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Rev. Gangodawila Soma and Buddhist- Christian relations

by Malinda Seneviratne

Uncensored version of the Island's article on 24 December 2003

Reflections on a the politico-religious significance of a saffron-coloured flag

A fellow journalist asked me, "What are the implications of Rev. Soma's death on Buddhist-Christian relations?" Interesting questions. Implied in the question are many things. First, Rev. Gangodawila Soma's death (or his life, one can argue) says something about Buddhist-Christian relations. Two, his death somehow casts a dark shadow on the existing nature of Buddhist-Christian relations.

The question was interesting also because I was already reflecting on the political undertones of various statements, verbal and written, issued by prominent persons and institutions with respect to Rev. Gangodawila Soma.

Let me begin with the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka. On December 19th, the Catholic bishops came out with a statement about unethical conversions. Out of the blue. I asked myself immediately, even before I read the statement, "why now?" Surely the Catholic bishops knew that "unethical conversions" was a serious issue and that it had not cropped up in the previous 24 hours? Surely, they can't accept us to believe that they themselves don't know the history of their own church with respect to "conversion"? Surely, they could have made some statement when the Report of the Buddha Sasana Commission was made public? No, the statement was timed (or forced) because of the strange circumstances of Rev. Soma's death and the stand that Rev. Soma took on conversion.

I do not buy into conspiracy theories so let me be quite clear that until such time there is concrete evidence that there was foul play involved, I will assume that Rev. Soma died a natural death. Still, the bishops' statement is very important, and not just because of its timing.

The Catholic bishops want us to believe that they are pointing their collective fingers at what they claim are "Fundamentalist Christian Sects". Actually, they are not. They only talk of "alleged" activities of Christian fundamentalists. They say "while condemning unlawful acts, alleged to be perpetrated by Fundamentalist Sects, we condemn with equal force all unlawful acts of violence such as destruction of places of worship and manhandling church workers etc., that are presently reported to be taking place with increasing frequency." When it comes to "Fundamentalist Sects", the acts are only "alleged to be perpetrated" by them. The Catholic bishops are however very supportive of the churches and the church workers belonging to these "Fundamentalist Sects". If they are pooh-poohing the acts of fundamentalists as being mere "allegations" why go to the extent of issuing statements on the issue? One doesn't condemn sects, whether they are fundamentalist or not, just because it is alleged that they are engaged in wrongful practices?

The Catholic bishops take refuge in the "spirit of the Second Vatican Council" and claim that the Catholic Church holds in the highest respect and regard the other faiths. Pope John Paul II recently apologized for the violent acts perpetrated in the name of Jesus Christ by missionaries the world over. Have the Catholic bishops suggested to the Pope to sanction some form of compensation to the victims of the violence, in the case of Sri Lanka, the Buddhists? Why have the Catholic bishops not folded shop and prepared to leave, if their church is so remorseful about what it has done to peoples and cultures?

I find it extremely humorous when spokespersons for a religious institution whose history is nothing but a history of violent, unethical conversion, even attempt, in a cagey kind of way, to say something negative about other over-zealous proselytizers, to say the least.

What has all this got to do with Rev. Soma? It is simply that Rev. Soma was an ardent critique of the hundreds of evangelical organizations creeping into our country through the Companies Act and with the full support of the Board of Investments (BOI). The statement of the Catholic Bishops is thus a simple exercise aimed at mitigating any suspicion that might fall on the entire Christian enterprise, Catholic or otherwise, regarding Rev. Soma's death, or, even if that were not the case, to do something about the possibility that the emotional outpouring of grief transforming into unthinking attacks on the various churches with dubious agendas that have mushroomed all over the island courtesy of the Buddhist ethic of tolerance and compassion.

Let us return to the question asked by my fellow-journalist. How best can one describe the nature of Buddhist-Christian relations in the island? One word: violent. Where there is violence there are always victims. Buddhism and Buddhists have suffered 500 years, almost, of violence at the hands of Christians, except for a brief period of less than 6 years during the heady days of the Pancha Maha Balavegaya and even then it was a deformed creature that arrived to speak for the Sinhala Buddhists. Rev. Soma's death, whichever way it is portrayed/taken, cannot make any difference to the concrete fact of violence that has coloured Buddhist-Christian relations in this island.

