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History
On the Esala full moon day in July 16th, 1989, a group of forty people gathered at H. W. Fletcher Housing Co-op in Vancouver to listen to a talk on Buddha’s Path. This was exciting. A hat was passed around to collect the rental fee for the hall. Subsequent to the talk, the idea of meeting once a month was tossed around and heartily endorsed by all the participants. Thereafter, the group met monthly at UBC or at the Japanese Temple on Jackson Avenue in Vancouver or at Tozenji -Seizan Buddhist Center in Coquitlam. These monthly meetings provided spiritual nourishment for participants including children, resulting in devotional and meditation practices and a prototype of a Sunday Dhamma School by September 1989. These services were not only in high demand but also triggered the need for the group to have a place of its own. This resulted in the establishment of a building fund.
On November 12th 1989 after a Dana, the group unanimously decided to form a society with the goal of establishing a vihara (monastery) for future spiritual practice and sharing of the dhamma. By November 15th1989, the group forwarded an application to the provincial Registrar of Companies to register a society that they named as Buddhist Vihara Society in BC (BVS). As the result of this community initiative, the BVS was established as a recognized charitable organization and stared its formal operations on January 7th 1990.
Soon, activities such as conducting spiritual services, inviting monks to host retreats, publishing regular newsletters, organizing socio-religious functions such as Vesak celebrations, public dhamma talks etc became commonplace, for the BVS community.
In the mean time, BVS Building Fund reached the $ 10, 000.00 mark paving the way to start a vihara. Though the community was significantly small to support the ongoing sustenance needs of a vihara at the time, the society worked strenuously to reach its goals while exploring various options. In this endeavour BVS found Myanmar Buddhist Community as a matching collaborative partner and as a result the initial Buddhist Vihara was opened in a rental property at 82nd Avenue in Surrey on February 28th 1993, on a trial basis for a six months period.
The trial exceeded expectations and Surrey Vihara became the home of the Buddhist community of Myanmar and BVS. Thus, it was jointly managed until August 1st 1994. Due to increasing and diverse needs of growing communities, the two societies parted ways and the BVS moved to S.E Marine Drive in Burnaby. In the fall of 1994, BVS organized its first Kathina ceremony as a mass celebration in the new place.
While catering to the ongoing spiritual needs of the community, BVS developed its financial base also through the support of a growing membership to purchase its own property for the Vihara. After a lengthy search and making a dream come true, BVS purchased a residential property in North Surrey in the summer of 1996. However, the house needed extensive remodeling, renovation and reconstruction to transform it into a facility that was adequate to provide the services as a Vihara, for the next few years. Due to continuously increasing demands of the growing community and the expanding needs of the Dhamma School, North Surrey facility ran out of space. As a result, through the support of the membership, BVS purchased the present property and relocated to that location in the spring of 2003. Over the years BVS has become the center for spiritual progress among both the Sri Lankan and Non Sri Lankan Buddhist Community. With your generous support, the Vihara will continue to function into the future as a counselling and spiritual service centre for the community building on its’ successful existence to date.
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Temple (Vihara)
The word “vihara” comes from the ancient language of Pali used by the Buddha. It means the place where the triple gem (Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha) reside. The Buddha means the Enlightened One whose teachings are called the Dhamma. Those disciples who follow Him diligently on the path to enlightenment are the Sangha. In the present location, the temple (vihara) consists of 2 buildings. One is the residence of the monks. There are also allocated areas for the library, the community meeting place and the Sunday school. The other building houses the shrine, assembly and meditation hall.
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Resident Monks
The duties of the resident monks consist of guiding the lay people in their spiritual development, offering them advice in all ethical and moral issues and conducting the religious activities. At present there are three (3) resident monks. They are:
Ven. K. Sirinivasa.
Ven. A.Piyarathana.
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Board of Directors
The management of the day to day operation of the Buddhist Vihara Society in B.C is done by a Board of Directors elected by the membership. The present Board consists of the following members:
President – Ven.Madawala Seelawimala - 916 371 8535 (bhantes@yahoo.com)
Vice-President – Ven.Kumbalgoda Sirinivasa - 604 598 1160 (siri@bvs.org)
Secretary – Mr.Henry Subasinghe
- 604 507 6995 (henrysubasinghe@shaw.ca)
Assistant Secretary – Mr. Sam Samarakoon - 604 616 0261 (sam_rakoon@yahoo.com)
Treasurer – Ms. Sandhya Perusinghe - 604 951 4010 (perusinghe@hotmail.com)
Assistant Treasurer – Mr. Dushantha Rathnaweera - 604 592 6870 (dushyr@telus.net)
Board Members:
Mr. Thilak Bandara - 604 575 8726 (thilakb@hotmail.com)
Ms. Ari De Silva - 604 591 8866 (ari_dka@yahoo.com)
Mr. Daya Karunitha Wimalasooriya - 604 720 6015 (dayakw2005@yahoo.ca)
Mr. Nalatha Jayasinghe - 778 896 7522 (nilan_kj@yahoo.ca)
Mr. Eraj Liyanage - 604 596 9167 (eraj61@hotmail.com)
Mr. Thusara Amaratunga - 604 572 1421 (thusharaamaratunga@yahoo.com)
Mr. Nihal Ariyawardana - 604 469 4459 (tamaratpa@yahoo.ca)
Mr. Shihan Seneviratna - 604 543 0711 (shirans@yahoo.com)
Ms. Bhashani Palliyaguru - 604 464 4866 (bashinie_p@yahoo.com)
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Location/Map:
Buddhist Vihara Society In B. C. is located at:
13871 64 Avenue,
SURREY, BC CANADA V3W 1Y7
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Daily Activities:
The daily life and activities of the resident monks revolve around the community’s spiritual and counselling needs and the progressive practice needs of the monks. The resident monks carry out the following daily religious activities to pay homage to the Buddha. They are:
0700 - Daily Buddha Puja and Chanting
1030 - 1200 Mid Day Buddha Puja and Dana
1900 - Evening Gilanpasa and Chanting
The members and their families in the community generally sponsor these events on a prior commitment basis in consultation with the monks. Anyone interested can join. They may bring items for offering such as candles, incense, flowers, beverages and or food items.
In general, the daily routine is planned to cover all the days in the year and is moulded on teachings of the Buddha to lead harmonious lives and continue the learning and practicing efforts in the application of the Dhamma to our lives.
These may include scheduled community events such as group meditation for quiet, silent reflection, pirith and sutta chanting, sermons on specific subjects, Poya day Ata Sil practice, Dhamma School classes, community work and fund raising, as well as community events marking significant days of the Buddhist calendar, the annual calendar and significant events related to Sri Lankan heritage of the community.
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