Religion and survival
Posted on September 9th, 2011
Ben Silva
The law of nature is survival of the fittest. The Sinhalese have lost their living space in the North, East, Hill country and now even the Capital Colombo. Many enemies of the Sinhalese may want us to be passive and follow Nalanda Buddhists. Various peace merchants tried that trick of making us passive, to stop the war against the terrorists.
Why has this decline taken place ? Even after independence, the economic power appears to be in the hands of nonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Sinhalese. Unless the reasons for this decline are found and the decline arrested, the future may be bleak. I have given below some steps that can be followed, that has no ties to dead, unproved Indian myths that could make us fit to survive. If we blindly follow unproven Indian myths, our fate may be as good as Nalanda Buddhists.
In nature, all species evolve to survive. Even virus and all living species, including plants evolve, adapt to changes, to survive. Those that do not learn and adapt to changes or do not have the competitive spirit needed for survival. will go extinct The Sinhalese need to be concerned that we have gradually lost our living space. We cannot even sing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Mae Sinhala apage ratai ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”.
Clearly if a group does not learn, then that group is asking for trouble. Indians learnt from the Nalanda debacle and dumped Buddhism. The Sikhs learnt from various wars they had with Muslims, and changed their religion to a militant version, in order to survive. At Nalanda, the Buddhists were so brain washed by religion that they thought the attacks by Muslims were a result of Karmic action and did not fight back or run away. Even a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”MeeharakaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ would run away or fight back, and Nalanda Buddhists were so passive that it did not have a defensive response of a buffalo. . My view is that natural defensive response is blunted by Buddhism and this could be dangerous in an environment where the fittest survive. The diminished effect of the defense response could be made use of by our enemies and many may wish us Nirvana. The Chinese have become a major economic power , just 60 years after dumping religion.
Some may not realize that there are hardly any Buddhists left in India now. The main reason is that after the Nalanda debacle, Buddhism never revived in India , and perhaps the Indians got wiser after their bitter experience. In fact there are hardly any Buddhists left in countries in the silk route.
If the sea did not protect us, we may have turned Muslims, just as the Malaysians did.
Many scientists are of the opinion that religion is a thing of the past. The views of well known thinkers are given below. The famed science fiction writer, Arthur C Clark, who once denigrated religion as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species. He was so anti religion that he did not want any religeous rights at his funeral. Russell: I regard it as a disease born of fear. Einstein: A manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.
Religion is also a threat to rationality and science. Religion can overwhelm our best judgment and cloud our critical faculties ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Daniel Dennett. This has to be taken seriously as our own survival in a highly competitive global economy will depend on us being rational and able to make use of science. For example, as there is not a shred of evidence for Nirvana, Sansare or rebirth. These unproven Indian myths appear to be Harry Potter stuff. People who believe them appear to be living in a dream world. This impervious to reason is, I think, the property that we should most fear in religion.
Dawkins, ref. [3], suggests that religious belief in the “faith-sufferer” typically shows the following elements: It is impelled by some deep, inner conviction that something is true, or right, or virtuous: a conviction that doesn’t seem to owe anything to “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence” or reason, but which, nevertheless, the believer feels as totally compelling and convincing
Nirvana, rebirth, Sansare appear to be ancient beliefs in Hindu, Tao, Jain belief systems etc, that has crept into Buddhism and do not have a shred of evidence supporting them. These unproven beliefs appear to be Harry Potter stuff and appear to be man made as the concept of God of ancient people.
Religion has been a creation and a main part of the ancient world. Indians, Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans and many other groups practiced religion, generally to do with betterment in the life after death. Ancient Indians believed in Nirvana, Karma, Sansare, rebirth etc and we do not have any evidence to support these beliefs.
Religion however has a positive therapeutic effect on people, especially those in distress. Buddhism is extremely valuable due to its contribution to ethics and morality. However certain aspects such as reduction of suffering may be questionable as in the modern world ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”No pain, no gain ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…” and one has to be prepared to undergo suffering and to do lot of hard work in order to be successful. The negative effect of religion is that it can influence the mind of a person and can act like a mind virus, preventing that person from thinking clearly.
Survival techniques
For survival in a highly competitive world, the following may be useful.
1. Adapt and change to meet new situations and threats.
2. Continuously improve.
3. Learn from those who re successful and learn from those who failed, so that mistakes could be avoided.
4. Carry out SWOT analysis and risk analysis.
5. Be prepared to overcome difficulties and undergo suffering.(Do not expect to have an easy ride, if you want to win )
6. Be imaginative, innovative and have self belief.
7. Be aware of the external environment and be aware of threats.
To be successful, one has to be prepared to put in lot off work, undergo suffering and pain. Buddhism does not encourage this, as the main thrust of Buddhism is to reduce suffering. In the real world, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…” no pain no gainƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.
