COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – On Saturday, the same day Sri Lanka marked the sacred Buddhist holiday of Vesak commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, the island nation’s top Buddhist governing body made an unprecedented disciplinary move: it suspended a high-ranking monk facing charges of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, a case that has sent shockwaves through this deeply religiously conservative South Asian country.
At 71 years old, Pallegama Hemarathana held one of the most revered positions in Sri Lankan Buddhism: chief custodian of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi sacred ficus in Anuradhapura, a site located roughly 200 kilometers north of the capital Colombo. This ancient tree is believed to have grown from a cutting of the original Bodhi Tree, the very ficus under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment, drawing tens of thousands of devout pilgrims and worshippers from across the country every year.
Following the allegations against Hemarathana, the Malwatte Chapter Council of Monks formalized its disciplinary decision in an official public statement, confirming that the monk would remain stripped of all his official duties and titles pending the outcome of ongoing criminal proceedings against him.
Law enforcement first took Hemarathana into custody on May 9, over claims that he assaulted the 11-year-old victim at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple compound in 2022. Since his arrest, the monk has been released on bail, though a court has imposed a formal travel ban barring him from leaving Sri Lanka for the duration of his trial.
What makes this case particularly notable is Hemarathana’s senior status: while a string of child abuse allegations involving Sri Lankan Buddhist clergy have emerged in recent years, he is the highest-ranking monk ever to face such criminal charges. The case also draws renewed attention to gaps in religious institutional accountability on the island: in an unrelated, separate narcotics case, 22 Buddhist clergy arrested back in April for possession of 110 kilograms of cannabis remain in custody awaiting trial, but have not faced any disciplinary suspension from the national Buddhist hierarchy.