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Buddhist representation in Royal Wedding | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala thera, Viharadhipathi of the London Buddhist Vihara in Chiswick will represent Buddhists at the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The Ven.Seelawimala thera who is also the Vice Chairman of the Interfaithnetwork in the UK, is the first Buddhist monk to be invited to a royal wedding in Britain. The Thera told Sandeshaya that many believe this invitation has been extended to him based on the social structure of this country. "I believe this is a symbolic invitiation to all the Buddhists living in this country. I am looking forward to participate in the wedding," Ven.Seelawimala thera said. As this a historic occasion where a Buddhist priest is going to represent at a royal wedding, local and foreign media have shown a keen interest to come and interview the venerable thera. He said among the media was a television crew from the United States which interviewed him. Prince Charles visited the Vihara in 2005 following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Formed in 1926 by Anagarika Dharmapala, the Vihara was the first Buddhist monastery to be established outside the continent of Asia. More than 1,000 Buddhists regularly attend the temple. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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