| Letters
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| Developing
Maligawa sacred area: Let there be transparency The development work to be handled jointly by the National Physical Planning Department and the Urban Development Authority will include the construction of flower shops, a drainage system for Natha Devala, a pahan veta at the Vel Bhodiya, landscaping and drainage system for Asgiriya Maha Viharaya and a valakulu bemma at the Gedige Viharaya. Do all these places come within the Maligawa sacred area? The Dalada Maligawa is in the Central Province. How come the Minister of Western Region Development inaugurated this work? As the monies spent on this project are public funds, will the government ensure that a proper job is done? For the sake of transparency, such expenditure should be audited by the Auditor General's Department along with the collections and expenses at places of religious worship. Audited accounts should also be made public. Another crucial issue is who should be responsible for the Maligawa sacred area development and maintenance. To maintain continuity of planning and designing in the Maligawa tradition, the obvious choice will be the Commissioner General of Archaeology, with construction being handled by the State Engineering Corporation, under his guidance. Otherwise, the left hand will not know what the right hand is doing as illustrated by the two photos. The picture on the left shows the beautiful Buddhist railing constructed around the Maha Maluwa by the Maha Maluwa Restoration Committee headed by the late Hector Kobbekaduwa in the 1950s while the other shows the present state of the esplanade with wrought iron fences and grill gates. Who demolished the Buddhist railing and constructed a pathway in the centre of the Maha Maluwa? Ananda
Pilimatalavuva We need to examine
ourselves first There has been much debate in the newspapers in recent times about unethical conversions. I deplore any attempts by Christians to convert poor Buddhists by offering them material needs. Having said that, I urge Buddhists to critically examine ourselves too. I was happy to read that the Ministry of Buddha Sasana is taking measures to bring more stringent laws to stop Buddhist monks from taking to politics. The Buddhist clergy has a pivotal role to play today, in shaping the younger generation and inculcating Buddhist principles and morals. Isn't that a task that needs full-time attention? As for me, being a Buddhist, the Buddha's teachings are by no means second to Christ's. Recently in a village in the south, monks are alleged to have thrown stones at several churches. Some of the Christian workers had also been assaulted and hospitalized. The Buddhist villagers had come to their rescue and prevented further attacks on Christians. What a wonderful example of maithree demonstrated by the simple villagers.
L.K. Ranasinghe Whom can they
complain to? Even the telephone directory does not list the National Child Protection Authority. I suggest the NCPA regularly publishes its address in all three media.
Chandrasiri Atukorala What a day of
salvation! Mr. Muller admits that the Portuguese were barbarously cruel. Then he goes on to say that "so were local rulers who had no qualms in massacring unarmed civilians who had converted and refused to recant their new found faith". Now that is a gross distortion of history. Our rulers never massacred 'unarmed civilians' simply because they had embraced Roman Catholicism. On the contrary, they gave refuge to the Catholics when they were being hunted down and persecuted in the name of God by another set of Christians, the Dutch. Mr. Muller should realize that at no point in history did the Buddhists anywhere in the world kill people for the sake of religion. But the manner in which the 'civilized' Portuguese converted Buddhists to Catholicism is history. With all their machinations including cruelty, threats and cajoling, they were able to convert only a fraction of the Buddhists in this country. It is a fact that some of our power hungry rulers sought the assistance of the Portuguese to quash their competitors. (This pattern continues to this day thanks to our major political parties and politicians.) If not for the lesser evil, the Dutch, who fortunately invaded Sri Lanka subsequently, we would still be languishing as a Portuguese colony and Buddhism would have disappeared into the limbo of oblivion. Mr. Muller further claims that the Portuguese were merely trying (at the request of our foolish rulers?) to bring about a semblance of stability to rid the country of political uncertainty. However, in that process did they have to resort to such acts as demolishing and looting major Buddhist places of worship including the Kelaniya Temple and the Sri Vishnu Devale in Devinuwara and removing valuable artifacts to be given as presents to the King of Portugal? The government, it seems, is making grand preparations to celebrate this so called day of salvation. But the fact is that the day on which the Portuguese set foot on this island marked the beginning of the decline of the Sinhala Buddhist civilization. Therefore, the Sinhala Buddhists should observe that day as a day of mourning.
N.P. Karunadasa A
sorry offering In contrast In thousands
and thousands of pairs of eyes Long, long
before their prime Both reminiscent Tear-dewed
Jeannette Cabraal 'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point. Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to editor@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or feature@sundaytimes.wnl.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
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