Comments on: Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Response to Bhikkhu K. Tanchangya

By: truthseeker

truthseeker — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:27:52 +0000

I’m a Buddhist myself. But I do not take pride in the fact that I’m one. Moreover, there is no place for the very concept of ‘attachment/passion towards one’s religion’, or for that matter respect towards it. Buddhism clearly explains that attachments are the roots of suffering. Besides we don’t take it with us when we die. These 2 facts point to the futility of this concept. It’s clearly indoctrinated in the Dhammapada that those who pursue futile things won’t get anything really worthwhile.The single-minded pursuit of saving or defending Buddhism won’t get you anywhere. Being unable to realize this is nothing but plain abysmal ignorance(Moha). What’s more the very attachment to one’s religion can ferment extremism and pave the way for the emergence of violence.(Islamic extremism in the Middle East and elsewhere and Hindu extremism in India clearly demonstrate this.)Another thing I wish to highlight in my comment is that whether one is a good Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. is absolutely immaterial. What matters are the merits and demerits we have attained through our noble and evil deeds respectively. (Also, this is the message given by the Hindi movie ‘My Name Is Khan’) The whole world is one. Countries, religions-these are all artificial.
Finally, I wish to emphasize on certain things that don’t coexist with Buddhist doctrines. 1. Nationalism, militarism and excessive religious faith-based on hatred(dvesha) and abysmal ignorance(moha).
2. capitalism, consumerism, the urge rooted in the minds of most children to obtain white-collar jobs and accumulate material wealth -based on greed(lobha)
It’s simply disheartening to note that the overwhelming majority of the Buddhists in SL succumb to these mentalities that contradict with the Dhamma, although this country is proudly proclaimed as the ‘Land of Gautama Buddha’ .

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:36:50 +0000

1. People and Government in a country should have the right to refuse entry VISA to someone based on his charactor or attitude to the society and if this person could do more harm than good to the younger generation. The question is why did Akon and his naked women dance in front of a Buddha statue?. Why didn’t they dance naked in front of a statue of Jesus Christ or Gord Siva or Prophet Mohamad.?

2. As Buddhists it is clear to us that the results and effects of every action of a person comes back to the same person whether it is a good action or a bad action..That person carries all this with him until his death and to his next life. Therefore, what Akon has done and said is his problem and not ours as Buddhists.

3. Akon has said that he didn’t know that Buddha statue was in the back ground and he is now a spiritual man( don’t know what he has done in the past), he should be allowed in to Sri Lanka next time. While he is in Sri Labnka, he should visit our Buddhist philosophy and learn about it so that he won’t insult th Buddhism or Buddhists in the future.

By: yapa

yapa — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:36:35 +0000

Dear Rohana Arambewala;

RE: Your comments on April 3, 2010 @ 3:44 am and April 3, 2010 @ 4:14 am

Don’t worry, it is the way things are happening. Most of the writers (Journalists), one of my friends say that “Not more than bothal paththarakarayas”. According to him when a “bottle” is given they write any thing to “paththaraya or to “cyber paththaraya”. According to him their motto is ” kanna denavanam- bonna denava nam,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,”

It is fortunate that writers like Martin Wickramasingha, Piyasena Nissanka etc… are not alive today. Otherwise, my friend says “I am sure they will commit Suicide not to see the “Nari natakas ” of their colleagues”.

Do you think this fellow is telling truth?

Thanks!

By: wijayapala

wijayapala — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:36:31 +0000

tis-a-small-world,

“What do the readers of GV have to say about this”

I have to say that the greatest threat to Buddhism in SL today probably comes from other Buddhists.

By: tis-a-small-world

tis-a-small-world — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:34:17 +0000

What do the readers of GV have to say about this, http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/04/04/buddhism-attacked/

By: niranjan

niranjan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:47:46 +0000

Burning-Issue,

I agree with your comments. At least President Rajapakse is trying to reach out to the Tamil people by speaking in Tamil to the Tamil population when he visits the North and East. I think we need to give him credit for that.

