Category Archives: education

Two Reflective Aphorisms from An American Jew

DICTUM ONE

“Terroristic violence is initiated and undertaken to punish or kill people whom–the believer imagines–do not worship the sacred object the believer worships. It stems from a philosophical theory or moral imperative.

The violence seeks to demonstrate the power of the god worshipped by one’s group–by killing members of nonbelieving groups. Acts of violence give witness to the truth of one’s own god’s omnipotence.”  …… Richard Koenigsberg ……. In A NOTE sent to Michael Roberts, early December 2023 Continue reading

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Hilda Muriel Kularatne, Theosophist & Educationist in Ceylon

Rehan Kularatne, presenting an original essay which has received its title and had highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

My grandmother Hilda Muriel Westbrook was born in Dulwich on 28 November 1895. She was the daughter of Walter Francis Westbrook, later Chief Registrar of the Colonial Office, and Jessie Duncan, a Scottish poet and scholar, the sister of noted (and absolutely dreadful) Celtic Revival painter John Duncan RSA. Jessie Duncan Westbrook was to publish a number of verse renditions of Persian, Sufi and Hindu poetry in the 1910s. She and my great-grandfather, being Theosophists, were both extremely interested in ‘Eastern’ religions.

Hilda was educated at the progressive James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) in Dulwich. Having excelled in modern languages (French and German) as well as in team sports like hockey (in addition to having Gustav Holst as her music master), she went on to Newnham in Cambridge to do a degree in Modern Languages in 1914, just after WWI broke out. (Though she completed the degree in 1917, she had to wait 30 years to be actually awarded her MA, as Cambridge was the last university in England to accept female graduates.)

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“Success” ….. The Buddhist Path

“SUCCESS” derives from the PROCESS not the results of Endeavour

An Erudite Buddhist Priest clarifies what the Path of Success is.

  • “The goal of life is trying your best” = among the sayings on Karma Yoga in the Bhagavat Gita  …………. An impressive address in concise speech from a Sri Lankan monk

NB : this item was circulated to friends on 7 December 2023 by Lorenz Pereira  of Royal College, the city of Colombo and that of Melbourne; and I can confidently state that Professor EOE Pereira, an epitome of wisdom, will be mighty pleased by this act of wise dissemination.

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Professor Antony Anghie receives International Accolade

Item sent to TPS by Hemal Gurusinghe va Victor Melder  …. while highlighting has been imposed by The Editor.**

Professor Antony Anghie recently received the 2023 Manley O. Hudson Medal from the American Society of International Law (ASIL). This award is given to a distinguished person for outstanding contributions to scholarship and achievement in international law. This award is ASIL’s highest honor.

Professor Anghie’s scholarship, teaching and insights have had a profound and transformative effect on the field of international law and international legal scholarship.“I have taught at many law schools in the United States and around the world, some of them very famous,” Anghie said. “What I have learned from this experience is that it is only at the University of Utah that I could have done my  cholarship. I am immensely grateful to the law school and the special traditions of support and collegiality we have created here, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this community.”

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The Gift of Healing and Teaching: Dr Ariyananda’s Lifework

Dr Sarath Gamani De Silva, reviewing Healing and Teaching. Gift of a Lifetime, by Pilane Liyanage Ariyananda, Colombo, A Vijitha Yapa Publication, 2023, .…..  224 pp LKR 2,000/2,000/=

Galle, one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka, had been labeled a sleepy old town by many.  However, there has been a remarkable awakening in the past few decades due to several reasons. The Dutch Fort has been recognised by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. This has resulted in a total overhaul of the Fort area making it one of the main attractions for local and foreign tourists. The International Cricket Stadium is praised by cricket commentators and fans worldwide as one of the most picturesque in the world. The devastation caused by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami brought the attention of the international community to the city of Galle.

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Kumar Sangakkara Adorns the Field of Thuppahi

Assembled by Michael Roberts, who had the pleasure of befriending Kshema & Kumari Sangakkara at a chance meeting at the Premadasa Stadium (i.e Khettarama) when their son, Kumar, was playing for Sri Lanka’s B Team … and thus secured the pleasure of visiting their villa known as  “Engeltine Cottage” – a famous residence associated with the Hannadige Pieris family (about whom a guy named  Roberts had crafted a book in 1976 ….. https://thuppahis.com/2020/10/07/jeronis-pieris-letters-in-coffee-table-book-insights-into-19th-century-ceylon/).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engeltine Cottage in Kandy: The Intertwining of Three Families ……. https://thuppahis.com › 2012/04/04 › engeltine-cottage-in-kandy-the-intertwining-of-three-families-pieris-sangakkara-and-krishnapillai/

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The Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

Udumbara Udugama, in The Sunday Times …. and retrieved here by Moira Djukanovic for the ASLA  Web Magazine in Adelaide

The full title in the Times runs as ; 200 years ago a green haven began to grow: the Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya

The Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya, beloved to Lankans and known simply as the Peradeniya Gardens celebrated it’s bicentenary in 2022. Founded by the British as a premier research institution for agriculture and plantation crops in the country, it was brought under the purview of the Department of Agriculture in 2006, The Department of National Botanic Gardens was formed to administer this and other botanic gardens around the island.  Dr. Shelomi Krishnarajah, the seventh Sri Lankan Director General of the Gardens became the first woman to hold this post. Dr Krishnarajah who was appointed in 2018 has a solid background in floriculture and tissue culture.

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The Humanitarian Social Commitment of Lakshman Wickremesinghe

Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, item taken from Daily News, 24 October 2023, ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

 Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe died on October 23 forty years ago. He was my uncle, and I had a special affinity with him with regard to both intellect and emotions. When I came back from Oxford, where he had studied a couple of decades before me, he was the family member who was most supportive of my resignation on the issue of the deprivation of Mrs. Bandaranaike’s Civic Rights, for unlike most members of the elite he understood early on what that meant for the future of democracy, a blight that has never left us since it was followed by a premature Presidential election, the ghastly referendum, and then the attacks first on Supreme Court Judges and then on Tamils.

one moment during Black July 1983

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Michael Roberts Papers at Adelaide University Library

Michael Roberts Papers, mainly on Sri Lanka ……MSS 0031 …. AT = University of Adelaide Library………………………………………………. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/roberts/transcripts%20list

Philip Gunawardena

Edmund R Leach

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From Little Things Big Things Grow: Antonians Who Excelled Beyond Excellence      

Bernard Vancuylenburg & Sisira Weragoda

 

Prologue: As an introduction to the subject of this article I had to choose a title which nails it all in just one line. It is the story of an academic miracle which emanated from a simple school in its infancy, St. Anthony’s College Katugastota, by a group of students who raised the bar of achievement and excellence in the prestigious London Matriculation Examination in 1934, with a 100% pass rate THUS OBTAINING THE BEST RESULTS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. It was a path breaking year for the College and a validation of the school’s excellence. Twelve students sat the examination that year of whom six obtained first division passes, and six obtained second division passes. Their names which should be emblazoned in letters of gold in the field of education will be mentioned in this article. Paraphrasing the title of the book by Rubeih Murray James, we should “Carve their names with pride”.

 

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