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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Saving Buddhism : Are we on the correct path? More than two thousand five hundred years ago in India, the philosophy of Buddhism came into being. It was unquestionably the greatest philosophy at the time and even today its status remains unsullied.
Undoubtedly we must accept that there is an international plot working towards the destruction of Buddhism. Recent events including unethical conversions, vandalising ancient rock temples, contorting ancient Buddhist art etc seem to be shadowed by the arms of this abstruse force. Somehow the responsible ones have recognised this situation now and seem to be working to stop them.
Therefore we have to find a permanent solution simultaneously, while Bills and legislations do their job. Recognizing the targets and preventing them from being victimized would be an easier and a far more effective remedy than tracing down the culprits and punishing them. The lay Buddhists are the targets; especially lay Buddhists who form lower strata of society. Why have they become vulnerable as a prey? There are innumerable reasons. Poverty and lack of knowledge of the religion being the main reasons. They give money to the poor, build shelters for them and end up with the conversions, the consequence of the so-called social work. Since these fundamentalists are backed by the affluent West, it is hard for us to compete with them. But it is not true to say that we are unable to make any kind of atonement to the situation. If the Government lends no support regarding this matter still the Buddhist ecclesiastics have a responsibility upon it. We have seen and heard of the riches of some temples, especially in and around Colombo. How large is the income of these temples? . Some monks live in conditions that even a layman would love to have. It is true that they may have not bargained for it and they might have received them freely off affluent dayakayas. But I can see no reason why they can't use the better half of this wealth in favour of the poor and live a simpler life like the Buddha has taught. While these temples thrive there are plenty in rural areas on the verge of being abandoned due to extreme lack of income and provisions for the monks who are in charge of them. There should be some kind of a system which treat all monks and temples fairly which would be a further enticement for all monks to work for the good of their religion and a way to treat the poor and the needy from a part of this income. If a permanent stop is required for these extremist activities, the lay Buddhists should play a very prominent part. They will have to armour themselves with proper and sufficient knowledge of Buddhism. Today we find that the knowledge of Buddhism of the general public is very slender. Even though the Sunday school system (Daham Pasal) seems to have given the younger crowd more proficiency in Pali and Abhidharma, the practical usage of these sections of the philosophy are quite scarce. Therefore we must concentrate more on what Buddhism could confer on us in the day-to-day life. For example every Buddhist should have a thorough and immaculate knowledge of Buddhist meditating systems. Meditation has been the heart of Buddhism and it's the main reason why Buddhism is renowned around the globe. It is a certainty that this would bestow numerous advantages on the society. As Buddha said, it would help us to succeed both in this life and hereafter and in the end to apprehend the ultimate goal, the Nibbana. Of course people should learn this philosophy with integrity. In order to become a better person rather than to masquerade as a good Buddhist. Then only will it engrave in our hearts and we would forever be protected from the brunt of the artifices of fundamentalists. At this point yet again the role of the Maha Sangha erupts. With the help of voluntary Buddhists, they should communicate the Dhamma in a comprehensive and attractive manner. This shouldn't be a difficult task, for we have witnessed many eloquent monks who would naturally possess the ability to do so. They may have to walk across the country, from house to house, speak to each and every Buddhist on what kind of a danger their religion is running, persuade them to follow it properly and pass it to their posterity. In order to do so the picture of the ideal disciple of the Buddha must be reinstated. It is no secret that most of the Buddhist clergy have become modernised and commercialised. In becoming so, the gap, which should exist between the Buddhist ecclesiastic and the Buddhist laymen is rapidly closing down and the society including the Buddhists have started to look upon the Maha Sangha in a derisive manner worsening the present crisis. Even the monks who truly live according to the Buddha's teachings are being hidden among the ones who do not. A strong disbelief is growing among the Buddhists upon the Maha Sangha. Therefore it is essential that the Buddhist monks live strictly according to the rules laid down by the Buddha if they want their followers to listen to them attentively. Once the Buddhist monks regain their position on role models, the power of the Triple Gem will be invincibly restored. Indeed it is easier said than done. But it's still not too late. If all Buddhists and the Buddhist clergy get together