User talk:Sugunasiri

Jan 28 2012

Hello:

I need help. Badly!

1.	I was prompted to write this piece for Wikipedia by a comment by Wikipedia itself, when my name had appeared in one or another online entry. You noted that there was no Wiki entry under the name Sugunasiri. 2.	But there was nobody who knew all of what I have done over the last 40 years in Canada, never mind my work in Sri Lanka. So it occurred to me that if there was going to be a piece it had to come from myself. And I do hope that I qualify under the WIKI guidelines to be featured. 3.	But the Wiki website had a caution: “Don’t even think of it. Just never to write about yourself.” 4.	However, given that I am not an unknown entity on the Web (a quick Google search will show you that), and there may be those out there who might want to know a bit about me, I thought I’ll take the chance and write the  piece, putting to work my best skills as an academic and  writer. 5.	So while I have done the best I can to strike a balance between putting it all out there and self-flagellation,  I know that it still needs ruthless editing. 6.	And this is the help I need. I’m looking for your kind assistance in getting the 30 odd pages (not counting the references and Bibliography) ready as a Wiki article. I can live with any tweaking, ditching, shorteningn etc. 7.	I have added some pix as well, and again, you’ll tell me which of them should go. Or, if you need any others. Thank you. 8.	Also, I don’t know how to turn the word file into web format, including linkages. Thanks for any help there, too. 9.	So I’m sending you two files: a. the text in WORD, and b. a PDF file with text in  Sinhala and Pali (CSX) font which  may get warped on a different computer. Hope they can be cut and pasted appropriately. 10.	I’d appreciate it if I can see the product of your diligent editing, before being posted.

Thank you again for your kind assistance.

Suwanda H J SugunasiriSugunasiri (talk) 03:12, 29 January 2012 (UTC) Toronto, Canada

