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| Sunday, 8 December 2002 |
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Sel lipi : Sounds of silence Swasthi Shree! Thus says his sacred Majesty, the gracious Great King, glorious Chakravarthi, King of the Kings of Maya, Pihiti and Ruhuna, Mahoora of the Vanniala-aeththo and ruler of all lands from Yapapatuna to Sampanthota: At not a great distance from the Maha Vasala lie a multitude of places of worship, those of the Goddess Kali, of the triune God of the Kraisthavas and of the one deity of the Yonakas, as well as the many temples, monasteries and Bo-trees of the Buddha Sasana. For many decades past, the early morning was greeted by the call to prayer of the crier of the Yonaka devalaya, the mellifluous tones of which drove the stars from the sky before the oncoming Hunter of the East. Of recent years, however, the Yonaka devalaya has been joined by a Yonaka daham paasala, which the Yonakas in their sacred tongue call a Madrasa. It is apparent to the Maha Vasala that the Yonaka devalaya and the Yonaka daham paasala have been having some doctrinal differences. For now, the early morning is greeted by not one, but two calls to prayer, directed at the faithful of the Yonaka religion from two different sides. The criers also seem to time their song to two different rhythms and metres, so that one cry appears as a badly distorted echo of the other. Some time ago, the criers of the Yonaka call to prayer decided to supplement the strength of their voices with sound-amplifying shabdha-vaahini yanthras. Now, however, it appears that the two criers are vying with each other, not merely with a view to calling the faithful to prayer, but also with the objective of drowning out the voice of the competing place of worship. The sound emanating from these places of worship has now become deafening, like the sound of the wheels of the ratha of the mighty god Sakra, as they rend the darkness of the early morning like one of the thunderbolts of that great deity. Unfortunately, now the followers of the sublime teachings of the Thathagatha also seem to be going the way of Yonakas in the environs of the Maha Vasala. From the quadruple directions of the protective deities of the four warrants come the sound of the shabdha-vaahini yanthras, broadcasting the noble pirith of the Buddha Dhamma, but at a level of noise that is truly hideous; the soothing chant of the Bhikkhus is converted to the trumpetings of a rogue elephant in must. This sound is compounded, of a Sunday by the ringing of bells from the devalaya of the triune god of the Kraisthavas. The secular authorities have also got into the act, by repairing the great horasthambaya (clock-tower) at the crossroads of this mighty city; as a result, the loud chimes of this yanthraya at the breaking of dawn complement the other early-morning sounds. Consequently, it is very rarely indeed that a cock crow is heard at the Maha Vasala, heralding the coming of the Sun. Alas, this is true not only of the environs of the Maha Vasala but also of this entire resplendent isle. Every angula of it is disturbed by the noise of the shabdha-vaahini yanthras. So, what is to be done? How are we to convert these houses of prayer back to their former sublime state? How are we to change this realm back from a shabdha dweepa to its former pristine condition as a dhamma dweepa? Swasthi Shree! This rock edict is made on this day of Ravi of the month of Unduvap of the Year of the Saka Era 1929. - Gotabhaya |
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