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| Sunday, 19 September 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Dhamma meant for the wise by Dr. Keerthi Jayasekera There seems to be a considerable amount of controversy about the subject of the ethics of religious conversions taking place in Sri Lanka today. A small section of monks and laymen from the Buddhist community in Sri Lanka have expressed fears that, in the near future Buddhism will become a minority religion and thus loose its present position in society.
The first thing the Buddha did upon enlightenment was to share his new found wisdom with the five ascetics, with whom he once practised ascetism, and gave up that practice since it did not help him to obtain deliverance. It was his discovery that, only the middle path would help one to realise Nirvana. Conversion through the conviction of the five ascetics helped him to start the Buddhist Order. Thereafter conversion of Yasa, a son of a rich treasurer (setthi) of Benaris, present day Varanasi in North India, and fifty four of his friends, thus making up 61 Arhats in the world, including the Buddha Himself. Compassion Thereafter the Buddha sent forth 60 of them with the words: "Go ye now, O monks, and wander, for the gain of the many, for the welfare of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, for the gain, and for the welfare of gods and men. Let not two of you go the same way. Preach O monks, the doctrine which is glorious in the beginning, glorious in the middle, glorious in the end, in the spirit and in the letter; proclaim a perfect and pure life of holiness". This was the first Buddhist mission sent forth to preach the doctrine of salvation for the benefit of the multitude. Thus the Buddha was fully prepared to propagate the doctrine through his own efforts and those of his disciples. Thus began the first missionary religion in the world. How did the Buddha convert others to Buddhism? With utter compassion to the fellow beings the Buddha used His psychic powers to survey the world, and look for fellow beings who had the capacity to benefit from the Dhamma. Thereafter to make His way to them, and engage them in discussion about the human predicament and convince them about the wisdom of the Dhamma. Thus it was through dialogue and example in his conduct that He made them to be the followers of the ethical Middle Path. Wisdom In ancient India, knowledge and wisdom was to be found in the Vedas or sacred texts, such as Big Yajur and Sama veda. Access to them was confined to the Brahmins (priestly caste) and Kshathriyas the warrior caste, to which the Buddha belonged. Hence in early Buddhism it was a majority of Brahmins and a few Kshathriyas who came to the Buddha seeking answers to their epistemological and ontological problems prevailing those days. The Buddha explained the Dhamma and invariably convinced them, and made them His disciples. Those who did not have the capacity to understand the Buddha were not satisfied and went back to follow their old faiths. The Buddha left it entirely to the discretion of the individual to understand or misunderstand Him. The reason being what the Buddha preached was not theology as in the Vedas, or anthropology as in the Upanishads, but pure and simple Psychology. Dhamma was meant for the wise and not for the fool. Once when the Buddha and his fellow monks were in transit between Nalanda (where the world famous University came up in later times), and Rajagaha the capital of Maghada (modern day Rajgir in the state of Bihar), he preached to the monks the masterpiece of a discourse the Brahmajala Sutta (The All-Embracing net of views). In this discourse the Buddha, in the light of His great wisdom analysed and showed the utter unsatisfactory nature of the 62 views or Schools of thought prevalent in India in 6th century B.C. This single act of the Buddha is a classic example of the tolerance, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, prevalent among the monarchies and the republics in India during the time of the Buddha. Impressed by the ethical conduct of a seven year old novice Buddhist monk, Nigroda, and the answers given to the questions asked, Emperor Asoka of India embraced the Buddha Dhamma. With this incident the golden era of Buddhist religion and culture in India and in the countries beyond dawned. By this time there were 18 schools of Buddhist thought scattered in India. The number of heretics and false monks became far larger than that of true believers. The heretics who had entered the Order for gain, continued to adhere to their old faiths and practices and preached their doctrines as the doctrines of the Buddha. Emperor Asoka first got rid of the heretics and then was instrumental in holding the third