"What I said only was that there is no clarity about the genuine Daladavahanse" -- Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera

"What I said only was that there is no clarity about the genuine Daladavahanse" -- Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera

As a consequence of a statement uttered by Samantha Badra or Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera last August at a dhamma sermon at his ashram disgracing the tooth relic and the frontal bone of the Buddha, the Malwatta Chapter which he represents had decided to expel him from that Chapter and in order to prohibit it, the thera has taken

steps to worship the Malwatta Nahimi theras and ask for forgiveness.

In his sermon he had pointed out that Buddhists trapped in the myth that they worship a sea shell thinking that it is the frontal bone of the Buddha and that they pay homage to the tooth of a pig believing that it is the tooth relic of the Buddha and that those who go behind such a fallacy could end up in hell. Further the thera had pointed out in his sermon that the tooth relic casket be thrown into a river. He had ultimately said in his sermon that he is able to clarify this since he is an arahat and speaks directly and also lives according to his conscience.

On the occasion the executive committee of the Malwatta Chapter delved into this sermon and had decided to expel Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera from the Malwatta Chapter when he had bowed down yesterday and asked for forgiveness by expressing points such as: "I plead for forgiveness if under any circumstances the Malwatta Maha Nayaka Theras and the Malwatta Chapter were inconvenienced in any way. I am not embarassed to ask for forgiveness. I have in no place mentioned a name and humiliated the Daladavahanse". In this instance the Malwatta Theras have informed Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera that acceptance of forgiveness should be in writing and that there are only two more instances.

The behaviour of this thera who proclaims that he has attained the state of arahat and had on various occasions uttered statements of an abnormal nature provoking the society have been subjected to numerous criticisms. At one time a crowd of both lay and clergy had surrounded the ashram where he was staying in Dehiwala and at a programme to be conducted by him at Piliyandala, people in the area had resorted to even throwing rotten eggs. A short period prior to this, he had created an uproar by making a statement against the pope. 

The statement where Pitiduwe Siridhamma Thera said that the tooth relic is a tooth of a pig and the frontal bone a sea shell, from below. Photos where he asked for forgiveness, below it