Adapt and change is important for survival. If we want to survive, we need to think modern and move away from a 2500 year old mind set. We need to learn from the Chinese, and reduce the suffering of people throgh hard work
Difficulties with rebirth, Nirvana and Sansare
Rebirth, Sansare and perhaps Nirvana are ‘is’ things that deal with the physical world. One has to prove the existence of the ‘is ‘ things by verifiable evidence, if possible supported by theories. Not only there is no evidence for rebirth, the mechanics of rebirth, such as transporting info from one to another gets difficult to explain. The ‘is ‘ things has to follow laws of nature and laws of physics, that includes laws related to gravitation, Thermodynamics, electromagnetics and quantum mechanics. Lord Buddhas ethics are ‘ought’ and moral things that I accept. Lord Lord Buddha has himself said not to accept things just because some one said so or in a text (Kalama suttra). I am following BuddhaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s scientific reasoning, in questioning unproven myths.
Rather sadly, people are blindly following an Indian religion that even Indians do not follow any more. My fear is religion may keep us underdeveloped, just as in Tibet , and poor and may make us easy targets for imperialists, that include Indians.
References
1. “http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Dawkins/viruses-of-the-mind.html”
2. The mind virus called religion
“http://home.comcast.net/~vinum/MindVirus.html”
3. “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viruses_of_the_Mind”
September 9th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Ben,
“If the sea did not protect us, we may have turned Muslims, just as the Malaysians did.”
I have to disagree. How about the Maldives? Its further away than Sri Lanka but this ancient Buddhist nation turned to a 100% Islamic nation.
The reason why we didn’t turn into a Pakistan, Malaysia, Maldives or Philippines is because of strong Buddhist practices established here plus our military power. If today we move away from Buddhist practices, that creates a vacuum which will be filled by all kinds of alien religions. This is inevitable if we neglect what we have.
Also look from a geopolitical point of view. If Sri Lanka turns to a Hindu majority nation, what will China, Pakistan do? They will see us as an extension of Hindustan and destroy us before Indian interests come into play. It will be worse than Nepal. What if Sri Lanka became a Muslim majority country? Will India, USA, China, Russia, etc. tolerate it? They will destroy it by creating bloodbath after bloodbath. They are all together for this type of things. Religion plays a very big role in unifying countries for an agenda even today.
e.g. Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Palestine, etc.
So it is in best interests of us all for this country to remain a Buddhist nation. We still have challenges but nothing compared to the above.
I will explain this further later.
Agree with your survival techniques. But we should not just survive. We have to go beyond that. We have to prosper.
I still don’t see why one has to go down for the other to come up.
Our ancestors went through tremendous suffering to build an excellent irrigation system, etc. They were never withheld by Buddhism.
India and China (or even Japan) are wrong examples. In all these countries, they practice ancient religions! At times better than in Sri Lanka. That hasn’t stopped them from developing. Once Malaysia’s richest man was an ardent Buddhist from Jaffna. That didn’t stop him. I think it helped him prosper.
However, I share your ultimate goal as regards the Sinhalese which is a noble one.
We were/are not Nalanda Buddhists. We know how to meet violence with appropriate violence but not get carried away in overdoing it. That is our 2,500+ year old heritage which must be preserved. Buddhism is delicately tied to our history even before Vijaya came. Some non-Sri Lankans and most anti-Sri Lankans find it difficult to understand this delicate relationship.
September 9th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Ben Silva,
You are the survival Guru of the fools. I will give you more Dhammapada.
The fool who knows he is a fool
Is that much wiser.
The fool who thinks he is wise
Is a fool indeed.
Does the spoon taste the soup?
A fool may live all his life
In the company of a master
And still miss the way.
The tongue tastes the soup.
And this one is particularly for you Mr. Ben Silva,
Whatever a fool learns,
It only makes him duller.
Knowledge cleaves his head.
For then he wants recognition.
A place before other people,
A place over other people.
“Let them know my work,
Let everyone look to me for direction.”
Such are his desires,
Such is his swelling pride.
September 9th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Oh Ben! Back to your old tricks!
Buddhists in Sri Lanka were protected not by the sea, but by ourselves. You seem to deliberately ignore King Dutugemunu and all great kings who drove off invaders. You seem to ignore Kudapola Rahula Thero who stocked weapons in his own temple to fight the British. The colonials one mainly because of firearms not because of passiveness. In fact the Portuguese conquered most of Africa without a fight but met their major debacles in Sri Lanka e.g. Mulleriya Satana. Why do you seem to ignore all of that as well?
