Addressing a meeting at a vihara, Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena praised the country’s Maha Sangha for protecting the country during times of crisis, and called for more children to come join the Buddhist clergy.
Speaking at Malwatte in Kandy, Abeywardena applauded the Maha Sangha for saving the country, exclaiming,
"When we look at the manner certain guardians of the law behaved in society, we should be thankful that the country had been able to survive from total destruction,"
"Some others try to betray the country for the sake of personal gain. People should be vigilant and act with caution to prevent the destruction of the country, nation and religion by these sinister forces,"
Abeywardena then went on to slam slogans such as “small is beautiful”, saying they led to the downfall of the country, due to the adverse affect they had on the country’s birth rate and consequently on those joining the Buddhist clergy.
He carried on to call for more children to join the Buddhist Sangha, stating,
"This had made it difficult to find children to be ordained as samanera bhikkhus for the perpetration of the Buddhasasana at a time when a healthy and dedicated child generation was needed for the country to move forward in development and progress."
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