Suwanda H J Sugunasiri BA (London); MA (Penn.); Certificate (Michigan); Teaching Certificate, MA, MEd, PhD (Toronto) Suwanda H J Sugunasiri Three People in Sugunasiri’s life: Mother Father Swarna link Founder / President / Professor, Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) In office Nalanda: 1999 – 2008 President, Buddhist Council of Canada In office 1985-1988; 2010-present Born Suwanda Hennedi Jayasumana Sugunasiri Silva, Tangalla, Sri Lanka Parents Misinona Warnakulasuriya of Dodanduwa, Sri Lanka Suwanda Hennedi Sauris Silva of Tangalla, Sri Lanka Nationality Canadian Spouse Swarna Bellana of Panadura, Sri Lanka Children 2 Residence Toronto, Ontario, Canada Alma Mater Secondary Nalanda Vidyalaya [link], Colombo, Sri Lanka Ananda College, Colombo, Sri Lanka [link] University Vidyalankara University, Sri Lanka [link] Univ. of London External System, UK [link] Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA [link] Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA [link] Univ. of Toronto, Canada [link] Religion Buddhist Personal details Website Buddhist Council of Canada [link] www.buddhistcouncil.ca Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri BA (London); MA (Pennsylvania); Certificate in TESOL (Michigan); Certificate in Teaching, MEd, MA, PhD (Toronto) Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri (born 1936) is a Lifelong Learner, Pioneer in several areas – Canadian Buddhism, South Asian Canadian Literature and Canadian Multiculturalism Multifaith Activist, Creative Writer (Short Fiction, Poetry; Novel), Multi-Artiste (Dancer, Actor, Play Director) and Buddhist Practitioner. In his literary works, he uses the name Suwanda Sugunasiri. Writing in Sinhala before his departure for overseas, he used the name su. hae. ja. Sugunasiri (s<. h[. j. s<g<Nsfrf). In a poem (2007), ‘The Many Names of the One’1, he mockingly notes many an other variation, even a sex change! He first came to North America in 1964 as a Fulbright-Smith Mundt Scholar in the US. Before returning to Sri Lanka upon the completion of his studies, the family found Canada calling. When on Sept. 1, 1967, the Sugunasiri family made the short crossing over the Detroit river over to Windsor, in Canada, in what friends dubbed their ‘Rambling Rambler’, towing a U-Haul with their meagre worldly possessions of a student, little did they realize that that was going to be the beginning of a long journey in cold climes. When they applied to come to Canada, it was for his wife, Swarna, a university graduate, and Teacher back in Sri Lanka, to get her Teacher training. The Sugunasiris also wanted their 3-year old son to learn French! Returning to Sri Lanka in 1971, Sugunasiri taught at the Vidyodaya University [link]. But heading back to Canada in 1973, he continued in his pursuit of knowledge at the University of Toronto. His multidisciplinary doctoral thesis, Humanistic Nationism (1978, OISE [link], University of Toronto), came to be evaluated as “an extraordinary thesis..”2. It was interestingly the hands-on experience of digging a canal to divert water into fields at a Sarvodaya3 camp in Sri Lanka (1972) that had inspired Sugunasiri to pick the area of research - national development. Sugunasiri came to have a chequered academic career. These were pre- or early multicultural days in Canada. Teaching at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Faculty of Education sessionally, stability at High School level was difficult to pass up. His wife already in a steady job with a School Board, leaving Toronto was not a choice. It was later that Sugunasiri ended up on the Faculty of Divinity [link], Trinity College, at the University of Toronto. But it is as a Buddhist that he has earned a name in Canada, both as Activist and Scholar. Founding Coordinator of the Buddhist Federation of Toronto (1980)4, he was later to be the Founder of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) (2000)5. Back to the field in retirement, he is currently (2010 to present) the President, Buddhist Council of Canada6. Though less well known, he has also played a pioneering and / or critical role in several other fields: South Asian Canadian Literature, Canadian Multiculturalism, Interfaith / Multifaith Relations and the Media, among others. Author of books, and published in academic journals, his publications comfortably straddle several disciplines. A Columnist at the Toronto Star (Multiculturalism; Buddhism), he is a Poet featured at Toronto’s International Harbourfront Reading Series. His latest creative work, a novel, Untouchable Woman's Odyssey (2010), “my 75th year gift to humanity” (front cover flap), has been characterized as “an extraordinary first novel”7, another critic associating “genius” with it8. Active in sports throughout his life, he has enjoyed cricket, ping-pong, badminton and swimming, among others. But now in his advancing years, it is mostly walking and yogic exercises. A life-time teetotaler and non-smoker, his day begins with Meditation. Son of Missinona Warnakulasuriya and state honoured Kalaaguru ‘Maestro of the Arts’ S H Sauris Silva who ensured for posterity the oral tradition of Tovil [link], the Sinhala exorcistic dance ceremonies of Sri Lanka9, by committing them to writing for the first time10. Sugunasiri is married to Swarna [link], Head of ESL (York Board of Education) at retirement, and author of Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family Kitchen11. Sugunasiri is featured in Canadian Who's Who (1995-) [link]12, Canada at the Millennium (2000)13 and on June Callwood’s [link] National Treasures on Vision TV (1994). [hide/ show] CONTENTS 1. EARLY YEARS [link] • Buddhist parents • English Education • Extracurricular Activities • Government Service & Resignation • Fiction Writer, Translator, Columnist • Artiste • Marriage 2. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCHOLAR [link] • Multiple Degrees (London, Pennsylvania, Toronto) • An Extraordinary Thesis • A Family with 15 Degrees & 35 University Years • Buddhist Pundit 3. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS [link] • Linguistic Entrepreuner • Vocabulary • Concepts 4. BUDDHIST LEADER & SCHOLAR [link] • Buddhist Federation of Toronto • Buddhist Council of Canada • Toronto Star Columnist on Buddhism • Multicultural History Society of Ontario • Buddhism @ Trinity, University of Toronto • Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) • Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies • Academic Writing on Buddhism • Buddhism in Cuba • Science for Peace • Buddhist spokesman • Comments by Scholars 5. MULTIFAITH ACTIVIST IN SPIRITUAL INTERACTION [link] • Science of Spirituality • Preamble to the Canadian Constitution • In Defense of Christianity • Buddhist-Christian Dialogue • Buddhist Jewish Dialogue • Other Multifaith Engagements • Vision TV; 100 Huntley Street • TonyBlairFaithFoundation [link] 6. PIONEER IN CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM [link] • Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship • Canada Day (Ontario) • Opening Exercises • Toronto Star: Columnist / Book Reviewer • In Defense of British Canadians • An Angry Book • Social Hadron as Model for Society • In the Academy • Multicultural Literature in the High School 7. PIONEER IN SOUTH ASIAN CANADIAN LITERATURE [link] • A Canada-wide Survey: The Search for Meaning • Toronto South Asian Review • Whistling Thorn: a First Anthology • Academic Writing 8. VERSATILE WRITER : POET, NOVELIST, SHORT FICTION [link] • Short Fiction • Poetry • An Extraordinary First Novel: Untouchable Woman's Odyssey • Children’s Book • Mass Media 9. IN THE SRI LANKAN CANADIAN COMMUNITY [link] • Toronto Mahavihara • Cultural Leadership: Samskruti • Directing a Play • Dancing at the Harbourfront • Recording Sri Lankan Canadian Life for Posterity • On Amaradeva 10. BUDDHIST PRACTITIONER [link] • Spiritual Life as guiding Daily Life • Lifetime Teetotaler & Non-smoker • Meditation • Five Training Principles aka Precepts • Distancing from Media • Mettā, Karuõā, Muditā, Upekkhā • Mettā towards Politicians 11. LIFE COMPANIAN: SWARNA [link] • Putting Bread on the Table • Wife-wife, Sister-wife, Friend-wife • Head of English as a Second Language • “My New Love” – a Poem • Mother-wife • “Cooking from My Heart” – a Book and a Poem 12. CONCLUDING NOTE [link] 13. AWARDS & HONOURS [link] 14. REFERENCES [link] 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY [link] 16. FURTHER READINGS [link] 17. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS [link]] 1. EARLY YEARS Born to Buddhist parents in Sri Lanka, it was his father’s vision that saw the youngest in the family, Sugunasiri (his first, and personal, name now become last name), and his sisters Sunanda and Chitra, enrolled in the local Catholic English-medium school, Christ Church College, in Tangalla. But, beginning at age 12, he began his education in the capital city of Colombo, first at Nalanda [link]14 and then at Ananda [link] 15, the two leading Buddhist Boys’ Colleges. Active in the Literary Association (Secretary) and sports (cricket16; cadeting17), but perhaps too active, he fails to gain admission to the University of Ceylon. Undeterred, he would, however, earn his first degree (U of London) (1958) by the age of 22, through self-study, while working full time. In the work world, having started as a clerk, he rose to the senior ranks as Assistant Assessor, Income Tax. But, lucrative and prestigious as it was, office work appeared too restrictive for his creative energies. Giving up his secure job, he launched himself into the risky world of writing, having by now published two collections of short fiction, in Sinhala18, and translated Bertrand Russell19 and orientalist A B Keith20. It now fell on his wife to put food on the table for the poor husband, living on the pittance of a writer! He had also come to participate as a radio artist, and with a talent possibly inherited from his father, danced in ballets21. In the epoch-making stage play Maname, by Prof. Sarachchandra22, he partnered in performing the opening dance, the jocular character bahuboota, also doing a dance role in Hastikaanta Mantarai. 2. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCHOLAR It was to a different tune he was beginning to dance when he successfully applied for a Fulbright-Smith Mundt Scholarship to study in the US. Now we begin to see Sugunasiri’s academic acumen taking off. Following upon his BA (London) (Oriental Languages - Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala), Second Class (1958), he came to earn three Master’s degrees - Linguistics (U of Pennsylvania, USA) (1966), Moral Philosophy (U of Toronto) (1971) and The Scientific Study of Religion and Buddhism (U of T) (1989). A fourth Master’s degree, begun prior to leaving for overseas, at the Vidyalankara University in Sri Lanka (1962-), remains uncompleted, although he had completed the thesis, which has now been published in book form23. And a translation is under way24. Sugunasiri’s multidisciplinary doctoral thesis, Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology-based Model of Development for Post-Colonial Nations (1978)25 (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto), draws upon Sociology, Linguistics, Language Planning, Economic and Political Theory and Buddhism. “Infused with humanism”26, it argues for Human Development, grounded in values and cultural sensitivity, going beyond economic and political development. Another examiner notes, “… The energy, range of scholarship, depth of scholarship, organizational competence, facility of expression, and painstaking attention to details… amply demonstrated.’27 In the words of the Thesis Committee Chair, “… a truly massive job… [producing] a new theory and model of development…”28 9 His Master’s Thesis in Linguistics, “Morphological Analysis of the Verb in Spoken Sinhala”29, at the University of Pennsylvania, is possibly the first formal study of Sinhala in the US. Sugunasiri (second from left) with members of a Panel on Multiculturalism, Peace and Development organized by him at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held at York University, Toronto. , 2006. From L to R are: Dr. William F Ryan sj), Prof essors Vandra Masemann (University of Toronto), Melissa Williams (University of Toronto) and Helmut Burkhardt (Ryerson). A perpetual student, it appears that Sugunasiri did not see his degrees as a stepping stone for employment. It was rather a lifelong search for knowledge, in the best Eastern tradition where wisdom comes from breadth (bahussruta ‘much hearing / listening'), not just from narrow specialization. Model provided, the Sugunasiri family is featured in Canada at the Millennium30 in the following words: “Together, this family [ of wife Swarna, son Shalin and daughter Tamara, all three with Degrees from Ontario] has earned 15 degrees and has amassed 35 years of university education”. More recently (2011), a teacher of Sugunasiri’s has not failed to take note, calling him a ‘Buddhist Pundit’ (bauddha paňdivarayek)31. 3. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS A linguist32, and a creative writer (see below), with a smattering of French33, in addition to Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala34, Sugunasiri seems to walk the talk of the ‘Linguistic entrepreneur’, to use a phrase coined by himself (1978)35, meaning, “one who uses 10 language creatively”, both enriching our English language, and our conceptual world. Below is a list of some of them: Vocabulary • Humanistic Nationism (1978)36. • Post-Colonial Nations (1978) and Two-Thirds World, to replace the term ‘Third World;37; • ‘SciSpi’ (1993), paralleling Sci-Fi, as the brief form of ‘Science of Spirituality’38. • ‘Spiritual Interaction’ (1996), to replace ‘Interfaith Dialogue’39. • ‘Introscope’ (2001), paralleling ‘microscope’, as the tool used by the Buddha, and other meditators, Buddhist or other, to search deep within40. • Ādiyāna (2005), meaning ‘Early vehicle’ in lieu of the pejorative label Hīnayāna41; • ‘Inherited Buddhists’ and ‘Acquired Buddhists’ (2006), in lieu of ‘Ethnic Buddhist’ and ‘Euro-Buddhist’42; • ‘Asoulity’ (2001; 2012) as translation of anattā43. • ‘Etic Buddha Pūjā’ vs ‘Emic Buddha Pūjā’ (2012) to distinguish between the universally Buddhist practice of offering homage to the Buddha and the specific practice in a given community44. • ‘Zero-seme’ (2012) (as a parallel to zero-morph in Linguisitics) to refer to the Sanskrit term anātman and Pali term attā45. ConceptS: • Humanistic Nationism (1978): a model of national development46. • Parallels anatta ‘asoulity’ with the internet (2001)47: (excerpted from You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, 2001; Dehiwala, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre, p. 145) • Traces the Buddha’s view of consciousness as being in the whole body (1995)48 (‘Corporeal Theory’, as he now puts it), in contrast to the traditional Buddhist ‘Cardiac Theory’ of it being in the heart49, as in all Buddhist traditions, and the contemporary medical ‘?Encephalic (Brain) Theory). 11 • Posits a Conditioned Co-origination Theory of Language and Perception (1978), accommodating both the Sapirian Language to Perception hypothesis and the competing Perception to Language hypothesis 50. • Introduces to Canada the label Wesak (1981) (Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise' ), widely used in the Theravada countries of Asia. • Introduces a ‘Social Hadron’ (2000) towards a harmonious and humane Canadian society (see it reproduced later), based on ‘critical compassion’, building in suitable checks and balances that he argues are lacking in the present Canadian Multicultural policy and practice51. • Characterizes the Buddha, while certainly a religious teacher, as an ‘empirical scientist’ (2001) (see below). • Defines ‘Sentience’ on the web (2007) . • Discovers the Redactor of the Buddha Pūjā ‘Homage to the Buddha’, in Sinhala Buddhism (2012)52. • Introduces the label ‘Buddhian Buddhist’ (2009), to mean a Buddhist not belonging to a particular cultural variety, but simply looks up to the Buddha. • Defines spirituality as "a genetic potential for psychophysical harmony" (1996)53, seeking to bring respectability to ‘spirituality’ in a secular western society, taking it under the rubric of science, as contrasted with ‘religion’. 4. BUDDHIST LEADER AND SCHOLAR Wide as Sugunasiri’s academic credentials may be, it is as a Buddhist Leader that he has come to shine in Canada. Working with Fujikawa Sensei of the Toronto Japanese Buddhist Church, he was instrumental in bringing together the diverse Buddhist communities in the city at the time (1980), under one umbrella of the Buddhist Federation of Toronto54. As Founding Coordinator, he organized Wesak (Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise' ), at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, attended by over 1000 people55. Held in 1981, it is said to be a North American first. Later becoming President, Buddhist Council of Canada [link],, he traveled the length and breadth of Canada, meeting Buddhist communities, in the expectation of forming Chapters. Working within the Buddhist communities, he sought out the electronic and print media, seeking to put Buddhism on the Canadian map. A highlight of this was the Wesak telecast over CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) (1985). In turn, he would come to be sought out by the media, appearing on national stations such as CBC, CFRB, CTV, TVO, Vision TV, Rogers TV and (the Evangelical Christian) 100 Huntley Street. Continuing the thrust into the print media, Sugunasiri now becomes a Columnist at the Toronto Star (1993-1998), perhaps another first. Through his columns, he presents a Buddhist perspective on contemporary issues such as abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, cloning, bank profits, etc., a collection of them now in book form, Embryo as Person: Buddhism, Bioethics and Society (2005)56. Seeking to ensure the Buddhist presence in Toronto doesn’t go unnoticed into the future, he has recorded, for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario [link], the oral history of 12 Buddhist leaders, both ordained and lay. The stories of the Sangha leadership have now been published under the title, Thus Spake the Sangha: Early History of Buddhism in Toronto (2008)57. Stepping down from the community leadership roles, allowing a younger generation to emerge, he would next focus his attention on the academy. Now associated with the Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, he organized Seminars on Buddhism (1993 to 1999) – lectures, seminars, slide presentations, etc.58 While teaching at the different levels in Canada would make Sugunasiri an ‘educator’, his singlemost claim to fame can said to be as Founder of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) (2000), with a Founder’s Vision of cultivating ‘a Community of Better Human Beings’. The only post-secondary institution in Canada for the study of Buddhadhamma on a systematic basis59, the curriculum of this pan-Buddhist60 non-profit educational institute with federal charitable status, included Pali, and a mandatory but non-credit course in meditation, the student introduced to the three major types known in North America – Insight, Zen and Tibetan61. The R & D Centres of Excellence intended to be established in understudied areas such as Buddhism, Bioethics and Socioethics; Multiculturalism, Peace and Development; Buddhism and Education; etc. is an innovative highlight of Nalanda. While an application to the Government of Ontario to offer a B A (Hons.) in Buddhadharma Studies came to be successfully evaluated by two committees appointed by the Provincial Educational Quality Assessment Board, Ministerial approval was denied. While Nalanda is going through difficult financial times, it is expected to gain momentum sometime in the future with the injection of funds by one or more philanthropists. By way of filling another hiatus in the academy, Sugunasiri also founded, in 2005, the Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, now in its seventh year. Peer reviewed, and online62, its tripartite division into pariyatti (theory), patipatti (praxis) and pativedha (insight) seeks to bring together on to the same platform both academics and practitioners (Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 1, Editorial). 13 Header of Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, as it appears online In his own writing on Buddhism, he has covered, in addition to those noted above, topics such as Satipaññhāna bhāvanā63, and most recently, Buddha Pūjā in Sinhala Buddhism64. An article that drew much interest from the East European scholars in particular was “The Buddhist View of the Dead Body” (1990)65. A continuing thrust in Sugunasiri’s writing is that the Buddha, while certainly a religious teacher, is an ‘empirical scientist’, understanding ‘science’ as a “systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and experimentation… in order to determine the nature or principles of what is being studied” (Webster’s). Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha's Four Noble Truths (2010) is a short piece along these lines66. A second article is “ ‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation as Empirical Method” (2009)67. You're What You Sense: a Buddhianscientific dialogue on Mindbody68 is a book length treatment written in a dialogue format on the Abhidhamma (Buddhist Metaphysics) (2001). Invited by the University of Havana, Cuba (2010), Sugunasiri had the opportunity to give four Seminars on Buddhism69. By request, a Meditation session came to be conducted as well. Continuing to represent Buddhism in the academy, he has also participated in the events of the Science for Peace group, presenting a Buddhist perspective on issues such as Human Rights70, Justice71, Spirituality72, etc. He was also the Buddhist delegate at the World Council of Churches in Korea in the 1980’s. At the World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1993, 100 years after the first, he was to be a speaker at non-plenary sessions. Capturing Sugunasiri’s work of over four decades, a Canadian scholar writes, The leadership activities of one individual is especially notable in bringing Buddhist issues and concerns to provincial and municipal arenas, to the media (national and local), to interfaith forums, and in presenting Buddhism and particular Buddhist temples to the general public. Although these activities were supported by the presence and involvement of other Buddhist leaders, Dr Suwanda Sugunasiri was consistently involved in all of the endeavours to develop effective politics of recognition for Buddhism in Toronto since the late 1970s.73 Though born to Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Sugunasiri resists the label ‘Theravada Buddhist’, claiming himself to be, if a label is required, a ‘Buddhian Buddhist’. By that he means that what guides him is Buddha’s Teachings, and not a particular cultural interpretation. As if to 14 captures this essentially non-sectarian character of his, a chapter length treatment of his contributions in Canadian Buddhism comes to be titled, ‘Suwanda H J Sugunasiri: Buddhist’74. And in the text, he is characterized as being “…one of the very first [to go] beyond his community to hold the lotus to the rock in Canada”75. Sugunasiri in front of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada), housed at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto (2006) Upon retirement from academic life, Sugunasiri was to revive the Buddhist Council of Canada in 2010, after a dormancy of a quarter century, becoming President again76 One of the Council’s first activities was to raise a Torana on the south lawn of Queen’s Park which houses the Ontario Legislature77. It was an initiative of his in 2005 that saw the raising of the Buddhist flag at this same venue, for the first time on public property anywhere in Canada78. 5. MULTIFAITH ACTIVIST IN SPIRITUAL INTERACTION Sugunasiri’s deep commitment to Buddhism has also led to his interest in the health of other religions on Canadian soil, in the conviction that Canada is the poorer without religion. It is in that context that he came to be invited to Ottawa for a consultation at a time when religion was not part of Canadian Multiculturalism. His interest was to help bring a secularized Canadian society, of unbridled capitalism, conspicuous consumerism and exclusive individualism, as he puts it, into the spiritual fold. In a theoretical thrust, he distinguishes spirituality from religion, welcoming Humanists, Free thinkers, Agnostics, Heretics and the Hands-on Critics of religion into the fold, along with non God-believing Buddhists, and God-believing theists. Just as “Everybody fears the rod”79, everybody shrieks at seeing a cat run over, he points out in a paper read at a Science for Peace conference80. Seeking to earn spirituality respectability, he coins the term ‘Sci-Spi’ (cf. Sci-Fi)81, standing for Science of Spirituality. 15 It is in expectation of bringing all Canadians to the fold, then, that he would write, as a member of an Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee, the following inclusive lines for inclusion in the Preamble to the Canadian Constitution: We affirm that our country, founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God, now cradles others, too, seeking spirituality from within. We treasure the dignity of each person, the importance of the family, and the value of community, in relationship with each other, in relationship with nature.82 When a Christian-only version somehow got incorporated, the Saturday Star features him in a full-page story under the banner headline, ‘Buddhist opposes God in the Constitution’83, although he would write a Letter to the Editor that he was not opposing the reference to God but simply adding, as the lines well show. Instructed in the Buddha’s Teaching, “May all beings be well”, not just minorities or majority, he, in a piece written to the Toronto Star84, mocks minority religionists in particular when Christians came to be under attack for celebrating Christmas. Sung to the tune of a Christmas Carol, the words go as follows: Deck the buildings with boughs of holly, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Stem the tide of multicultural folly, fuddle duddle daa… da daa daa daa Born this nation of Christianity, fa la laa la la laa, laa laa laa. Like you not this stubborn history, fuddle duddle daa… da daa daa daa! Light your candle for Deewaali Hanukkah, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Night and day pray, pray to Allah, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Turn the Buddha’s Wheel that’s timeless, fa la laa la la laa, laa laa laa. ‘tis no reason to steal Lord Jesus, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Come ye adults, lads and lasses, fa la… Clean up your blinding secular glasses, fa la.. Can’t you see our Christians bleeding? Fa la.. Won’t you lick wounds, do some healing? Fa la .. ‘tis the season to build community, fa la… Kiss good-bye to our insecurity, fa la… Let’s join hands in good spirituality, fa la… Climb the chariot of lofty humanity, fa la la la laa, fa la la la laa, fa la la la laa, la ..laa..laa…laaa!85. 