Its true there are many “unbuddhist” aspects of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Buddhists rely heavily on animist mumbo jumbo like Huniang, Bali Thowil and Shanthikarma and also Astrology. But so do the Japanese and Chinese. There are many countries which are developed but also religious e.g. Italy.
I have highlighted points like this before in comments to your articles but you seem to deliberately ignore them. This tells volumes about your motive. In short people with subtle hidden agendas soon become obvious.
September 9th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Dilrook and mjaya,
This “Ben Silva” is an agent appointed by UK to attack the heart of Buddhism. Ther is no point agruing against him.
September 9th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Dear Ben,
I appreciate your efforts to safeguard the sovereignty of Sri Lanka in the recent past, but please be good enough to refrain from criticizing other religions. Everyone has belief and faith in their religions, and rightfully so. There’s no point bringing this kind of arguments while we all are trying to protect Sri Lanka from the ltte-rump.
September 9th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
All in all Ben Silvas’s arguments are valid and correct. But if we go by a Darwinian ‘Survival of the fittest’ theory they we have to suspend an ethical concept and take on a mechanistic view of life.
Then Muslim view of life will win as Muslim has massacred the Buddhists and taken over the Silk Road nations as they have been the fittest. But can a 100% Islamized Country survive and prosper. I doubt it very much. As Afghanistan and Pakistan shown it’s mired in poverty, ignorance and intolerance, the very reason for the Arab spring. If Saudi Arabia did not have oil you can imagine what a hell hole it will be.
Reasoning it bit further we know Buddha has given a rational explanation of life not fatalistic (As God loves us and we Love God thing) or mechanistic (Darwin’s Survival of the fittest theory), but based on the four truths. Indeed if there is nothing more but what you have here and now, then basing on his suffering findings, he should have asked us to commit suicide as their nothing more further and end it all? In which case we have to revert back to Darwin’s theory for which I would be happier than subscribing to the thoughts of Buddha. For it speak of a horrendous path each of us has tread. In which case we should not be angry with a racist like Hitler or a Catholic Prabakaren. Indeed if they have won, they are the fittest.
I would suggest to Ben to avoid subscribing to a fatalistic or a mechanistic view of life. Remember all creatures are living motivated by a pleasure and pain principal. If their were no sensory needs, there is no meaning to life! That’s the reason we need to promote Buddhist ethics so all creature has a good life here and now. And forget hereafter.
Mahinda Weerasinghe
For more information on the sensory becoming principal Read ‘The Origin of Species According to The Buddha’
September 10th, 2011 at 12:58 am
Response to Dilrook
If Buddhism protected us, Why did Buddhism not protect other Buddhists in foreign countries ? History indicates that Nalanda Buddhists were well educated, had the biggest library in the world, which took days to burn and also had well established Buddhist practices. Buddhism did not save them. A writer in the forum pointed out , and I agree with him, that we were saved due to our native wisdom that existed before Buddhism was introduced. It appears that our pre Buddhist native wisdom has integrated with Buddhism and has saved us. As for Maldives, it is too small to defend it self, and it would have easily yielded to any aggressor. What has usually happened in most cases and perhaps in Lanka as well, people follow the religion of the king.
I have never suggested that people become Christians, Hindus or Muslims. I am of the view that religion is a thing of the past, ancient world and people should learn good ethics and learn about morality, independent of religion, as Einstein said. Most important that we learn to be competitive. Otherwise Lanka would be owned by foreigners and we would be slaves working for them. The question is is Buddhism helping us or obstructing us to be competitive ?
If Buddhism is to be promoted, I would promote the Japanese version where they do not appear to have issues with pain, desires and militarism. I would promote Buddhism that meet force with a superior force. I would promote a Buddhist version that promote economic development, meet force with superior force, encourage harvesting inland fisheries and ocean fishing. However, fundamentalists will oppose it and these fundamentalists are even a bigger threat than LTTE.
Please also confirm that there is no significant Buddhism in India. I know many Chinese Buddhists. They do not take religion seriously as number of years of communism has marginalized religion.
It is very important to recognise that Indians, in general, excluding a tiny minority, no longer believe in Buddhism. Why do we need to believe in a religion that has been rejected by the source country of Buddhism, India ? Dilrook, answer this question please. My answer is that Indians rejected Buddhism as they realised, Buddhism will not work in the real, highly competitive world.
