My aim is never to blame anyone for Sri Lanka's ethnic crisis. Instead, I want to get to the bottom of why everyone acts the way they do. As I always emphasize, there are multiple angles to any issue. I started writing about ethnic issues because I was fed up with superficial narratives. The more I think about it, the more angles become apparent.
Today let's talk about some sections of the Buddhist clergy. When I refer to the Buddhist clergy, I am only referring to sections that are involved in politics, not to the entire Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka. There are very virtuous Buddhist monks who follow Buddha's teachings to the fullest. My closest friends know that I'm also a practising Buddhist. As far as I can think there are three reasons why some Buddhist clergy behave the way they do in Sri Lanka. I must confess that the writings of Professor Chandra R. de Silva and Dr Brian Senewiratne shaped my understanding of this matter a lot.
Let's begin with the first reason. When Christian missionaries arrived in Sri Lanka, they were welcomed by the Buddhist clergy with the spirit of Buddhist tolerance, believing that all religions are equally worthy. It was the Buddhist clergy who assisted in translating the Bible into Sinhala. The problem began when insensitive missionaries with colonial attitudes denounced Buddhism as paganism. Colonial governments offered selective educational and job opportunities to converts, almost forcing Lankans to abandon their native religion. In response to the promotion of Christianity at the expense of Buddhism and the active suppression of Buddhism, the Buddhist clergy developed an understandable hostile reaction to other religions.
The second reason was the British occupation of the whole island. Prior to colonialism, Buddhist clergy served as kingmakers and counsellors to royalty in Sri Lanka. Buddhist clergy continued to play a significant role in the Kingdom of Kandy's affairs during the Portuguese and Dutch occupations. As Buddhist kings were replaced by British and Christian converts were favoured in appointments, Buddhist clergy lost their role as kingmakers and counsellors. While Sri Lankan politicians struggled to get political freedom from British colonial rule, the clergy struggled to regain their lost influence in governance.
In 1948, the British handed power over to the Sri Lankan elite in the United National Party. The new leaders were mostly Buddhists (and Sinhalese) but refused to interfere with inflammatory language and religious issues. There was a veteran Sinhalese politician in the UNP, Bandaranaike a Christian who became a Buddhist for political reasons. Having failed in his first attempt to wrest power from the UNP in 1952, he introduced ethnoreligious chauvinism into Sri Lankan politics to win popular support.
The Buddhist clergy recognized that he would restore their 'king-making abilities'. So in the election, thousands of Buddhist monks canvassed for Bandaranaike, who won an overwhelming majority. Once again the clergy regained their position as kingmakers. These power-hungry sections of the clergy will not allow a multiethnic and multicultural democracy to thrive in Sri Lanka since it would threaten their position as kingmakers. That is why they continue to push for measures that offer selective advantages to the Sinhalese and discriminate against minorities. This would take them towards their long-cherished goal of making Sri Lanka a Sinhalese-Buddhist nation, making their position unassailable in governance.
The third reason Buddhist clergy behave the way they do is the current "piriven" educational institutions used to train Buddhist monks. The syllabus used in the piriven education emphasizes Sri Lankan history as essentially that of the Sinhala Buddhists. For example, Professor Chandra R. de Silva says in the 193-page history text taught to novice monks only six pages deal with the Tamil kingdom of Jaffna. Of these six pages, two pages are devoted to its conquest by the ruler of Kotte, two more pages relate to its conquest by the Portuguese and the other two pages are mostly devoted to the lack of evidence of a Kingdom of Jaffna before the 14th century. Furthermore, the contribution made by the Muslim community in Sri Lanka is totally missing from the text.
Buddhist monks were taught about other faiths in pre-colonial institutions like the Vijayabahu Pirivena in the fifteenth century, but they are not taught today. It is unfortunate because education at all levels should aim to increase tolerance by addressing stereotypes, socio-cultural biases, and historical prejudices. A reform of pirivena education would provide monks with more relevant knowledge. In this way, they could recognize ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity as part of the national heritage.
It is difficult to realistically hope for a reversal of Sinhala chauvinism unless we tackle Buddhist clergy involvement in politics. Without that, building a single undivided Sri Lanka is impossible. Sri Lanka belongs to and is the homeland of all its people. The question is whether or not the majority community in Sri Lanka accepts that. There is no indication that it does. Until it does, ethnic groups cannot co-exist in equality and dignity.
To put it in Dr. Brian Senewiratne's words "Until a Sinhalese leader is found who can stand up to these sections of Buddhist clergy and Sinhala extremists, the chaos will continue. Sri Lanka's problem is not Tamil terrorism but Sinhala extremism."
Buddhism in Sri Lanka today is Sinhala-Buddhism, which combines Theravada Buddhism (Tripitaka) with Mahavamsa. I would urge my Buddhist friends to listen carefully to monks who make political statements before buying their narratives. Are these Buddhist monks practising Ahimsa (non-violence), Karuna (compassion), Metta (affection), and Maithriya (loving-kindness) towards fellow humans (irrespective of race/religion) or are they promoting ethnoreligious chauvinism and hatred in the name of Buddhism?
It is my hope that Buddha's words will prevail. May his wisdom remove the darkness of ignorance, bigotry and hatred we feel towards each other. May it usher in an era of peace and enlightenment for Sri Lanka 🙏
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