16 Making the point personally, he would also go on Vision TV, urging all Canadians to light up from the rooftops to usher in the advent of the birth of Baby Jesus. Never one to leave knowledge at the door of the academy, Sugunasiri can be seen to be engaged with the other religious communities in Canada on issues of social interest. His activism in this field began as a Member of World Conference on Religion for Peace (Canada), when he was invited to facilitate Buddhist participation in an Interfaith Service held at the Bloor United Church in 1980. Working with the Interfaith officers of the United Church in particular, he organized many a Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (1980’s)86 He also initiated a Buddhist-Jewish Dialogue in Toronto (1980’s), working, as a member of the Canadian Interfaith Coalition working, towards the establishment of Vision TV. As a member of the Ontario Provincial Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy, Sugunasiri drew up a Multifaith Training Program for potential Chaplains (1980’s), which drew candidates from the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Native communities, even though not all completed the program. He was also a member was World Interfaith Educational Association, initiated by Charles McAvity. Its program of studies brought students of different faiths from different countries to learn from one another in a mutually respectful way, while also preparing towards the International Baccalaureate degree. As a member of the North American Interfaith Network, Sugunasiri had the occasion to work with American colleagues, speaking at plenary and other sessions from a Buddhist perspective. Invited on the evangelical station, 100 Huntley Street, he was happy that his Buddhist perspective, “God is a fiction of the human imagination”, was telecast uncut. He had many an other occasion to participate on panels and presentations at this same station as well as on other TV stations and over the radio. Among his contributions in the area at the academic level are is the article, “Spiritual Interaction, not Interfaith Dialogue: a Buddhistic Contribution”87. 17 Sugunasiri with the former Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair in Toronto, on the occasion of the launch of the TonyBlairFaithFoundation (2008). One of his more recent multifaith involvements has been with the TonyBlairFaith Foundation (2010) [link] where he is profiled on its website88. 6. PIONEER IN CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM Sugunasiri’s formal involvement in Multiculturalism began with an Order-in-Council appointment, by successive Conservative and Liberal governments, to the Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship (1983-88)89. He was also a Member of Canada Day (Ontario) Committee, with Lt Governor Lincoln Alexander as Patron. On an Ontario Ministry of Education committee on the Opening Exercises, his piece, “Who, then, is a Canadian?”, first published in the Toronto Star90 comes to be included as an alternative Opening Reading at schools. Making into anthologies91, the definition merits a reprint: A Canadian is someone living in Canada; considers Canada to be his or permanent home, come hell or high water; is able to communicate with other Canadians, in English or French, …. but without giving up any original language facility; respects, and is willing to share, other people’s values, customs, etc. in such a way as to contribute to a developing and changing Canadian culture; and proudly claims “Je suis canadien(ne)” or “I’m Canadian”, not by the involuntary accident of birth but by conscious choice. Likely the first Columnist on Multiculturalism in a major newspaper in Canada, minorstream or mainstream (a claim that needs checking out), Sugunasiri introduced the Toronto Star readers (from the early 1980’s) to the continuing developments in Canadian multicultural policy and practice92. 18 Irate that the British Canadians were coming under attack, he would, in a Buddhist large-heartedness, write a Letter to the Editor complaining about ‘reverse discrimination’93. As reflected in the letter, increasingly frustrated by the direction Multiculturalism in Canada was headed, he was to write a book on Multiculturalism, with the angry title, How to kick Multiculturalism in its Teeth94, later republished under the more neutral title, Towards Multicultural Growth, A look at Canada from Classical Racism to Neomulticulturalism, 200195. The book is written from the perspective of both an ‘outsider’ (being an immigrant) and an ‘insider’ (having being advisor to governments). As noted by a critic, “Dr. Suwanda Sugunasiri … supports the concept [of multiculturalism, but] has some ideas for change that he believes will make multiculturalism more relevant in the next century”96. The ‘Excellent Social Hadron’ recommended towards an ‘Integrative Multiculturalism’97 in Canada is reproduced below98 as the model may have universal relevance: (excerpted from Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 121). Sugunasiri may also be the first minorstream Book Critic in a major Canadian newspaper. His reviews in the Toronto Star includes works by Jean R Burnet, Millie Charon99, Cyril Dabydeen100 and Nourbese Phillips101. A specific academic contribution on Multiculturalism is the Roundtable organized by Sugunasiri at the 2006 Congress102 on “Multiculturalism, Peace and Development: Independent or Co-dependent?”103. An earlier one was the analysis of the Textbooks used in Ontario Schools under Circular 14 for the view of India and Indians (1980)104. During his time teaching at the High School level, he can also can be said to have played the leading role in introducing Multicultural Literature into the Ontario English curriculum105. 19 7. PIONEER IN SOUTH ASIAN CANADIAN LITERATURE In 1979, the Multiculturalism Directorate of the Secretary of State, Government of Canada was looking for a scholar to undertake a research of the literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins. Looking for work just after his Doctorate, Sugunasiri made an application. And winning the contract, with a literary track record of two collections of short stories (in Sinhala), and a textbook analysis in relation to South Asians (see above), he traveled across Canada, meeting writers, poets, dramatists, professors of literature and religious leaders. The findings presented in a Report titled The Search for Meaning: the Literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins in 1983, it came to be published in 1988106. His Preface in the Report rings prophetic: I sincerely hope that this basic research will generate discussion and further research among scholars, both S. Asian and others. Perhaps, more importantly, this study will, I hope, serve to bring together the South Asian Canadian writers of varying ethnic, linguistic, geographic, national and religious backgrounds. It would be encouraging as well, if this effort were to serve the cause of bringing South Asian Canadian literature and the writers themselves to the attention of Canadians, in order that they may gain their rightful place in Canadian society. Such a consciousness-raising exercise would, one hopes, serve the larger goal of developing an increasing respect for the South Asian Canadian community in general. It is, of course, up to the community itself, and to the writers, to continue to earn this respect through their continuing contributions. The Annual Festival of South Asian Literature and Arts [FSALA link], first held in 2010, to commemorate 25 + years since the Report, can be said to be living evidence of how the South Asian Canadian Literary scene has come to flower since sugunsiri’s pioneering efforts. 20 A consistent theme brought home to Sugunasiri in his cross-Canada research was the absence of a South Asian literary voice. When, back in Toronto writing up the Report, he came in contact with Dr. Moyez Vassanji, physicist and a researcher at the University of Toronto, there opened up the opportunity to meet the aspirations of the writers. Soon emerged the Toronto South Asian Review (1982) (now defunct), with Vassanji, having had his own vision of founding a literary journal, as Editor and Sugunasiri as Consulting Editor107 Sugunasiri also co-edited a Special Issue of The Toronto South Asian Review, of Sri Lankan writing in Sinhala, Tamil and English, possibly for the first time.108 He also brought out the first anthology of South Asian Canadian short fiction, The Whistling Thorn (1994)109, viewed by a critic as “an example of how to do things right. [The Editor] lets stories reign, pulling in the politics.….”. As for the content, other than one, “The rest of the collection sings.” 110 The Anthology featured the then unknown or little known writers like (in alpha order) Neil Bissoondath, Cyril Dabydeen, Hubert de Santana, Lakshmi Gill, Reshard Gool, Surjeet Kalsey, Rohinton Mistry, Uma Parameswaran and Moyez Vassanji. Today, thirty years later, it is with pleasure that Sugunasiri notes that several of these writers are now household names111. Sugunasiri’s critical studies in the literary genre have appeared in Canadian Literature112, World Literature Written in English113, Canadian Ethnic Studies114, and Indirections115. Some of these papers have also been published under the title, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here: Essays on Canadian and Sri Lankan Literature116. In the field of Sinhala literature, his study of the Sinhala short story (his Master’s Thesis now published (see above)) stands as a seminal work. His translation of Indologist A B Keith’s Classical Sanskrit Literature (1964)117 shows Sugunasiri’s interest in literature as early as his late twenties. 8. VERSATILE WRITER : POET, NOVELIST, SHORT FICTION Sugunasiri’s first appearance on the literary horizon, as noted, was prior to heading off to North America, publishing two collections of short fiction (in Sinhala) 118 at the ripe young age of 25. “Amateurish”, as he would dismiss many of them now, a couple have nonetheless found their way into English119. After a ‘drought’ of more than three decades, spent in the academy, there was no one more surprised than Sugunasiri himself when, killing time at the Schilphol Airport in Amsterdam (1982), the first lines of poetry emerged, this, to his surprise again, in English. On his way to his father’s funeral, his first poem was, perhaps to no surprise, on death. In typical Buddhist fashion, ‘Disarming Death’ is mocking: I myself not / see / in the dazzling / brilliance / of my breath-less consciousness, / your faint image / projected / on life’s screen. Moulded, / and masked, / by the living / in a Neanderthal seizure / with the clay / of a destruction siege, / go find your prey / in warm / bodies. 21 It would be among the poems making up his first collection, The Faces of Galle Face Green (1995), organized along four themes: Women, Politics, Buddhism and ‘Other’. Says a reviewer, “There is much less of the diasporic in his verse and much more of a straight out pleading for common sense and non-violence”120. In another reviewer’s view, “the humour and gentle irony are distinguishing aspects” of the collection.121 In the view of yet another, Sugunasiri combines “the realist’s vision and the satirist’s wit”122. Sugunasiri reading at Toronto’s International Harbourfront Reading Series, March 10, 1996. Writing only sporadically, this first work is followed by Celestial Conversations (2006)123. Though not thematically organized, the poems broadly cover Nature, Travel, Buddhism and Advancing years. A reader sees in it “poems with deep thoughts clad in musical rhythms.., [and] startling images..”124 Another notes, “It’s a gift to be able to make people smile.”125 While the collection is on a range of topics, the political dimensions in the most recent collection is evident from the title itself, Obama-Ji (2009)126. The cover seeks to capture a connection (see if you can figure it out; hint: ‘DNA’ within the oval figure): 22 Untouchable Woman's Odyssey (2010) marks Sugunasiri’s entry into the novel at the ripe old age of 75. Characterized, as noted, as “an extraordinary first novel”, and “a major contribution to both Sri Lankan and Canadian literature”127, it spans “a 2500 saga of his country’s history via a story, melodramatic yet extremely touching”128. “… extremely cinematic .. like in the films of Luis Bunnel, the Spanish surrealist filmmaker..”129, A novelty of the work is that it adopts the ‘story within story’ structure of the Indian work Pancatantra130, as well as the Buddhist Birth (Jataka) story131 structure of a present story and a past story (back cover). Novel or poetry, Sugunasiri’s creative writing has been characterized as having “…a soft Buddhist halo”132. In other creative writing, Sugunasiri’s latest interest is in Children’s literature. Two Palm Bow (2006), intended to be read by parents, introduces the toddler to the Buddha, how to pay 23 homage to the Buddha (bowing with two palms together) and the term of homage, saadhu. Available on Kindle133 in its English, German and Spanish versions, other translations are envisioned. In the writer’s filing cabinet are several other manuscripts on Buddhist themes for children. As a linguist, and a community worker, Sugunasiri strongly believes in making knowledge available to the average reader, the inspiration also coming from the Buddha, a master communicator who speaks to a given audience at its own level. Thus we see him using the dialogue format and the popular diction in many of his writings, both on Buddhism and social issues134. A more recent newspaper piece along these lines is, “Euthanasia: Just say No….”135. Given the wide range of his writing - from the scholarly to the terse Media columns, to the dialogic and the poetic in his creative writing, to the pithy and the gentle of his children’s books, “versatility” is perhaps how Sugunasiri can best be characterized as a writer. 9. IN THE SRI LANKAN CANADIAN COMMUNITY While beginning in the eighties Sugunasiri began to be active in the wider Canadian community, his earliest formal involvement in Canada was with the Sri Lankan Canadian Community when in 1976 he was invited to be the Co-Vice President of the Toronto Mahavihara, the earliest Sinhala Buddhist Temple in Canada136. One of the primary activities organized by him was Wesak, the Buddha’s Triple celebration of Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise'137. Another activity in which he provided co-leadership was in the Annual New Year celebration, alut auvrudda for the Sinhalas, and pudu varadam for the Tamils, where adults and children of all communities (including Muslim) displayed their talents on stage. In a Souvenir message in 1978, Sugunasiri makes a plea for unity 138. By way of keeping alive the rich Sinhala heritage of 2500 years, the first inscriptions dating back to the pre-Christian era139, Sugunasiri was instrumental in founding Samskruti Cultural Circle. It sought to present cultural evenings, primarily to present programs on an aspect of culture, contemporary or historical, bringing together the Sinhala Buddhist and Christian communities. One of the highlights of Samskruti was the Sinhala stage play, Naribaena (1980), the popular comedy by Dayananda Gunawardena140. The cast included Buddhists, Christians, Tamils and Secularists. Directed by Sugunasiri, it was selected as one of the ten best Heritage Language Plays of the year. Acting in it, too, his earlier acting experience was in another minor role in Veda Hatana (1963). In the 1990’s, he partnered the danseuse Hema Perera at a Sri Lankan cultural show at the Brygantine Room at Toronto’s Harbourfront. 24 Intending to ensure that the Sri Lanka presence did not go unrecorded, he interviewed Sri Lankan Canadians of all communities – Burgher (the first to arrive in Canada), Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario141. An article in POLYPHONY, The Bulletin of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, provides an overview of “Sri Lankans in Canada” of the time (1984)142. More recently, he would write a laudatory piece on the musical icon, Visharada maradeva A 143 and an article in three parts returning to the cultural scene he had left144. 10. BUDDHIST PRACTITIONER No description of Sugunasiri would be complete without a reference to his spiritual life, Buddhism having been his guide all his life. To talk about spiritual life, of course, is also to swim against the current of our secular society that puts a barricade between the two. But Sugunasiri is adamant that nothing about him can be explained without recourse to the persona of the Buddha as Model, and the guiding hand of his Teachings. Inspired by his father in particular, but also by the ethos of Sinhala Buddhist society that he grew up in, Sugunasiri, e.g., has been a lifetime teetotaler and non-smoker145. But it was not until 1999 that his spiritual life took off in earnestness. Promoting his Vision of a ‘Community of Better Human Beings’ in founding Nalanda, it was incumbent that the Founder provide the model. If this was his early inspiration to take to a meditative life, the experience of the personal benefits of regular meditation - internal calm, ongoing happiness and continuing good health, have served to keep him going. Following the Buddha’s Teaching that meditation must always be grounded in self-discipline, he has come to be even more reflective of the five Training Principles (sikkhaaapada) that guide the life of every Buddhist, namely, Abstaining from taking life. Abstaining from taking what is not given. Abstaining from sexual misbehaviour. Abstaining from disharmonious language (lying, gossip, backbiting). Abstaining from abuse in liquor, intoxicants etc. Seeing that the contemporary Media - newspaper, TV, Radio, movies, theatre, etc., his own darlings all his life, can be taking a practitioner in quite the opposite direction, he has now adopted a minimalist stance in relation to them, freeing the mind from sensory ‘noise’ of media clutter. Seeking to live by the Buddha’s principle, “I do as I say, I say as I do”, Sugunasiri finds the personal values as given by the Buddha, mettā, karuõā, muditā, upekkhā146 ennobling, and the social values dāna, peyya vajja, atthacariyā, samanattatā147 25 invigorating. ‘May all beings be well’ is a recurrent thought in his mind, and at bedtime, he is often in the habit of engaging in another meditation: May I be free from enmity. May I be free from anger. May I be free from stress. May I keep myself happy! After extending it to his wife and children, then it is to a close friend, a neutral one like the postie, and finally, to an ‘enemy’ (i.e., someone who may have, for the right or the wrong reasons, happen to be at a given moment in time, on the wrong side ). It is not rarely that the meditation is extended to politicians, local and international, in the thought that this is an oft maligned group of sentient beings. 11. LIFE COMPANION: SWARNA The significant other in Sugunasiri’s life is his wife Swarna Bellana, from Panadura. Given the reality, as in the Buddha’s Teaching of Conditioned Co-origination, he cannot think of his life, as will be seen, except in relation to his wife. In proposing to her, Sugunasiri offered her only a poor man’s life. She agreed, even as her family was busily looking for a doctor to marry off the only girl in the family of 7 boys, and the only one to make it to the university. When Sugunasiri contemplated quitting a steady job, she again But that is not all. Mother-wife was waiting in the wings. Though never ever stepped into her home kitchen where her own mom toiled, the dinner table at the Sugunasiri family was a feast to the eyes, a treat to the palate and rich in nutrition (book cover). The marvelous balancing act of proteins and carbs, legumes and fats was something her colleagues in her book club looked forward to when it was Swarna’s turn to cook. At the launch of her book, Cooking from My Heart: Loving 26 agreed! And, having herself earned a degree, she came to support the family with a steady income, even though it was a mere third of what the husband had given up. Next was the challenge of looking after a three-week old son, while still holding a full time job, when Sugunasiri left on his scholarship (1964). It was on her own, almost incommunicado in those years of half a century ago when phones were a luxury, and the mail moved snail-pace, that she had to run the family for the next one year. Then came Sugunasiri’s PhD years in Toronto. Though on a graduate fellowship, it was Swarna again who put bread on the table. How fortunate it is, says Sugunasiri, to have a wife-wife, sister-wife and friend-wife*. When Swarna, by now Head of a Department at a York Board of Education school, retired (1998), Sugunasiri sang her praises at the retirement party: [* This is three of the characterizations of a wife made by the Buddha.] MY NEW LOVE < for Swarna > It was just a parting soiree the other day, when my life-weathered gray hair met you, for the first time, Swarna, head-on when one after another, your workhorse team, lifted their glasses, to toast a gifted: red to a helluva tough cookie, white to a clear head that cut through the flak, pink to a heart welling with warm tears, keeping the professional boys in their place, professional girls on their toes, no kidding, Swarna! That encounter, of a single evening razed flat to the ground the mansion I’d built for three score five years out of mountains of brick mortar and rafters, ‘handle with care’ etched in Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family Kitchen*, full of recipes tried on the family, Sugunasiri sang again: COOKING FROM MY HEART (for Swarna) Cooking from a heart for four decades and counting, the end product now on the printed page with colourful dishes green red yellow and brown, festooned with tropical scenes, the Chef a la Maison stirs a pot of excitement in the family among friends in the neighbourhood, culinary ambers dormant from childhood through teenage years now stoked into a ravenous flame, taking a retired life by storm, rejuvenating a brain centre into heightened creativity well-captured in the professional look on the back cover, inviting one and all to come and see to just come and taste, and leave with a spicy titillation of the tongue, a flavour that is national-yet- international, parading your taste buds 27 left front and centre, inside out. Now I look to the morning after the evening, to the professionala persona, to build a retirement home of wrought iron pillars hammered into shape with steely nerves and nails of insight roof shingled with ‘no nonsense here’ plaques. Swarna, you’re my new love! Toronto, June 1998 (excerpted from Celestial Conversations, 2007, Nalanda Publishing Canada). into the grounds royale of a Menu Extraordinaire! (With oodles of love, for 45 years of putting into action an ancient wisdom, “The way to the heart is through the stomach”!) (Jan. 11, 2009, in celebration of the formal launch of Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Kitchen.) (excerpted from Celestial Conversations, 2007, Nalanda Publishing Canada). 12. CONCLUDING NOTE [link] Multi-artiste, community worker, columnist, poet, novelist, scholar and Buddhist practitioner, Sugunasiri may be characterized as one who has, throughout his life, sought to extend himself in as many directions as possible. But his pursuit of the spiritual life even as he actively engages in the secular life tells us that he was also seeking to cultivate himself as a whole person, in the best sense of educators like Pestalozzi and Maria Montessori, not to mention the Buddha himself. If all this speaks to his attention to self-care, placing his multidisciplinary background for the benefit of the community and society can be said to speak to his interest in other-care as much, seeking the ideal upheld by the Buddha. The impression one is left with in encountering Sugunasiri is that he lives the joie-de-vivre life of the happy trooper, through the ups and downs in life, fully cognizant of the Buddha’s Teaching of ‘the 8-fold cycle of world reality’148, namely, that loss & gain, fame & infamy, praise & blame, and happiness and unhappiness, are all part of life. For all this, Sugunasiri wants to then thank everyone, in gratitude, - parents and family, teachers and elders, friends and foes, for all the opportunities kindly made available to him, and the challenges thrown at him, through life And it is with head down that he apologizes for any transgressions and trespasses on this journey, committed consciously or unconsciously, and seeks understanding and forgiveness. And, as in his letter endings, he wishes that everyone be of good health, wealth, happiness and long life! And he would like to end with the words, “May all being be well and happy!” 28 13. AWARDS AND HONOURS • 1964- 67 Fulbright-Smith-Mundt Scholarship, US State Dept. • 1983-88 Order-in-Council Appointment, Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship • 1984-99 Columnist, Toronto Star (sociopolitical; Buddhist Perspectives) • 1993 Featured in NFB film, “To Canada with love & some misgivings”, by Mo Simpson • 1994 Featured in June Callwood’s National Treasures, Vision TV • 1996 Invited poetry reading, Harbourfront Series, Toronto • 1996- Featured in Canadian Who’s Who • 2000 Featured in Canada at the Millennium, Miss.: Heirloom Publishing • 2001 Ratnadeepa Lifetime Award (for Artistic contributions to the Canadian Sri Lankan community) • 2008 Poem “The Unbeaten Beat” featured in a Book Title, Clamouring for a Better World: The Life and Work of David N. Wilson. • 2010 Biographed (Chapter length) in Wild Geese: Studies of Buddhism in Canada, Eds: Victor Hori, Harding, John & Soucy, Alex, McGill Queen’s University Press ANTHOLOGIZED IN • 1990 Christine McClymont (ed),, Viewpoints: Reflections in non-fiction, Toronto Nelson Canada (essay) • 1992 Diane McGifford (ed), The Geography of Voice, Toronto: TSAR (poetry) • 1996 Glen Kirkland & Richard Davies (ed.), Dimensions II: Precise thought and language in the essay, Tor: Gage (essay) • 1997 The National Library of Poetry, A Treasured Token (poetry) • 1997 Cyril Dabydeen (ed), Another Way to Dance, Toronto: TSAR (poetry) 14. REFERENCES 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number One, 2005. Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Two, 2006. Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Seven, 2012. de Silva, K M, 1981, History of Ceylon, Oxford University Press. Dhammapada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammapada) Dissanayake, Daya, 2011, “Real and Imaginary Homelands”, (ceylondailynews.lk, 06 29, 2011). Edirisinghe, Padma, 2011, “Slice of life: complex or complicated? ” sundayobserver.lk> Montage> Book Corner, 06 26 2011 29 Faiz, Andrew, 1995, “Hung Between Two Thoughts”, Books in Canada. Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. Harding, John S. Victor Sōgen Hori, and Alexander Soucy (Ed.), 2010, Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press Hori, Victor & Janet McLellan, 2010, “Suwanda H J Sugunasiri: Buddhist”, in Harding, Hori & Soucy. http://sentience.askdefine.com/ http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article- details&code_title=32888 https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/040109-14.html (on Amaradeva) https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25718/1/StepDownShakespeare.pdf https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_College http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Who's_Who http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayananda_Gunawardena. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediriweera_Sarachchandra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_College_Colombo http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+suguna siri Humber, Charles, J. (Ed.), Canada at the Millennium: a Transcultural Society, Canada Heirloom Series, 2000. Kanaganayakam, Chelva, 1996, Review of Faces of Galle Face Green, Toronto South Asian Review ___________________, 2011, introducing author Sugunasiri at a Reading at the Festival of South Asian Literature and Arts, University of Toronto. See http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/10/12/%E2%80%9Can- extraordinary-first-novel%E2%80%9D-untouchable-womans-odyssey-by- suwanda-sugunasiri/ for the fuller introduction. Kirkland, Glen & Richard Davies (ed.), 1996, Dimensions II: Precise thought and language in the essay, Toronto: Gage (essay) Koppedrayer, Kay & Mavis Fenn, 2005, in Mathews, Bruce (Ed.), Buddhism in Canada, http://www.misterdanger.net/books/Buddhism%20Books/Buddhism%20in%20Ca nada.pdf Kuruppu, D B, 2011, mHg ehAHdx enAtfb<Nt` (manga hondata notibunat), Colombo: Godage. Mathews, Bruce (Ed.), 2005, Buddhism in Canada, Routledge. Majhanovich, Suzanne, Review of “How to Kick Multiculturalism in its Teeth”, Canadian and International Education, Volume 29:1 June 2000, pp. 105-113. McClaymont, Christine (ed), 1990, Viewpoints: Reflections in non-fiction, Toronto: Nelson Canada (essay) McGifford, Diane, 1992, in Diane McGifford (Ed.), The Geography of Voice, pp. xiv- xv, TSAR Publications. McEwan, Paul, 2007: 150-153, Review of You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 3. McLellan, Janet, 2005, in Bruce Mathews (Ed.). Mishra, Vijay, http://canlit.ca/reviews.php?t=unfixed_selves, Canadian Literature. 30 Monier-Williams, Sir Monier, (1899), 1993, A Sanskrit- English Dictionary, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Rahula, Walpola, (1959) 1974, What the Buddha Taught, New York: Grove. Silva, Sauris, 1965, phtrx n[xnfymf VAn`tfy (sooniyam shaantiya) (in Sinhala), M D Gunasena Books Siri Sumangalo Digital Pali Reader (Mozilla Firefox) Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 1960, vYvhAr QANy hA nYS`Xfk s^g&&Am Vyavahara nanaya ha nyastika samgrama (Sinhala tr. of Bertrand Russell, Commonsense and Nuclear Warfare),; Colombo, Sri Lanka: M D Gunasena. __________________, 1961, ymy<d`ed (Yama Yudde) ‘Life Struggle’, 1961, Gampaha: Sarasavi. __________________, 1963, mFhrk` (Meeharak ) 'Idiots',; Colombo, Sri Lanka: M D Gunasena Books __________________, 1964, s^s`kRt kAvY sAhftYy (samskruta kavya sahityaya) (Sinhala trans. of A B Keith, Classical Sanskrit Literature), Colombo, Sri Lanka: Official Languages Department __________________, 2001, sf^hl ekxfktAevF smFBvy hA vYAp`tfy (Sinhala Ketikatave Sambhavaya ha vyaptiya) ‘The Origins and the Development of the Sinhala Short Story: the first 100 years (1860 to 1960), Colombo: Godage. Sugunasiri, Suwanda, 1978, “A Plea for Unity: Lankian New Year”, Cultural Cameo, Canada– Sri Lanka Association, Toronto, to mark the Sinhala – Tamil New Year, April 15, 1978 ___________________, 1989, “True voices speak from the heart”, Toronto Star, Aug. 19, 1989; see also http://www.nourbese.com/ArticlesList.htm. _______________, 1983-1999, [on Multiculturalism; on Buddhism] Toronto Star _______________, 1981, “Keep the Experiment Going”, Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. _______________, 1995, The Faces of Galle Face Green, (poetry), Toronto: TSAR Publishing; 2nd ed. 2001, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka: Sarasavi. _______________, 2001, Towards Multicultural Growth: a look at Canada from Classical Racism to Neomulticulturalism, Toronto: Village Publishing House / IDEAINDIA.COM COOPERJAL Limited, U.K. _______________, 2007, Celestial Conversations (poetry), Nalanda Publishing Canada _______________, 2008, Two Palm Bow, Nalanda Publishing Canada; on Kindle: English: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UUSBG4 German: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006V3W6QG Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UURARU _______________, 2009, Obama-Ji (poetry), Nalanda Publishing Canada. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf _______________, 2009, Untouchable Woman’s Odyssey, Nalanda Publishing Canada Sugunasiri, Suwanda H J, 1966, Morphological Analysis of the Finite Verb in Spoken Sinhala, Master’s Thesis, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA ___________________, 1966b, “The Ingrate” (short story), Mahfil, A Quarterly of South Asian Literature, University of Chicago, USA ___________________, 1978, Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology- based Model of Development for Post-Colonial Nations (unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Toronto, but see https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/4325 for the full text. 31 ___________________, 1978b, “Smarten Up, Indians, and Go Western”, Review of Ontario High School Texts under Circular 14, in Mukherjee, Toronto (Ed.), Myths & Realities, Toronto: Indian Immigrant Aid Society. ___________________, 1980, ‘Smarten Up, Indians, and Go Western’ (summary of piece in Mukherjee (ed.)), in McLeod, Keith (ed.), Intercultural Education and Community Development, Faculty of Education, U of T, ____________________,1984, “Sri Lankans in Canada”, POLYPHONY, The Bulletin of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario Multicultural History Society of Ontario, Spring/Summer, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 189-91 ____________________,1984b, ‘Forces that shaped Sri Lankan Literature’, Toronto South Asian Review. 3.2 ____________________,1985, ‘The Literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins: an overview’, Canadian Ethnic Studies, xvii:1, 1985 ____________________,1986, ‘Humanistic Nationism: a First Stage Communications Model of Development’, Humanomics, 2:1, 1986 ____________________, 1986b, “Reality and Symbolism in the South Asian Canadian Short Story”, World Literature Written in English, 26 (1): 98-107 ____________________, 1987, ‘Multicultural Literature within the English Curriculum’, Indirections, 12:4. ____________________, 1987b, ‘Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here’, Multicultural Education Journal, 5:2. ____________________, (1983) 1988, The Search for Meaning: the Literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins 1988, Secretary of State (ISBN 0-662-16032-0). ____________________, 1989 ‘Buddhism in Metropolitan Toronto: a preliminary survey’, Canadian Ethnic Studies, xxi:2 (https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/4324) ____________________, 1990, ‘Buddhist View of the Dead Body’, in Proceedings of the Transplantation Society, 22:3. ____________________, 1992, Alternative Preamble to the Canadian Constitution, University of Toronto Bulletin, Oct 19, 1992. ____________________, 1992b, “Sri Lankan Canadian Poets: the Bourgeosie that Fled the Revolution”, Canadian Literature, 132: 60-79 ____________________, 1993, “Religion and Sci-Spi’ (Science of Spirituality)”, Helmut Burkhardt (Ed.), Universal Knowledge Tools andTheir Applications, Proceedings of the Third Conference on Foundations and Applications of General Science Theory, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, June 3 to 5, 1993 ____________________, 1994, The Whistling Thorn: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Fiction, Oakville, Canada: Mosaic ____________________, 1994b, “Sexism in Ediriweera Saracchandra’s Sinhala Operatice Play, Maname”, J of South Asian Literature, 29 (2): 123-146 _____________________, 1995, “Whole Body, not Heart, the Seat of Consciousness: the Buddha’s View,” Philosophy East and West, 45: 3 (1995):409-430. _____________________, 1996, ‘Spiritual Interaction’, not ‘Interfaith Dialogue’: a Buddhistic Contribution’, Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 16 _____________________, 2000, ‘Amaradeva: Art & Humanity Unite in Deathlessness’ Sunday Observer, Aug. 20, 2000 (http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/040109- 14.html) 32 _____________________, 2001, You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, a Buddhianscientific dialogue, 2001; Dehiwala, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/4328/3/TSpace0191.pdf _____________________, 2002 ‘Musings of a Ghost from the Past’ (3 parts), Sunday Observer _____________________, 2003, “Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies: “An Experiment in Buddhist Education in Canada”, Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 12-15, 2003, http://www.hichumanities.org/AHproceedings/Suwanda%20H.%20J.%20Sugunasiri.pdf _____________________, 2005a, Embryo as Person: Buddhism, Bioethics and Society, Toronto Nalanda_ Publishing Canada. _____________________, 2005b, Ādiyāna: an Alternative to Hīnayāna, Srāvakayāna and Theravāda”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number One, p. 127. _____________________, 2006, “Inherited Buddhists and Acquired Buddhists”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Two, pp. 103 – 142. _____________________, 2008, “Establishing of Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā: the Creative Interplay of Cognition, Praxis and Affection”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Four, pp. 75 – 100. _____________________, 2008b, Thus Spake the Sangha: Early History of Buddhism in Toronto, Toronto: Nalanda Publishing Canada. _____________________, 2008c, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel in Here, https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25718/1/StepDownShakespeare. pdf _____________________, 2009, “‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā:) as Empirical Method,” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 5: 59-96. _____________________, 2010, Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. Toronto: Sumeru. _____________________, 2011, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here: Essays on Canadian and Sri Lankan Literature. _____________________, 2011b, “Euthanasia. Just say No!”, Sunday Island, http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article- details&code_title=32888 _____________________, 2012, “Asoulity anattā: Absence, not Negation” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Seven. Sugunasiri, Suwanda (Ed.), 1994, The Whistling Thorn, Oakville, Mosaic. Sugunasiri Suwanda (Co-Ed. with A V Suraweera), 1985,, Special Issue on Sri Lanka Literature, Toronto South Asian Review Suwanda H J Sugunasiri (Co. Ed., with Borovilos, John), 1987, Multicultural Literature Within the English Curriculum (with John), Pro-File, Ontario Ministry of Education. Sugunasiri, Swarna, 2008, Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family Kitchen, AuthorHouse. ________________ (Tr.), (forthcoming), The Sinhala Short Story: the first 100 years. (trans. of Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 2001) Toronto South Asian Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 1982 Toronto South Asian Review, Volume 3, Number 2, 1984 33 Toronto Star, Nov 28, 1987; Dec. 5, 1987; March 26, 1988; Sept 24, 1988; Dec. 1988; Feb. 4, 1989; Nov. 7, 1989. Toronto Sun, May 22, 1981 Wilson, Jeff, 2011, Review of Wild Geese, Global Buddhism. www.buddhistcouncil.ca www.Lankaweb.com www.TonyBlairFaithFoundation.com 16. FURTHER READINGS Harding, John, Victor Hori and Alex Soucey (ed.), 2010, Wild Geese, McGill-Queen's University Press Rahula, Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, New York: Grove [available online]. Thich Nhat Hanh, 19, For a Future to be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Wonderful Precepts: Parallax 17. SELECTED WORKS A. (AVAILABLE ONLINE: http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/search?q=sugunasiri&rep=tspc&drill=yes&p=20) Buddhism 1. ‘Buddhism in Metropolitan Toronto: a preliminary survey’, Canadian Ethnic Studies, xxi:2 (1989) 2. "The Whole Body, Not Heart, the Seat of Consciousness the Buddha's View" in Philosophy East and West (45:3, 1995). 3. You're What You Sense: a Buddhianscientific Dialogue on Mindbody, Sri Lanka: Buddhist CulturalCentre (2001). 4. “Inherited Buddhists and Acquired Buddhists”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Two, pp. 103 – 142 (2006). 5. “Establishing of Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā: the Creative Interplay of Cognition, Praxis (2008). 6. “‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā:) as Empirical Method,” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 5: 59-96 (2009). 7. Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, Sumeru (2010). Linguistics 8. Morphological Analysis of the Finite Verb in Spoken Sinhala, Master’s Thesis, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA (1966). 9. “Bilingualism and Second Language Learning”, Vidyalankara yldyodaya J. Arts, Sci., Lett., Vol. 4 Nos. 1 & 2 pp 105—117 (1971). 34 Literature 10. “Sri Lankan Canadian Poets: the Bourgeosie that Fled the Revolution”, Canadian Literature, 132: 60-79 (1992). 11. “Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here” Multicultural Education Journal, 5:2 (1987). Multiculturalism 12. Towards Multicultural Growth: from Classical Racism to Neomulticulturalism, Village Publishing House (2001). . National Development 13. Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology-based Model of Development for Post-Colonial Nations (unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Toronto (1978). Politics 14. “Human Rights: a Buddhist Critique”, Proceedings, Second Interdisciplinary Conference on the Evolution of the World Order, Ryerson University, Toronto, June 3, 1990 Spirituality 15. "Religion and Sci-Spi (Science of Spirituality)" in Proceedings of the 3rd Canadian Conference on Foundations and Applications of General Science Theory, Ryerson (1994). 16. ‘Spiritual Interaction’, not ‘Interfaith Dialogue’: a Buddhistic Contribution’, Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 16 (1996). Poetry 17. Obama-Ji, Canada: Nalanda Publishing Canada (2009).  Edited Works 18. The Search for Meaning, Secretary of State, Canada ((1983) 1988) B. ON KINDLE: Novel 19. Untouchable Woman's Odyssey on Kindle https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY 35 Children’s Literature 20. Two Palm Bow English: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UUSBG4 German: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006V3W6QG Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UURARU 14. REFERENCES 1 Sugunasri, Celestial Conversations, 2007. 2 Internal appraiser, Prof. Roby Kidd, OISE, University of Toronto, ‘father of Canadian Adult Education’. 3 Sarvodaya [link] is a social development & educational movement in Sri Lanka was founded by Dr. A T Ariyaratna [link]. 4 Hori & McLellan, 2010. 5 Ibid; Sugunasiri, 2003. 6 See website, www.buddhistcouncil.ca 7 Kanaganayakam, 2011. 8 Padma de Silva, 2011. 9 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/160187/tovil-dance 10 Silva, Sauris, 1962; Silva, Sauris, 1970 11 See Amazon.com. 12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Who's_Who 13 Humber (Ed.), 2000, p. 285. 14 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_College_Colombo 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_College 16 Vice Captain, under 16 and ‘best fielder’ First Eleven at Nalanda, but never playing in the Big Match; opening bowler and last batsman at Ananda, but felled by a backpain, soon out of the team! 17 ‘Best cadet’, and Lance-Sargeant, Junior platoon at Nalanda. 18 Sugunasiri, 1961; Sugunasiri, 1963. 19 Sugunasiri, 1960. 20 Sugunasiri, 1964. 21 Directed by the virtuoso Basil Mihiripenna, the ballets were Sasa daa ‘Hare on the Moon’ and Tammaenna (meaning the historical city where the mythological founder of the nation, Vijaya, landed with 700 of his men). See Sugunasiri, 2009, Untouchable Woman's Odyssey, for a literary rendering). 22 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediriweera_Sarachchandra. 23 Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. J., 2001. 24 Sugunasiri, Swarna (forthcoming). 25 See Sugunasiri, 1978.  36 26 Internal Appraiser, Prof. Roby Kidd (see footnote 2) 27 External examiner, Prof. Douglas Ray, University of Western Ontario, Canada. 28 Thesis Committee Chair, Prof. Joseph Farrell (OISE). 29 Sugunasiri, 1966. 30 Humber (Ed.), 2000, p. 285. 31 Kuruppu, 2011. p. 289. 32 MA in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, USA, 1966. 33 First learned at University of Pennsylvania, (1964) in fulfillment of a language requirement. 34 These were his subjects for his BA (London) when he earned a Second Class. 35 Sugunasiri, 1978. 36 Sugunasiri, 1978. 37 Ibid. 38 Sugunasiri, 1993. 39 Sugunasiri, 1996. 40 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. v. 41 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2005. 42 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2006. 43 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2012. 44 Paper in progress. 45 Paper in progress. 46 Sugunasiri, 1978. 47 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 145; Sugunasiri, 2008, p. 88; Sugunasiri, 2011. 48 See Sugunasiri,, 1995. 49 Buddhaghosa was the Theravada theoretician of the 6th c. who, shows the seat of consciousness as neatly enscomed in the heart (Visuddhimagga ‘Path of Purification’, a description traceable to the Upanishads. See Sugunasiri, 1995, for details. 50 Sugunasiri, 1978. 51 Sugunasiri,, 2001, p. 130. 52 Forthcoming. 53 Sugunasiri, 1996. 54 http://www.sumeru-books.com/?s=Definitive+history 55 Toronto Sun, !981 May 22. 56 See it online: http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+sugunasiri. 57 Sugunasiri, 2008b. 58 Hori @ McLellan op. cit. 59 Kay Koppedrayer & Mavis Fenn, in Mathews (Ed.), 2005, p.76: “No institution at present offers an MA or PhD specializing in Buddhist studies per se (though graduate theses on Buddhist subjects of one kind or another are often defended in at least three of these institutions), but efforts spearheaded by Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri in Toronto have lead to the opening of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies, ‘the first Canadian seat of learning approved by the Government of Ontario as a non profitable charitable organization to run post-secondary courses for “the systematic study of Buddhism” ’ (Fernando 2000). Among its objectives are to foster the academic study of Buddhism, to meet the educational needs of Buddhism in Canada and to facilitate personal spiritual growth (Nalanda College 2004).” 60 Comments a scholar (Wilson, 2011): “Over many years, [Sugunasiri] has pursued a strategy of increasing public Buddhist visibility on the one hand, and drawing together multiple Buddhist communities into pan-sectarian projects and networks on the other.” 61 See Sugunasiri, 2003, op. cit., for a fuller description. 62 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies . 37 63 Sugunasiri, 2008. 64 Two papers are forthcoming. 65 Sugunasiri, 1990. 66 Sumeru_Books, 2010. Also online, http://www.sumeru-books.com/downloads/REBIRTH.sugunasiri.pdf. 67 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, # 5. 68 See McEwan, Paul, 2007: 150-153, for a Review. 69 Seminars on Buddhism given at the University of Havana, Cuba, May 20-24, 2110: 1: Buddhism as Religion and Science; 2: Buddhism as Social Philosophy; 3: Buddhism and Bioethics; 4: Buddhism in Canada. 70 See e.g., http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Nalanda+College+of+Buddhist+Studies+Sugunasiri++ 71 Sfp journal, June 2002, p. 6 of 14: “Justice is an important instrumental value that is difficult to define. Suwanda Sugunasiri, the founder of the Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies in Toronto presented a paper entitled: Justice - a Buddhist Perspective. Justice is seen as an agent that creates a dynamic social equilibrium: ‘social homeostasis’. This understanding of justice is based on Buddha’s notion of conditioned co-origination, which means that everything results from a multiplicity of conditions in a necessary, reciprocal, and circular relationship. Professor Sugunasiri suggests that: The goal of justice is happiness for the individual-in-society. The conditions required to achieve such a goal are at the individual level friendliness (metta), compassion (karuna), altruistic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha). Conjointly are four dimensions of social-consciousness, namely, sharing (dana), pleasant speech (peyyvajja), the social good (atthacariya) and egalitarianism (samanattata). All qualities are to be understood both preventively and curatively. An approach to justice in terms of Human Rights is contrary to such principles…” 72 Sugunasiri, 1993. 73 McLellan, Janet, 2005, p. 97. 74 Hori & McLellan, op. cit. 75 Ibid. 76 www.buddhistcouncil.ca. 77 Ibid. 78 Ibid. 79 This is from the Dhammapada, # 129. 80 Sugunasiri, 1993. 81 See above, # 3. 82 University of Toronto Bulletin, Oct 19, 1992. 83 Saturday Star, May 23, 1992. 84 Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 1995. 85 Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 1995. See also, http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+sugunasiri 86 See www.TonyBlairFaithFouncation.com 87 Sugunasiri, 1996. 88 See www.TonyBlairFaaithFoundation. 89 See Plaque awarded by the government signed by Premier David Peterson & Minister of Citizenship & Culture, Lillian Munroe, dated March 14, 1987. 90 Toronto Star, Feb. 4, 1989. 91 McClaymont (ed), 1990; Kirkland & Davies (ed.), 1996. 92 E.g., Toronto Star, Nov 28, 1987; Dec. 5, 1987; March 26, 1988; Sept 24, 1988; Dec. 1988; Nov. 7, 1989; Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. 93 Toronto Star, Sept 7, 1999. 94 See Majhanovich, 2000 for a review. 38 95 Sugunasiri, 2001. See online http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/How_to_Kick_Multiculturalism_in_Its_Teeth-Towards_a_Better_Tomorrow_with/0968469108 96 With the minorities he intones, "Stop crying racism at every turn ... Minorities may still feel discrimination, but have they ever thought about what a hard time members of the majority have had in the past 20 years? They're even starting to call themselves TWASPs -- Tortured WASPs -- because they feel they're forever being asked to give in.” Turning to the system, he suggests, “Appoint some Members of Parliament and provincial MLA’s to represent minorities until they can be elected through the political process. Sri Lanka has done this for a long time to ensure the representation of European interests.” He also pleads that a spiritual component be included into multicultural policy. “This would draw on the wisdom of all religious faiths, Eastern and Western, old and new, in building a just society.” Molding a nation of nations.> 97 The student of Buddhism will not fail to see the inspiration for the model: the Noble Eightfold Path. See Rahula BIB (1959) 1974, for a characterization. 98 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 121. 99 Toronto Star, Oct 14, 1989. 100 Toronto Star, Jan 27, 1990 101 Sugunasiri, 1989. 102 This is the annual academic conference of all the Disciplines in all Canadian Universities. 103 The Panel comprised of Professors Vandra Masemann (Anthropology & Sociology), Melissa Williams (Ethics & Political Science), Helmut Burkhardt (Physicist, from Science for Peace) and Dr William F Ryan (Catholicism and Development). 104 Sugunasiri, 1978; 1980. 105 Sugunasiri, 1987; 1987b; Sugunasiri (Co.Ed.), 1987. 106 Sugunasiri, 1988. 107 Toronto South Asian Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 1982 108 Sugunasiri (Co-Ed.), 1985. 109 Sugunasiri (Ed.), 1994. 110 Andrew Faiz, 1995: “The exciting thing about Sugunasiri's collection is that the characters are allowed their own lives. They are not judged in relation to their chosen countries, nor do they judge that country. What is explored is the static between countries and characters. This sounds simple and obvious, yet it is rare to find, especially in ideological anthologies. Most of these stories are about making a heaven for yourself while suspended between two worlds.” 111 Examples are: Vassanji (twice Giller Prize winner, Governor General’s Award); Mistry (featured on Oprah Show); Dabydeen (Poet Laureate of Ottawa). 112 Sugunasiri, 1992. 113 Sugunasiri, 1986. 114 Sugunasiri, 1985 115 Sugunasiri, 1987 116 Sugunasiri, 2011. 117 Sugunasiri ,1964. 118 Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 1961; 1963. 119 Sugunasiri, S H J, 1966; Sugunasiri (Ed.), 1994. 39 120 Mishra, in Canadian Literature, blurb on back cover of Celestial Conversations (2006). 121 Kanaganayakam, blurb on back cover f Celestial Conversations (2006). 122 McGifford, 1992. 123 “What comes through in these poems is the poet’s knack for turning the most ordinary to the most extraordinary, through refreshing imagery, succinct language and precise structure, inviting the reader to join in an exhilarating fun.” (Back cover.) 124 Dr. Ilse Guenther, e-mail. 125 Prof Melissa Williams, e-mail. 126 Sugunasiri, 2009. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf 127 Kanaganayakam, 2011; see also Lankaweb [link]. 128 Edirisinghe, 2011. 129 Anura Bellana, Back cover. 130 Pancatantra, literally ‘five looms’, is “the well-known collection of moral stories and fables in five books..” (Monier-Williams, (1899), 1993, p. 576. 131 Jataka, literally ‘Birth Story, is a book of Khuddaka Nikaya of the Tipitaka ‘Tricompendium’, containing the Teachings of the Buddha. See Digital Pali Reader (Mozilla Firefox) (online). 132 Kanaganyakam. 2011. 133 Sugunasiri, 2008. 134 Sugunasiri, 2005; 2005b; 2010. 135 Sugunasiri, 2011b. 136 Hori & McLelland, 2010. 137 Hori & McLellan, 2010. 138 Sugunasiri, 1978. 139 See de Silva, 1981. 140 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayananda_Gunawardena. 141 Tapes available to the public at Multicultural History Society of Ontario. 142 Sugunasiri, 1984. 143 Sugunasiri, 2000. 144 Sugunasiri, 2002 145 See his signature on e-mails. 146 Lovingkindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity. 147 Sharing, pleasant language, the social good and equalitarianism. 148 Ashta loka dharma cakra.
 * Available at Amazon.com.

