His Holiness the
10th Sangharaja Jyotipal Mahathir, who was simultaneously a great spiritual
monk, Buddhist philosopher, writer, researcher, social reformer, father of
orphans, and a Dedicated person to get international support for the liberation
of Bangladesh visited many countries during the war in 1971, recipient of
Bangladesh Governments’ highest state honor, Independence Medal (posthumously),
Asian Peace Gold Medal and United Nations World Citizenship.
Barigaon is a
well-known village in Laksam upazila of Cumilla district and His Holiness
Sangharaja Jyotipal Mahathero was spent for a long time and established many
organizations for his various non-communal social welfare activities. To develop the light of education in the area, he established the first girls’
high school “the Barigaon Girls’ High School” and the Barigaon
Orphanage for the benefit of orphans and poor students where Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim students have a huge opportunity to study together. The
organization has been running.
Ven. Sugato
Bhikkhu lost his father at a very young age. His father, Mr. Manmohan Singh,
passed away in 1986 due to an incurable disease. Due to financial difficulties
of the family, elder brother Jahar Lal Singha postponed his studies and took
the helm of the family. Mother Kanan Bala Singha admitted her other two sons
Uttam Singha and Sujit Singha (Ven. Sugato Bhikkhu) to the Barigaon Orphanage.
On February 2, 1995, under the patronage of Pandit Sangharaja Jyotipal
Mahathero, he was initiated into the samanera at Barigaon Temple. From there,
Ven. Sugato passed the secondary school and moved to the World Peace Pagoda in
Chittagong in 1997 in his master’s temple.
There his new
life began, he began to take the teachings of the master with reverence.
Gradually, inspired by the preceptor’s ideals, he decided to take initiation
into monasticism, and on 30 October 1999, at the Konakchaitya Vihara in
Barigaon, he received the Upasampada (became a monk) under the preceptor of
Sangharaja Jyotipal Mahathero. As usual, he returned with his preceptor to the
World Peace Pagoda in Chittagong. Meanwhile, Sangharaja laid the foundation
stone for the construction of a magnificent World Peace Pagoda in the presence
of His Holiness the 8th Sangharaja Shilalankar Mahathero. But when the
construction work will start, still enough money is needed. 3 years have passed
like this. Meanwhile, Sangharaj Jyotipal Mahathero fell ill and passed away in
2002 at the age of 94. Since then, the construction of his Master’s dream
‘world peace pagoda’ has not started.
In 2006, Ven.
Sugato Bhikkhu went to Thailand for higher education. The first year there he
had to suffer a lot. In the second year, he got the opportunity to stay at Wat
Phutthabucha, Bangkok. He was allowed to stay in the Kuti where the most
Venerable chief Abbot Bhante used to live.
Wat Phutthabucha,
It is a well-known Buddhist monastery in Bangkok. In particular, the chief of
the temple, whom people know as a high-ranking spiritual monk, is the most
Venerable Phrathep Mongkolyarn (Soun Analayo). There are 60 monks in the
monastery. He has built a meditation center where people from far and wide come
and practice meditation every Saturday-Sunday. He has also built a religious
school, which has provided religious education to the people of the area. The
most interesting thing is that the monastery has a beautiful high pagoda built
by the Venerable Phrathep Mongkolyarn (Soun Analayo) which was next to the
Kuti of Venerable Sugato Bhikkhu.
Origin of the
World Peace Pagoda Analayo: Every day when Ven. Sugato opens the window of the
room, and he can see the beautiful tall pagoda next to the house. It went on like
this for a long time. In the meantime, Ven. Sugato began to think about how beautiful
pagodas there are in Thailand. But his master Sangharaja Jyotipal Mahathero
could not do it in Bangladesh due to financial reasons. He thought to himself
If I could build such a Thai beautiful pagoda and then, fulfill
the hopes of my preceptor His Holiness Sangharaja; One day, while thinking, he
started preparing: first, he sat down at his computer and made a design in the
shape of a pagoda of Wat Phutthabucha, then he discussed the matter with the
devotee Upasika Chitra Phetvongs. At that moment, the Venerable Phrathep
Mongkolyarn (Soun Analayo) sat in a wheelchair and went out to see the various
activities of the monastery. Without delay, Ven. Sugato took the design made in his hand and went straight to the Venerable Phrathep Mongkolyarn with
the devotee Upasika Chitra Phetvongs told him about his plan and handed over
the design to him and took permission. Venerable Phrathep Mongkolyarn (Soun
Analayo) assured all possible cooperation in the project.
The
objective of the World Peace Pagoda Analayo:
1. To Fulfilling
the hopes of Sangharaja Jyotipal Mahathero
2. To revive the
lost Buddhist Heritage in Cumilla
3. To create an
opportunity for all Buddhists in Bangladesh to come to the historic Shalban and
practice religious culture
4. Creating a
religious bridge between Bangladeshis and Buddhists in Thailand