Buddhist Council, at Pataliputra (modern day Patna). Propagation One of the great achievements of this council was the despatch of Buddhist missionaries to different countries in the world, for the propagation of the Buddha Dhamma. From the edicts of Asoka we know about the various Buddhist missions he sent to far off countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Due to these missionary activities Buddhism became the ruling religion of a large part of mankind. Arhath Mahinda the son of Asoka and the daughter Theri Sanghamitta, were entrusted with the propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. How did Arhath Mahinda convert Sri Lankans to Buddhism? According to Dr. E. W. Adikaram's Ph.D. Thesis Early history of Buddhism in Ceylon a masterpiece by any standard quotes the Mahavamsa and states: "Mahinda had a conversation with Tissa, during which he gauged the intellectual capacity of the latter. Finding that the King was quick-witted and able to understand the Dhamma, he expounded the Culahatthipadopama Sutta. At the end of the discourse the King and his retinue of forty thousand people embraced the new faith". The construction of Mahavihara, in Anuradhapura by King Devanampiyatissa and offering it to Arhath Mahinda, helped to institutionalise Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Thus Mahavihara grew as a vast monastic complex where hundreds of monks engaged in the study of the Dhamma. This was followed by King Vattagamini Abhaya with the construction of Abhayagiri Monastery in Anuradhapura. This trend continued through the Polonnaruwa period to the present times. Notable among them were Mayurapada Pirivena of Dambadeniya period, Vijayaba Pirivena of Thotagamuwa, where among the many languages taught was classical Tamil. Sunethradevi Pirivena at Pepiliyana, Pathmavathi Pirivena at Keragala during the Kotte period, Paramadhammachetiya Pirivena at Ratmalana, Vidyadaya and Vidyalankara Pirivenas (started by two monks from Paramadhammachetiya Pirivena) during the British period. It is mainly due to the teaching of Dhamma in these institutions that the priests from the village temples were able to educate on the Dhamma, and were also thus able to preserve and promote Buddhism and keep the Sinhala Buddhist culture alive and fertile. However with the elevation of Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara to University status, also the monks pursuing Buddhist studies were exposed to secular subjects. The tendency of certain monks to disrobe after University education is a spiritually unhealthy side effect that has become a reality today. Some months ago Buddhist Cultural Centre, Nedimale, Dehiwala advertised in the newspapers for candidates between 18 and 35 years to be Ordained as Buddhist monks and to receive a training in the Dhamma, after which they were to take up residence in deserted temples in the country and to recommence Dhamma activities leading to the revival of the fading Buddhist Culture once again. Upon inquiry from the chief incumbent of Buddhist Cultural Centre, Rev. Kirama Wimalajothi Nayaka Thera, I was horrified to learn from him that among the 12,000 to 13,000 Buddhist temples in the country, over 1500 of them are deserted! Of this amount over 1000 are from the Eastern and North Central Province. Experience tells me, in this tiny Island if 1500 troops were to desert, can we ever hope to win a war? Prof. S. Radhakrishnan says: "Buddhism is a way of life, and not a way of talking". With reference to this saying I see the Scholar and the Intellectual helping us to keep Buddhism as a way of talking and the monk in the temple there to show us that it is a way of life. The priority to day is not to worry about the ethics of others' actions, for they shall reap what they sow, but to make every effort to preserve, protect and promote Buddhism in society. The Buddha has shown us the Ethical pathway to ultimate happiness. It is up to us to try and follow it, and not try to modify it. Efforts of Emperor Asoka and Arhath Mahinda should inspire us towards achieving this objective. Hence the order of the day is to try and infuse spiritual life to over 1500 deserted temples in the country because failure to do so will ensure the jungle tide swallowing them up like the rest of the ruins of a lost Buddhist Civilization. |
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Is there a threat to Buddhism in Sri Lanka at present? If so by whom?
How? And Why? Hence it is the duty of every practising Buddhist to find
out the correct answers to these questions and remedy the situation
without further delay. One must also not loose sight of the fact that Sri
Lanka is a secular democracy, and the constitution provides the right to
an individual's religious freedom.