Suwanda H J Sugunasiri article for additional help.
Hello: Thank you for help w. my article on Sugunasiri. The footnote links have been done, thank you. But now I need some other help: a. Organizing the material, boxing them, putting text to the left of box, etc. b. I have already done the bullets, and paras, italic, bold, etc. Hope they can stay as they are. But pl tell me if I have to do them again in the Sandbox. c. There are a few more links to be made in the text. d. Finally, I have some pix that needs to go. Need help w. that, too. e. I'm attaching the file, with the above changes. When I copied the file edited by you to my word file, I noted that the links seems to be gone. But I hope they in my other page.

Thx again for your wonderful help. Here's the file, then: Sugunasiri (talk) 04:46, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

- BOX Suwanda H J Sugunasiri BA (London); MA (Penn.); Certificate (Michigan); Teaching Certificate, MA, MEd, PhD (Toronto)

BOX PIX of SS Suwanda H J Sugunasiri

BOX

Three People in Sugunasiri’s life: PIX 	PIX       PIX Mother 	Father 	Swarna [link to story below] BOX Founder / President / Professor, Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) In office: 1999 – 2008 President, Buddhist Council of Canada In office 1985-1988; 2010-present BOX PERSONAL DETAILS BOX FOE EACH TOPIC, IN TWO COLUMNS Born 		Suwanda Hennedi Jayasumana Sugunasiri Silva, Tangalla, Sri Lanka Parents 		Misinona Warnakulasuriya of Dodanduwa, Sri Lanka Suwanda Hennedi Sauris Silva of Tangalla, Sri Lanka Nationality Canadian Spouse 		Swarna Bellana of Panadura, Sri Lanka Children 2 Residence Toronto, Ontario, 	Canada Alma Mater Secondary Nalanda Vidyalaya [link] 	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_Maha_Vidyalaya_Colombo, 	Colombo, Sri 	Lanka Ananda College, Colombo, Sri Lanka [link] 				http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_College University Vidyalankara University, Sri Lanka [link] Univ. of London External System, UK [link] Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA [link] Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA [link] Univ. of Toronto, Canada [link] Religion 	Buddhist Website: Buddhist Council of Canada [link] 								www.buddhistcouncil.ca End of box

TEXT [to the left of boxes] Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri BA (London); MA (Pennsylvania); Certificate in TESOL (Michigan); Certificate in Teaching, MEd, MA, PhD (Toronto) Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri (born 1936) is a Lifelong Learner, Pioneer in several areas – Canadian Buddhism, South Asian Canadian Literature and Canadian Multiculturalism Multifaith Activist, Creative Writer (Short Fiction, Poetry; Novel), Multi-Artiste (Dancer, Actor, Play Director) and Buddhist Practitioner. In his literary works, he uses the name Suwanda Sugunasiri. Writing in Sinhala before his departure for overseas, he used the name su. hae. ja. Sugunasiri (s<. h[. j. s<g<Nsfrf). In a poem (2007), ‘The Many Names of the One’1, he mockingly notes many an other variation, even a sex change! He first came to North America in 1964 as a Fulbright-Smith Mundt Scholar in the US. Before returning to Sri Lanka upon the completion of his studies, the family found Canada calling. When on Sept. 1, 1967, the Sugunasiri family made the short crossing over the Detroit river over to Windsor, in Canada, in what friends dubbed their ‘Rambling Rambler’, towing a U-Haul with their meagre worldly possessions of a student, little did they realize that that was going to be the beginning of a long journey in cold climes. When they applied to come to Canada, it was for his wife, Swarna, a university graduate, and Teacher back in Sri Lanka, to get her Teacher training. The Sugunasiris also wanted their 3-year old son to learn French! Returning to Sri Lanka in 1971, Sugunasiri taught at the Vidyodaya University [link] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Sri_Jayewardenepura. But heading back to Canada in 1973, he continued in his pursuit of knowledge at the University of Toronto. His multidisciplinary doctoral thesis, Humanistic Nationism (1978, OISE, University of Toronto), came to be evaluated as “an extraordinary thesis..”2. It was interestingly the hands-on experience of digging a canal to divert water into fields at a Sarvodaya3 camp in Sri Lanka (1972) that had inspired Sugunasiri to pick the area of research - national development. Sugunasiri came to have a chequered academic career. These were pre- or early multicultural days in Canada. Teaching at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Faculty of Education sessionally, stability at High School level was difficult to pass up. His wife already in a steady job with a School Board, leaving Toronto was not a choice. It was later that Sugunasiri ended up on the Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, at the University of Toronto. But it is as a Buddhist that he has earned a name in Canada, both as Activist and Scholar. Founding Coordinator of the Buddhist Federation of Toronto (1980)4, he was later to be the Founder of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) (2000)5. Back to the field in retirement, he is currently (2010 to present) the President, Buddhist Council of Canada6. Though less well known, he has also played a pioneering and / or critical role in several other fields: South Asian Canadian Literature, Canadian Multiculturalism, Interfaith / Multifaith Relations and the Media, among others. Author of books, and published in academic journals, his publications comfortably straddle several disciplines. A Columnist at the Toronto Star (Multiculturalism; Buddhism), he is a Poet featured at Toronto’s International Harbourfront Reading Series. His latest creative work, a novel, Untouchable Woman's Odyssey (2010), “my 75th year gift to humanity” (front cover flap) [link] https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY, has been characterized as “an extraordinary first novel”7, another critic associating “genius” with it8. Active in sports throughout his life, he has enjoyed cricket, ping-pong, badminton and swimming, among others. But now in his advancing years, it is mostly walking and yogic exercises. A life-time teetotaler and non-smoker, his day begins with Meditation.

Son of Missinona Warnakulasuriya and state honoured Kalaaguru ‘Maestro of the Arts’ S H Sauris Silva  who ensured for posterity the oral tradition of Tovil [ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/160187/tovil-dance], the Sinhala exorcistic dance ceremonies of Sri Lanka9, by committing them to writing for the first time10. Sugunasiri is married to Swarna [link with story below], Head of ESL (York Board of Education) at retirement, and author of Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family Kitchen11. Sugunasiri is featured in Canadian Who's Who (1995-) [link]12, Canada at the Millennium (2000)13 and on June Callwood’s [link] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Callwood National Treasures on Vision TV (1994).

BOX [hide/ show] CONTENTS 1. EARLY YEARS [link] • Buddhist parents • English Education • Extracurricular Activities • Government Service & Resignation • Fiction Writer, Translator, Columnist • Artiste • Marriage 2. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCHOLAR [link] • Multiple Degrees (London, Pennsylvania, Toronto) • An Extraordinary Thesis • A Family with 15 Degrees & 35 University Years • Buddhist Pundit 3. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS [link] Linguistic Entrepreuner • Vocabulary • Concepts

4. BUDDHIST LEADER & SCHOLAR [link] • Buddhist Federation of Toronto • Buddhist Council of Canada • Toronto Star Columnist on Buddhism • Multicultural History Society of Ontario • Buddhism @ Trinity, University of Toronto • Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) • Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies • Academic Writing on Buddhism • Buddhism in Cuba • Science for Peace • Buddhist spokesman • Comments by Scholars

5. MULTIFAITH ACTIVIST IN SPIRITUAL INTERACTION [link] • Science of Spirituality (Sci-Spi) • Preamble to the Canadian Constitution • In Defense of Christianity • Buddhist-Christian Dialogue • Buddhist Jewish Dialogue • Other Multifaith Engagements • Vision TV; 100 Huntley Street • TonyBlairFaithFoundation [link]

6. PIONEER IN CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM [link] • Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship • Canada Day (Ontario) • Opening Exercises • Toronto Star: Columnist / Book Reviewer • In Defense of British Canadians • An Angry Book • Social Hadron as Model for Society • In the Academy • Multicultural Literature in the High School

7. PIONEER IN SOUTH ASIAN CANADIAN LITERATURE [link] • A Canada-wide Survey: The Search for Meaning • Toronto South Asian Review • Whistling Thorn: a First Anthology • Academic Writing

8. VERSATILE WRITER : POET, NOVELIST, SHORT FICTION [link] • Short Fiction • Poetry • An Extraordinary First Novel: Untouchable Woman's Odyssey • Children’s Book • Mass Media

9. IN THE SRI LANKAN CANADIAN COMMUNITY [link] • Toronto Mahavihara • Cultural Leadership: Samskruti • Directing a Play • Dancing at the Harbourfront • Recording Sri Lankan Canadian Life for Posterity • On Amaradeva 10. BUDDHIST PRACTITIONER [link] • Spiritual Life as guiding Daily Life • Lifetime Teetotaler & Non-smoker • Meditation • Five Training Principles aka Precepts • Distancing from Media • Mettā, Karuõā, Muditā, Upekkhā • Mettā towards Politicians

11. LIFE COMPANIAN: SWARNA [link] • Putting Bread on the Table • Wife-wife, Sister-wife, Friend-wife • Head of English as a Second Language • “My New Love” – a Poem • Mother-wife • “Cooking from My Heart” – a Book and a Poem

12. CONCLUDING NOTE [link] 13. AWARDS & HONOURS [link] 14. REFERENCES [link] 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY [link] 16. FURTHER READINGS [link] 17. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS [link]] [end of box]

1. EARLY YEARS Born to Buddhist parents in Sri Lanka, it was his father’s vision that saw the youngest in the family, Sugunasiri (his first, and personal, name now become last name), and his sisters Sunanda and Chitra, enrolled in the local Catholic English-medium school, Christ Church College, in Tangalla [link]. But, beginning at age 12, he began his education in the capital city of Colombo, first at Nalanda14 and then at Ananda15, the two leading Buddhist Boys’ Colleges. Active in the Literary Association (Secretary) and sports (cricket16; cadeting17), but perhaps too active, he fails to gain admission to the University of Ceylon. Undeterred, he would, however, earn his first degree (U of London) (1958) by the age of 22, through self-study, while working full time. In the work world, having started as a clerk, he rose to the senior ranks as Assistant Assessor, Income Tax. But, lucrative and prestigious as it was, office work appeared too restrictive for his creative energies. Giving up his secure job, he launched himself into the risky world of writing, having by now published two collections of short fiction, in Sinhala18, and translated Bertrand Russell19 and orientalist A B Keith20. It now fell on his wife to put food on the table for the poor husband, living on the pittance of a writer! He had also come to participate as a radio artist, and with a talent possibly inherited from his father, danced in ballets21. In the epoch-making stage play Maname, by Prof. Sarachchandra22, he partnered in performing the opening dance, the jocular character bahuboota, also doing a dance role in Hastikaanta Mantarai. 2. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCHOLAR It was to a different tune he was beginning to dance when he successfully applied for a Fulbright-Smith Mundt Scholarship [link] to study in the US. Now we begin to see Sugunasiri’s academic acumen taking off. Following upon his BA (London) (Oriental Languages - Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala), Second Class (1958), he came to earn three Master’s degrees - Linguistics (U of Pennsylvania, USA) (1966), Moral Philosophy (U of Toronto) (1971) and The Scientific Study of Religion and Buddhism (U of T) (1989). A fourth Master’s degree, begun prior to leaving for overseas, at the Vidyalankara University in Sri Lanka (1962-), remains uncompleted, although he had completed the thesis, which has now been published in book form23. And a translation is under way24. Sugunasiri’s multidisciplinary doctoral thesis, Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology-based Model of Development for Post-Colonial Nations (1978)25 (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto), draws upon Sociology, Linguistics, Language Planning, Economic and Political Theory and Buddhism. “Infused with humanism”26, it argues for Human Development, grounded in values and cultural sensitivity, going beyond economic and political development. Another examiner notes, “… The energy, range of scholarship, depth of scholarship, organizational competence, facility of expression, and painstaking attention to details… amply demonstrated”.’27 In the words of the Thesis Committee Chair, “… a truly massive job… [producing] a new theory and model of development…”28 His Master’s Thesis in Linguistics, “Morphological Analysis of the Verb in Spoken Sinhala”29, at the University of Pennsylvania, is possibly the first formal study of Sinhala in the US. A perpetual student, it appears that Sugunasiri did not see his degrees as a stepping stone for employment. It was rather a lifelong search for knowledge, in the best Eastern tradition where wisdom comes from breadth (bahussruta ‘much hearing / listening'), not just from narrow specialization. Model provided, the Sugunasiri family is featured in Canada at the Millennium30 in the following words: 	“Together, this family [ of wife Swarna, son Shalin and daughter Tamara, all three with 	Degrees from Ontario] has earned 15 degrees and has amassed 35 years of university 	education”. More recently (2011), a teacher of Sugunasiri’s has not failed to take note, calling him a ‘Buddhist Pundit’ (bauddha paňdivarayek)31. 3. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS A linguist32, and a creative writer (see below), with a smattering of French33, in addition to Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala34, Sugunasiri seems to walk the talk of the ‘Linguistic entrepreneur’, to use a phrase coined by himself (1978)35, meaning, “one who uses 10 language creatively”, both enriching our English language, and our conceptual world. Below is a list of some of them: Vocabulary • Humanistic Nationism (1978)36. • Post-Colonial Nations (1978) and Two-Thirds World, to replace the term ‘Third World;37; • ‘SciSpi’ (1993), paralleling Sci-Fi, as the brief form of ‘Science of Spirituality’38. • ‘Spiritual Interaction’ (1996), to replace ‘Interfaith Dialogue’39. • ‘Introscope’ (2001), paralleling ‘microscope’, as the tool used by the Buddha, and other meditators, Buddhist or other, to search deep within40. • Ādiyāna (2005), meaning ‘Early vehicle’ in lieu of the pejorative label Hīnayāna41; • ‘Inherited Buddhists’ and ‘Acquired Buddhists’ (2006), in lieu of ‘Ethnic Buddhist’ and ‘Euro-Buddhist’42; • ‘Asoulity’ (2001; 2012) as translation of anattā43. • ‘Etic Buddha Pūjā’ vs ‘Emic Buddha Pūjā’ (2012) to distinguish between the universally Buddhist practice of offering homage to the Buddha and the specific practice in a given community44. • ‘Zero-seme’ (2012) (as a parallel to zero-morph in Linguisitics) to refer to the Sanskrit term anātman and Pali term attā45.

Concepts: • Humanistic Nationism (1978): a model of national development46. • Parallels anatta ‘asoulity’ with the internet (2001)47: [fig] (excerpted from You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, 2001; Dehiwala, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre, p. 145) • Traces the Buddha’s view of consciousness as being in the whole body (1995)48 (‘Corporeal Theory’, as he now puts it), in contrast to the traditional Buddhist ‘Cardiac Theory’ of it being in the heart49, as in all Buddhist traditions, and the contemporary medical ‘?Encephalic’ (Brain) Theory). 11 • Posits a Conditioned Co-origination Theory of Language and Perception (1978), accommodating both the Sapirian Language to Perception hypothesis and the competing Perception to Language hypothesis 50. • Introduces to Canada the label Wesak (1981) (Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise' ), widely used in the Theravada countries of Asia. • Introduces a ‘Social Hadron’ (2000) towards a harmonious and humane Canadian society (see it reproduced later), based on ‘critical compassion’, building in suitable checks and balances that he argues are lacking in the present Canadian Multicultural policy and practice51. • Characterizes the Buddha, while certainly a religious teacher, as an ‘empirical scientist’ (2001) (see below). • Defines ‘Sentience’ on the web (2007) . • Discovers the Redactor of the Buddha Pūjā ‘Homage to the Buddha’, in Sinhala Buddhism (2012)52. • Introduces the label ‘Buddhian Buddhist’ (2009), to mean a Buddhist not belonging to a particular cultural variety, but simply looks up to the Buddha. • Defines spirituality as "a genetic potential for psychophysical harmony" (1996)53, seeking to bring respectability to ‘spirituality’ in a secular western society, taking it under the rubric of science, as contrasted with ‘religion’.