By: niranjan

niranjan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:39:13 +0000

Rohana Arambewela,

Do we need the JHU to defend Buddhism? I think not. We have a Constitution and a majority Buddhist population to do that. From the first Republican Constitution onwards Buddhism has been given a special/foremost place. No other religion in this country enjoys a foremost place in the 1978 Constitution.
Therefore, both the SLFP and the UNP have given the foremost place to Buddhism in their Constitutions well before the JHU arrived on the scene.

By: tis-a-small-world

tis-a-small-world — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:12:48 +0000

Dear Malinda Seneviratna,
Thank you very much for posting the links of your articles, and I of course read the article on Daily Mirror. I feel that just because Christians pick and choose from the bible as you have mentioned, as Buddhists we can pick and choose what we like from Tripitaka or Dhamma Padaya. Then there will be no difference between Buddhists and Christians.
As followers of the Lord Buddha and his philosophy, we shall stick to it’s teachings and not pick and choose like others, and demonstrate our greatness to the world!
Thanks again for taking time to read my article as a veteran writer and critique.

By: Burning_Issue

Burning_Issue — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:55:00 +0000

Dear Rohana Arambewela,

“None of these people raise their voice if there were similar issues with Christianity or Islam. For example I still can’t understand how people can identify JHU as the Buddhist extreme party because these same people seems to have accepted Tamil extreme parties such as TNA, which clearly states that they are for Tamil interests only, and Muslim parties who openly declared they are for Muslim interests only. What do these people think of them? Are you prepared to declare them as fundamentalist extreme political paties and condemn them openly as you do to JHU?”

You have written passionately and argued the rational for the JHU as a political party for the Sinhala Buddhists. That is all very well, but the fact remains that the people of Sri Lanka have been fragmented along their religious and communal identities; this is why Sri Lanka has miserably failed to build a nation. The majority community with 70% Buddhists is still not at ease; it is petrified that, the Buddhism in Sri Lanka is under siege and it is vulnerable to decline even to disappear all together. This fear is real and well alive among the Sinhala Buddhists; learned and the rest are alike.

I, as a Tamil, am not sure whether the fear is about Buddhism disappearing from Sri Lanka or the Sinhalese as an ethnic group is fearful of their very survival. This leads me to say that there is a dangerous cocktail in Sri Lanka: the insecure Sinhalse are the Buddhists in Sri Lankan exclusively (I know that there are exceptions); this has a disastrous effects on the Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. With this scenario, the people of Sri Lanka do not identify themselves as Sri Lankans first and foremost but by their ethnicity; hence, cannot pull together as a nation.

I pointed this out before, in the very first and second general elections, the many Tamil speaking people (Tamils and Muslims) did ally with the mainstream parties; UNP and LSSP enjoyed much following. This trend would have continued and the Tamil ethnic platform would have struggled to hold steady but for the SWRD factor and the prominence of the Sinhala Buddhist identity. I am not saying that, there weren’t any Tamil or Muslim nationalists at that time; there were nationalistic politicians and there will be always such people. However, a nation must not allow such elements to have a platform. The British National Party (BNP) still cannot enter parliament is a good example; if there is ever a possibility of that happening, all the main parties work together eschewing such a situation.

With Buddhism in the Constitution enshrined to be protected and fostered by the state; the country cannot move away from the ethnic politics. It is not the fault of the atheists, agnostics, and non-Buddhists that the minority of the Sinhala Buddhists feel insecure and whole country is held as hostage by these people. The Buddhism in Sri Lanka has survived three consecutive imperialistic rule and the Missionaries methodically converting the peoples with imperial support; yet, Buddhism is today thriving in Sri Lanka. Some may say that, it is because of Buddhist fundamentalists; I do not agree. Because, Hinduism was also faced the same threats; The Portuguese Missionaries had almost converted the entire population of the Mannar district. Yet, Hinduism survived and thrived because of its inner strength and the same goes for Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan politics is at a watershed at the moment; if the MR regime were to pursue a Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic rule; on the basis of a Sinhala Buddhist identity, Sri Lanka will erupt in turmoil once again in the future. On the other hand, if they manage to galvanise all citizens as one and promote a Sri Lankan identity with a suitable political structure, Sri Lanka will emerge as a progressing nation. Only time will tell.

