Pure Inspiration

79
Finding the Path
As told by Ishanka to Amal Randhir Karunaratna
Amal: My earliest memory of Ven Ñāṇavimala was after he
visited my father in his medical surgery in Kandy with some
discomfort in his stomach. My father examined him and
diagnosed some kind of gastritis problem, as I recall, and
wanted to prescribe some medication. He seemed to be in some
pain. When my father asked him if he could obtain the
medication for him, he politely refused, saying “the pain arises
and passes away”. I remember my father telling me that he
couldn’t sleep that night, and kept thinking about this tranquil
monk who refused medication and seemed to tolerate pain. This
story was imprinted in my young mind as well as my fathers.
Over the years, I encountered Ven Nyanavimala when he visited
our house for dana in Kandy or when my father and I saw him
at the Forest Hermitage with Ven Ñyanaponika on one of his
infrequent visits to Kandy. We moved to New Zealand in 1972
and then to Australia in 1975, and, on visits back to Sri Lanka, I
would try to see him if I heard of his whereabouts. Whenever I
met him, he would immediately ask me about my parents by
name: “How is Dr and Mrs Karunaratna?”
On one occasion, I was driving to Anuradhapura and happened
to be wondering where I may find him, when he suddenly
appeared ahead, walking along the road at a steady pace. I
stopped the car and ran over to him to pay my respects. He had
not seen me for many years and I was much older then and