4. BUDDHIST LEADER AND SCHOLAR [pix: s with Dalai lama] Wide as Sugunasiri’s academic credentials may be, it is as a Buddhist Leader that he has come to shine in Canada. Working with Fujikawa Sensei of the Toronto Japanese Buddhist Church, he was instrumental in bringing together the diverse Buddhist communities in the city at the time (1980), under one umbrella of the Buddhist Federation of Toronto54. As Founding Coordinator, he organized Wesak (Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise' ), at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, attended by over 1000 people55. Held in 1981, it is said to be a North American first. Later becoming President, Buddhist Council of Canada [link],, he traveled the length and breadth of Canada, meeting Buddhist communities, in the expectation of forming Chapters. Working within the Buddhist communities, he sought out the electronic and print media, seeking to put Buddhism on the Canadian map. A highlight of this was the Wesak telecast over CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) (1985). In turn, he would come to be sought out by the media, appearing on national stations such as CBC, CFRB, CTV, TVO, Vision TV, Rogers TV and (the Evangelical Christian) 100 Huntley Street. Continuing the thrust into the print media, Sugunasiri now becomes a Columnist at the Toronto Star (1993-1998), perhaps another first. Through his columns, he presents a Buddhist perspective on contemporary issues such as abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, cloning, bank profits, etc., a collection of them now in book form, Embryo as Person: Buddhism, Bioethics and Society (2005)56. Seeking to ensure the Buddhist presence in Toronto doesn’t go unnoticed into the future, he has recorded, for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario [link], the oral history of 12 Buddhist leaders, both ordained and lay. The stories of the Sangha leadership have now been published under the title, Thus Spake the Sangha: Early History of Buddhism in Toronto (2008)57. Stepping down from the community leadership roles, allowing a younger generation to emerge, he would next focus his attention on the academy. Now associated with the Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, he organized Seminars on Buddhism (1993 to 1999) – lectures, seminars, slide presentations, etc.58 While teaching at the different levels in Canada would make Sugunasiri an ‘educator’, his singlemost claim to fame can said to be as Founder of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada) (2000), with a Founder’s Vision of cultivating ‘a Community of Better Human Beings’. The only post-secondary institution in Canada for the study of Buddhadhamma on a systematic basis59, the curriculum of this pan-Buddhist60 non-profit educational institute with federal charitable status, included Pali, and a mandatory but non-credit course in meditation, the student introduced to the three major types known in North America – Insight, Zen and Tibetan61. The R & D Centres of Excellence intended to be established in understudied areas such as Buddhism, Bioethics and Socioethics; Multiculturalism, Peace and Development; Buddhism and Education; etc. is an innovative highlight of Nalanda. While an application to the Government of Ontario to offer a B A (Hons.) in Buddhadharma Studies came to be successfully evaluated by two committees appointed by the Provincial Educational Quality Assessment Board, Ministerial approval was denied. While Nalanda is going through difficult financial times, it is expected to gain momentum sometime in the future with the injection of funds by one or more philanthropists. By way of filling another hiatus in the academy, Sugunasiri also founded, in 2005, the Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, [link]. now in its seventh year. Peer reviewed, and online62, its tripartite division into pariyatti (theory), patipatti (praxis) and pativedha (insight) seeks to bring together on to the same platform both academics and practitioners (Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 1, Editorial). Header of Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, as it appears online In his own writing on Buddhism, he has covered, in addition to those noted above, topics such as Satipaññhāna bhāvanā63, and most recently, Buddha Pūjā in Sinhala Buddhism [link].64. An article that drew much interest from the East European scholars in particular was “The Buddhist View of the Dead Body” (1990) [link].65. A continuing thrust in Sugunasiri’s writing is that the Buddha, while certainly a religious teacher, is an ‘empirical scientist’, understanding ‘science’ as a “systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and experimentation… in order to determine the nature or principles of what is being studied” (Webster’s). Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha's Four Noble Truths (2010) is a short piece along these lines66. A second article is “ ‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation as Empirical Method” (2009)67. You're What You Sense: a Buddhianscientific dialogue on Mindbody [link].68 is a book length treatment written in a dialogue format on the Abhidhamma (Buddhist Metaphysics) (2001). Invited by the University of Havana, Cuba (2010), Sugunasiri had the opportunity to give four Seminars on Buddhism69. By request, a Meditation session came to be conducted as well. Continuing to represent Buddhism in the academy, he has also participated in the events of the Science for Peace group, presenting a Buddhist perspective on issues such as Human Rights70, Justice71, Spirituality72, etc. He was also the Buddhist delegate at the World Council of Churches in Korea in the 1980’s. At the World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1993, 100 years after the first, he was to be a speaker at non-plenary sessions. Capturing Sugunasiri’s work of over four decades, a Canadian scholar writes, The leadership activities of one individual is especially notable in bringing Buddhist issues and concerns to provincial and municipal arenas, to the media (national and local), to interfaith forums, and in presenting Buddhism and particular Buddhist temples to the general public. Although these activities were supported by the presence and involvement of other Buddhist leaders, Dr Suwanda Sugunasiri was consistently involved in all of the endeavours to develop effective politics of recognition for Buddhism in Toronto since the late 1970s.73 Though born to Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Sugunasiri resists the label ‘Theravada Buddhist’, claiming himself to be, if a label is required, a ‘Buddhian Buddhist’. By that he means that what guides him is Buddha’s Teachings, and not a particular cultural interpretation. As if to 14 captures this essentially non-sectarian character of his, a chapter length treatment of his contributions in Canadian Buddhism comes to be titled, ‘Suwanda H J Sugunasiri: Buddhist’74. And in the text, he is characterized as being “…one of the very first [to go] beyond his community to hold the lotus to the rock in Canada”75. PIX Sugunasiri in front of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies (Canada), housed at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto (2006) Upon retirement from academic life, Sugunasiri was to revive the Buddhist Council of Canada in 2010, after a dormancy of a quarter century, becoming President again76 One of the Council’s first activities was to raise a Torana on the south lawn of Queen’s Park which houses the Ontario Legislature77. It was an initiative of his in 2005 that saw the raising of the Buddhist flag at this same venue, for the first time on public property anywhere in Canada78. 5. MULTIFAITH ACTIVIST IN SPIRITUAL INTERACTION Sugunasiri’s deep commitment to Buddhism has also led to his interest in the health of other religions on Canadian soil, in the conviction that Canada is the poorer without religion. It is in that context that he came to be invited to Ottawa for a consultation at a time when religion was not part of Canadian Multiculturalism. His interest was to help bring a secularized Canadian society, of unbridled capitalism, conspicuous consumerism and exclusive individualism, as he puts it, into the spiritual fold. In a theoretical thrust, he distinguishes spirituality from religion, welcoming Humanists, Free thinkers, Agnostics, Heretics and the Hands-on Critics of religion into the fold, along with non God-believing Buddhists, and God-believing theists. Just as “Everybody fears the rod”79, everybody shrieks at seeing a cat run over, he points out in a paper read at a Science for Peace conference80. Seeking to earn spirituality respectability, he coins the term ‘Sci-Spi’ (cf. Sci-Fi)81, standing for Science of Spirituality. 15 It is in expectation of bringing all Canadians to the fold, then, that he would write, as a member of an Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee, the following inclusive lines for inclusion in the Preamble to the Canadian Constitution: We affirm that our country, founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God, now cradles others, too, seeking spirituality from within.

We treasure the dignity of each person, the importance of the family, and the value of community, in relationship with each other, in relationship with nature.82

When a Christian-only version somehow got incorporated, the Saturday Star features him in a full-page story under the banner headline, ‘Buddhist opposes God in the Constitution’83, although he would write a Letter to the Editor that he was not opposing the reference to God but simply adding, as the lines well show. Instructed in the Buddha’s Teaching, “May all beings be well”, not just minorities or majority, he, in a piece written to the Toronto Star84, mocks minority religionists in particular when Christians came to be under attack for celebrating Christmas. Sung to the tune of a Christmas Carol, the words go as follows: Deck the buildings with boughs of holly, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Stem the tide of multicultural folly, fuddle duddle daa… da daa daa daa Born this nation of Christianity, fa la laa la la laa, laa laa laa. Like you not this stubborn history, fuddle duddle daa… da daa daa daa!

Light your candle for Deewaali Hanukkah, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Night and day pray, pray to Allah, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. Turn the Buddha’s Wheel that’s timeless, fa la laa la la laa, laa laa laa. ‘tis no reason to steal Lord Jesus, fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa.

Come ye adults, lads and lasses, fa la… Clean up your blinding secular glasses, fa la.. Can’t you see our Christians bleeding? Fa la.. Won’t you lick wounds, do some healing? Fa la ..

‘tis the season to build community, fa la… Kiss good-bye to our insecurity, fa la… Let’s join hands in good spirituality, fa la… Climb the chariot of lofty humanity, fa la la la laa, fa la la la laa, fa la la la laa, la ..laa..laa…laaa!85.

Making the point personally, he would also go on Vision TV, urging all Canadians to light up from the rooftops to usher in the advent of the birth of Baby Jesus. Never one to leave knowledge at the door of the academy, Sugunasiri can be seen to be engaged with the other religious communities in Canada on issues of social interest. His activism in this field began as a Member of World Conference on Religion for Peace (Canada), when he was invited to facilitate Buddhist participation in an Interfaith Service held at the Bloor United Church in 1980. Working with the Interfaith officers of the United Church in particular, he organized many a Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (1980’s)86 He also initiated a Buddhist-Jewish Dialogue in Toronto (1980’s), working, as a member of the Canadian Interfaith Coalition working, towards the establishment of Vision TV. As a member of the Ontario Provincial Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy, Sugunasiri drew up a Multifaith Training Program for potential Chaplains (1980’s), which drew candidates from the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Native communities, even though not all completed the program. He was also a member was World Interfaith Educational Association, initiated by Charles McAvity. Its program of studies brought students of different faiths from different countries to learn from one another in a mutually respectful way, while also preparing towards the International Baccalaureate degree. As a member of the North American Interfaith Network, Sugunasiri had the occasion to work with American colleagues, speaking at plenary and other sessions from a Buddhist perspective. Invited on the evangelical station, 100 Huntley Street, he was happy that his Buddhist perspective, “God is a fiction of the human imagination”, was telecast uncut. He had many an other occasion to participate on panels and presentations at this same station as well as on other TV stations and over the radio. Among his contributions in the area at the academic level are is the article, “Spiritual Interaction, not Interfaith Dialogue: a Buddhistic Contribution”87. One of his more recent multifaith involvements has been with the TonyBlairFaith Foundation (2010) [link] where he is profiled on its website88.

PIX: Sugunasiri with the former Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair in Toronto, on the occasion of the launch of the TonyBlairFaithFoundation (2008).

6. PIONEER IN CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM Sugunasiri’s formal involvement in Multiculturalism began with an Order-in-Council appointment, by successive Conservative and Liberal governments, to the Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship (1983-88)89. He was also a Member of Canada Day (Ontario) Committee, with Lt Governor Lincoln Alexander as Patron. On an Ontario Ministry of Education committee on the Opening Exercises, his piece, “Who, then, is a Canadian?”, first published in the Toronto Star90 comes to be included as an alternative Opening Reading at schools. Making into anthologies91, the definition merits a reprint:

A Canadian is someone living in Canada; considers Canada to be his or permanent home, 	come hell or high water; is able to communicate with other Canadians, in English or French, 	…. but without giving up any original language facility; respects, and is willing to share, other 	people’s values, customs, etc. in such a way as to contribute to a developing and changing 	Canadian culture; and proudly claims “Je suis canadien(ne)” or “I’m Canadian”, not by the 	involuntary accident of birth but by conscious choice.

Likely the first Columnist on Multiculturalism in a major newspaper in Canada, minorstream or mainstream (a claim that needs checking out), Sugunasiri introduced the Toronto Star readers (from the early 1980’s) to the continuing developments in Canadian multicultural policy and practice92. Irate that the British Canadians were coming under attack, he would, in a Buddhist large-heartedness, write a Letter to the Editor complaining about ‘reverse discrimination’93. As reflected in the letter, increasingly frustrated by the direction Multiculturalism in Canada was headed, he was to write a book on Multiculturalism, with the angry title, How to kick Multiculturalism in its Teeth94, later republished under the more neutral title, Towards Multicultural Growth, A look at Canada from Classical Racism to Neomulticulturalism, 2001 95. The book is written from the perspective of both an ‘outsider’ (being an immigrant) and an ‘insider’ (having being advisor to governments). As noted by a critic, “Dr. Suwanda Sugunasiri … supports the concept [of multiculturalism, but] has some ideas 	for change that he believes will make multiculturalism more relevant in the next century”96. The ‘Excellent Social Hadron’ recommended towards an ‘Integrative Multiculturalism’97 in Canada is reproduced below98 as the model may have universal relevance: [PIX: social hadron (excerpted from Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 121).

Sugunasiri may also be the first minorstream Book Critic in a major Canadian newspaper. His reviews in the Toronto Star includes works by Jean R Burnet, Millie Charon99, Cyril Dabydeen100 and Nourbese Phillips101. A specific academic contribution on Multiculturalism is the Roundtable organized by Sugunasiri at the 2006 Congress102 on “Multiculturalism, Peace and Development: Independent or Co-dependent?”103. An earlier one was the analysis of the Textbooks used in Ontario Schools under Circular 14 for the view of India and Indians (1980)104. During his time teaching at the High School level, he can also can be said to have played the leading role in introducing Multicultural Literature into the Ontario English curriculum105.

7. PIONEER IN SOUTH ASIAN CANADIAN LITERATURE In 1979, the Multiculturalism Directorate of the Secretary of State, Government of Canada was looking for a scholar to undertake a research of the literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins. Looking for work just after his Doctorate, Sugunasiri made an application. And winning the contract, with a literary track record of two collections of short stories (in Sinhala), and a textbook analysis in relation to South Asians (see above), he traveled across Canada, meeting writers, poets, dramatists, professors of literature and religious leaders. The findings presented in a Report titled The Search for Meaning: the Literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins in 1983, it came to be published in 1988106.

PIX: Search for Meaning cover His Preface in the Report rings prophetic:

I sincerely hope that this basic research will generate discussion and further research among scholars, both S. Asian and others. Perhaps, more importantly, this study will, I hope, serve to bring together the South Asian Canadian writers of varying ethnic, linguistic, geographic, national and religious backgrounds. It would be encouraging as well, if this effort were to serve the cause of bringing South Asian Canadian literature and the writers themselves to the attention of Canadians, in order that they may gain their rightful place in Canadian society. Such a consciousness-raising exercise would, one hopes, serve the larger goal of developing an increasing respect for the South Asian Canadian community in general. It is, of course, up to the community itself, and to the writers, to continue to earn this respect through their continuing contributions. The Annual Festival of South Asian Literature and Arts [FSALA link], first held in 2010, to commemorate 25 + years since the Report, can be said to be living evidence of how the South Asian Canadian Literary scene has come to flower since sugunsiri’s pioneering efforts. A consistent theme brought home to Sugunasiri in his cross-Canada research was the absence of a South Asian literary voice. When, back in Toronto writing up the Report, he came in contact with Dr. Moyez Vassanji, physicist and a researcher at the University of Toronto, there opened up the opportunity to meet the aspirations of the writers. Soon emerged the Toronto South Asian Review (1982) (now defunct), with Vassanji, having had his own vision of founding a literary journal, as Editor and Sugunasiri as Consulting Editor107 Sugunasiri also co-edited a Special Issue of The Toronto South Asian Review, of Sri Lankan writing in Sinhala, Tamil and English, possibly for the first time.108 He also brought out the first anthology of South Asian Canadian short fiction, The Whistling Thorn (1994)109, viewed by a critic as “an example of how to do things right. [The Editor] lets stories reign, pulling in the politics.….”. As for the content, other than one, “The rest of the collection sings.” 110 The Anthology featured the then unknown or little known writers like (in alpha order) Neil Bissoondath, Cyril Dabydeen, Hubert de Santana, Lakshmi Gill, Reshard Gool, Surjeet Kalsey, Rohinton Mistry, Uma Parameswaran and Moyez Vassanji. Today, thirty years later, it is with pleasure that Sugunasiri notes that several of these writers are now household names111. Sugunasiri’s critical studies in the literary genre have appeared in Canadian Literature112, World Literature Written in English113, Canadian Ethnic Studies114, and Indirections115. Some of these papers have also been published under the title, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here: Essays on Canadian and Sri Lankan Literature116. In the field of Sinhala literature, his study of the Sinhala short story (his Master’s Thesis now published (see above)) stands as a seminal work. His translation of Indologist A B Keith’s Classical Sanskrit Literature (1964)117 shows Sugunasiri’s interest in literature as early as his late twenties.

8. VERSATILE WRITER : POET, NOVELIST, SHORT FICTION Sugunasiri’s first appearance on the literary horizon, as noted, was prior to heading off to North America, publishing two collections of short fiction (in Sinhala) 118 at the ripe young age of 25. “Amateurish”, as he would dismiss many of them now, a couple have nonetheless found their way into English119. After a ‘drought’ of more than three decades, spent in the academy, there was no one more surprised than Sugunasiri himself when, killing time at the Schilphol Airport in Amsterdam (1982), the first lines of poetry emerged, this, to his surprise again, in English. On his way to his father’s funeral, his first poem was, perhaps to no surprise, on death. In typical Buddhist fashion, ‘Disarming Death’ is mocking: I myself not / see / in the dazzling / brilliance / of my breath-less consciousness, / your faint image / projected / on life’s screen.

Moulded, / and masked, / by the living / in a Neanderthal seizure / with the clay / of a destruction siege, / go find your prey / in warm / bodies.

It would be among the poems making up his first collection, The Faces of Galle Face Green (1995), organized along four themes: Women, Politics, Buddhism and ‘Other’. Says a reviewer, “There is much less of the diasporic in his verse and much more of a straight out pleading for common sense and non-violence”120. In another reviewer’s view, “the humour and gentle irony are distinguishing aspects” of the collection.121 In the view of yet another, Sugunasiri combines “the realist’s vision and the satirist’s wit”122. Sugunasiri reading at Toronto’s International Harbourfront Reading Series, March 10, 1996.

Writing only sporadically, this first work is followed by Celestial Conversations (2006)123. Though not thematically organized, the poems broadly cover Nature, Travel, Buddhism and Advancing years. A reader sees in it “poems with deep thoughts clad in musical rhythms.., [and] startling images..”124 Another notes, “It’s a gift to be able to make people smile.”125 While the collection is on a range of topics, the political dimensions in the most recent collection is evident from the title itself, Obama-Ji (2009)126. The cover seeks to capture a connection (see if you can figure it out; hint: ‘DNA’ within the oval figure): Pix ; Cover obama-ji Untouchable Woman's Odyssey (2010) marks Sugunasiri’s entry into the novel at the ripe old age of 75. Characterized, as noted, as “an extraordinary first novel”, and “a major contribution to both Sri Lankan and Canadian literature”127, it spans “a 2500 saga of his country’s history via a story, melodramatic yet extremely touching”128. “… extremely cinematic .. like in the films of Luis Bunnel, the Spanish surrealist filmmaker..”129, A novelty of the work is that it adopts the ‘story within story’ structure of the Indian work Pancatantra130, as well as the Buddhist Birth (Jataka) story131 structure of a present story and a past story (back cover). Novel or poetry, Sugunasiri’s creative writing has been characterized as having “…a soft Buddhist halo”132. In other creative writing, Sugunasiri’s latest interest is in Children’s literature. Two Palm Bow (2006), intended to be read by parents, introduces the toddler to the Buddha, how to pay homage to the Buddha (bowing with two palms together) and the term of homage, saadhu. Available on Kindle133 in its English, German and Spanish versions, other translations are envisioned. In the writer’s filing cabinet are several other manuscripts on Buddhist themes for children. As a linguist, and a community worker, Sugunasiri strongly believes in making knowledge available to the average reader, the inspiration also coming from the Buddha, a master communicator who speaks to a given audience at its own level. Thus we see him using the dialogue format and the popular diction in many of his writings, both on Buddhism and social issues134. A more recent newspaper piece along these lines is, “Euthanasia: Just say No….”135. Given the wide range of his writing - from the scholarly to the terse Media columns, to the dialogic and the poetic in his creative writing, to the pithy and the gentle of his children’s books, “versatility” is perhaps how Sugunasiri can best be characterized as a writer.

9. IN THE SRI LANKAN CANADIAN COMMUNITY While beginning in the eighties Sugunasiri began to be active in the wider Canadian community, his earliest formal involvement in Canada was with the Sri Lankan Canadian Community when in 1976 he was invited to be the Co-Vice President of the Toronto Mahavihara, the earliest Sinhala Buddhist Temple in Canada136. One of the primary activities organized by him was Wesak, the Buddha’s Triple celebration of Birth, Enlightenment and Parinibbana 'Final Demise'137. Another activity in which he provided co-leadership was in the Annual New Year celebration, alut auvrudda for the Sinhalas, and pudu varadam for the Tamils, where adults and children of all communities (including Muslim) displayed their talents on stage. In a Souvenir message in 1978, Sugunasiri makes a plea for unity 138. By way of keeping alive the rich Sinhala heritage of 2500 years, the first inscriptions dating back to the pre-Christian era139, Sugunasiri was instrumental in founding Samskruti Cultural Circle. It sought to present cultural evenings, primarily to present programs on an aspect of culture, contemporary or historical, bringing together the Sinhala Buddhist and Christian communities. One of the highlights of Samskruti was the Sinhala stage play, Naribaenaa (1980), the popular comedy by Dayananda Gunawardena140. The cast included Buddhists, Christians, Tamils and Secularists. Directed by Sugunasiri, it was selected as one of the ten best Heritage Language Plays of the year. Acting in it, too, his earlier acting experience was in another minor role in Veda Hatana (1963). In the 1990’s, he partnered the danseuse Hema Perera at a Sri Lankan cultural show at the Brygantine Room at Toronto’s Harbourfront. Intending to ensure that the Sri Lanka presence did not go unrecorded, he interviewed Sri Lankan Canadians of all communities – Burgher (the first to arrive in Canada), Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario141. An article in POLYPHONY, The Bulletin of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, provides an overview of “Sri Lankans in Canada” of the time (1984)142. More recently, he would write a laudatory piece on the musical icon, Visharada maradeva A 143 and an article in three parts returning to the cultural scene he had left144.