September 10th, 2011 at 1:34 am
Fool,
Indians have not rejected Buddhism. Buddhism has grown rapidly not only in India but also in the west.
You can keep your Athiesm and try to be compettive and fight to death to earn materials and money and die like a fool.
Fool,
Your materialism only have brought depression to you and when you went to see the physicologist he could only guide you using Buddhism.
We will earn less, be less competitive and die like Buddhist.
September 10th, 2011 at 3:33 am
Dear Ben Siva!
Quite an impressive article. Many would agree with you, about your analysis of Buddhism. Its true, outside forces be they Muslims, Hindus, and other religions & beleivers have their own agendas.
Even Lord Buddha said Buddhism is an evolving religion & surving over 2600 years is a good testament to that. Its a FREE relgion without undue regimented rules & regulations. People can practice their religion, even without visiting temples & monstaries.
Regarding NALANDA its quite an analogy.. because I am an alumni of Naland college, Colombo which is one leading Buddhist Colleges in Sri lanka, next to Ananda College.
Our continuous pre-occupation should be to educate others of free & fairness of Buddhism, and take precautions so that other religions and their activists, will never get a chance to harm our religion like Portugese invadors did in 1700s, before Dutch & British came to our land.
Imposition of Chritianity & Catholism still haunts our coastal areas & its people. Sinhalese are devided because of the religious beleifs.
Hope contributions of articles like yours will educate us to be more vigilant and protect our religion.. which is Buddhism.
Thnaks again for your insight & contribution……Gamunu Alahakkone, P.Eng Canada, C.Eng UK, Retired Engineer-Canada
September 10th, 2011 at 3:34 am
Dear Ben,
Why do we need to believe in a religion that has been rejected by the source country of Buddhism, India ?
You have provided the answer why Indians rejected Buddhism.
“What has usually happened in most cases and perhaps in Lanka as well, people follow the religion of the king.”
The same thing happened to Christianity. Jews rejected Christianity!
Unlike Hinduism which is widely practised in India, Buddhism practice requires more literacy skills. Is it not? Even today India’s literacy rate is around 74% against Sri Lanka’s 90%+. In 1947 it was just 12% in India compared to 40%+ in Ceylon (excluding Indians in Lanka). 1,500 years ago this disparity would have been much worse. That would have accelerated the spread of Hinduism once again. Lord Buddha didn’t preach his “religion” as a mass movement. It was mainly reserved for the well educated.
I agree that fundamentalists are a problem. They are few and cannot dictate how most Sri Lankans practice Buddhism.
“I have never suggested that people become Christians, Hindus or Muslims.”
You didn’t. But if we lose our religious base, that is what will happen. If Lanka becomes a Hindu majority nation, the other geopolitical camp will destroy it. If it becomes a Muslim majority nation, all the superpowers will destroy it. So whether we like it or not the least dangerous path is to remain a Buddhist nation thereby maintain our perceived non-aligned status. Interestingly religion still plays a very important role in the world as you can see from world news.
If Ananda Krishnan, a devoted Buddhist originally from Jaffna can become the richest man in Malaysia, I see no reason why we should change anything to prosper. Upali Wijewardena is another example of a Sinhalese who did very well in business. We need this brand of people.
But there is another aspect to it. Sustainable development. Countries that excel in this will prosper in the new milinium, not the greediest. Internal greed driven 16-20 centuries are over.
The only instance I agree with you on rejecting what religions teach is when we have to use certain forms of violence to defend the nation. But that too temporary and will be executed by a very small percentage of the population saving the masses to practice their religion.
September 10th, 2011 at 6:36 am
Indeed as Dilrook has pointed out taking Buddhism away from the Sinhalese people will be like taking the bark off a tree. It will create a vacuum into which other religions will creep in. Buddhism is a pragmatic religion. Buddhism preaches nothing about a creator, teaches to question, teaches to base one’s actions by taking oneself as an example, it teaches that you need both material and spiritual wealth to be a complete person. The Buddha didn’t preach anything against gaining wealth provided that you earn your wealth through just means. The Buddha also said that one of the duties of a king is to keep an army and protect his subjects at times of need. Also a soldier cannot be ordained without permission from his commander (the king).
According to Buddhism, the six ways of loosing wealth are 1) intoxicants/narcotics 2) gambling 3) traveling at inappropriate times 4) laziness 5) bad companionship 6) excessive enjoyment (from the Sigalovada Sutta). I doubt following this advice would land anyone in trouble! You can question it in anyway you want….
