Most Venerable Seiyu Kiriyama Thera’s 100th birth anniversary on January 5

A series of meritorious activities has been organised to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Most Venerable Seiyu Kiriyama Thera, the founder of the Agonshu sect of Buddhism in Japan. The events will be held on January 5, on which he would have turned 100, organised by Sri Lanka Agonshu Friendship Foundation formed under the patronage of Most Ven Seiyu Kiriyama Thera under the supervision of its Director General Somasiri Addara Pathiranage. Most Venerable Seiyu Kiriyama Thera passed away in 2016.

Members of Agonshu point their origin to the Agon Sutras, where the Buddha taught his disciples a method known as the seven systems and 37 practices for attaining supreme wisdom, a method that Agon Buddhists practise.

The Agonshu sect was founded in 1978 by Most Venerable Seiyu Kiriyama Thera. Born on January 5, 1921, the Thera was in a difficult phase of life due to illness. Although he decided to join armed forces during the World War II, his health condition did not let him fulfil that aspiration. The doctors predicted that he cannot live more than 25 years. The Thera, still a layman then, was largely affected by this medical prediction. He was on the verge of committing suicide.

However, that stream of thought took a different turn as the Thera had an opportunity to read a Buddhist sutta.

He became a Mahayana monk in 1995. He lived up to 96 years until he breathed his last mindfully and gave the lie to the medical prediction. The final rites of the Thera’s funeral will be held at the Agonshu temple premises in Kyoto, Japan, on October 16.

After becoming a Mahayana monk, Most Ven Seiyu Kiriyama Thera was engaged in extensive research on the Buddha’s teachings. He travelled to a number of countries to pass on the Buddha’s teachings. He combined the traditions of Theravada, Mahayana and Tibet Buddhism and founded the Agonshu sect. Within a short span of time, the Agonshu sect became an instrumental tradition of Buddhist teachings across the globe. Most Ven Seiyu Kiriyama Thera became an iconic figure among the Buddhists who took up Agonshu tradition.

The Agonshu temple, built in the latter stages of the 1980s with a massive workforce, is considered to be the largest building erected on wood.

Most Ven Seiyu Kiriyama Thera arrived in Sri Lanka for the first time in April 1986. The then Sri Lankan President J R Jayewardene offered sacred relics as a token of reverence. The relics remain at the Agonshu Temple. In 1993, the Sri Lanka Agonshu Friendship Foundation was formed under the patronage of Most Ven Seiyu Kiriyama Thera. Somasiri Addara Pathiranage became the Foundation’s Director General.

The Foundation has a number of noble objectives. Foremost among them is offer a helping hand to Sinhala Buddhist students with financial difficulties. Renovating Buddhist places in remote areas, equipping the youths with vocational education, providing medicines and dry rations to helpless patients and improving the infrastructure of temples and Buddhist libraries are the other core activities of the Foundation.