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| Sunday, 2 May 2004 |
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Spiritual heritage lures westerners here It is not tea or rubber that attracts the westerners to Sri Lanka but the spiritual heritage. This was expressed by the former Chief Executive of Chamber of Commerce of Scotland, Bill Whiland. At present he is in Sri Lanka under the guidance of the venerable Rewatha Thera, the Viharadhipathi of Scotland Viharaya, to write a book on "Buddhism and Sri Lanka." He said, "Sri Lanka is still not ready to tap the new market which has enormous potential since westerners still know only of Mahayana Buddhism." "In the event Sri Lanka is ready to cater to the westerners who wish to visit the country, it cannot only earn an enormous amount of foreign exchange but also be known as a country that practices Theravada Buddhism. "21st century is all about exchange of knowledge, and economies too are changing from agricultural to creative economies, where creativity takes pride of place. Therefore, the more creative man becomes, the more he can earn and, the same principle, applies to governments as well. Since the country practices Theravada Buddhism, people as well as the government should popularise it in the western world, which would inspire tourists come to the country and gain spiritual comfort and, also after some time, be ordained as monks." He said that back in Scotland Ven. K. Sri Rewatha Thera would campaign in a big way to popularise Theravada Buddhism and meditation. |
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