Another thing that should be stressed is that civilization is about helping the weak. Survival of the fittest is the law of the jungle. If we were to follow that today…. then we would have to forget about caring for senior citizens, the disabled, the sick and just let them die… Is this your vision Ben(edict)?
Indeed it would be better trying to ponder why so many Sinhalese Buddhists wielded guns and fought against the LTTE. Had your arguments been true, the Sri Lankan armed forces should be comprised entirely of non Buddhists!!
September 10th, 2011 at 7:32 am
In my view, Indians ‘moved away’ (as opposed to the word ‘rejected’ which is misnomer) from Buddhism as they had to contend with Muslim and other invasions into India. Hindu India mustered up its Hindu culture to protect India against the invading Muslims. Granted Buddhism is far more philosophical and passive in content than Hinduism which professes a ‘god’ for every activity in human behavior. However, the Indian flag carries the Buddhist Dharma Chakra symbol and the motto of India is “Truth wins” which is Buddhist in origin, which proves the high place accorded to Buddhism in India. It announces what India aspires to be some day, is it not ?
Another reason, in my view, why Hinduism prevailed in India was the Hindu Caste System which served the Indians who had Caste very well, as opposed to the Dalits or Untouchables who had no Caste and no Religion. To have a society where each family has a preordained destiny regarding the work that had to be done in society is a very convenient method of governance. In fact, it is self governing ! A person who cleans toilets and carries away the fecal buckets will do so all his life, working for mere pennies or sometimes paid only with left over food. Such will be the work for his grandchildren and great grandchildren. This has gone on in India for some 3,000 yrs. It is a settled society, with little change for the better for low caste and casteless people. With about 165 Million Dalits (Untouchables), among one Billion rest of India, the one Billion prevail. (It was so in the Nalanda days too, with lesser numbers. Caste is the slave system of India). Buddhism eschews Caste. Many Dalits turned to Buddhism to escape caste bound Hinduism. With modern toilet systems and other modern conveniences coming into India, more and more people will turn again to Buddhism. In fact, Buddhism is known as ‘purified Hinduism’. Both religions have a lot in common, especially through the four Hindu Yogas. So, in India, when it came to war and the Hindu caste system, Buddhism was set aside. In addition, as Dilrook points out, education plays a vital role in Buddhism.
In Sri Lanka, various other aspects such as superstitions, and traditional practices such as ‘thovil’ impinge negatively on the pure Buddhism. For security, Buddhists must work together with everyone else in Sri Lanka who desire peace & prosperity for all.
In the end, all religions have similar Core Teachings. Christmas brings a message of goodwill & peace to all mankind, and Islam means ‘peace’. But, the the money systems & resources in the world, wars & globalisation seem to have got tied up together. Somewhere along the way, did these messages from the Masters get lost due to meditation (Inner Peace) not being practiced ?
September 10th, 2011 at 8:23 am
Ben Silva has a very important point.
Right now, the new cold is between ISlam and christianity. Asia is the major playing ground. Sri Lanaka ns Sinhla civilization are particularly vulnerable because Buddhism is against to for all those who believe in a god.
Anyone who says that there is no threat and the threat did not exist for several centureis can not be honest. We need tofindout the motive in order to understand it.
Whether pure or not, different versions of Buddhism will exist amidst all the threats but the Sinhala civilization will not exist.
September 10th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Ben,
Your article with summarised comments from one of the previous articles in this Forum is appreciable. It clearly appears agnostic views.
I do not think your Buddhistphobia will work. In realistic, it is contrary to Islamphobia.
Buddhistphobia tends the Buddhists to leave Buddhism.
Islamphobia, institutionalised by the anti-Islamic elements in West, tends nothing among Muslims.
Rather, it created a lot more positive approach to Islam by the westerners than before.
You could use Buddhistphobia techniques to outnumber Buddhists population in Sri Lanka, which is your agenda I think.
Your survival techniques too will help to survive only to Sinhalese, not Buddhism. This is reality.
Ben, When you criticise Buddhism, you will have to pinpoint the critiques and faults of it. Then only, we could be able to discuss in depth. Could you please elaborate in detail?
September 10th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Anud: Your statement “Buddhism is against to for all those who believe in a god” is not true. Buddhists do not believe in a god as in a person up there in the heavens who dictates terms and creates & destroys & passes judgement. However, what Buddhists call “Truth” is akin to a “God” that is an unseen energy or power in another dimension. Buddhists say “Truth is within you” as in Christians saying that the “Kingdom of Heaven is within you” (Heaven is where God resides). There is no difference here. The difference is in the earlier interpretations of the ‘God’. Science has roved the skies above and there is no person up there or a heaven with gates up there proving that the earlier concepts are wrong. However, God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent and that is in keeping with the definition of Truth in Buddhism.
