowds visiting Colombo to experience the Vesak celebrations.With the direct contribution of the staff of the Presidential Secretariat, the Presidential Secretariat premises, surrounding government institutions, and adjoining roadways have been illuminated with festive decorations. A Vesak lantern exhibition featuring a variety of creatively designed lanterns has also been opened for public viewing.

ලෝකවාසී බෞද්ධ ජනතාවගේ පරම පූජනීය වෙසක් පුර පසළොස්වක පොහොය දිනය නිමිත්තෙන් සමස්ත ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ජනතාව වෙත මගේ හෘදයාංගම සුභාශිංසන පිරිනමනුයේ හදපිරි භක්තියෙනි. භාග්‍යවතුන් වහන්සේගේ තෙමඟුල (ඉපදීම, බුදුවීම සහ පිරිණිවන් පෑම) සිහිපත් කරන උදාර වෙසක් පොහොය, අප සැමගේ සිත් තුළ කරුණාව, දයාව සහ ප්‍රඥාව වර්ධනය කර ගැනීමට ලැබෙන උතුම් අවස්ථාවකි.  බුදුරජාණන් වහන්සේ දේශනා කළ වෛරයෙන් වෛරය නොසන්සිඳෙන බවත්, අවෛරයෙන්ම වෛරය සංසිඳෙන බවත් යන ශාස්තෘ වැකිය වත්මන් සමාජයට වඩාත්ම ගැලපෙන පණිවිඩයයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය ලෙස අප සැමවිටම කැපවී සිටින්නේ රට තුළ නීතිය හා සාමය සුරකිමින්, සාමකාමී සහ සදාචාරාත්මක සමාජයක් ගොඩනැගීමටයි. මෙවර වෙසක් සමයේදී ආමිස හා ප්‍රතිපත්ති පූජාවන්ට මුල්තැන දෙමින්, අන්‍යෝන්‍ය ගරුත්වය සහ සහයෝගීතාවය පෙරදැරිව කටයුතු කරන මෙන් සමස්ත පොලිස් නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් මෙන්ම රටවැසි මහජනතාවගෙන්ද කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමි. විශේෂයෙන්ම, උත්සව සමය තුළ මාර්ග ආරක්ෂාව පිළිබඳව සැලකිලිමත් වෙමින්, මත්ද්‍රව්‍ය හා මත්පැන්වලින් වැළකී, පින්සිතුවිලිවලින් යුතුව වෙසක් උත්සවය සැමරීමට වගබලා ගන්නා ලෙස සිහිපත් කරමි. සැමට පින්බර වෙසක් මංගල්‍යයක් වේවා! – පොලිස්පති, නීතිඥ ප්‍රියන්ත වීරසූරිය – …………………………………………………………. பௌத்த உலக மக்களின் மிகப் புனிதமான வெசாக் பௌர்ணமி தினத்தை முன்னிட்டு, இலங்கை வாழ் அனைத்து மக்களுக்கும் எனது இதயபூர்வமான வாழ்த்துகளை பணிவுடன் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன். புத்த பகவானின் திருத்திருமுக நிகழ்வுகளான (பிறப்பு, புத்தத்துவம் அடைதல் மற்றும் பரிநிர்வாணம்) நினைவுகூரும் இந்த உன்னத வெசாக் பௌர்ணமி தினம், நம் அனைவரின் மனங்களில் கருணை, அன்பு மற்றும் ஞானத்தை வளர்த்தெடுக்கக் கிடைக்கும் சிறந்த வாய்ப்பாகும். “பகையால் பகை தீராது, அன்பினாலேயே பகை தணியும்” என்ற புத்தரின் உபதேசம் இன்றைய சமூகத்திற்கும் மிகப் பொருத்தமான செய்தியாகும். இலங்கை பொலிஸ் துறையாக, நாட்டில் சட்டம் மற்றும் ஒழுங்கை பாதுகாத்து, அமைதியான மற்றும் நெறிமுறை சார்ந்த சமூகத்தை உருவாக்க நாம் எப்போதும் அர்ப்பணிப்புடன் செயற்பட்டு வருகிறோம். இவ்வருட வெசாக் காலத்தில், ஆராதனை மற்றும் நடைமுறை வழிபாடுகளுக்கு முன்னுரிமை அளித்து, பரஸ்பர மரியாதை மற்றும் ஒத்துழைப்புடன் செயற்படுமாறு அனைத்து பொலிஸ் அதிகாரிகளையும், பொதுமக்களையும் அன்புடன் கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம். குறிப்பாக, பண்டிகை காலத்தில் வீதிப் பாதுகாப்பை கவனத்தில் கொண்டு, மது மற்றும் போதைப்பொருட்களைத் தவிர்த்து, பக்தியுடன் வெசாக் திருவிழாவை கொண்டாடுமாறு நினைவூட்டுகின்றோம். அனைவருக்கும் புண்ணியமிக்க வெசாக் பண்டிகை நல் வாழ்த்துகள்! …………………………….. On the occasion of the most sacred Vesak Full Moon Poya Day, revered by Buddhists around the world, I extend my heartfelt Vesak greetings to all Sri Lankans with profound devotion and sincere goodwill. The noble Vesak Poya, which commemorates the Birth, Enlightenment, and Parinibbana of the Buddha, provides a valuable opportunity for all of us to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom, and understanding within our hearts. The timeless teaching of the Buddha that “Hatred is never appeased by hatred, Hatred is appeased only by non-hatred” remains one of the most relevant and powerful messages for contemporary society. It serves as a guiding principle for fostering harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among all people. As the Sri Lanka Police, we remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining law and order, ensuring Public Safety, and contributing to the creation of a Peaceful, Disciplined, and morally upright society. During this Vesak season, I respectfully urge all police officers and members of the public to give priority to both Amisa Pooja and Prathipatti Pooja, embracing the true spirit and values of the Buddha’s teachings through their words and actions. I also kindly appeal to everyone to demonstrate mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation during this festive period. In particular, I encourage all citizens to exercise caution on the roads, uphold road safety regulations, refrain from the use of alcohol and narcotic substances, and celebrate Vesak with noble thoughts and virtuous conduct. May this blessed Vesak bring peace, happiness, and spiritual fulfillment to all. – The Inspector General of Police, Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasuriya –

A special Dhamma sermon was held at Police Headquarters in observance of the sacred 2026 Vesak Full Moon Poya, a religious occasion revered with deep devotion by Buddhists across the world. The program, organized by Police Headquarters, took place on the evening of 28.05.2026 with the participation of the Inspector General of Police, Attorney-at-Law Mr. Priyantha Weerasooriya. The sermon was delivered by Venerable Rajagiriya Ariyagnana Thero, who shared profound Dhamma teachings and valuable guidance aimed at fostering spiritual growth, mental well-being, and character development among the officers of Police Headquarters who had gathered for the occasion.