R.M.B. Senanayake recently came up with a novel argument to buttress his support of unethical conversion. He reminded everyone that this is the age of globalisation and therefore, basically, "anything goes". Globalisation, he might not understand, is not just an economic phenomenon but one that has a strong cultural and culture-erasing, homogenizing thrust to it. Whether it is understood as an economic process or not, one thing is certain; globalisation is another word for violence. If "anything goes" is the watchword of globalisation, if "violence" is the corporate logo of the process, then neither Senanayake or anyone else, the Catholic bishops included, can cry foul if the unthinkable happens. Fortunately, I believe, not all people think like Senanayake and Buddhists will I am sure, as they have always done, do what they are used to: treat these vicissitudes of life with equanimity, even if this quality is made use of by Christian zealots, the Catholic church included.

I believe there are other, more pertinent, implications of Rev. Soma's death. I admit that I was never a big fan of Rev. Soma, especially after he expressed a certain readiness to contest the presidential election. I admired him for being forthright. I particularly liked the way he stripped Buddhism of the ritualistic practices that Buddhists had decorated it with over many centuries. He brought reason back into the preaching of the Dhamma. I may have not liked the tone he used to attack his detractors because I believe it detracted from the message, but still he said what had to be said.

I knew that Rev. Soma was loved by the millions who have listened to him preach. I still did not expect the profusion of sentiment that has been expressed by ordinary people upon hearing of Rev. Soma's death. There are those who argue that Sinhala people and especially Sinhala Buddhists have no feeling of community or identity. Today all the streets are saffron coloured. There is no street, lane or by-lane from which an orange coloured flag does not flutter. I am sure Rev. Soma would have been appalled by the amount of polythene used to express sorrow on account of him succumbing to the timeless process of jathi, jara and marana. Still, people do what they can, in ways best known to them.

Not a single politician in this country has been the recipient in life or death of the love and gratitude shown to Rev. Soma. Not even the Most Reverent Madihe Pannaseeha's death evoked anything like the sentiment that has spilled over people's hearts and settled down on every corner of the country, every street, every town, every vehicle, every house and every dirt track in every village. These sad decorations were not paid for by the rich and powerful. People, ordinary people, did this. I am convinced that no one could put out an orange flag outside his/her house if such colours and everything they symbolize are not already deeply resident in their hearts and their consciousness. That heart-flag is partly made of what people call sansara purudda, part made of what they've absorbed in this lifetime. A major part of the latter, I am now convinced, was thanks to Rev. Soma.

There is a lesson here. Ven. Soma did not demonstrate to save Buddhism or the Sinhala Buddhist, he did not march to the high seats of power seeking redress for Sinhala Buddhist grievances. He merely did what the Buddha taught: he preached bana. He went to the length and breadth of this country, articulating the word of the Buddha. And the people listened. They changed their lives because of him. No wonder they weep, for tears are the natural unguent that the heart of the pruthagjana secretes to relieve the pain from wounds such as the death of loved ones.

Rev. Soma's impact was such that the political force of his message prompted the Catholic bishops to come out for the first time and, even in their shy-making, convoluted way, speak out against unethical conversion. His message, his image and profile was such that today the ITN (which had stopped telecasting his bana) can't stop playing and replaying tributes to Rev. Soma.

Such was his impact that statements are sought from well-known and respected bikkhus to urge people to show compassion to all faiths and all forces working against their interests and against whose overt and covert violent anti-Buddhist, anti-Sinhala acts Rev. Soma tirelessly campaigned. It is pertinent that it is the likes of Rev. Uduwe Dhammaloka and Rev. Kolonnawe Sumangala whose statements are aired and not those of the prelates of Asgiriya or Malwatte.

There is a lesson in this too. The true religious leaders are not necessarily those holding high positions in the Buddhist Order. The true defenders of Sinhala Buddhists are not those who cover the city with posters or take to the street carrying banners, but those who take to the streets because the Buddha wanted them to go to the people, listen to their stories, find out their problems and work out practical solutions to them.

No church need be burnt and no church worker need be harmed. Do as the Buddha advocated and Buddhism will continue to flourish. Do to Christian zealots what they do to Buddhists and rest assured, you are helping them destroy Buddhism. If any genuine Buddha Puthra wants to safeguard Buddhism in this country, let him do what the Buddha did. Walk among us with your begging bowl and we will gladly fill it as best we can. Teach us what is right and what is wrong and we will listen. Do nothing of this and try persuading us to march or to demonstrate, and we will not.

The people touched by Rev. Gangodawila Soma more than Rev. Soma himself, have reminded me of a saffron coloured flag that exists in my heart. It is thus that Rev. Soma has touched me, more in his absence than his presence. I am wont to reflect deeper on jathi, jara and marana; and meditate on anithya, anathma and dukkha. I take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. I take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. I take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

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