Buddha referring to Nirvana (Heaven) said: “O bhikkus, there is the Unborn, the Ungrown, and Unconditioned. Were there not the Unborn the, Ungrown and the Unconditioned, there would be no escape for the born, grown and conditioned.——————– etc”. He goes on to say “Here the four elements of solidity, fluidity, heat and motion have no place; the notions of length and breadth, the subtle and the gross, the good and evil, name and form are altogether destroyed; neither this world or the other, nor coming or going or standing, neither death nor birth nor sense objects are to be found.” See page 37 (hard copy edition) of “What the Buddha Taught” by Dr.Walpola Rahula. Unfortunately the priests have interpreted Buddhism to say there is no God and that has caused a lot of confusion.
September 10th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
The fact is for more than 10,000 years there have been Masters on earth who came to show the way to human beings. Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc to name a few. They experienced something not of this world which made them realize our true purpose in life which is to realize our true nature and fulfill the Heart. Unless this Heart has been fulfilled at the end when we die there is no sense of having fulfilled our life. Whether you are a Billionaire or a beggar on the street when you die it is the same. The molecules that constitute the body are recycled and may become okra or an animal or a human being. The other part which kept us alive and kept the clay doll alive goes somewhere else. If we can become one with that other thing before we die then we have achieved the purpose of our life.
Buddhists have a realization of this immense ‘Truth’ to some extent. However I agree it should not be a license to be lazy. We have to live in the moment while we are alive and make the most of the short time we have to do the best we can for ourselves and those around us, materially and spritiually. Regarding belief it does not matter what you believe unless you know the truth it is all in vain. Human beings try to rationalize their actions by believing in all kinds of rubbish. In all the religions the core is pretty much the same but what the priests in different religions have made out of the teachings is what is causing the trouble in the world today.
September 10th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Buddhism has produced people such as Dham who says ‘We will earn less, be less competitive and die like Buddhist.’ Now it shows why we have been driven out from our living space. People like Dham may explain how we have earned the ‘Modaya ‘lable. What will the futre hold with many ‘Dham’s and his supporters.
September 11th, 2011 at 2:17 am
Various opinions have been expressed which is good. My opinion is that our native wisdom saved us and it is our native wisdom that keep our fighting spirit rather than Buddhism. In fact Buddhism played a negative role for the Nalanada Buddhists, that caused their death. In the economic field, Well respected academic Joseph Needham found a link between, religions in China that included Buddhism and the decline of the Chinese, before Communists came to power and removed the religion virus from the minds of the Chinese. The Chinese experience may have implications for us. Reply to Vis8, I have never accused minorities for our downfall. They know how to compete and we do not. So we have to learn to compete in a fair and legal manner rather than trying to give up desires or escape pain. No pain No gain. Also the truth is both Muslims, Tamils and Christians have killed us. If we do not defend ourselves, of course the fate would be as Nalanda Buddhists.
Those that promote religion need to be aware of mind virus effect and also effect on the economy. Although there may be a few Sinhala Business persons, a large number appear to be low paid domestic workers.
September 11th, 2011 at 3:18 am
Good discussion. Thank you Ben, Dilruk and others. This is a discussion bound to happen. I will be more frequent in future, We have to face it.
Those who cannot engage in a positive discussion should not write here. There are no fools here just because their views are different. A true Buddhist would not call another a fool just because he has different views. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t fools.
September 11th, 2011 at 4:50 am
Geoff,
There are fools in this world. Ben Silva is a perfect example as it has been proved in this discussion.
The fool who knows he is a fool
Is that much wiser.
The fool who thinks he is wise
Is a fool indeed.
Knowledge cleaves his head.
For then he wants recognition.
A place before other people,
A place over other people.
“Let them know my work,
Let everyone look to me for direction.”
Such are his desires,
Such is his swelling pride.
September 11th, 2011 at 4:54 am
The fool does not know he is eraning less than thousnads of good practicing Buddhists. What a fool this man is ?
September 11th, 2011 at 5:05 am
Geoff,
It is very simple. Which fool on this earth asked 18 million people of a country practicing a 2500 years old very very smart religion to give it up in order to survive ?
Answer is “Only one fool”.
Only he has earned the lable ‘modaya” and he has some inferiority complex to remember and mention it in this forum.
