CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Buddhist Monks and Benz Cars.

ASOKA S.

Much has been said on the media by the references made by Ranil Wicramasinghe about some Buddhist monks needing the latest Mercedes Benz cars for luxury traveling for their day to day affairs.

I was born to Buddhist and Anglican parents but grew up as a "Buddhist" visiting temples, listening to sermons and basically doing what any Buddhist in Lanka would do in general.

As a young adult and later, I have read much literature about the Buddha himself and his teachings as presented by Lankan, Japanese, English and other scholars.

Indeed the teachings by the man named Siddartha Gouthama is scientific, logical and have withstood the test of time for well over 2500 years and even today daily gaining popularity in the rich west, Especially those who are in a quest to explore the true nature of our existence and the forces that govern our behavior. The reason for veneration of the Buddha is an acknowledgment for his greatness and holiness, nothing else as Buddha himself told Ananda that after his demise his Dhamma should be our guide and the leader; not himself.

Also the Buddhist clergy's main relevance to Buddhism is the fact that they help the continuation of the Sasana which indeed is the only reason Buddhism survived over 2500 years against religions that do not project life as basically being full of sorrow caused by eternal craving. All colonial powers since 1505 tried to destroy Buddhism and turn Lanka into Catholicism, but the Buddhist clergy prevented that. So yes all Buddhists in Lanka owe their respects to the clergy for this undisputed fact.

But it is also equally true that the essence of Buddhism is the existence of duka (suffering)) and the path to remove duka by eliminating craving (desire). Despite volumes and volumes of books written on this great religion the true essence in a nutshell is the elimination of desire.

In this light I would like someone to explain the following.

1. Isn't the asking for a super luxury Mercedes Benz car by some of the monks
tantamount to ultimate desire for luxury travel?

2. Isn't becoming members of Lanka parliament tantamount to ultimate
desire for highest power in the country?

3. Isn't carrying placards and taking part is mass protests tantamount to
ultimate desire to put pressure on the government?

4. Isn't making bigger and bigger luxury temples costing millions of
rupees tantamount to ultimate desire for luxury and grandiose living?

5. Finally isn't taking part in the JVP movement by some monks during their
brutal murder spree in late 1980s tantamount to ultimate desire to cause the
serious harm to a living being; a human being to that matter?

6. Given the above, isn't it natural that many Buddhists all over the country are confused about the
role played by some monks and quite rightly resent these behavioral patterns and lose respect to them.

I want to point out however for the record that there are thousands of Buddhist monks who practice Buddhism consistent
with Buddha's teachings and obviously the above questions do not relate to them. I bow my head in great respect to the such.

But in the same token failure of the Sangha to correct their conduct as stated above put the continuation of this very Sangha
at risk for our future generations. I believe it is the utmost responsibility of the leaders of all Buddhist Chapters in Lanka to see to this without devoting their valuable time for political activity.

The respect Buddhists extend to the Buddhist Clergy is directly related to the manner in which they conduct themselves with respect to Buddhist teachings.
Any loss of this to the Buddhist clergy may well reflect the lack of holiness by the Buddhist clergy themselves...

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