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Message: <blockquote data-quote="netlife007" data-source="post: 16946252" data-attributes="member: 79514">[FONT=&quot]DEBATES SPEARHEADED  BY VENERABLE GUNARATHANA[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Mohottiwatte  Gunananda Thera initiated and led many debates in defense of Sinhala Buddhists.  He consulted many of the scholar Bhikkhu leaders of the time who were most  forthcoming in providing Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera with necessary information  and assisting him in various other forms. Debates were conducted initially  through exchange of articles between Buddhists and Christians. [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]In 1865 was the so  called Baddegama debate conducted through exchange of articles between the two  sides.  What initiated this debate was a verbal argument between  Venerable Sumangala - a young Buddhist monk of a Vihara in Baddegama and a  Christian priest. The Waragoda debate followed in the same year and in 1866  there were two debates, one at  Liyanagemulla  and  other Udanvita in the Satara Korale. In 1871 was the  Gampola  debate held with Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera and Pandit Batuwantudave for the  Buddhists and Rev. Charles Carter and his team for the Christians. [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]THE PANADURA DEBATE  [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]These debates  culminated in the world famous debate held at Panadura from the 26th to 28th  August 1873. The occasion for the Panadura Debate was triggered owing a highly  offensive and scornful sermon delivered on the 12th of June 1873 by the  Protestant priest Rev. David Silva on the teachings of the Buddha with reference  to the human soul. This was delivered in the Wesleyan Chapel in Panadura which  is one of the first churches established by the Wesleyan mission in the early  part of the 19th century in an almost exclusively Buddhist area, and in the  immediate vicinity of the historic Galkanda or the present Rankot Viharaya. At  the time, this was a well known stronghold of Buddhists and Buddhist leaders,  both lay and ordained. The intension of Rev. David Silva’s sermon was to  disrepute and humiliate the Buddha. He criticized the teachings of the Buddha in  a most sneering and abusive manner. Both the content of the sermon and the  language used was malicious, slanderous and scathing. [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Buddhist leaders of  Panadura were hurt and they decided to invite  Mohottiwatte  Gunananda Thera to reply Rev. David de Silva. Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera came  to Galkanda Viharaya (Rankoth Viharaya) on 19th June 1873 and delivered the  reply speech denouncing as untrue the arguments of Christians. However the  people of either party were not satisfied with holding speeches in separate  venues and face to face formal debate was initiated by the Christians.  The  enraged Protestant missions challenged Mohottiwatte Gunananda  Thera to hold an open verbal debate to establish the truth of the faith. The  monk accepted the challenge, and the dates for the historical  face  to face debate was fixed with the agreement of both parties. Rules and  regulations were decided by the debating parties after consulting each other.   [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]P. Jeromias Dias a  Buddhist leader of Panadura at the time, prepared a large stage and attractively  decorated pavilion in one of his lands called Dombagahawatte near Galkanda  Viharaya and the Wesleyan church. The Christians were represented by able men,  the ablest debaters in the island whom their church could have summoned. They  included  Revs. David Silva, S. Langdon, Principal of Richmond  College, S. Tab, S. Calls, C. Jayasinghe, F. Rodrigo, the catechist Sirimanne,  Mudliyar de Soysa, Dunupola Nilame and assisted by a host of foreign and local  theologians. The speakers for the joint protestant delegation were Rev. David de  Silva of the Wesleyan mission and Rev. F. S. Sirimanne, a Catechist of the  Church Missionary Society. [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]The Buddhist monks  participating in the debate were Venerables:  Gunaratna Tissa  Mahathera of Panadura,  Hikkaduwe Sumangala Mahathera, Weligama Sri  Sumangala Mahathera, Ratmalane Sri Dharmaloka Mahathera, Waskaduwe Sri Subhuthi  Mahathera, Batuwanthudawa Devarakshitha Mahathera, Potuwila Indrajoti Mahathera,  Koggala Sangatissa Mahathera, Talhena Amaramoli Mahathera and Mulleriyawe  Gunaratana Mahathera.  Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera was to lead the  Buddhist side and be the sole speaker for the Buddhist delegation.   [/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]The crucial debate  commenced at the appointed time of eight in the morning each day and ended at  five in the evening. The debate went on for two days. On the first day there  were over 10,000 people to hear and see the debate from Panadura and the  neighboring areas of Pasdun Korale and Raigam Korale, including more than one  hundred Buddhist monks. The debate ranged from the nature of God, the Soul and  resurrection on the one hand, to the concept of Karma, Rebirth, Nirvana and the  principle of Paticca - Sumuppada or dependent origination. [/FONT]</blockquote>

Verification: Nawa warak dahaya keeyada? (Namaya wadi kireema dahaya)

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