September 2024

Pirit Ceremony
In August we held a Pirit Ceremony at Tekanda Lodge. The Pirit, one of the most spiritual of all the Buddhist ceremonies, is customarily held when a new building is established to honour and respect the ancestry of the location and invoke health, success and prosperity for the future. I can tell you they are no small affair.

Preparation started with a temple being hand-crafted on our main deck. It was then beautifully decorated with painted paper, fairy lights and surrounded by candles, incense and fresh flowers. The ceremony is a non-stop 12-hour overnight affair involving a minimum of 12 monks who at various stages are either collectively chanting or chanting in pairs while the others rest. A variety of sustenance is provided to them to keep energy levels up and all the while the wider Tekanda community sits on the floor around the temple in a blend of prayer, incantation and spiritual contemplation.

I had a small role involving carrying an urn on my head while leading the monks on arrival from their minibus to the temple. I never quite got to the bottom of what was in it, but the whole affair was a remarkable experience and a real privilege to witness at close quarters the beauty and dignity of such a profoundly spiritual ceremony from one of the world's great religions.

Volunteering at the Tekanda Foundation
We are approaching the first anniversary of the opening of Gamata Athak, our rural empowerment centre. One of the many joys has been getting to know a steady stream of volunteers that have spent between 2 and 6 weeks contributing in a myriad of ways to the work undertaken there. We believe the experience we can offer volunteers is amongst the most immersive and hands-on available and volunteers leave with an understanding of village life in rural Sri Lanka almost impossible to glean from any other visit to the country. We think the program is best suited for those aged 21 and over but if you are over 18 and are interested in finding out more about our program do get in touch. Our Operations Manager Kasun recently produced this 10 minute film which gives an excellent overview of life at Gamata Athak and a flavour of what is in store. 

A Surfing Journey
A friend of mine from Soul and Surf was recently asked to write a blog about her 'surfing journey'. It is a heart-warming tale of gutsy determination. I can personally attest that after only a handful of years from picking up a board, she is now a graceful and competent surfer.  This got me thinking about my own surfing journey...

Photo: Gabriella Zagni

In my mind, I wander down to the beach, board tucked under my arm, pretty much indistinguishable from the rest of the surfing community. They are a smorgasbord of creed and colour but all shining with the same sun-kissed, lean health. The boys favour a topless approach with just a faded pair of shorts (definitely not brightly coloured boardies), the girls either simple bikinis or natural coloured one-piece bathing costumes.  It's all so Sri Lanka; understated, unpretentious, casual cool.

I, however, have developed a problem with my ribs. For some reason they seem to be crumbling due to impact with my board. As a result, I have to wear a rash vest with big padded sections across the chest. I also seem to have an issue with my inner thighs. They would appear to be a little sensitive and after an hour or so sitting on my board I get a painful rash. I have tried various solutions to combat this but the only success to date is a baggy pair of yoga pants my wife threw away because the elasticity had gone. So, while I think when I arrive at the beach I am an extra from Endless Summer, I am actually the only person in surfing history who is top half Michelin Man and bottom half Alibaba. 

And then there was the time when I persuaded Charlie to come down to the beach with me and admire my surfing progress.  I was doing my little warm-up routine surrounded by my surfing tribe when behind me in a very loud voice she shouted: 'Richie! Look! There is someone nearly your age! They could be your friend!'

All of this humiliation would be rendered irrelevant if when I slipped into the water I went all Point Break - 1991 not the 2015 monstrosity - and rode effortlessly down the face of head-high fast-breaking lefts like I had been born on Hawaii's North Shore. But despite calculating recently I have been surfing well over 1,000 times, the truth is I am barely competent. I spend half the time flying head-first off my board and the other half paddling like a panicked penguin for waves I never catch. For those of you who have children - remember those wind-up bath toys you spent half-your your life stepping on - that's me - a frenzied explosion of flapping limbs and then nothing.

And yet despite this litany of embarrassments I find the whole experience utterly magical.  The locals are unfailingly patient and beginners are always given the space and time to learn. Most of my surf sessions are spent wiping-out, being closed-out, missing waves, getting in the way or getting a pounding in the breakzone. But every now and then, when the stars align and the surfing gods grant me a fleeting moment of competence, I find myself flying along a head-high crystal-clear Indian Ocean wave giggling manically in a mix of terror and joy.