World Peace Pagoda Analayo

The 10th Sangharaj, the Most Venerable Jyotipal Mahathero, wished to spend the rest of his life in meditation at Mainamati, one of the holy places of Buddhist pilgrimage in Bangladesh. His dream was to build a tall World Peace Pagoda there, but for lack of means it could not be fulfilled in his lifetime. Venerable Sugato Priya Bhikkhu, grandson of the 10th Sangharaj’s nephew and bearer of his ideals, came forward to make his teacher’s dream come true. With the support of the Academy’s authorities, he took on the building of a tall World Peace Pagoda together with friends from Thailand.

It began on 23 October 2001, when a grand alms-giving ceremony was held at Kanak Chaitya Vihara, Baraigaon, in memory of the birth and last rites of the 10th Sangharaj, in the presence of monks and donors from Thailand. On 5 November 2010 the Royal Thai Kathin Chivara Dana was celebrated with great ceremony in the presence of the representative of the King of Thailand. The monks and guests from Thailand who came for these events were amazed by the ancient Buddhist civilisation and antiquities of Mainamati, and by New Salban Vihara. Word gradually spread among devout Thais, especially through Thailand’s meditation teacher and Sangha Mata, Mrs. Chitra Petvong, who is dedicated to spreading the Buddha’s Dhamma, and other supporters.

On 20 October 2011 the foundation of the World Peace Pagoda Analayo was laid at New Salban Vihara with great solemnity by the Supreme Spiritual Leader. The Thai architect Mr. Surchai and engineer Professor Mr. Pragon designed a beautiful pagoda in the Buddhist architecture of Thailand. The Most Venerable Phra Thep Mongkhon Yan, Lord Abbot of Wat Phutthabucha in Thailand, inspired his followers and devotees there from behind the scenes. By establishing the World Peace Pagoda Analayo he has made a special contribution to turning New Salban Vihara into a Mahavihara of international standard.

A local technical team supervised the work: Karmabir Bhadanta Shilabhadra Mahathero, Chief Abbot of the monastery, as president, with Engineer Jatish Singha, Architect Biswajit Barua and Engineer Swapan Chandra Singha as members. To manage the finances properly, the former bank officers Babu Tapan Kumar Singha and Surasen Singha were assigned as assistants, Babu Manhari Singha kept the accounts, and Bijoy Sen Singha and Sujit Chandra Singha were responsible for purchasing.

Construction began on 6 October 2013 in the presence of the Thai Chargé d’Affaires in Bangladesh, Mr. Phasit Chudabuddhi; the Deputy Commissioner of Cumilla, Mr. Tofazzal Hossain Mia; the President of the Sangharaj Jyotipal Mahathero Foundation, Mr. S. K. Chowdhury; guests from Thailand; and many monks and devotees from Bangladesh. The work went on in stages. On 15 August 2014 a 30-foot metal Buddha image brought from Thailand was installed at the pagoda, in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner of Cumilla, Mr. Hasan Uzzaman Kallol, 75 devotees from Thailand and thousands of Buddhist men and women chanting. It was another memorable day for us.

After six long years of continuous work the pagoda took on its graceful form. The sacred footprint of the Buddha, carved in stone, lies beneath the Buddha altar, so that anyone can find peace by paying homage there. On the ground floor, a hall for meditation has been created with fine craftsmanship and lighting, where anyone can sit for a while in a calm, serene setting. Three lion doors open on three sides of the ground floor, one stands beneath the Buddha altar on the second floor, and four more face the four sides of the prayer hall. Of the five chaityas on the pagoda, four were made with local techniques. The main chaitya, glowing with gold and brought from Thailand, was installed with sacred relics on 11 April 2017. The main Buddha image inside the pagoda, cast in ashtadhatu (eight metals), was modelled on the Buddha in Dharmachakra Mudra preserved in the Varanasi Museum in India, and made in Bangkok.

The pagoda was officially inaugurated on 21 October 2017. Since then New Salban Vihara has been visited by the ambassadors of China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar and, as it lies in one of Bangladesh’s tourist centres, by a steady stream of visitors from home and abroad. With this pagoda we have taken another step towards our dream.