The Chief Monk
Venerable Walatara Sobhita Nayaka Thero
Venerable Walatara Sobhita Nayaka Thero serves as chief monk of the Galwadugoda temple, known for its dark stone architecture and long institutional history. He speaks of monastic discipline and meditation practice as daily forms of continuity.
In his office, beside palm-leaf manuscripts and administrative files, stands an ageing record player. Since his youth, he has kept a collection of vinyl recordings, including Buddhist devotional songs performed by Muslim artists. He does not treat this as unusual. The recordings belong to the same life as his robes and daily routine.
His presence reflects how religious authority, personal habit and regional history intersect without always conforming to fixed categories.
We met at the Galwadugoda temple in Galle. The temple grounds were ordered and quiet, the black stone surfaces absorbing the afternoon light. After speaking about meditation practice and the responsibilities of a chief monk, he led us through the compound and into his office.
The room contained scriptures, temple ledgers and administrative papers. Against one wall stood a record player. When I asked about it, he opened a cabinet and produced several vinyl records, carefully sleeved. He spoke of singers from earlier decades and placed one on the turntable. The recording was a Buddhist devotional song performed by a Muslim artist.
We listened only to the opening verses before he lifted the needle and returned the record to its cover. For a brief interval the conversation shifted from doctrine to sound, from institutional role to remembered youth. The shift was temporary. He resumed the cadence and posture of a senior monk without announcement.
The encounter complicated easy assumptions about religious enclosure. Musical memory, like monastic discipline, had been incorporated rather than abandoned.
Galle
October 25, 2010
Transcript and translations
Language
Subjects discussed
"There are bad letters and there are good letters"
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