September 11th, 2011 at 7:02 am
It is the lack of proper Modern Education that makes people lack ‘smartness’. A Science education which is pivotal to the Modern Education system was done in English, leaving behind the Sinhala masses. Those who learnt English & Science got the better jobs and moved ahead. An Arts education was in Sinhala and the mass production of the Art faculty graduate left huge masses of Sinhala/Buddhist youth frustrated & jobless. If there is proper modern education for the masses with awareness about what is going on in a rapacious world, then with Buddhism added on, Wisdom on how to handle the security & economic problems will arise. Even now, it is mostly the Catholic/Christian schools that handle the Modern Education in Sri Lanka – is this not a fact ?
Also, definitely the Sinhala people being most of the live in ‘domestic aides’ also creates a negative image of the Sinhala/Buddhist villager in the social stratification of Lanka. We have not yet put in place homes that can function without ‘domestic aides’. Modern conveniences a must ! I would suggest ‘live out’ help rather than ‘live in’. This requires a paradigm shift in the thinking of those with enough money to pay for the ‘live in domestic help’. It is up to those with the money & some awareness to device ways to get domestic help without compromising on human dignity. Remember, we went from a Sinhala/Buddhist civilisation to 500 yrs of Colonisation and resultant over westernisation. India has had to face similar change.
Can we make the necessary changes gracefully, without damaging the beautiful truth that is Buddhism, whilst allowing the truth in other religions to exist too ?
September 11th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Geoff,
I think you are not a true Buddhist.
Once you called me as fool, when I refuted the evolution. Do you remember?
Is this a way you respect the people who have different views and opinions?
September 11th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Dilrook,
If Sri Lanka turns to a Muslim country, West will target us under the pretext of Al-Qaida hunt.
If Sri Lanka turns to a Hindu country, India will make Hindu expansion and proclaim that the Sri Lankans are Dalits/Untouchables.
Then, we have to ask reservation in education, employment, etc.
They will re-write the Sinhala history in different way.
If Sri Lanka remains as a Buddhist nation, India won’t sleep until Sri Lanka’s separation at whatever cost.
If Sri Lanka becomes Christian country, then crusaders will lift all the war crime charges and silence the mouths of crusaders’ brutal institutions such as AI, HRW, ICJ, etc.
Their media tune masters such as BBC, CNN, FOX, etc. will laud us.
Latter is the only way for the survival of the fittest of our motherland.
This is the law of nature according to Ben Silva.
Malcolm Ranjith and Immanuel will be pleased to throne as Sri Lanka’s Holy Popes.
September 11th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Dham,
That too is wrong. I wish he didn’t say so. You quoted the source which is valid.
Anyway lets put this behind and move on.
September 12th, 2011 at 2:49 am
Dilrook has given us very useful information in his previous article. To quote him ‘The total percentage of minority businessmen in the country far exceeds their population percentage of 26%. Wealthiest persons and families also show a highly disproportionate slant towards minority communities ‘. I am not a racist and I am not blaming minorities. I am simply stating facts. In fact, if minorities were disadvantaged, I would campaign for their rights.
Usually, health, education, status and all the important things in life are related to the economic power. Further, those at the bottom are usually trapped and unable to escape poverty. Many Sinhalese are in this category and those living in NCP do not have even proper food or drinking water. So economic power is very important for survival. If Sinhalese do not want to compete, due to their beliefs, then they are asking for trouble.
Clearly, the Sinhalese, who had the whole of Lanka as the living space, now have lost a good chunk of Lanka, with a large number of women going abroad to earn a living as domestics, give the indication that we are in decline. Some of course have a right to bury their head in the sand and refuse to see the problem. The Sinhalese were so weak, Ponnambalam had the guts to ask fo 50-50 representation and Prabakaran to ask for a separate state.
Before SWRD, the situation was even far more pathetic. SWRD, our liberator, got the thanks for his service, by being killed in cold blood by a Sinhala Buddhist monk.
Dilrook has also very clearly explained law of nature. Dawin, Dilrook or myself did not create law of nature ‘survival of the fittest’. Darwin merely observed it. I do not promote law of nature, but merely state, if you are not fit enough to survive in a competitive environment, then you will not survive – This is unfortunately a chilling fact and is connected to our losing out our living space as well as losing out in the economic field.
