C. Wijeyawickrema, B.A (Hons.), LL.B., M.A., Ph.D.

“In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence.”- Cesar Chavez

“I want to get out with my greatness intact.”- Muhammad Ali

 The 1873 Great Panadura Debate

          The oration of Ven. Galaboda Atte Gnanasara Thero at the Great Conference of 5,000 Buddhist Monks, held on September 28, 2014 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is comparable to the verbal fight of Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda at the Great Panadura Debate of 1873.  That debate in 1873, ended the official and unofficial harassment and humiliation directed against helpless Buddhists in the then Ceylon (English pronunciation of the name Sinhale).  The sound of that debate was heard even in the City of New York, and paved the way for the first white Buddhist in 1880, the American Col. Olcott.  Ven. Gnanasara’s discourse/sermon in 2014 is bound to have ripple effects locally and internationally, despite the GOSL attempts to prevent its publicity. Most affected, adversely, by the September 28-BBS Conference, is the Mahinda Chinthanaya, which most unfortunately, is now on logs.

The 1963 self-Immolation by the Vietnam monk Quang Duc

          BBS’ decision to form an alliance with the ‘969 Movement’ of Ven. Ashin Wirathu of Myanmar, was identified by Ven. G as the highest service one could do in commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the Anagarika Dharmapala.  It was his wish that the Southeast Asian Region should be a zone of peace based on the principles of the Buddhist Middle Path. On June 11, 1963, the Vietnamese monk, Thich Quang Duc, showed the world the power of self-disciplined Buddhist monks. Ven. Wirathu is a present day example of these duty-bound dedicated monks (in American words the soft-power of the yellow robe!)  Bangladesh Islamists’ invasion of Myanmar border region is given political cover by the Christian West media as a Muslim human right!  Because of the global importance of Ven. G’s oration, it is important to try to produce an English summary (unauthorized) of his message.

 Ven. Gnanasara message to the world

1. We met the challenge and we are now challenging the challengers!

Within 2+ years we defeated all forces acting in collusion to kill us; these forces even played tricks to separate our president Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi from us; English media write such ugly, dirty, venomous things against us because unlike in the Islamic world, we do not ask for the heads of those who write such nasty unreasonable things.

2. We do not get money from Norway or from any other organization. We are helped by dedicated people who appreciate and value our service.Young Sri Lankans working long hours in South Korea treated us like kings when we visited them for 6 days and collected money for us for this Conference. Good people are there, they are like Kalu Nika.

          We know that some monks had no money for their bus fare and sold their           Atapirikara to come to this Conference. We know some had to wake up at 3:00 in the morning to come here.

3. We cleared, cleaned and sanitized the Sri Lankan jungle, a society gone wild and crazy. Our roots, bases of our Sinhala Buddhist civilization, are severely damaged or got severed during the past 66 years due to stupid acts of politicians.Party politics has been the bane of our country.
4. We have now prepared the country for the intellectuals, the educated, to fulfil their part of the bargain. They should no longer try to sit on the fence or evade responsibility and their duty. It is sad and unfortunate that the Sinhalayas are so scared to talk about their rights.Prabhakaran fought for a country with only 12% Tamils, Muslims fight with only 6%. But the Sinhalayas are so timid despite being 71% of the population.
5. It was the wish of Ven. Dharmapala to bring together Buddhist countries in Asia, and on his 150^th anniversary, we fulfilled his wish by establishing links with Nepal, Myanmar, Ladak/Jammu Kashmir and the Dalai Lama.
6. We will help the Hindu Assembly to save Tamils from people like Ryappu Joseph’s Christian Fundamentalism. That is our duty. In Deniyaya an entire Tamil village was converted to Islam. Is this not an Islamic invasion? Traditional Muslims appeal for our help as they are also threatened by the Arabic Jihadism.
7. Those who attack us do not know what is meant by the name Bodu Bala Sena.Our leader is the Lord Buddha. Our Sena is male and female monks and male and female laity.  So BBS leader cannot be removed by any force on this earth.
8. We are blamed for using harsh language. We are blamed for not preaching bana like in a temple. We found that so many senior monks are keeping quite or silent indulging in worldly pleasures, receiving favors from those in power. After making requests, appeals for two years we found that it was necessary to act aggressively (militantly). It is like the bell in a temple (or the bell tower Amish people use in their communities in America to signal harm). We had to ring it loud and long.  We are swimming upstream (Patisothagaami); loud screams are inevitable. We ought to strengthen the backbones of these sleeping Sinhalayas.
9. We are joined by the Ravana Balakaaya and the Sinhala Ravaya. There were 108 unethical religious conversion units in 2004, now there are 400+ and growing. UNP has as its treasure, the leader of the Assembly of God, the voracious Christian Fundamentalist group priest, Erin Wickremaratne, appointed as a UNP list MP. He has over 400 such assembly huts. And UNP blames us for doing politics! In Talahena we found three such Christians erecting illegal churches, all three were employees of the American embassy in Colombo!

Nobody (such as Wijedasa Rajapaksa of UNP) talks about Erin’s Assembly or the Salvation Army.