By: Malinda Seneviratne

Malinda Seneviratne — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:47:28 +0000

I think people use the word ‘fundamentalism’ loosely. but that’s fine…why? well, FofE (Freedom of Expression) and Buddhists have to be ‘tolerant’ on account of being Buddhists even when people vilify Buddhists and Buddhism.

I posted the following comment on an earlier piece by this same author…it might be of interest….

I wrote a couple of articles on this subject, one in the Daily MIrror and one in the Sunday Lakbima News. Both papers omitted a quote from the bible which dictates ‘appropriate’ action relevant to a hypothetical situation I described.

If Buddhists are supposed to act like Buddhists, it follows that Christians should act like Christians. Right? The problem is that Christians can pick and choose from the Bible.

Here are the links to the two articles: http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/opinion1/7442.html

http://www.lakbimanews.lk/columns/col5.htm

And this is what was omitted:

” What part of the Bible would â€˜Real’ Christians refer if such â€˜works of art’ contained some kind of culturally offensive statement on the Christian faith or some element of Christian iconography and sought to entice Christians to serve some other faith?

“â€˜Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass upon us’? That would be â€˜ok’ in that it will not result in any altercation or disruption of normality. What if some Christian chance upon or remember Deuteronomy 13: 6-10?

“This is what it says: â€˜If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die.’”

By: Suriya

Suriya — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:09:27 +0000

“…just look at the hatred and venom in people like Eli who I think do not belong to any religion, ranting and raving at you personally without trying to understand facts.”

Thanks for your kind comments Carli. I try not to engage with people who engage in personal attacks; I have found from personal experience that they are unfruitful endeavours.

By: Atheist

Atheist — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:13:50 +0000

Tis â€“ a- small -world,

If you object to the fact that Sri-Lanka refused visa to AKON because of his video of scantily clad girls prancing around a Buddha statue, I am with you. By the way, we can’t expect him to be Duran Duran, can we?

However, let us put ourselves in a hypothetical situation where the government did grant visa to AKON. I am sure as hell that given such a scenario, Lanka Truth will lambast the government for insulting Buddhism as they did with the “tattooed woman” in the online Daily News. I am sure you know that this was triumphantly cited by Ground Views. Plus, allowing AKON into the country will provide much ammunition to the Buddhist bashers who will go around showing AKON’s notorious concert video taken in Trinidad. Pseudo feminists, fake journalists and all the activist mafia will have a heyday; this would give them the perfect opportunity to denounce the government on its lackadaisical attitude toward misogyny and violence.

The government is sure in a catch-22 situation. Anyway, I feel the government made the spineless move in removing the “tattooed woman”.

By: Jay

Jay — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:00:50 +0000

I have seen a bar on Elgin Street in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada named Laughing Buddha and no one cares about it.But if anyone names a Strip Club “Mother Theresas” the whole world will be against it.
Why is this double standadrds for Buddhism only?.Can this mad dog AKON dance whith his sexy chicks in front of an altar?

By: Carli

Carli — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:49:34 +0000

I too strongly agree with you Suriya. While you make an effort to educate or let your views be known in a civilized and gentle manner, just look at the hatred and venom in people like Eli who I think do not belong to any religion, ranting and raving at you personally without trying to understand facts.

By: soloman

soloman — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:11:14 +0000

I too think that Rohanaa arambewala need to read the article again. the author is clear in his opinion.
Yes, it is correct that the Buddhist have all the rights to safe guard their religion or faith and if the JHU does that I welcome, but if you are little vigilant and look carefully. what JHU is doing is totally different, they interfere more with the minority rights and vandalizing the churches and assaulting the priests and in fact they even went to the extent of intimidating the mahanake thera’s maha samuluwa in kandy. they were instrumental in attacking many temples. and they approve the usage of alcohol in temple tree. they are really not protecting the Buddhism but destroying it. they create disharmony in the minds of minority in the name of archeology. these are some of the activity.
I appreciate some of the views of Suriya. he seems to posses a good knowledge of Buddhism, I want to ask him or any others a question. Did Buddha or his teaching ever ask his followers to erect a statue for him, if not, the basic problem here would not have arisen, If he really wanted a statue of his, I apologize for my lack of knowledge on Buddhism.

