Vesak Day is a grand expression of gratitude offered to a supreme spiritual leader – Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa

We celebrate another Vesak Day commemorating the noble threefold events of the Buddha’s life—birth, renunciation, and Parinirvana. This Vesak Day, observed through both material offerings and acts of devotion by people around the world, is a profound act of gratitude and reverence offered to a supreme spiritual teacher, stated Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in his Vesak greeting message.

In his message, he further stated:

The Buddha himself emphasized that true worship is meaningful only to the extent that we understand and practice the Dhamma path he taught.

In the Bala Pandita Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya, it is illustrated that being born as a human is an extremely rare occurrence—comparable to a blind turtle rising from the depths of the ocean once in a hundred years and accidentally passing its head through a yoke floating on the waves.

Through this profound perspective, the Dhamma assigns immense value to human life and recognizes the unique worth of every individual.

However, despite this, humanity remains divided along lines of religion, race, and caste. The Buddha clearly taught that all such divisions are meaningless.

He repeatedly emphasized that all human beings are equal, as reflected in his teachings found in suttas such as the Ambattha Sutta, Assalayana Sutta, Akkankheyya Sutta, and Vasalasutta.

Spreading these teachings more widely in society is an essential task in the present era.

Many of the problems faced by the modern world arise due to the failure to uphold fundamental human values.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins by stating that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights—a principle strongly reflected in the teachings of the Buddha.

On this Vesak Day, we must deeply reflect on how to bring the essence of the Buddha’s Dhamma closer to our lives.

The responsibility for this lies within each of us. As stated in the Dhammapada, “One is one’s own protector; there is no other.” On this sacred Vesak occasion, I pray that everyone commits to practicing this profound teaching in their lives.

Wishing a blessed and peaceful Vesak to all people living in Sri Lanka and across the world.