Before 1948 I have never heard the term “Sinhala Buddhist”

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Ah! and you think you should never have had to hear it.

You see Walter, that’s where the problem is. Enough said.

Dear SriLanka California,
“Ekama jathiyak goda ney-gi-mey adhis-tana-yai” – rough translation: “the vision is to advance a just society…”.
Even the very very rough translation this is WRONG!
“Ekama jathiyak” is plainly “ONE Single Nation”. SO, Sobhitha hamuduruwo’s “adhis-tana-ya” is to build just single nation. Where is Tamil and Muslim in one nation?
That shows what Sinhala politics he is playing.
Amaranth

Gamarala
August 17, 2012 • 8:59 am

I agree with your second paragraph, but Kusal is not talking about separation of church from state but a personal vendetta against Sobitha.

Has Kusal written anything on other religious fanatics in Sri Lanka?
(unless he has, he is just having a go at Sinhala Buddhism for the sake of it)
In fact it is the religious minority who is against gender rights (abortion, contraception), animal rights (banning ritual animal sacrifice) and gay rights.

As long as our leaders remain naysayers (like Ravana) – i.e. “no can do”, “the time is not right”, “not practical”, “later”, blah, blah, the Sri Lankan nation will remain stuck exactly where it has been for the last 65 years, in mud, unable to move.

If the destructive constitutional clause about Buddhism ‘got in’, then it certainly can ‘get out’ – it is that simple. All what it would take are conviction, will and courage for a powerful Statesman (preferably a Sinhala Buddhist) to drive it forward. Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher or other – such men or women do no exist on the island. Yet, that is exactly what it would take – a charismatic Statesman (or woman) – to get this nation move in a healthy direction.

Ravana, if you find it surprising, you need to reconsider the model with which you understand Buddhism, and religion in general.

For one, if you are Buddhist, encouraging someone to committ a sin is also a sin. Giving prostitutes condoms would be encouraging prostitution, which is a sin. Religious morality is deontological, as opposed to consequentialist. Never mind that not giving prostitutes condoms will cause those women to die, cause unwanted children to die, or if those children are born, forever be outcasts. As long as illicit sex is bad, it’s bad.

A non-believer has to get his morals from carefully reasoned moral philosophy. But no matter how carefully reasoned that philosophy is, there is reason to doubt it. For a religious person, his morals are 100% right, and he has no doubts about it. So if you begin from the premise that your morals are absolutely right, it is going to be very hard to find a good reason to not impose your morality on others. To not prevent someone from having illicit sex, when you are certain would result in bad consequences to that person, would be morally irresponsible.

Before 1948 I have never heard the term “Sinhala Buddhist”
Just before 1948 and immediately after, blames if any, went to Politicians either by name or Party.
People of all denominations were members of the few parties we had.
Look, what has happened today?
We have nearly 65 registered Political parties, about 55 of them are Sinhala Parties, not Sinhala Christians. We have so many Tamil and Muslim Parties too.
The Sinhala Politicians who happened to be Buddhist’s are keeping the Sinhala Buddhist logo and terminology high in the air for their advantage. Really the majority of the Sinhala Buddhist’s don’t even notice it, they have more important worries.
It is safe to conclude that the Sinhala Folk and the Buddhist’s have allowed the Politicians to highjack their language and religion and fling it about for their own survival.
Thereby the term “Sinhala Buddhist” has been drawn into this melee.
Tell me why would any Government servant run to Kandy to get blessings and that too to be shown to the Public.
Why would the High Priest’s in Kandy want to give public blessings in front of a TV crew, whether it be Pillaiyan, or a Policeman.
Getting blessings is a matter of private conscience, not a performance of public duty.
You see, all these assorted actions have culminated into blaming the Sinhala Buddhist’s for all the ills of this Country.
The Sinhala Buddhist’s have abdicated their responsibility and status and have allowed these opportunistic Politicians and bureacrats to steal their Language and Religion.

Off course by conjecture we could say that even Hitler would say that it was not a good thing to kill the jews or even VP and crowd would say all those bombings and killings were not justfiable.