and follow the Buddha's way, it is a certainty that all enemies of Buddhism will be defeated. Not with hatred and bloodshed but with love and compassion. But as long as we waft away from the concepts of this great philosophy, like a house that will fall when its foundation is maimed, the fall of Buddhism in Sri Lanka will be inevitable. - Kaveenda Samarasinghe ---- West is bad, Asia no better In the article on the Catholic church and conversion - a reply (Sunday Observer of 1st August), while dealing with matters relating to religious conversions in Sri Lanka, W.T.A. Leslie Fernando has questioned "Whether evangelisation would be beneficial to Asia" and concluded "It would do more harm than good in Asia". His position is that in Christian Europe/West, the moral standards have come down to very low levels and those countries are full of vices. Then he states that "In Asia the situation is different". He has given several examples to show the situation in Asia is better than the situation in Europe/West. Let us take a few of them. He has stated that in some Catholic countries there are "Swimming pools where men and women step in fully naked". But in Thailand, which is a Buddhist country, one would find what is called 'live shows', where one can see the act of coitus and many more sex related antics performed on a stage. Most of the people taking part in these activities are young people. What about the prostitution in that country? No doubt this swimming pool example would fade in its significance when compared with 'live shows' in Thailand. Take Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. There are resorts where gambling and prostitution are taking place on a large scale. Is it Christian influence?. Today where do we find serious terrorism and gun culture etc.? When talking of drugs, where are they coming from? All the other vices mentioned in the article, such as 'child abuse, homosexuality, lesbianism, promiscuous sexuality and free sex' are found in many Asian countries in abundance, not with the courtesy of Christianity. Mr. Fernando complains that all the modern vices have come to Sri Lanka "from the West where they are so rampant". The question is this: If spirituality is ingrained in their lives as stated by Mr. Fernando, how can people be drawn towards such vices so easily? If promiscuous sex and homosexuality, are not so rampant in Asia, how can some of the Asian countries, including India have large number of AIDS victims? Admitting the fact that Asia accounts for more than 50 per cent of world population, it's not possible to overlook UNAIDS reports according to which "Asia has some of the fastest growing epidemics in the world" with nearly 7.5 million HIV cases. Of this India accounts for more than 5 million. There are about 800,000 cases in Thailand; nearly 500,000 in Myanmar (Burma). Even in conservative Pakistan, which had rigid rules under different military regimes, prostitution is widespread. There are red light areas in places like Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad. As reported recently, it is estimated that there are between 70,000 to 80,000 HIV positive cases in Pakistan. In Asia, AIDS is already spreading pretty fast without the support of Christianity and there is no need to convert Asia to Christianity to make the process faster as assumed by Mr. Fernando. Regarding "USA Catholic priests are paid for religious duties and the clergy lead luxurious lives", it should be stated that this applies to many countries and many religions. Even in Sri Lanka priests of some denominations are paid a stipend. It is a known fact that even in Asian countries some (non-Christian) priests get money for duties they performed and they live a luxurious life. Another argument is Asian people attend temples on their own. In Sri Lanka - which may be the only country in the world where all poya days are holidays - what percentage of Buddhists attend temples on a poya day? However is the law and order situation any better in Sri Lanka. How many murders, contract killings, extortion, rapes take place in Sri Lanka today. While admitting West or Europe is 'bad', Asia is no better. It looks as if Mr. Fernando is trying to make Asia whiter than white. In this context it doesn't appear that "evangelisation" of Asia, if that happens, would do any more harm. With all respect to Mr. Fernando let me ask one question. Having read/seen contributions he has made to newspapers, it is presumed Mr. Fernando is a Catholic/Christian. If the present "position of the Catholic Church is that those of other faiths or no faith also can be saved if they live righteously according to their conscience" and "that non-Christians and atheists could attain salvation by leading a righteous life" why he (or for that matter anyone) continues to be a Catholic/Christian?. - W.S. Fernando |
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As a result we recently heard of a proposed Bill averting unethical
conversions. While these actions are appreciated there remains another
question . Will legislations alone be enough ? Maybe it would be effective
in preventing vandalising. But what about the conversions? Will
legislations be enough to stop it for good? We must remember that where
there is law there will also be loopholes. It is without doubt that the
ones offended by them will find a way to escape them.
