| Editorial | ||||
 |
||||
Uposatha:
Good for both Clergy, Govt. It was a disgraceful performance - off stage, on the streets outside, and later at the old Race Course. It was also a sinister one and it is hoped, the Police will not just smoke out the assassin, but the 'smoking grenade' as well. The organisers must share much of the blame for the disorderly arrangements, but no doubt their task was complicated by the mayhem on the streets. By and large what happened at the Bollywood extravaganza, in which two innocent young people lost their precious lives, needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It was a classic case of misguided sentiments enveloped in a seemingly more diabolical plot. In contrast, the Indian entertainer showed his was a class act through and through; before the show in the face of the demonstration, during the show and most of all, by his conduct after the happenings which was most commendable. He sympathised with the families of those who had lost their lives. Such an attack, he said, could have happened in any country and in any state. Thus he did not brand Sri Lanka as a kind of pariah nation. He also pleaded with everyone not to make political capital out of the incident. Indeed, the protests were not well-received by the public at large in the first instance. The agitators from the Ven. Gangodawila Soma School of Buddhism were asking for the show to be called off as a mark of respect on the first death anniversary of their patron, but a day before the actual date. However, they were asking that only this particular show be called off with no complaints about other shows being held that night or the next. The whole exercise was suspicious from the very beginning. Now that the protests have backfired, the protestors have backtracked, shedding responsibility and passing the buck and realising that some one may have infiltrated. It was into a vacuum that a group of Buddhist monks backed by some nationalist-minded lay persons entered the socio-religions political canvass. The April parliamentary elections this year could not have been timed better for them, and the JVP, which was the flag-bearer of the cause until then, was fuming - when they should have been happy that others were joining the bandwagon. Hence the monks' party ran away with their votes. Since their advent into direct confrontational politics, these forces have had to wax eloquent on every conceivable issue whilst pushing through with their agenda which has seen some justifiable demands unfortunately mixed with some outrageous ones. For instance, there has been a call for compulsory closure of private tuition classes and attendance at religious schools on Sundays for the youth. The demand to make Buddhism the official religion of the State has its merits, but there has been no consultation with the elders in the Buddhist clergy as is required by the Vinaya ( Discipline ) Rules enunciated by the Buddha himself. It has just been press-ganged through, by way of a Constitutional amendment. Even the bill against forced religious conversions is in limbo because of this lack of unanimity through discussion. The decision to protest against the Shahrukh Khan mega-show was yet another case of this militant arm of Buddhist-nationalism trying to bulldoze its way through. Religion cannot be forced down people's throats, nor do the majority of the people of this country want to live in yet another fundamentalist state like those found elsewhere in the world. In the process, what these forces are doing, however inadvertently, is creating an image of a Buddhist-Taleban in this country, an image quite contrary to what the Great Teacher taught. The fundamental principle of the Buddha's teachings was the doctrine of the Middle Path; - not to be given to extremes- by word or deed. Tolerance has been the hallmark of this doctrine. And this doctrine has sustained Buddhism throughout the centuries. The monks in Parliament have been subjected to various competing and sinister forces that are trying to undermine their work, much of it well-intentioned. They now fear that the Government is trying to use the findings of the Buddhist Commission to debar them from active politics. Relegating them to their hermitages to spend their time in peaceful meditation or filling the ' padikkan ' (spitoons ) may not necessarily be the answer to the many issues that the country faces today. The Buddha advised monks to hold ' Uposatha ', every fortnight, where the clergy get together and resolve issues. This should extend to the Government as well. The Government, the politically active monks and elders, might want to go back to the basics by restoring this long-established practice to obtain unanimity in matters that concern the clergy and the nation. This may just be the way to avoid dangerous conflict, the likes of which we saw last week. |
||||
ADVERTISING
OFFICE
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT No.
47, W.A.D. Ramanayake Mawatha, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka.
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