By: DD

DD — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:55:35 +0000

It’s a pity that the visit could have been used to address the larger issue all over the world vs. just stoning a media company for organising the event. Buddhism has unfortunately become a ‘fashion icon’ all over the world.
So as Buddhists we could have used his concert as a means to have our dissatisfaction heard to the rest of the world. Not just canceling his visa.
Sometimes for greater good is more important than the immediate picture. Buddhism traditionally is a non-aggressive religion.
As far as I am concerned those who stoned the media company is as responsible as Akon to damage the cause of Buddhism.
The image of Lord Ganesha is equally abused all over the world as a ‘cool sign of life’. So is Maha Lakshmi. On a visit to New Delhi in India a long ago I purchased two statues of Gnana Devi and Lakshmi, the concerned Hindu person next to me asked me for what purpose I was buying them – religious or as display. While informing them it was for religious reasons I explained to him carefully that I understand the religious importance and significance of those statues. Setting his mind at rest.
Sri Lankans all over the world are ready to march the streets for anything. Maybe a good start internationally would be for the UK High Commission to write an official letter to the London Clubs – Funky Buddha and Buddha Bar with copy to the Minister of Culture how these establishments cause offense.
Otherwise all this pundit epilepsy is just all in vain.

By: Suriya

Suriya — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:24:13 +0000

Hope the moderator will let me post an excerpt from the following article which was published today. This is the sort of thing that I think we need to see more from Buddhists – not a blase “whatever” attitude, but actually standing up and voicing concerns. Otherwise non-Buddhists will have no idea, and those who do have an idea and yet continue trying to demean Buddhists and/or Buddhism will have a free run to do as they please without any opposition at all. Is John Longhurst going to be labelled a “fundamentalist” for speaking out? I sure hope not.

—

It’s wrong to cheapen great eastern religions

By: John Longhurst

Have you heard about the Buddha Bar?

According to an ad in the Free Press, people who patronize Winnipeg’s newest drinking establishment can expect to find “chic interiors” and “exotic electronic beats” to go along with the usual cocktail, beer and wine specials.

One thing they shouldn’t expect to find there, though, are actual Buddhists. At least, not ones who take their faith seriously — adherents of this ancient religion are forbidden to drink alcohol.

Winnipeg’s Buddha Bar is just one more example of what has come to be called “Dharma Burgers,” a phrase made popular by Rod Meade Sperry of the Buddhist pop and culture website The Worst Horse. According to Perry, it refers to “any example of Buddhist ideas or imagery in the marketing or production of (usually non-Buddhist) services and consumables.”

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/fyi/its-wrong-to-cheapen-great-eastern-religions-89825972.html

By: Tis-a-small-world

Tis-a-small-world — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:35:32 +0000

Dear rohana arambewala, thanks for taking your time to read this article. This is infact an elaboration of my previous article in response to bhikku Tanchangya. I think you have failed to understand what i’m talking. I do not wish to explain any further as i have already done it. I kindly request you to go through the article again. Thanks

By: Eli

Eli — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 07:10:51 +0000

@ Suriya,
Sounds like you are high on something. What exactly you are smoking sonny? you do know excessive use of marijuana make you paranoid, don’t you? it sounds to me like you overdoing it. I suggest you cut back so that your thinking process return to normal and your good Buddihst instinct once more return to the realm of peace and love. If you must smoke on something, cut your grass on your lawn and smoke that. Nothing will happen which is that you need

By: The Observer

The Observer — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 06:17:12 +0000

Well said, Suriya. I am in agreement with your view one hundred percent.