# Vipula Wanigasekera

Vipula Wanigasekera Sri Lankan Diplomat who was also Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority / Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka Convention Bureau. He lectured at University of Kelaniya, Open University of Sri Lanka, Plymouth University, UK and currently a Senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University, Perth/Sri Lanka. He is an author for Colombo Telegraph, a Consultant business diversifier, meditation teacher, EU wellness tourism expert and Reiki healer.

## Education and career

Wanigasekera studied at Royal College, Colombo holds a degree from the Chartered Institute of Marketing - UK, an MBA from the PIM - University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and PhD in philosophy from IIC University of Technology He is also a qualified Carnatic musician from the Institute of Fine Arts, London.

## Career

He worked for 15 years as Trading Manager - Hecht Heyworth & Alcan UK, Shipping Manager -Sherman Sons, and Sales Manager - Deldem Group HK before becoming Director of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board in the mid-1990s. He was later seconded to the Sri Lankan foreign office and held diplomatic positions in Malaysia as Counsellor and Norway as Consul General/Head of the Mission since 1997, having established the first Sri Lankan Diplomatic Mission in Oslo in 1999. Later in Sri Lanka, he held the position of CEO, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau from 2005 to 2016 with a two-year concurrent post as Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority from 2011 to 2013, both under the Ministry of Tourism. He entered academia full time in 2016 serving Plymouth University UK and Edith Cowan University, Perth. His PhD is in Spiritual tourism in relation to Buddhist philosophy and modern non dual concept. Following the launch of his book Pointers to Enlightenment he began to offer meditation and healing sessions for spiritual seekers based on Non dual and Buddhist teachings.
Wanigasekera was a columnist on socio cultural affairs but curtailed his work from time to due to changing situations in Sri Lanka. He published a book Pointers to Enlightenment in 2013 and embarked on spiritual work offering meditation sessions specially for tourists while visiting Sri Lanka. He later extended this service to other countries including Australia.
Wanigasekera has been featured as a resource person in spiritual discussions on TV. His you-tubing is attracting a large number of people while being subject to criticism by some traditional Buddhists.

## Research

* An Analytical Study of Modern Non-Duality Concept with special reference early Buddhist Discourses and their impact on spiritual tourism PhD Thesis.
* Anatomy of Terrorism and Political Violence in South Asia –IDA Journal November 2006 - IDA Paper P-4163 Log: H 06-001530 Online - Management of the Tamil Diaspora–LTTE's primary function abroad
* Behavioral Aspects in Multifaceted Armed Conflicts and their Implications – Sri Lankan Case
* Overcoming Cross-Cultural Differences in Postwar Sri Lanka: The Case of Jetwing-Jaffna
* Pointers to Enlightenment: Truth is Simple
* Dabbling with the Devil

## Controversies

Wanigsekera's articles in newspapers, Youtube interviews TV interviews on spirituality, involvement in music, his book Dabbling with the Devil and his research on various topics, have raised questions as to whether his active multifaceted role in society as an Author & Business diversifier is conflicting with his work as Meditation teacher and healing therapist.