 On February 17 , 1988 , the present Ven <unk> <unk> Panya Vamsa of <unk> Monastery and <unk> <unk> initiated the ritual of daily face washing of the deity at dawn . This ritual commences every morning at 4 am or 4 : 30 am when monks wash the face and brush the teeth of the Buddha image . It is an elaborate ritual performed for over an hour by a senior monk dressed in monastic attire , assisted by several lay helpers , dressed in white and wearing formal headdress . As soon as the drums are struck , the senior monk residing in the adjoining monastery enters the sanctum and starts the formal face washing ritual with a succession of fresh towels , offered by devotees . He then performs the act of cleaning the Mahamuni 's teeth with a large brush followed by one more sequence of cleaning with fresh towels . After this , sandalwood paste is applied to the image and it is again cleaned with towels and finally sprinkled with scented water . After the ceremony is completed , the used towels are returned to the devotees who keep these towels with reverence in their home shrines . 