1. Sri Lankan governments, all Sri Lankan presidents, should be ashamed of what they have done.  Except two or three, Sinhala, Sinhala Buddhist, MPs are silent like frozen rocks. Executive presidency is used to grab power to thrive personally, to stay in power. If they are, the GOSL and the opposition parties, not willing to change, we must and we will change them all.  BBS warns Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremasinha and Kuara Dissanayaka, to change or get ready to be ousted.
2. These politicians used Buddhist monks as if how people use an umbrella (thrown under the bed after the rain) or the stick used to clean teeth (this writer identifies it as the treatment given to a kind-hearted woman by politicians). Politicians are opportunists. They give some excuse and avoid the issue. They trick us saying wait until this election is over, wait until Geneva vote is over etc. etc.
3. We now know for sure that Islam fundamentalism is a cancer. Some such people in Colombo sent two documents to Geneva. Even if a Sinhala man bumped on to a Muslim on the pavement, it is reported as discrimination in these books! How can GOSL allow such documents go to Geneva slandering Sinhala Buddhists?
4. There is Islam expansion and there is Islam invasion/aggression. There are over 100 Islam organizations in Sri Lanka (there are only 23 Buddhist organizations). They get Sharia law introduced one piece at a time by laws passed in the parliament. Nobody knows and nobody is concerned. Who gave authority to Ajith Cabraal of the Central Bank to open up Sharia bank in the country?Except the Sampath Bank, 8 other bank groups have Sharia banks.

During the past 3 years over 3,000 Sinhala girls got converted to Islam by involuntary means. Muslim girls are not allowed to marry non-Muslims.

Shoora Councils and Ulema companies are in Arab countries to advise Arab rulers. Why we have them in Sri Lanka? ( Even a picture of Buddha not allowed in these Arab dictatorships.)

Are we not getting stabbed behind the back for our compassion and our tolerant behavior?

Our politicians have no backbone. But our monks who saved this country for 2,300 years have their backbones intact.

4. We faced a total blackout from local media.  But we are lucky to have the new social media, the Face Book, e-mail and the Internet. Hundreds of thousands of younger people are listening to us and are with us.
5. BBS has begun an ideological struggle. We left the Jataka Pota in the temple library and postponed our meditating towards Nirvana (this is Engaged Buddhism now spreading in the West). We created a fertile soil for the rejuvenation of our nation and it is time for dialog or debate.
6. Politicians divided people to save their party and for their selfish gain. Nearly 27,000 soldiers did not sacrifice their lives to allow politicians to destroy this Sinhala Buddhist nation.
7. In this country we do not have a D.S. Senanayaka or a Bandaranayaka Chinthanaya or Marx-Lenin thing (what has happened to that thing called the MahindaChinthanaya?). In this country we follow the Chinthanaya of the Lord Buddha.
8. If politicians are allergic to the Sinhalaness we will remove them from the scene.If they are not willing to change we will topple them from their seats. We can bring one to sit and we can remove one from the seat. That was what monks did to King Mahasen when he demolished the Mahavihara and sowed aba seeds (Aba saranai!) King Mahasen had bad advisors (anti-Buddhist?) around him.
9. A monk does not have to be carpenter to point out what is wrong with the chair the carpenter is making and ask for adjustments or even overhauling.

 Politicians are getting cheated or deceived by Islamists Al Takiya rule. They perhaps do not know this. GOSL tricked us on the issue of Halal certification.

1. We have to ask at least a university degree as minimum qualification to become an MP. If over 100 MPs do not have even GCE (OL) how can they be knowledgeable ministers or law makers? No wonder the country is in such a mess (crook-opportunist officers can play hell fooling them).

 It is a crime that university students, monk students are on strike for months and rulers ignore them.  What a shame that after struggling in the university, one has to go to the criminal politician to get a job!

1. We are saddened by the decision of Ven. Maduluvawe Sobhitha on the issue of a common candidate. We have just two questions for him. (1) Why do you think Executive Presidency (not the person) is the top most problem in this country? (2) Who are the people behind you promoting you to contest?Millions of dollars are allocated to destroy Jaathikavaadaya in this country. Is it not a case of a tree in a forest has to be used to destroy another tree in the forest! (Why is that Ms. Sisson is so supportive of your candidacy?).
2. How come Muslim leaders in Sri Lanka want to stop a Buddhist monk visiting Sri Lanka? Who are they?  We ask these Muslim leaders to answer (as a group) our questions regarding some verses found in the Koran.  If they say they are for the Interfaith Conciliation then they must say if they accept or not the following verses. They are about destroying the infidel. These verses are 2: 193; 2: 216; 4:196; 5:33; and 9:5.

          (This writer adds 9:123 to this list because some websites list 164 such bad      verses.

  See more at: http://www.alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/9/123/qur%27anic-verses-do-increase-the-faith-of-the-believers#sthash.1MFgLJeS.dpuf

3. Our plan to change this system of corrupt governance by green, blue and red parties is simple. The 5,000 monks assembled here will collect 1,000 supporters from each of the 5,000 temples and create a 5 million voter base. We add Hindu Tamils to this which will make it 6.5 million. There are 25,287 villages in this island and at least 12,000 temples registered.  Leaving out the Palli and Marakkala Nikayas we can easily have 5,000 temples. We will create a leader for this leaderless nation/country.
4. Is it not so sad and pathetic that when people travel on newly built roads they do not think how good and easy for us to travel now or how grateful we are to our politicians for this meritorious work (work with foreign loans)? Instead what comes to their mind immediately is “I wonder how much money and commission they took out of this road project as bribes!”
5. Bodu Bala Sena will create, “One country, One nation and One law for all.” Our draft plan for the resurrection of our country will be discussed with villagers by these 5,000 monks and other monks who will join with them when they return to their temples tonight 

2:193

Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah. But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.

2:216

Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.

9:5

And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. 

(Please note that this is a translation by this writer. It is not approved by BBS. What is within parentheses are writer’s own opinion and he is responsible for this translation and this document.)

1. Wijeyawickrema, B.A (Hons.), LL.B., M.A., Ph.D.