Protect Articles of Faith from Saffron terror

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Buddha was the first missionary; and the first to set the Wheel of the Dhamma in motion to reach the ends of the earth for the welfare of all beings. By his precept and deed he emphasised the right of e ery man to propound without bar the tenets of his religious beliefs pro ided the gospel beating did not trample upon the religious sensiti ities of people who held a different creed. During !" years of missionary wor#$ the Buddha sent his mon#s far and wide to spell out the way the Thathagathas had shown. Thousands of %indus$ niganta#ayas and others became con erts after hearing the Buddha&s sublime message. %e e en made #ings renounce the state religion of %induism and embrace the new philosophy he e'pounded and persuaded thousands of Brahmins to descend from their lofty caste pedestal and realise deeds not birth ma#e one worthy of worship and obeisance. (on ersion$ not by force or guile but by understanding the noble truths Buddhism held$ was the order of the day; and the )ift of the Dhamma was hailed by the Buddha as the greatest gift of all. %istorically$ Buddhism has been an acti e proselytising religion with its missionaries con erting millions of people in South Asia$ (hina$ and *apan. + en today there is acti e proselytisation practiced in the West mainly by mon#s ma#ing Buddhism a ma,or growing religion in the West. Buddhist -iharas$ societies$ centres and groups ha e been founded across +urope and the .nited States and hundreds of boo#s on Buddhism ha e been published for the general reader. Popular interest in Buddhism is rising and on the march mainly due to the proselytising efforts of Buddhist mon#s. While such noble and positi e acti ity is ta#ing place in foreign climes and more and more people of the (hristian faith are reaching out to Buddhism enchanted by its emphasis on compassion$ #indness$ uni ersal lo e and e/uanimity$ it is saddening to note that a handful of mon#s in 0an#a are tub thumping the battle drums of iolence and hate; and perpetrating terror in saffron against other faiths in direct and flagrant iolation of the Buddhist doctrine of ahimsa and against the Buddha&s dictum to respect all religions; and that an insensiti e go ernment and an apathetic society calmly loo# as#ance at this iolent breach of the social fabric$ content to remain inert. 0ast Sunday&s hate ridden repulsi e attac#s on the Assembly of )od and the (al ary (hurch in %i##aduwa by a group of Buddhist mon#s while the followers were at prayer must be unreser edly condemned by all. 1t re eals also that though the Sinhalese ha e been blessed at birth with the good fortune to be born with the sil er spoon of Buddhism and to be cradled in its gentle$ peaceful philosophy$ for some the good fortune ob iously goes no further than the new born babe&s cry. Born sa age$ no amount of a Buddhist en ironment can ma#e them shed

their past traits and$ though shrouded in robes and cowled with a saintly ring spuriously e'uding an air of Buddhist thought and mental de elopment$ sa age and barbaric they remain$ the ery flotsam and ,etsam of society&s garbage bobbing on a sea of bigotry. As the Buddha said$ when as#ed why all who hear his sermons do not attain higher states of mind$ 2The Thathagathas only show the way.3 The diehard$ rabid$ chau inistic section of the Sinhalese first attac#ed the Tamils when they had no means of protecting themsel es. That was on the grounds of race$ on the basis the Tamils were as#ing for more$ as#ing too much. Their pseudo Dutugemunu mentalities were puffed$ their inferiority ridden egos bloated$ their fer ent patriotism self hailed and much aunted as they demonstrated their heroism by pro ing their cowardice in attac#ing and e en #illing helpless Tamils$ women and children included. The awesome price the nation had to pay and still pays for their uncurbed and unmatched illainy is well recorded. 4ow with the Tamils temporarily silenced$ the insatiate per erse force has found new soft targets upon which to e'pend the froth and foam of their distemper. 1t has become the turn of the 5uslims and now it has also become the turn of the (hristians. From the arena of race the diehards$ spearheaded now by mon#s$ ha e progressed to trespass upon the far dangerous field of faith. Two years ago in *uly a grouping of a few renegade mon#s calling themsel es the Bodu Bala Sena too# up the gauntlet of becoming the self6proclaimed guardians of the Buddhist Faith and became the anguard of religious persecution against 5uslims and all things

