Dear kalyāṇa-mittatā,
For Vesak, we are publishing a new book, “From the Conditioned to the Unconditioned” — an adaptation of a Dhamma talk by Venerable Mankadawala Sudassana Thero.
The book centres on a well-known gāthā:
virajaṃ vītamalaṃ dhammacakkhuṃ udapādi — "yaṃ kiñci samudayadhammaṃ sabbaṃ taṃ nirodhadhamman"ti
There arose the spotless, stainless Eye of the Dhamma: whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease.
Despite their remarkable depth, Bhante’s teachings never remain merely speculative: every talk turns toward practice — toward how to make the Dhamma a genuine refuge in everyday life.
Bhante Sudassana is a vivid representative of the contemporary Sri Lankan tradition. Unlike the better-known Burmese and Thai traditions of Theravada, the Sri Lankan tradition remains little known to English-speaking readers: a significant part of its living heritage exists only in Sinhala and has never before been translated. This book is an attempt to begin closing that gap.
Bhante Sudassana is one of the co-founders of Labunoruwakanda Aranya Senasanaya (Labunoruwakanda Forest Monastery), where he originally served as Chief Incumbent. He has had a profound influence on contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Today, Labunoruwakanda has branch monasteries in Balangoda, Nawula, Iluppukulama, Basavakkulama (Anuradhapura), Kandy, Wariyapola, Mahiyanganaya, and other locations. Bhante Sudassana now serves as the monastery’s principal advisor, as well as the Chief Dhamma Instructor and Kammatthanacharya (Chief Meditation Master) both at the main monastery and at all its branches.
Bhante Sudassana has played a key role in restoring the original Pali Canon to the centre of Buddhist life in Sri Lanka. His teachings rest strictly on the Tipitaka and Atthakatha, and he has consistently championed the same approach within the Sangha at large. In the absence of the Buddha himself, his word in the Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma Pitakas occupies the place of teacher and guide — and it is precisely unfamiliarity with these texts that opens the door to arbitrary interpretations and distortions of the Dhamma.
One of the principal obstacles to canonical knowledge is its limited accessibility: the 57-volume printed edition of the Tipitaka is both expensive and bulky. This is the problem that Labunoruwakanda has been steadily addressing for many years — through the donation of printed editions, through digital projects, and through the digitisation and preservation of ancient manuscripts.
In May 2018 — to mark Bhante Sudassana’s 50th birthday — the monastery held an offering ceremony at the Ruwanwelisaya stupa in Anuradhapura, donating 100 complete sets of the Tripitaka (57 volumes each) to temples, monasteries, and educational institutions in need across Sri Lanka.
On 4 January 2020, the Vibhajjavada Dhamma Sangayana convocation was held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo, organised by Labunoruwakanda Aranya Senasanaya under the guidance of Venerables Mankadawala Sudassana Thero and Kothmale Kumara Kassapa Thero. In the presence of the learned Maha Sangha, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa personally handed over specially designed Tripitaka tablet computers to 5,000 monks. The tablets were conceived to serve the study of the Dhamma exclusively: no Wi-Fi, no SIM card, no camera, no third-party apps — only the Buddha Jayanti and Pali Text Society editions of the Tipitaka, the complete series of Pali Atthakathas, a Pali–Sinhala dictionary, a custom canon-wide search application, and more than 150 valuable Dhamma books. At the same event, a 10-year Vibhajjavadee Plan was presented, along with a proposal to establish a Theravada Dhamma Script Donation Fund to supply temples across the country with printed scriptures free of charge.
Through the Paramaththa Foundation, established by the monastery in 2019, a long-term project of microfilming and digitising ancient Sinhala palm-leaf manuscripts — of the Tipitaka, Atthakatha, Tika, and Bana Poth — held in libraries in Sri Lanka and abroad is also under way, with all materials being released for free public access.
We publish this translation with the permission and blessing of Bhante Sudassana as a gift of Dhamma for free distribution for the benefit of all living beings. The book is available in both Russian and English on the Chittaviveka Buddhist Monastery website and can be downloaded for free in PDF and EPUB formats.
Translation and adaptation: Maksim Suleimanov.
Editing: Igor Mitrofanov.
Verification and consultation: Bhikkhu Rakwane Gnanaseeha, Bhikkhu Russiave Asaṅkhata (Chittaviveka Buddhist Monastery).
Cover design: Maksim Suleimanov.