Sri Lanka, Feb. 18 -- A special religious ceremony was held today to mark the 15th anniversary of the planting of a sacred sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi in the Philippines.

The observance coincided with the Lunar New Year, celebrated today in keeping with Chinese tradition. Fifteen years ago, then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa facilitated the state sponsored offering of a sapling from the Sri Maha Bodhi to the Philippines as a symbol of religious and cultural ties.

The sapling was ceremonially planted at the Universal Wisdom Park Foundation's Theravada Buddhist temple in the Philippines, with the support of the then Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne.

In 2011, President Mahinda Rajapaksa also donated a Samadhi Buddha statue to th...