The President presented the Scroll to new Maha Nayaka Thera and the Chief Minister North Central Province, Peshala Jayarathna offered the Vijinipatha (the fan) to the Thera.

Addressing the gathering the President said that the supreme gift we can offer to the world is the Buddhist philosophy.

The President commended the senior scholarly Bhikkhus for their commitment in spreading the Buddha Dhamma around the world and preserving and sustain the Buddhist philosophy.

The annual Scholarships presentation of the Karuna Samadhi Organization, which was established a few years ago by the Ven Dr. Rathmale Punnarathana Thero was held during the event.

The President symbolically presented 350 scholarships to selected children from the least developed areas.

Dr. Ven Rathmale Punnarathana Thero of Sri Lanka Maha Viharaya in Germany is a erudite monk with few decades of experience in spreding Dhamma. The Thero, making Germany as his central point, is engaged in a mission to spread Buddhism in other countries in Europe too. He is also a lecturer at the Johannes GutenbergUniversity Mainz in Germany