Bhante Uparatana joined Ven. Dr. Thanat Inthisan and members of the Thai Buddhist community to pay his respects to Ven. Thanat’s late father, offering condolences and standing in fellowship with a longtime friend and fellow founder of the IBAA.

Maryland Buddhist Vihara marked Vesak 2026 with a reverent Twenty-Eight Buddhas Pūjā, offerings, chanting and a Dhamma talk by Bhante Uparatana, shared beyond the temple through a live broadcast to devotees in Sri Lanka and the wider Buddhist community worldwide.

Maryland Buddhist Vihara welcomed Sri Lanka’s Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, and Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe, who visited Bhante Uparatana to pay their respects and share a cordial meeting at the Vihara in May 2026.

Bhante Uparatana joined the opening of the Bhante G Heritage Center at the Bhavana Society, honouring his teacher, the Most Venerable Henepola Gunaratana, and celebrating a living legacy of meditation, scholarship and dedicated service to the Dhamma in the West.

Bhante Uparatana led American University’s 2026 Vesak observance, bringing students, monastics and friends together for reflection, meditation and candle-lighting, while sharing the Buddha’s timeless message of peace, compassion, loving-kindness and mindful living within the university’s interfaith community in Washington, D.C.

Bhante Uparatana joined monastic and lay leaders from the International Buddhist Association of America for a meeting with the White House Faith Office, strengthening dialogue between Buddhist communities and public institutions and advancing cooperation, mutual understanding and service across traditions.

Bhante Uparatana joined the Washington welcome for the historic Walk for Peace, greeting the Maha Sangha at Washington National Cathedral and later presenting an honorary plaque at American University in recognition of their message of peace, compassion, wisdom and unity.

Students from MBV’s Dhamma School for Young Ones joined Bhante Uparatana on stage to sing Sri Lanka’s National Anthem during the 78th Independence Day celebration in Wheaton, sharing their heritage with the Sri Lankan community across the Washington metropolitan area.

Maryland Buddhist Vihara hosted a free community health screening in partnership with the Sri Lankan American Society for Health and the Health Betterment Initiative, offering preventive checks, laboratory services and practical health guidance to members of the local Sri Lankan community.

Bhante Uparatana visited Washington’s Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens during the 2025 Lotus and Water Lily Festival, sharing a peaceful summer outing with members of the community amid ponds filled with lotus blossoms, water lilies and the beauty of the natural world.