4/5 Seevali De A. 4 years ago on Google β’ 273 reviews
Dec
2004
Tsunami
Memorial
Five
of
us
visited
Tsunami
Honganji
Vihara
on
26th
December
2019,
exactly
fifteen
years
after
the
2004
boxing
day
tsunami
-
the
most
destructive
natural
disaster
to
hit
Sri
Lanka.
Over
2000
lost
their
lives
at
this
village,
Peraliya.
1700
of
these
were
caught
hapless
inside
an
express
train
that
was
plying
from
Colombo
to
Galle
along
the
rail-track
only
a
short
distance
from
the
sea.
The
train
had
halted
as
there
were
people
on
the
railway
line
that
was
lying
above
the
surrounding
land
filled
with
water
from
the
first
wave
of
the
tsunami.
When
the
train
stopped
people
climbed
on
to
the
stationary
train.
The
second
more
forceful
wave
swept
the
train
off
the
ground
along
with
the
people.
Most
people
on
the
train
perished.
Thousands
of
families
were
devasted
in
this
village.
There
were
many
visitors
at
this
temple
on
that
fifteenth
anniversary
day
to
remember
the
lost
and
loved
ones.
We
too
participated
in
the
Buddhist
commemoration
activities
conducted
in
the
evening.
The
yellow
coloured
compassionate
serene
statue
standing
in
the
middle
of
a
lake
is
said
to
be
the
replica
of
the
Bhamian
Buddha
in
Afghanistan
destroyed
by
the
Taliban
in
2001.
The
30-metre
statue
gazes
out
into
the
Indian
ocean
that
brought
such
destruction
to
that
"Peraliya"
coastal
village.
The
statue
had
been
built
with
Japanese
assistance.
Entrance
is
free.
Since
this
is
a
place
of
worship
visitors
are
required
to
be
modestly
dressed.
Footwear
are
left
at
the
entrance.
Whilst
there,
we
heard
stories
of
the
disaster
from
several
survivors.
It
was
a
moment
and
a
place
for
quiet
contemplation
remembering
and
imagining
what
it
would
have
been
for
the
unsuspecting
victims!
3 people found this review helpful π