BOC conducts annual sand laying ceremony at Anuradhapura Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi

Bank of Ceylon Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera, Deputy General Manager – Support Services P.J. Jayasinghe, Deputy General Manager – Corporate and Offshore Banking D.P.K. Gunasekara and Deputy General Manager – Province Sales Management G.L.P. Jinasoma  at the event

With the blessings and the guidance the Atamasthanadipathi of Anuradhapura, the Venerable Dr. Pallegama Siriniwasa Thero, the ceremony of strewing white sand at Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Upper Maluwa and Lower Maluwa was conducted with the patronage of the Bank of Ceylon Chairman, President’s Counsel Roland C. Perera recently. Organised by the bank’s North Central Province Assistant General Manager H.M.P.B. Herath and staff, this act of devotion takes place annually with the participation of board members and the management of BOC. This year the bank’s Deputy General Manager Support Services P.J. Jayasinghe, Deputy General Manager Province Sales Management G.L.P. Jinasoma, Deputy General Manager – Corporate and Offshore Banking D.P.K. Gunasekara, North Central Province Assistant General Manager H.M.P.B. Herath, members of the bank’s staff and other Buddhist devotees participated.  Thousands of Buddhists come to worship Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi daily and this act will provide a cleaner environment to those who come to worship. Changing sand in this manner is also considered to be beneficial to the roots of the sacred Bo Tree.

The most sacred Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi is widely considered the world’s oldest historically recorded important tree. Worshiped by Buddhists all over the world, Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi was brought to Sri Lanka in 249 B.C. by the most revered Sangha Mitta Theri, the daughter of Emperor Asoka of India. Both the Theri and the Sapling were accorded every royal honour and received with great reverence by King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka who ceremoniously planted the sapling in Anuradhapura Mahamewna Uyana, the royal garden of the king. The chronicles of Sinhalese, known as the Mahawansaya says that miracles occurred during the ceremony of planting the Jaya Shri Maha Bodhi sapling. Since then the Bodhi has been worshipped as one of the most sacred objects of Buddhist worship.    

The Bank of Ceylon earned global recognition as one of the top 1000 banks in the world, (Country rank No.1) as listed by The Banker Magazine (UK) respectively in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The bank claimed its award as the only Sri Lankan brand recognised as one of Asia’s Best Brands in 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Brand Finance Lanka ranked Bank of Ceylon as the country’s No. 1 brand for the last seven consecutive years. 

The bank has passed exceptional milestones in recent years such as achieving over Rs. 1.0 trillion assets and over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of Sri Lanka. Focusing on the bank’s achievement, Fitch Rating Lanka ranked the Bank of Ceylon at AA+(lka) which is the highest rating awarded to a local commercial bank. Bank of Ceylon maintains international presence with branches in Chennai, Male, Seychelles and a subsidiary in London.