10. BUDDHIST PRACTITIONER No description of Sugunasiri would be complete without a reference to his spiritual life, Buddhism having been his guide all his life. To talk about spiritual life, of course, is also to swim against the current of our secular society that puts a barricade between the two. But Sugunasiri is adamant that nothing about him can be explained without recourse to the persona of the Buddha as Model, and the guiding hand of his Teachings. Inspired by his father in particular, but also by the ethos of Sinhala Buddhist society that he grew up in, Sugunasiri, e.g., has been a lifetime teetotaler and non-smoker145. But it was not until 1999 that his spiritual life took off in earnestness. Promoting his Vision of a ‘Community of Better Human Beings’ in founding Nalanda, it was incumbent that the Founder provide the model. If this was his early inspiration to take to a meditative life, the experience of the personal benefits of regular meditation - internal calm, ongoing happiness and continuing good health, have served to keep him going. Following the Buddha’s Teaching that meditation must always be grounded in self-discipline, he has come to be even more reflective of the five Training Principles (sikkhaapada) that guide the life of every Buddhist, namely, Abstaining from taking life. Abstaining from taking what is not given. Abstaining from sexual misbehaviour. Abstaining from disharmonious language (lying, gossip, backbiting). Abstaining from abuse in liquor, intoxicants etc. Seeing that the contemporary Media - newspaper, TV, Radio, movies, theatre, etc., his own darlings all his life, can be taking a practitioner in quite the opposite direction, he has now adopted a minimalist stance in relation to them, freeing the mind from sensory ‘noise’ of media clutter. Seeking to live by the Buddha’s principle, “I do as I say, I say as I do”, Sugunasiri finds the personal values as given by the Buddha, mettā, karuõā, muditā, upekkhā146 ennobling, and the social values dāna, peyya vajja, atthacariyā, samanattatā147 invigorating. ‘May all beings be well’ is a recurrent thought in his mind, and at bedtime, he is often in the habit of engaging in another meditation: May I be free from enmity. May I be free from anger. May I be free from stress. May I keep myself happy! After extending it to his wife and children, then it is to a close friend, a neutral one like the postie, and finally, to an ‘enemy’ (i.e., someone who may have, for the right or the wrong reasons, happen to be at a given moment in time, on the wrong side ). It is not rarely that the meditation is extended to politicians, local and international, in the thought that this is an oft maligned group of sentient beings. If by the time the meditation takes him to the far corners of the world he finds himself asleep, he is still happy in the thought that his good thoughts have helped him in turn. Self care and other care at the same time, as the Buddha advocates.

11. LIFE COMPANION: SWARNA PIX: Swarna Sugunasiri, BA, BEd] The significant other in Sugunasiri’s life is his wife Swarna Bellana, from Panadura. Given the reality, as in the Buddha’s Teaching of Conditioned Co-origination, he cannot think of his life, as will be seen, except in relation to his wife. In proposing to her, Sugunasiri offered her only a poor man’s life. She agreed, even as her family was busily looking for a doctor to marry off the only girl in the family of 7 boys, and the only one to make it to the university. When Sugunasiri contemplated quitting a steady job, she again agreed! And, having herself earned a degree, she came to support the family with a steady income, even though it was a mere third of what the husband had given up. Next was the challenge of looking after a three-week old son, while still holding a full time job, when Sugunasiri left on his scholarship (1964). It was on her own, almost incommunicado in those years of half a century ago when phones were a luxury, and the mail moved snail-pace, that she had to run the family for the next one year. Then came Sugunasiri’s PhD years in Toronto. Though on a graduate fellowship, it was Swarna again who put bread on the table. [PIX: PHT certificate] How fortunate it is, says Sugunasiri, to have a wife-wife, sister-wife and friend-wife*. When Swarna, by now Head of a Department at a York Board of Education school, retired (1998), Sugunasiri sang her praises at the retirement party: [* This is three of the characterizations of a wife made by the Buddha.]

MY NEW LOVE < for Swarna >

It was just a parting soiree the other day, when my life-weathered gray hair met you, for the first time, Swarna, head-on when one after another, your workhorse team, lifted their glasses, to toast a gifted: red to a helluva tough cookie, white to a clear head that cut through the flak, pink to a heart welling with warm tears, keeping the professional boys in their place, professional girls on their toes, no kidding, Swarna!

That encounter, of a single evening razed flat to the ground the mansion I’d built for three score five years out of mountains of brick mortar and rafters, ‘handle with care’ etched in left front and centre, inside out.

Now I look to the morning after the evening, to the professionala persona, to build a retirement home of wrought iron pillars hammered into shape with steely nerves and nails of insight roof shingled with ‘no nonsense here’ plaques.

Swarna, you’re my new love!

Toronto, June 1998 (excerpted from Celestial Conversations, 2007, Nalanda Publishing Canada).

[PIX: book cover

But that is not all. Mother-wife was waiting in the wings. Though never ever stepped into her home kitchen where her own mom toiled, the dinner table at the Sugunasiri family was a feast to the eyes, a treat to the palate and rich in nutrition (book cover) [link]. The marvelous balancing act of proteins and carbs, legumes and fats was something her colleagues in her book club looked forward to when it was Swarna’s turn to cook. At the launch of her book, Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family Kitchen*, full of recipes tried on the family, Sugunasiri sang again:
 * Available at Amazon.com.

COOKING FROM MY HEART 

Cooking from a heart for four decades and counting, the end product now on the printed page with colourful dishes green red yellow and brown, festooned with tropical scenes, the Chef a la Maison stirs a pot of excitement in the family among friends in the neighbourhood, culinary ambers dormant from childhood through teenage years now stoked into a ravenous flame, taking a retired life by storm, rejuvenating a brain centre into heightened creativity well-captured i n the professional look on the back cover, inviting one and all to come and see to just come and taste, and leave with a spicy titillation of the tongue, a flavour that is national-yet- international, parading your taste buds into the grounds royale of a Menu Extraordinaire!

(With oodles of love, for 45 years of putting into action an ancient wisdom, “The way to the heart is through the stomach”!)

Jan. 11, 2009, in celebration of the formal launch of Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Kitchen.) (excerpted from Celestial Conversations, 2007, Nalanda Publishing Canada).

12. CONCLUDING NOTE [link] Multi-artiste, community worker, columnist, poet, novelist, scholar and Buddhist practitioner, Sugunasiri may be characterized as one who has, throughout his life, sought to extend himself in as many directions as possible. But his pursuit of the spiritual life even as he actively engages in the secular life tells us that he was also seeking to cultivate himself as a whole person, in the best sense of educators like Pestalozzi and Maria Montessori, not to mention the Buddha himself. If all this speaks to his attention to self-care, placing his multidisciplinary background for the benefit of the community and society can be said to speak to his interest in other-care as much, seeking the ideal upheld by the Buddha. The impression one is left with in encountering Sugunasiri is that he lives the joie-de-vivre life of the happy trooper, through the ups and downs in life, fully cognizant of the Buddha’s Teaching of ‘the 8-fold cycle of world reality’148, namely, that loss & gain, fame & infamy, praise & blame, and happiness and unhappiness, are all part of life. For all this, Sugunasiri wants to then thank everyone, in gratitude, - parents and family, teachers and elders, friends and foes, for all the opportunities kindly made available to him, and the challenges thrown at him, through life And it is with head down that he apologizes for any transgressions and trespasses on this journey, committed consciously or unconsciously, and seeks understanding and forgiveness. And, as in his letter endings, he wishes that everyone be of good health, wealth, happiness and long life! And he would like to end with the words, “May all being be well and happy!”

13. AWARDS AND HONOURS • 1964- 67 Fulbright-Smith-Mundt Scholarship, US State Dept. • 1983-88 Order-in-Council Appointment, Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship • 1984-99 Columnist, Toronto Star (sociopolitical; Buddhist Perspectives) • 1993 Featured in NFB film, “To Canada with love & some misgivings”, by Mo Simpson • 1994 Featured in June Callwood’s National Treasures, Vision TV • 1996 Invited poetry reading, Harbourfront Series, Toronto • 1996- Featured in Canadian Who’s Who • 2000 Featured in Canada at the Millennium, Miss.: Heirloom Publishing • 2001 Ratnadeepa Lifetime Award (for Artistic contributions to the Canadian Sri Lankan community) • 2008 Poem “The Unbeaten Beat” featured in a Book Title, Clamouring for a Better World: The Life and Work of David N. Wilson. • 2010 Biographed (Chapter length) in Wild Geese: Studies of Buddhism in Canada, Eds: Victor Hori, Harding, John & Soucy, Alex, McGill Queen’s University Press

ANTHOLOGIZED IN • 1990 Christine McClymont (ed), Viewpoints: Reflections in non-fiction, Toronto Nelson Canada (essay) • 1992 Diane McGifford (ed), The Geography of Voice, Toronto: TSAR (poetry) • 1996 Glen Kirkland & Richard Davies (ed.), Dimensions II: Precise thought and language in the essay, Tor: Gage (essay) • 1997 The National Library of Poetry, A Treasured Token (poetry) • 1997 Cyril Dabydeen (ed), Another Way to Dance, Toronto: TSAR (poetry)

14. REFERENCES

15. BIBLIOGRAPHY Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number One, 2005; Number Two, 2006; Number Seven, 2012. de Silva, K M, 1981, History of Ceylon, Oxford University Press. Dhammapada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammapada). Dissanayake, Daya, 2011, “Real and Imaginary Homelands”, (ceylondailynews.lk, 06 29, 2011). Edirisinghe, Padma, 2011, “Slice of life: complex or complicated? ” sundayobserver.lk> Montage> 	Book Corner, 06 26 2011 29 Faiz, Andrew, 1995, “Hung Between Two Thoughts”, Books in Canada. Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. Harding, John S. Victor Sōgen Hori, and Alexander Soucy (Ed.), 2010, 	Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press Hori, Victor & Janet McLellan, 2010, “Suwanda H J Sugunasiri: Buddhist”, in Harding, Hori & Soucy. http://sentience.askdefine.com/ http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article- 	details&code_title=32888. https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY. http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/040109-14.html (on Amaradeva). https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25718/1/ StepDownShakespeare.pdf. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_College. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Who's_Who. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayananda_Gunawardena. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediriweera_Sarachchandra. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_College_Colombo. http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+sugunasiri. Humber, Charles, J. (Ed.), Canada at the Millennium: a Transcultural Society, Canada Heirloom 	Series, 2000. Kanaganayakam, Chelva, 1996, Review of Faces of Galle Face Green, Toronto South Asian Review ___________________, 2011, introducing author Sugunasiri at a Reading at the Festival of South 	Asian Literature and Arts, University of Toronto. See http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/10/12/%E2%80%9Can-extraordinary-first-	novel%E2%80%9D-untouchable-womans-odyssey-by- suwanda-sugunasiri/ for the fuller 	introduction. Kirkland, Glen & Richard Davies (ed.), 1996, Dimensions II: Precise thought and language in the 	essay, Toronto: Gage (essay) Koppedrayer, Kay & Mavis Fenn, 2005, in Mathews, Bruce (Ed.). http://www.misterdanger.net/books/Buddhism%20Books/Buddhism%20in%20Canada.pdf Kuruppu, D B, 2011, mHg ehAHdx enAtfb<Nt` (manga hondata notibunat), Colombo: Godage. Mathews, Bruce (Ed.), 2005, Buddhism in Canada, Routledge. Majhanovich, Suzanne, Review of “How to Kick Multiculturalism in its Teeth”, Canadian and 	International Education, Volume 29:1 June 2000, pp. 105-113. McClaymont, Christine (ed), 1990, Viewpoints: Reflections in non-fiction, Toronto: Nelson Canada 	(essay) McGifford, Diane, 1992, in Diane McGifford (Ed.), The Geography of Voice, pp. xiv- xv, TSAR 	Publications. McEwan, Paul, 2007: 150-153, Review of You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, Canadian 	Journal of Buddhist Studies, 3. McLellan, Janet, 2005, in Bruce Mathews (Ed.). Mishra, Vijay, http://canlit.ca/reviews.php?t=unfixed_selves, Canadian Literature. Monier-Williams, Sir Monier, (1899), 1993, A Sanskrit- English Dictionary, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Rahula, Walpola, (1959) 1974, What the Buddha Taught, New York: Grove. Silva, Sauris, 1965, phtrx n[xnfymf VAn`tfy (sooniyam shaantiya) (in Sinhala), M D Gunasena Books. Siri Sumangalo Digital Pali Reader (Mozilla Firefox) Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 1960, vYvhAr QANy hA nYS`Xfk s^g&&Am (Sinhala tr. of Bertrand Russell, 	Commonsense and Nuclear Warfare), Colombo, Sri Lanka: M D Gunasena. __________________, 1961, ymy<d`ed (Yama Yudde) ‘Life Struggle’, 1961, Gampaha: Sarasavi. __________________, 1963, mFhrk` (Meeharak ) 'Idiots',; Colombo, Sri Lanka: M D Gunasena Books __________________, 1964, s^s`kRt kAvY sAhftYy (samskruta kavya sahityaya) (Sinhala trans. of A 	B Keith, Classical Sanskrit Literature), Colombo, Sri Lanka: Official Languages Department __________________, 2001, sf^hl ekxfktAevF smFBvy hA vYAp`tfy (Sinhala Ketikatave Sambhavaya 	ha vyaptiya) ‘The Origins and the Development of the Sinhala Short Story: the first 100 years 	(1860 to 1960), Colombo: Godage. Sugunasiri, Suwanda, 1978, “A Plea for Unity: Lankian New Year”, Cultural Cameo, Canada– Sri 	Lanka Association, Toronto, to mark the Sinhala – Tamil New Year, April 15, 1978 ___________________, 1989, “True voices speak from the heart”, Toronto Star, Aug. 19, 1989; see 	also http://www.nourbese.com/ArticlesList.htm. _______________, 1983-1999, [on Multiculturalism; on Buddhism] Toronto Star. _______________, 1981, “Keep the Experiment Going”, Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. _______________, 1995, The Faces of Galle Face Green, (poetry), Toronto: TSAR Publishing; 2nd 	ed. 2001, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka: Sarasavi. _______________, 2001, Towards Multicultural Growth: a look at Canada from Classical Racism to 	Neomulticulturalism, Toronto: Village Publishing House / IDEAINDIA.COM COOPERJAL 	Limited, U.K. _______________, 2007, Celestial Conversations (poetry), Nalanda Publishing Canada. _______________, 2008, Two Palm Bow, Nalanda Publishing Canada; on Kindle: 	English:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UUSBG4 German: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006	V3W6QG Spanish:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UURARU. _______________, 2009, Obama-Ji (poetry), Nalanda Publishing 	Canada.https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf _______________, 2009, Untouchable Woman’s Odyssey, Nalanda Publishing Canada Sugunasiri, Suwanda H J, 1966, Morphological Analysis of the Finite Verb in Spoken Sinhala, Master’s 	Thesis, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. ___________________, 1966b, “The Ingrate” (short story), Mahfil, A Quarterly of South Asian 	Literature, University of Chicago, USA. ___________________, 1978, Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology- based Model of 	Development for Post-Colonial Nations (unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Toronto, 	but see https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/4325 for the full text. ___________________, 1978b, “Smarten Up, Indians, and Go Western”, Review of Ontario High 	School Texts under Circular 14, in Mukherjee, Toronto (Ed.), Myths & Realities, Toronto: 	Indian Immigrant Aid Society. ___________________, 1980, ‘Smarten Up, Indians, and Go Western’, in McLeod, Keith (ed.), 	Intercultural Education and Community Development, Faculty of Education, U of T, ____________________,1984, “Sri Lankans in Canada”, POLYPHONY, The Bulletin of the 	Multicultural History Society of Ontario Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 	Spring/Summer, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 189-91. ____________________,1984b, ‘Forces that shaped Sri Lankan Literature’, Toronto South Asian 	Review. 3.2. ____________________,1985, ‘The Literature of Canadians of South Asian Origins: an overview’, 	Canadian Ethnic Studies, xvii:1, 1985. ____________________,1986, ‘Humanistic Nationism: a First Stage Communications Model of 	Development’, Humanomics, 2:1, 1986. ____________________, 1986b, “Reality and Symbolism in the South Asian Canadian Short Story”, 	World Literature Written in English, 26 (1): 98-107 ____________________, 1987, ‘Multicultural Literature within the English Curriculum’, Indirections, 	12:4. ____________________, 1987b, ‘Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here’, Multicultural 	Education Journal, 5:2. ____________________, (1983) 1988, The Search for Meaning: the Literature of Canadians of South 	Asian Origins, Secretary of State (ISBN 0-662-16032-0). ____________________, 1989 ‘Buddhism in Metropolitan Toronto: a preliminary survey’, Canadian 	Ethnic Studies, xxi:2 (https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/4324) ____________________, 1990, ‘Buddhist View of the Dead Body’, in Proceedings of the 	Transplantation Society, 22:3. ____________________, 1992, Alternative Preamble to the Canadian Constitution, University of 	Toronto Bulletin, Oct 19, 1992. ____________________, 1992b, “Sri Lankan Canadian Poets: the Bourgeosie that Fled the 	Revolution”, Canadian Literature, 132: 60-79 ____________________, 1993, “Religion and Sci-Spi’ (Science of Spirituality)”, Helmut Burkhardt 	(Ed.), Universal Knowledge Tools andTheir Applications, Proceedings of the Third Conference 	on Foundations and Applications of General Science Theory, Ryerson Polytechnic University, 	Toronto, June 3 to 5, 1993 ____________________, 1994, The Whistling Thorn: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Fiction, 	Oakville, Canada: Mosaic ____________________, 1994b, “Sexism in Ediriweera Saracchandra’s Sinhala Operatice Play, 	Maname”, J of South Asian Literature, 29 (2): 123-146 _____________________, 1995, “Whole Body, not Heart, the Seat of Consciousness: the Buddha’s View,” Philosophy East and West, 45: 3 (1995):409-430. _____________________, 1996, ‘Spiritual Interaction’, not ‘Interfaith Dialogue’: a Buddhistic 	Contribution’, Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 16 _____________________, 2000, ‘Amaradeva: Art & Humanity Unite in Deathlessness’ Sunday 	Observer, Aug. 20, 2000 (http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/040109- 14.html) 32 _____________________, 2001, You're What You Sense: Buddha on Mindbody, a Buddhianscientific 	dialogue, 2001; Dehiwala, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Cultural Centre https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/4328/3/TSpace0191.pdf _____________________, 2002 ‘Musings of a Ghost from the Past’ (3 parts), Sunday Observer _____________________, 2003, “Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies: “An Experiment in Buddhist 	Education in Canada”, Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 12-	15, 2003, http://www.hichumanities.org/AHproceedings/Suwanda%20H.%20J.%20Sugunasiri.pdf _____________________, 2005a, Embryo as Person: Buddhism, Bioethics and Society, Toronto 	Nalanda_ Publishing Canada. _____________________, 2005b, Ādiyāna: an Alternative to Hīnayāna, Srāvakayāna and 	Theravāda”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number One, p. 127. _____________________, 2006, “Inherited Buddhists and Acquired Buddhists”, Canadian Journal of 	Buddhist Studies, Number Two, pp. 103 – 142. _____________________, 2008, “Establishing of Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā: the 	Creative Interplay of Cognition, Praxis and Affection”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 	Number Four, pp. 75 – 100. _____________________, 2008b, Thus Spake the Sangha: Early History of Buddhism in Toronto, Toronto: Nalanda Publishing Canada. _____________________, 2008c, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel in Here, 	https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25718/1/StepDownShakespeare. pdf. _____________________, 2009, “‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā:) as 	Empirical Method,” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 5: 59-96. _____________________, 2010, Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. 	Toronto: Sumeru. _____________________, 2011, Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here: Essays on 	Canadian and Sri Lankan Literature. _____________________, 2011b, “Euthanasia. Just say No!”, Sunday Island, http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article- details&code_title=32888 _____________________, 2012, “Asoulity anattā: Absence, not Negation”, Canadian Journal of 	Buddhist Studies, Number Seven. Sugunasiri, Suwanda (Ed.), 1994, The Whistling Thorn, Oakville, Mosaic. Sugunasiri Suwanda (Co-Ed. with A V Suraweera), 1985, Special Issue on Sri Lanka Literature, 	Toronto South Asian Review Suwanda H J Sugunasiri (Co. Ed., with Borovilos, John), 1987, Multicultural Literature Within the 	English Curriculum, Pro-File, Ontario Ministry of Education. Sugunasiri, Swarna, 2008, Cooking from My Heart: Loving Spoonfuls from a Sri Lankan Family 	Kitchen, AuthorHouse. ________________ (Tr.), (forthcoming), The Sinhala Short Story: the first 100 years. (trans. of 	Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 2001) Toronto South Asian Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 1982 ; Volume 3, Number 2, 1984 Toronto Star, Nov 28, 1987; Dec. 5, 1987; March 26, 1988; Sept 24, 1988; Dec. 1988; Feb. 4, 1989; 	Nov. 7, 1989. Toronto Sun, May 22, 1981 Wilson, Jeff, 2011, Review of Wild Geese, Global Buddhism. www.buddhistcouncil.ca. www.Lankaweb.com. www.TonyBlairFaithFoundation.com

