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| Sunday, 22 May 2005 |
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Editorial |  |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Random Vesak thoughts Tomorrow Buddhists the world over will celebrate Vesak, the day commemorating the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in 543 B.C., his later enlightenment and the parinibbana of the Buddha. This thrice blessed day is a good occasion for Buddhists who form the majority of the people inhabiting our land to contemplate how knowingly or unknowingly each one of them has contributed to our present sad state when violence including its extreme forms of murder and rape, break down of discipline, law and order, lack of tolerance have become standard norms in society. Buddhism teaches and preaches ahimsa or non-violence. In the context of present day violence do not our claims to maintain the pristine glory of Buddhism, to claim sole owners of pure Buddhism as opposed to its contaminated forms elsewhere ring hollow? Buddhism is a doctrine of metta where its adherents wish wellbeing even for their enemies. Then how come that there is lack of metta even amongst one's own kith and kin? Maha Karuna or compassion is a key teaching of Buddhism. The Buddha preached his disciples to show compassion even to animals and inanimate nature. How compassionate is our society? Buddhism extols simple living and abhors extravagance and ostentation. Yet we are drawn more and more into consumerism. Extravagance and ostentation have become goals to many a Buddhist. It is sad to note that even monks have fallen prey to consumerism and are not fighting tanha or craving. The forces of consumerism are so strong even the Vesak Festival has been commercialised, though not to the same extent as Christmas. There is more emphasis on display and exhibition rather than observing the Buddhist principles of pious living. We have become an intolerant society. In contrast to our historical experience even religious intolerance is on the increase. Buddhism like Hinduism has been an extremely tolerant religion, which could assimilate traditions from other faiths. For example Buddhists have adopted the Hindu pantheon. It has taken practices from other religions and acclimatised them to the Buddhist milieu. The Bhakti Gee so popular today has been taken from the Christian carol tradition. Buddhism had been basically non-violent and extremely tolerant of diverse views and faiths. Its method of conversion was through rational discourse where the individuals concerned voluntarily embraced Buddhism through intellectual conviction. Buddhists never practised religious wars like the crusades. It never had jihads. Yet today we hear distant cries that call for religious intolerance and all out elimination of non-Buddhist faiths. It is basically thanks to the tolerance of Buddhists that diverse faiths could set up churches in Sri Lanka. Its influence was through example and by the strength of its rational doctrine. On this Vesak Day let us draw inspiration from the fundamental teachings of metta, mudita, karuna and upekkha and banish violence, intolerance and all concomitant evils from our land so that it could regain its historical glory as a real Dhammadipa, a model democracy in modern parlance. Preserving bio-diversity The theme for this year's Biodiversity Day which falls today is "Biodiversity: Life Insurance for our Changing World". Sri Lanka is one of the biodiversity hot spots of the world with unique fauna and flora. Though threatened by human intervention for years it still preserves several endemic species. Biodiversity as we know provides us with materials that are required for our basic needs - food, clothing and shelter. It also provides us with protection against natural as well as man-made disasters. We could have been spared much damage during the December tsunami had we preserved our mangroves and other coastal ecosystems. For example in mangrove areas the extent of damage was comparatively less. Haphazard clearing of forests and the construction of reservoirs without taking into consideration the geological nature of the terrain have resulted in floods and earth slips in many parts of the country. Our fish resources are threatened with over-exploitation that bodes ill for future generations. Indiscriminate waste of wetlands in the name of development disturbs the ecological balance and threatens man with more disasters. Rape of our coral resources has already caused immense damage to our coastline especially in the South. Definitely much more commitment by the authorities as well as by the community is required if we are to preserve our rich biodiversity and bequeath it to future generations for their benefit. In this regard we have to review our existing environment laws, which are inadequate to meet the challenges of super-exploitation by selfish local and foreign vested interests bent on accruing profit at whatever cost. |
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