Vithanage Leelawathi Aslin Dharmaratne, 95, has obtained a Master’s degree in Buddhist studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pali Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya.
She was also the oldest student at the university.
For this master’s degree consisting of 7 subjects, she studied Pali Nikaya Buddhist Thoughts: Analysis and Commentary, Buddhist Art and Architecture 11 (Sri Lanka). Buddhist psychotherapy, Buddhist economic philosophy, Theravada tradition: history and dhamma matters, Buddhist ethics: concepts and philosophical interpretation, research methodology, and elaboration were the subjects she studied.
She had also compiled a paper on the past lifestyle reflected in the wood carvings of the Embekka temple as the extended essay research topic.
At the age of 94, Aslin Dharmaratne passed the Tripitaka Dharma and Pali language tests conducted by the university.
Thus, she passed the Oriental initial, middle, and final exams while taking care of six girls.
She started her career as a notary and was the first woman from Sri Lanka to pass this exam in 1952.
She married a notary in 1962 and moved to Nawalapitiya from Horana.
She has not only sewing but also painting, journalism, farming, etc. as hobbies, even today.
This ninety-seven-year-old mother has also started writing a novel as her latest task at work.