Prior to the raid on the AOG church, the group held a protest in Hikkadu a! Pic "y #!G! Sugathapala 5uslim. 5os/ues were attac#ed$ businesses houses were stormed$ halal certificates were banned and e en the traditional dress 5uslim women wear in public was sub,ected to scrutiny. Along with the Sihala 7a aya which mysteriously spawned in their trac#s they proclaimed themsel es as the Buddhist moral police force empowered by their own warrant to physically attac# those that did not conform to their own code of conduct; and used iolence as their means to ostensibly protect the Buddha&s philosophy of non iolence. The focus shifted to the (hristians last Sunday. Though there is no e idence to connect either the Bodu Bala or the Sihala 7a aya to this attac#$ another hatchling appears to ha e been born from the same ile ulture of bigotry. According to the police$ eight mon#s said to belong to %ela Bodu Pawura ha e been identified in connection with the attac# on the two (hristian churches. The police ha e also stated that arrests are imminent and will be made. Well and good$ but is it enough8 This is not an isolated attac# but one in a series committed by different groupings e'ecuted according to an un#nown grand design. 1t is ital the )o ernment realises

the gra ity of the situation and$ before all hell brea#s loose$ adopt a consolidated approach to e'orcising this phantom from society&s midst. 1n fact the go ernment is duty bound to do so. The Sri 0an#a (onstitution guarantees$ amongst other rights$ the following fi e rights all of which were iolated in the church attac#s9 Article :; the right of e ery person to ha e or adopt a religion of one&s choice. By Article :! :a< the right to free speech and e'pression$ b< the right to peaceful assembly$ c< the right to free association and e< the right to manifest his religion or belief in worship$ obser ance$ practice and teaching either by himself or in association with others in public or in pri ate. 1f any of these rights are trammelled by the state or its officers$ the citi=en of 0an#a has the right to appeal to the Supreme (ourt for redress. But what if the rights are iolated not by the state or its officers but by pri ate gangs who ta#e the law into their own hands and deny the people the en,oyment of those rights while the law enforcing authorities turn a blind eye thus enabling the iolators to gi e effect to their pernicious will8

These rights and freedoms are not meant to remain glorified and confined to the statute boo#s but to be acti ely en,oyed by the citi=en. Thus while the constitution grants these right isn&t there a concomitant duty placed on the State to ensure that the necessary peaceful conditions e'ist for the citi=enry to freely e'ercise and en,oy these rights8 1f there isn&t$ if the State can nonchalantly wash its hands off from its duty to pro ide the en ironment for constitutionally enshrined freedoms to be en,oyed$ then those rights aren&t worth the paper they are written on and a citi=en&s belief that he is li ing in a full blown democracy with guaranteed fundamental rights is only a pipe dream. For what use are rights on paper if there is anarchy on the streets due to State inaction8 Thus it beho es the )o ernment to ma#e plain to all that =ero tolerance would be shown to any person or groupings who dare flout the criminal law of the land bent on pro o#ing religious acrimony on the flippant basis that patriotism ,ustifies its transgression. The saffron robe should not be allowed to be used as a uniform of authority to wrea# religious discord and ser e as an armour of immunity from the due process of the law. All are e/ual and no fancy dress must be allowed to conceal the na#ed criminal intent and guilt of the wearer howe er glorified or patriotic he may appear to be. Furthermore$ under Article > of the (onstitution$ the State is placed under a duty to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. Protecting the Sasana means not only shielding it from e'ternal attac#s but also safeguarding it from internal threats. And this entails that the -inaya 7ules go erning the conduct of the community of mon#s is strictly followed by each Buddhist mon#. 1t is thus the )o ernment&s constitutional duty to ensure discipline in the ?rder as a way of protecting it$ to see that no de iation is made from the guidelines laid for mon#s that would threaten the purity of the Sasana and destroy the respect and re erence paid to it. The actions of the Bodu Bala$ %ela Bala and Sihala 7a aya ser e only to bring the Sasana into disrepute and ignominy and they must be dealt with regardless of any short term political fallout howe er detrimental to any particular political party. As the proud custodians of Buddhism in its pristine form for o er two thousand years$ Sri 0an#a has a duty to man#ind to ensure the record continues unsullied and that generations hence ha e the opportunity to imbibe the pure spring

waters of the Buddha&s profound teachings preser ed by the 4oble ?rder of the Sangha. 4o doubt the brigand of renegade mon#s will hold it as their defence that they attac#ed the two churches on Sunday to pre ent con ersion of Buddhists to (hristianity 1t should be noted that presently there are many Buddhist mon#s in the western world spreading the word of the Buddha and$ in the process$ turning (hristians into Buddhists e en as the Buddha spent !" years of his life e'pounding his message to people of other religions and successfully con erting many to his own. A man&s religion is his personal affair. Belief cannot be forced$ belief cannot be denied$ legally or otherwise for who can discern what the heart holds in secret. And though it might seem to beggar belief$ gi en the present harsh economic landscape a man&s belief maybe the last thing he is left with to barter for his e'istence. The choice is his and$ as the 0an#an (onstitution guarantees$ his alone.