Bro. Tan receiving Dr. Charika and Dr. Upali (left). In the middle is host officer Bro. Ravi.

On Thursday 5 January, Nalanda Centre was honoured by a visit by well-known Sri Lankan social activist Dr. Charika Marasinghe and her husband Dr. Upali, M.D.  Dr. Charika is the daughter of Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, the founder of Sarvodaya Shramadana, the largest social-development organisation in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Charika and Dr. Upali were mesmerised by the serenity of Nalanda Centre after a building tour led by its Director, Sis. Nandinī.  The visitors later met with Nalanda founder Bro. Tan for fruitful discussions on the social application of Buddhist teachings in helping people affected by trauma.

Bro. Tan was impressed by family-based programmes initiated by Sarvodaya, and wished to learn more about them by visiting Sri Lanka sometime this year.

Bro. Tan said that he was impressed by the work done by Sarvodaya, and wished to learn more about its plans to improve rural communities.  Upon the kind invitation of Dr. Charika and Dr. Upali, Bro. Tan agreed to visit Sri Lanka soon to witness the implementation of Sarvodaya’s family-based programmes there.  We thank both esteemed visitors for taking time to tour Nalanda.