Retired Senior Professor Kotapitiye Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera has requested the Commissioner General of Prisons to allow Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to retain his robes while in custody.
In a letter addressed to the Commissioner General of Prisons today (06), the senior prelate said Gnanasara Thera belongs to the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha of the Mahavihara lineage.
The letter was issued following reports of Gnanasara Thera being produced in courts dressed in civilian attire.
Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera stressed that he was not expressing any objection to or opinion on the court judgment concerning Gnanasara Thera, adding that the supremacy of the judiciary was fully respected.
However, he said the authority to determine matters concerning a monk’s robes rests with the monk and the Maha Sangha Sabha to which he belongs.
According to the letter, the removal of a monk’s robes is an ecclesiastical matter that should be carried out with the approval of the Mahanayake Thera of the relevant Nikaya or Maha Sangha Sabha.
The senior prelate said that, according to ecclesiastical law and established tradition, a monk should be permitted to retain and wear his robes, including when being taken outside.
He warned that disregarding this established practice could set a wrong precedent for the Buddhist Sasana.
Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera further said the Sangha Sabha had received no report indicating that Gnanasara Thera had committed an offence under the Vinaya Pitaka or that there was another serious ecclesiastical reason warranting the removal of his robes.
He said it was the responsibility of the relevant Sangha Sabha to conduct a disciplinary inquiry and determine whether a monk should be disrobed or permitted to retain his robes.
Accordingly, the senior prelate requested prison authorities not to take away Gnanasara Thera’s robes and to allow to wear them. (Newswire)