16. FURTHER READINGS Harding, John, Victor Hori and Alex Soucey (ed.), 2010, Wild Geese, McGill-Queen's University Press Rahula, Walpola, What the Buddha Taught, New York: Grove [available online]. Thich Nhat Hanh, 1993, For a Future to be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Wonderful Precepts: 	Parallax 17. SELECTED WORKS A. (AVAILABLE ONLINE: http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/search?q=sugunasiri&rep=tspc&drill=yes&p=20) Buddhism 1. ‘Buddhism in Metropolitan Toronto: a preliminary survey’, Canadian Ethnic Studies, xxi:2 (1989) 2. "The Whole Body, Not Heart, the Seat of Consciousness the Buddha's View" in Philosophy East and West (45:3, 1995). 3. You're What You Sense: a Buddhianscientific Dialogue on Mindbody, Sri Lanka: Buddhist CulturalCentre (2001). 4. “Inherited Buddhists and Acquired Buddhists”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Two, pp. 103 – 142 (2006). 5. “Establishing of Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā: the Creative Interplay of Cognition, Praxis (2008). 6. “‘Against Belief’: Mindfulness Meditation (satipaññhāna bhāvanā) as Empirical Method,” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 5: 59-96 (2009). 7. Rebirth as Empirical Basis for the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, Sumeru (2010). Linguistics 8. Morphological Analysis of the Finite Verb in Spoken Sinhala, Master’s Thesis, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA (1966). 9. “Bilingualism and Second Language Learning”, Vidyalankara yldyodaya J. Arts, Sci., Lett., Vol. 4 Nos. 1 & 2 pp 105—117 (1971). 34 Literature 10. “Sri Lankan Canadian Poets: the Bourgeosie that Fled the Revolution”, Canadian Literature, 132: 60-79 (1992). 11. “Step Down Shakespeare, the Stone Angel is Here” Multicultural Education Journal, 5:2 (1987). Multiculturalism 12. Towards Multicultural Growth: from Classical Racism to Neomulticulturalism, Village Publishing House (2001). . National Development 13. Humanistic Nationism: a Language- and Ideology-based Model of Development for Post-Colonial Nations (unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Toronto (1978). Politics 14. “Human Rights: a Buddhist Critique”, Proceedings, Second Interdisciplinary Conference on the Evolution of the World Order, Ryerson University, Toronto, June 3, 1990 Spirituality 15. "Religion and Sci-Spi (Science of Spirituality)" in Proceedings of the 3rd Canadian Conference on Foundations and Applications of General Science Theory, Ryerson (1994). 16. ‘Spiritual Interaction’, not ‘Interfaith Dialogue’: a Buddhistic Contribution’, Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 16 (1996). Poetry 17. Obama-Ji, Canada: Nalanda Publishing Canada (2009).  Edited Works 18. The Search for Meaning, Secretary of State, Canada ((1983) 1988) B. ON KINDLE: Novel 19. Untouchable Woman's Odyssey on Kindle https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY 35 Children’s Literature 20. Two Palm Bow English: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UUSBG4 German:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006V3W6QG Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UURARU 14. REFERENCES 1 Sugunasri, Celestial Conversations, 2007. 2 Internal appraiser, Prof. Roby Kidd, OISE, University of Toronto, ‘father of Canadian Adult Education’. 3 Sarvodaya [link] is a social development & educational movement in Sri Lanka was founded by Dr. A T Ariyaratna [link]. 4 Hori & McLellan, 2010. 5 Ibid; Sugunasiri, 2003. 6 See website, www.buddhistcouncil.ca 7 Kanaganayakam, 2011. 8 Padma de Silva, 2011. 9http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/160187/tovil-dance 10 Silva, Sauris, 1962; Silva, Sauris, 1970 11 See Amazon.com. 12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Who's_Who 13 Humber (Ed.), 2000, p. 285. 14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_College_Colombo 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_College 16 Vice Captain, under 16 and ‘best fielder’ First Eleven at Nalanda, but never playing in the Big Match; opening bowler and last batsman at Ananda, but felled by a backpain, soon out of the team! 17 ‘Best cadet’, and Lance-Sargeant, Junior platoon at Nalanda. 18 Sugunasiri, 1961; Sugunasiri, 1963. 19 Sugunasiri, 1960. 20 Sugunasiri, 1964. 21 Directed by the virtuoso Basil Mihiripenna, the ballets were Sasa daa ‘Hare on the Moon’ and Tammaenna (meaning the historical city where the mythological founder of the nation, Vijaya, landed with 700 of his men). See Sugunasiri, 2009, Untouchable Woman's Odyssey, for a literary rendering). 22 See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediriweera_Sarachchandra. 23 Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. J., 2001. 24 Sugunasiri, Swarna (forthcoming). 25 See Sugunasiri, 1978.  36 26 Internal Appraiser, Prof. Roby Kidd (see footnote 2) 27 External examiner, Prof. Douglas Ray, University of Western Ontario, Canada. 28 Thesis Committee Chair, Prof. Joseph Farrell (OISE). 29 Sugunasiri, 1966. 30 Humber (Ed.), 2000, p. 285. 31 Kuruppu, 2011. p. 289. 32 MA in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, USA, 1966. 33 First learned at University of Pennsylvania, (1964) in fulfillment of a language requirement. 34 These were his subjects for his BA (London) when he earned a Second Class. 35 Sugunasiri, 1978. 36 Sugunasiri, 1978. 37 Ibid. 38 Sugunasiri, 1993. 39 Sugunasiri, 1996. 40 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. v. 41 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2005. 42 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2006. 43 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2012. 44 Paper in progress. 45 Paper in progress. 46 Sugunasiri, 1978. 47 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 145; Sugunasiri, 2008, p. 88; Sugunasiri, 2011. 48 See Sugunasiri,, 1995. 49 Buddhaghosa was the Theravada theoretician of the 6th c. who, shows the seat of consciousness as neatly enscomed in the heart (Visuddhimagga ‘Path of Purification’, a description traceable to the Upanishads. See Sugunasiri, 1995, for details. 50 Sugunasiri, 1978. 51 Sugunasiri,, 2001, p. 130. 52 Forthcoming. 53 Sugunasiri, 1996. 54 http://www.sumeru-books.com/?s=Definitive+history 55 Toronto Sun, !981 May 22. 56 See it online: http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+sugunasiri. 57 Sugunasiri, 2008b. 58 Hori @ McLellan op. cit. 59 Kay Koppedrayer & Mavis Fenn, in Mathews (Ed.), 2005, p.76: “No institution at present offers an MA or PhD specializing in Buddhist studies per se (though graduate theses on Buddhist subjects of one kind or another are often defended in at least three of these institutions), but efforts spearheaded by Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri in Toronto have lead to the opening of Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies, ‘the first Canadian seat of learning approved by the Government of Ontario as a non profitable charitable organization to run post-secondary courses for “the systematic study of Buddhism” ’ (Fernando 2000). Among its objectives are to foster the academic study of Buddhism, to meet the educational needs of Buddhism in Canada and to facilitate personal spiritual growth (Nalanda College 2004).” 60 Comments a scholar (Wilson, 2011): “Over many years, [Sugunasiri] has pursued a strategy of increasing public Buddhist visibility on the one hand, and drawing together multiple Buddhist communities into pan-sectarian projects and networks on the other.” 61 See Sugunasiri, 2003, op. cit., for a fuller description. 62 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies . 37 63 Sugunasiri, 2008. 64 Two papers are forthcoming. 65 Sugunasiri, 1990. 66 Sumeru_Books, 2010. Also online, http://www.sumeru-books.com/downloads/REBIRTH.sugunasiri.pdf. 67 Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, # 5. 68 See McEwan, Paul, 2007: 150-153, for a Review. 69 Seminars on Buddhism given at the University of Havana, Cuba, May 20-24, 2110: 1: Buddhism as Religion and Science; 2: Buddhism as Social Philosophy; 3: Buddhism and Bioethics; 4: Buddhism in Canada. 70 See e.g., http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Nalanda+College+of+Buddhist+Studies+Sugunasiri++ 71 Sfp journal, June 2002, p. 6 of 14: “Justice is an important instrumental value that is difficult to define. Suwanda Sugunasiri, the founder of the Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies in Toronto presented a paper entitled: Justice - a Buddhist Perspective. Justice is seen as an agent that creates a dynamic social equilibrium: ‘social homeostasis’. This understanding of justice is based on Buddha’s notion of conditioned co-origination, which means that everything results from a multiplicity of conditions in a necessary, reciprocal, and circular relationship. Professor Sugunasiri suggests that: The goal of justice is happiness for the individual-in-society. The conditions required to achieve such a goal are at the individual level friendliness (metta), compassion (karuna), altruistic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha). Conjointly are four dimensions of social-consciousness, namely, sharing (dana), pleasant speech (peyyvajja), the social good (atthacariya) and egalitarianism (samanattata). All qualities are to be understood both preventively and curatively. An approach to justice in terms of Human Rights is contrary to such principles…” 72 Sugunasiri, 1993. 73 McLellan, Janet, 2005, p. 97. 74 Hori & McLellan, op. cit. 75 Ibid. 76 www.buddhistcouncil.ca. 77 Ibid. 78 Ibid. 79 This is from the Dhammapada, # 129. 80 Sugunasiri, 1993. 81 See above, # 3. 82 University of Toronto Bulletin, Oct 19, 1992. 83 Saturday Star, May 23, 1992. 84 Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 1995. 85 Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 1995. See also, http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=16146cr&l=dis&q=Embryo+as+Person+sugunasiri 86 See www.TonyBlairFaithFouncation.com 87 Sugunasiri, 1996. 88 See www.TonyBlairFaaithFoundation. 89 See Plaque awarded by the government signed by Premier David Peterson & Minister of Citizenship & Culture, Lillian Munroe, dated March 14, 1987. 90 Toronto Star, Feb. 4, 1989. 91 McClaymont (ed), 1990; Kirkland & Davies (ed.), 1996. 92 E.g., Toronto Star, Nov 28, 1987; Dec. 5, 1987; March 26, 1988; Sept 24, 1988; Dec. 1988; Nov. 7, 1989; Globe & Mail, July 18, 1991. 93 Toronto Star, Sept 7, 1999. 94 See Majhanovich, 2000 for a review. 38 95 Sugunasiri, 2001. See online http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/How_to_Kick_Multiculturalism_in_Its_Teeth-Towards_a_Better_Tomorrow_with/0968469108 96 With the minorities he intones, "Stop crying racism at every turn ... Minorities may still feel discrimination, but have they ever thought about what a hard time members of the majority have had in the past 20 years? They're even starting to call themselves TWASPs -- Tortured WASPs -- because they feel they're forever being asked to give in.” Turning to the system, he suggests, “Appoint some Members of Parliament and provincial MLA’s to represent minorities until they can be elected through the political process. Sri Lanka has done this for a long time to ensure the representation of European interests.” He also pleads that a spiritual component be included into multicultural policy. “This would draw on the wisdom of all religious faiths, Eastern and Western, old and new, in building a just society.” Molding a nation of nations.</a>> 97 The student of Buddhism will not fail to see the inspiration for the model: the Noble Eightfold Path. See Rahula BIB (1959) 1974, for a characterization. 98 Sugunasiri, 2001, p. 121. 99 Toronto Star, Oct 14, 1989. 100 Toronto Star, Jan 27, 1990 101 Sugunasiri, 1989. 102 This is the annual academic conference of all the Disciplines in all Canadian Universities. 103 The Panel comprised of Professors Vandra Masemann (Anthropology & Sociology), Melissa Williams (Ethics & Political Science), Helmut Burkhardt (Physicist, from Science for Peace) and Dr William F Ryan (Catholicism and Development). 104 Sugunasiri, 1978; 1980. 105 Sugunasiri, 1987; 1987b; Sugunasiri (Co.Ed.), 1987. 106 Sugunasiri, 1988. 107 Toronto South Asian Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 1982 108 Sugunasiri (Co-Ed.), 1985. 109 Sugunasiri (Ed.), 1994. 110 Andrew Faiz, 1995: “The exciting thing about Sugunasiri's collection is that the characters are allowed their own lives. They are not judged in relation to their chosen countries, nor do they judge that country. What is explored is the static between countries and characters. This sounds simple and obvious, yet it is rare to find, especially in ideological anthologies. Most of these stories are about making a heaven for yourself while suspended between two worlds.” 111 Examples are: Vassanji (twice Giller Prize winner, Governor General’s Award); Mistry (featured on Oprah Show); Dabydeen (Poet Laureate of Ottawa). 112 Sugunasiri, 1992. 113 Sugunasiri, 1986. 114 Sugunasiri, 1985 115 Sugunasiri, 1987 116 Sugunasiri, 2011. 117 Sugunasiri ,1964. 118 Sugunasiri, Su. Hae. Ja., 1961; 1963. 119 Sugunasiri, S H J, 1966; Sugunasiri (Ed.), 1994. 39 120 Mishra, in Canadian Literature, blurb on back cover of Celestial Conversations (2006). 121 Kanaganayakam, blurb on back cover f Celestial Conversations (2006). 122 McGifford, 1992. 123 “What comes through in these poems is the poet’s knack for turning the most ordinary to the most extraordinary, through refreshing imagery, succinct language and precise structure, inviting the reader to join in an exhilarating fun.” (Back cover.) 124 Dr. Ilse Guenther, e-mail. 125 Prof Melissa Williams, e-mail. 126 Sugunasiri, 2009. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/25924/1/Obama-ji.pdf 127 Kanaganayakam, 2011; see also Lankaweb [link]. 128 Edirisinghe, 2011. 129 Anura Bellana, Back cover. 130 Pancatantra, literally ‘five looms’, is “the well-known collection of moral stories and fables in five books..” (Monier-Williams, (1899), 1993, p. 576. 131 Jataka, literally ‘Birth Story, is a book of Khuddaka Nikaya of the Tipitaka ‘Tricompendium’, containing the Teachings of the Buddha. See Digital Pali Reader (Mozilla Firefox) (online). 132 Kanaganyakam. 2011. 133 Sugunasiri, 2008. 134 Sugunasiri, 2005; 2005b; 2010. 135 Sugunasiri, 2011b. 136 Hori & McLelland, 2010. 137 Hori & McLellan, 2010. 138 Sugunasiri, 1978. 139 See de Silva, 1981. 140 Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayananda_Gunawardena. 141 Tapes available to the public at Multicultural History Society of Ontario. 142 Sugunasiri, 1984. 143 Sugunasiri, 2000. 144 Sugunasiri, 2002 145 See his signature on e-mails. 146 Lovingkindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity. 147 Sharing, pleasant language, the social good and equalitarianism. 148 Ashta loka dharma cakra. Sugunasiri (talk) 04:46, 30 January 2012 (UTC) •	Sugunasiri •	My talk •	My preferences •	My watchlist •	My contributions •	Log out •	User page •	Talk •	Read •	Edit •	New section •	View history •	WikiLove •	Unwatch