No one wears a sign board saying that he is a racist or communalist but by the consistency of his actions and speech we could come to a conclusion as to what his real motives are. Though not a Sinhalese or Buddhist I have listened and read the talks given by Ven Sobhitha and I am satisfied that he is consistent, his thinking is moderate and sincere and are in line with the teachings of Buddhism.

I am troubled that even a moderate prelate of his standing, well respected in his community, is being attacked for some inconceivable reason. He could easily remain silent and engage in his own religous practice, but when he speaks on behalf of others, there is a host of critics. Most people simply criticise others but have done nothing to solve the problems facing this country. I do not personally know the Ven Thero but I believe it is my duty to support people of moderate and balanced views of whatever race or religon.

Californian,

Your expectations are noble but not necessarily practical in the immediate future any more than union of the eastern and northern provinces are.

Whilst complete separation of state and religion is an ideal, it is really not evident in most nations except China or perhaps Russia, both having suppressed religion under communist manifesto.

I would be surprised if you did not know that the American president swears an oath to a (Christian) God and that the head of the British State and Church of England is the same. The same head of state heads Australia and NZ. The Norwegian head of state must of necessity be a Lutheran. The list just goes on.

In the context of recent actions of the powerful Christian states of the World, who have now shed their pants, it is petty to choose the one insignificant thorn in the side Sri Lankan constitution as an issue right now. It must be kept in mind that Sri Lanka was perhaps the first nation in the World to have developed the tradition of a close relationship between the state and a religious head. The Buddhist monks who were accustomed to such status were hardly going to give it up that easily.

Apart from evident Buddhist hegemony over the island based on tradition, I also see an oppressive use of money by the Christian religion in particular to engage converts which should also be opposed. If I had my way I would completely remove all privileges from any religion. This includes tax benefits. In fact, like cigarettes which cause cancer, the cancer of religion should be taxed more heavily than other organisations. Proven secular charities such as the Lions or the Rotary would be exceptions. If and when Buddhism and its special place is removed in Sri Lanka, then I would definitely advocate heavy penalties for all religious bodies.

Perhaps you should put that in your (peace) pipe and smoke it first. For me, I see in Sobitha thero an aspect of an important grass root movement which is multi-faceted and will become a Tsunami in time. The mainstream SLFP will not be part of it. The UNP led by Ranil Wickramasinghe certainly would not be part of it. It is time for these systemic agents of Empire to be placed in the dustbin of history.

Attempting to shoot a messenger like Sobitha (who is but one of many) with words will not work. Like Dulip DiChikera (and unlike Ryuppu Joseph) , Sobitha speaks for patriotic action for the benefit of all Sri Lankans, but he is willing to actually act on it. It is in the tradition of Buddhism and Christianity (nothing but Buddhism in another name) to be forthright and fearless in commentary on political matters. Islam is the same. Hinduism does not go that path because it is the true religion of the established order and never needed to (or will) speak for the oppressed. So, when a religious leader speaks for justice we should not be prepared to shoot him straight away. Only shoot him when he speaks for enslavement of people as Ryuppu did in his attempt to subvert the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, something he is even attempting today in a not so surreptitious manner. Some may argue that Joseph was speaking on behalf of the oppressed, “his people”. No, my friends, like the Pope of the WWII, he was not speaking for any people who were persecuted, he was merely the front for the malevolent force of the LTTE. Besides, even if we give him the benefit of that doubt, speaking on behalf of a separate “Tamil” region will only be disastrous for the sovereignty of all Sri Lankan people. Recent events in the World should make this clear. I understand that living where you are, you would have less liberty than Julian Asange to express any ideas which are too libertarian.

That’s a bit surprising! I fail to understand why a Buddhist monk would even have an opinion on condoms. If it was a catholic priest I could understand.

Happy Heathen,

I think you’ll find that the content of the article deals with something other than a critique of religion. You might benefit by reading it in its entirety.

A good article Kusal. A dire warning of what to expect should said events come to pass. Although one might initially hope that Buddhism, given its overtly passive nature, is less easily misappropriated towards violent ends than Islam, I think events in Sri Lanka and elsewhere are sufficient evidence that religious ideologies are best kept separate from the state.