Members of the local, national and international Sri Lankan and Buddhist communities gathered in West Deer Sunday to celebrate the appointment of the chief abbot of the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center as the chief monk of his order for the United States.<\/p>\n
Bhante Soorakkulame Pemaratana was named chief monk of the Ramanna Monastic Order in the United States.<\/p>\n
In this new position that did not previously exist, Pemaratana oversees the well-being of monastics and the operation of the order\u2019s temples across the country, making him the spiritual leader of an entire monastic tradition on American soil.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge responsibility, but we trust him completely,\u201d said Ananda Gunawardena, president of the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center.<\/p>\n
The appointment, in recognition of his nearly two decades of service, was made in January. But it was at the urging of Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States<\/a>, that Sunday\u2019s public ceremony and formal announcement came about.<\/p>\n Pemaratana was not responsive to the idea of having such an event, said the ambassador, who after five years is leaving the office at the end of July<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to then use my diplomatic skills to start lobbying other Buddhist priests and proposing to them that we should have a ceremony of this nature. All of them wholeheartedly agreed that we have to do it,\u201d Samarasinghe said. \u201cWhen Dr. Pemaratana came back to Pittsburgh, he was told by his senior monks we are going to organize this ceremony and whether you like it or not you have to participate.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of exemplary Buddhist monk he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Also extending congratulations to Pemaratana were Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor, who declared July 12 to be \u201cDr. Soorakkulame Pemaratana Day\u201d in the City of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n Razin Karu, executive director of the Governor\u2019s Advisory Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs, read from Shapiro\u2019s letter to Pemaratana, in which he wrote that his honor recognizes decades of dedicated service.<\/p>\n \u201cThough this new role will bring greater challenges and responsibilities, it is with confidence in your faith and skills that you will oversee the operation of the order\u2019s temples across the United States and act as the order\u2019s primary representative in public and private affairs,\u201d Shapiro wrote. \u201cI am certain that you will continue to represent Pennsylvania, and your Sangha, with great distinction for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Buddhist Center<\/a> was founded in Harrison in 2006 by Sri Lankan Americans from Altoona, State College and Pittsburgh and formally dedicated in 2007. It moved to West Deer in 2021.<\/p>\n A native of Sri Lanka, Pemaratana, 49, entered monastic training in 1986 at the age of 10. While immersed in monastic discipline, mastering Pali and Sanskrit while studying Buddhist philosophy and classical texts, he was also encouraged to pursue an education in the English language.<\/p>\n He was 18 when he completed his monastic degree, and received his higher ordination at 20.<\/p>\n Pursuing higher education, Pemaratana earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in social sciences in 2001, a master\u2019s in Buddhist studies in 2002, and a second master\u2019s in philosophy in 2005.<\/p>\n He came to the U.S. and arrived at the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center in 2008, where he was appointed chief abbot. He was invited to come to Pittsburgh because the new temple needed a monk who could speak English.<\/p>\n Coming to Pittsburgh was a big decision and, he said, a risk.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about Pittsburgh. I hadn\u2019t even heard about Pittsburgh,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I told my master that I was invited to go to Pittsburgh, and when I told my friends I was invited to go to Pittsburgh, they thought that I was going to Petersburg. They thought I was going to Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n An enticement for Pemaratana to come to Pittsburgh was that he could pursue his doctorate degree. He completed a Ph.D. in religious studies at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. Since 2018, he has taught as a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh<\/a>, John Carroll University and Carnegie Mellon University.<\/p>\n