Retired Senior Professor and Anunayake Maha Thera Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera has urged prison authorities to allow Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera to retain his Buddhist robes while serving his prison sentence.
In a letter addressed to the Commissioner General of Prisons, Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera has reportedly said the authority to remove or change the robes of an ordained monk rests with the monk concerned and the relevant Maha Sangha.
Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera, an Anunayake Maha Thera of the Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagridharma Maha Sangha Sabha, has said Gnanasara Thera belonged to the same Sangha Sabha of the Maha Vihara lineage.
He has said the Sangha Sabha had no objection to the court decision concerning Gnanasara Thera and fully accepted the supremacy of the judiciary.
However, he has said the Sabha had taken note of media reports regarding the removal of Gnanasara Thera’s robes after he was taken into custody.
According to Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera, established religious practices and traditions require the removal of a monk’s robes to be carried out with the approval of the Mahanayake Thera or the relevant Maha Sangha.
He has further said that, according to established religious and traditional practices, a monk’s robes should be preserved, and the monk should be permitted to appear in proper robes whenever he is brought outside his place of detention.
The Anunayake Thera has also said Gnanasara Thera had not been reported to the relevant Sangha Sabha as having committed a Parajika offence under the Vinaya Pitaka or any other offence considered sufficiently serious to warrant the removal of his robes.
He has maintained that any disciplinary inquiry should be conducted by the relevant Sangha Sabha, which should determine whether the Thera should retain or be deprived of his robes.
Accordingly, Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera has reportedly requested the Commissioner General of Prisons not to remove Gnanasara Thera’s robes and to permit him to appear in them when brought outside the prison.
Treating Gnanasara Thera as ordinary inmate
Meanwhile, prison authorities have confirmed that Gnanasara Thera has been dressed in standard prisoner attire at Welikada Prison.
Prison Media Spokesperson and Commissioner of Prisons (Operations) Senaka Pallegetenna has said the Thera’s robes had been removed and that he had been issued a standard prisoner registration number as an ordinary inmate.
The development comes as authorities implement the prison sentence imposed on Gnanasara Thera following his conviction for contempt of court.
Gnanasara Thera was arrested on Sunday on an open warrant and subsequently produced before court.
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