Walpola Rahula
“It is easy to go with the trends and tides but it is difficult to go against the tides”.
Walpola Rahula Institute (WRI) strives to go the extra mile to go beyond the conventional religious teachings to support healing of society. The success of this journey depends entirely on the support of like minded public. We are grateful to all of you who are and will be with us in our journey.
We are formed on the foundation of the teachings of Buddha. We are facilitating to create a harmonious and just society by developing right knowledge with positive attitudes, spiritual well-being and development of practical aspects of non-violence, supported with critical thinking.
Our Vision
An inclusive society that appreciates the inter-dependence of all beings and nature.
Our Mission
Inspired by the Dhamma, we develop an inclusive community of practice for social healing by sharing of knowledge, cultivating spirituality and wisdom, engaging in dialogue and actions, and developing critical consciousness through non-violent and holistic approaches.
Our Objectives
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To provide spaces for individual and collective spiritual practices that heal wounds and enable people to live together in joy and peace.
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To co-create knowledge, engage in dialogue, and develop practices that support social healing for the well-being of all.
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To promote non-violent approaches to address conflict in all communities transcending individual and collective identity limitations with mutual respect (for diversity).
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To encourage social transformation that enables all living beings to co-live as a sustainable and resilient eco-system.
Why is Healing the society important?
Our institute is based on guided by the Buddhist Philosophy. However, it is not exclusive to Buddhism practitioners and therefore reaches beyond teaching and practicing ceremonies. Buddhism encourage non-violent approaches in the lives of all people, building communities and progress of nation states. Any community, society or nation that has encountered violent conflict and attempting to rebuild will need to consider the aspect of the healing of minds and hearts, of all stakeholders such as victims, perpetrators, of those who were involved directly, indirectly, or simply witnessed conflict from afar . We believe that the healing of hearts and minds of all people is fundamental in achieving sustainable peace.
Creating a safe environment
Our institute facilitate empowering minds of Buddhist monks as well as lay people of different faiths and belief systems. Developing spiritual lives and enhancing mindfulness is carried out as a practice based approach where people explore and experience a safe environment to enhance their mindfulness, through a variety of interventions
The institute opens space to acquire new knowledge as well as to disseminate them. It encourages participants to question themselves and find answers among many alternative solutions through genuine consultative approaches. In order to achieve this, we create a safe environment, where people can contribute well.
Co-creation through sharing knowledge
“Please enter these premises having let go as much as possible of views such as nationality, ethnicity, religion, caste, sexual identity and other views which are mostly decided at one’s birth.
Each individual has their own identity We encourage the celebration of individuals freely and openly, in a respectful and non-judgmental manner to the others who belong to different identity groups. Through dialogue and ground level interventions involving different communities, and inter-religious groups we work towards co-creation through sharing of knowledge.
