Sri Pada Bell Installation (2012)

Sri Pada is a conical mountain in the south of Sri Lanka that rises almost like a finger from the jungle floor below. Clearly visible to ocean going vessels, at the very summit sits a large foot-shaped impression in a rock that gives the peak its name: Sri Pada or “holy footprint.” Also known as Adam’s Peak, the mountain is an important pilgrimage place not only for Buddhists; Muslims, Christians and also Hindus worship there. Climbing the steep mountain is a feat in itself, as there are 5,500 steps that rise to the summit, with three sepa rate staircases that converge on the small platform that sits at the top. The pil grimage season starts in December and ends in May, and on an average year over three million people make the journey every year. When the sun rises at the summit, the mountain casts a spectacular shadow on the forests below. Pilgrims ring a bell for each time they have ascended.

On behalf of TNMC, LBDFI approached the Prime Minister’s office in 2011 to seek permission to install a World Peace Bell on Sri Pada. Venerable Ratnasara Thero and Bengamuwe Dhammadinna Thero, the Chief Incumbent monk of Sri Pada Vihara offered unstinting support to the project. The logis tics of transporting a two and one half tonne bell to such a location were daunting, but all authorities got behind the project. Works began at the end of December, locating a site near the prestigious Nisankaya Cave at the base of the steepest section of the mountain, at least 2000 steps from the jungle floor below. Teams of hundreds of workers carried the arch and uprights of the bell up to the site, along with the necessary concrete, sand and bricks required to make the base structure. The Prime Minister’s office authorised a heavy lift helicopter from the Sri Lankan airforce to airlift the bell itself, which was
placed on a flat landing ground some yards from the bell foundation. It took a team of 100 workers to haul the bell the remaining yards to the arch itself. The opening ceremony was held on March 5th 2012 in the presence of Venerable monks from the Tooth Relic Temple, Trustees of Sri Pada and a large assembly. Every full moon day the bell is rung by the Venerable monks, and is
being taken care of by Anuradha Bhante, a young Sri Lankan monk who lives at the site.

In recognition of this achievement, the director of LBDFI was given the honor of gold leafing the Sri Pada footprint at the very top of the mountain. This is the first time such an offering has been made by a woman in the history of the Buddhist culture of Sri Lanka.
In 2019, TNMC offered a gold gilt Maitreya statue to Sri Pada. Venerable Bengamuwe Dhammadinna Thero immediately accepted the offering, and this standing image was installed at the very top of Sri Pada in December of that year. The Sri Lankan army carried the 700 pound image up the peak in four teams of 25, and the statue was placed directly beside the Sri Pada foot print in its small enclosure at the topmost point of the mountain. This is the only Buddhist statue permanently housed on the mountain.