China, during ancient times were far ahead of Europe in terms of science and technology. They discovered compass, Gun powder, printing, used currency and so on. Then they fell behind Europe. An academic from Oxford Uni., JJoseph Needham, wanted to find the cause. He did extensive research on China, and found a link between China’s decline and China’s religions that included Buddhism. It is not surprising that there is a link between decline and religion, as religion, including Buddhism is a mind virus that cloud thinking. Supporting evidence for Needham’s theory is provided, very kindly by Dham, himself when he said ‘‘We will earn less, be less competitive and die like Buddhist.’ . Surely this is good proof as what Buddhism can do to a persons mind. If many Buudhists hold this view, then it is not at all surprising that a country will decline and it also supports my view that religion cold be a cause of our decline. Dhams ramble in rage, hurling abuse clearly show the text book conduct of a person affected by the religion mind virus, showing lack of cognitive skills. Please see the given references on mind viruses.
We can see that both China and India, after dumping religion have made tremondous progress. Countries like Tibet and Butan, still hanging on to religion, are very backward nations, ripe to be invaded by foreigners.
Do writers that want promote Buddhism want to create more Dhams that want to earn less, be less competitive and die Buddhists and die as Nalanda Buddhists ?
As for Sri Lanka, recognising that a problem exist is a step in the right direction. Only Lankaweb has published articles related to the problem. More people need to recognise the problem and more opinions need to be expressed. Hope Geoff, and many others who contributed before, express their opinion in a constructive manner. The root cause of the problem need to be found and a solution obtained. However, if we are to analyse a situation correctly, bias need to be removed. In our case bias, or pre concepts introduced by religion need to be removed, if we want to get an unbiased solution. As for myself, I do not blame minorities for the lack of competitiveness of the Sinhalese.
Ethics and morality are important. Buddhism has good points on ethics and morality.
September 12th, 2011 at 6:36 am
Lanka achieved past glory due to sincere and proper practice of Buddhism, an advanced system of Education for that time fuelled by the Buddha Dharma, advanced irrigation & agro practices. At that time, Buddhism was in full glory, and Buddhism was spread to SE Asia mostly through the efforts of Buddhist monks of Lanka. That is the identity & vision most Buddhists cherish for Sri Lanka, may be modified, but in that general direction. New visions of what we should be has been imposed on Buddhist Lanka through Colonists of near 500 yrs. Some ideas brought in by western Colonists such as modern day Science & Technology, modern plumbing systems, learning of other languages, are progressive and positive for survival, and as such Buddhist Lanka should readily absorb those ideas that are useful to us.
Buddhist practices could be streamlined to suit modern day living. For instance, stay as far as possible with the 5 Precepts with practice of daily Meditation (Breath & Awareness). Positive prayers done after Meditation are effective. Ritual & chanting should be minimal. None of us are perfect, but we can all keep striving for human decency & happiness with self discipline.
All Development in Lanka should be linked, at least as far as possible, to the Noble Eightfold Path, and then we can avoid some of the pitfalls of that the western model of development has got the whole world into e.g. global warming & a messed up fiscal system. Also, the NCP Arsenic poisoning is a case in point where western technology (pesticides & artificial fertilizer), has been misused resulting in widespread disease.
As Ben says, we have to prepare for our survival. Let’s do it our way, with the least damage to people and the environment.
Let’s put proper Laws in place for Development. We should also re-start the Ministry of Plan Implementation to co-ordinate Development. Also, Family Planning a must. It is in the population control area where Buddhist SE Asia failed, resulting in huge populations in mass poverty, embracing Communism for political ideology and clashing with the west.
September 12th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Well said Fran. You have done an inspired piece of writing. In USA today 1% of the population own more than 83% of the wealth. They control the media, the politicians and the judiciary. The ordinary people are becoming a set of slaves. The average worker in USA has only 12 days of paid vacation while the average worker in Europe has between 37-49 days of paid vacation with free health care. In USA there is no free health care. I have seen with my own eyes people eating off the garbage bins. There are thousands of homeless people under bridges, in parks, and in door ways. This is what unbridled capitalism has done to USA. Decide if that is what we want for Sri Lanka. Most of the major cities in USA are very polluted where the air is unbreathable, the water is undrinkable, and the food is gene modified junk food. USA has created a model which unfortunately many countries in the world are slavishly following. The Buddha laid down a set of rules for the Kings to rule the country which are given as 10 duties of a ruler: Liberality, Sila (morality), give up everything for the people, Honesty, Kindness, Austerity of habits, freedom from hatred and ill will, Non violence, Patience, Non-opposition to any measures conducive to the well being of the people. If these rules are followed then there will be peace followed by prosperity. May all be well and happy.
September 12th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
War will come in the US and to Europe. 9/11 attack is promoted to achieve many goals. Prime goal to promote hate against all immigrants. The riot in UK and Norwegian attack also part of it. FBI and all other police forces are too slow see the future and act before too late.
September 13th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Both Fran and Cerberus have given good points. Buddhist ethics could be incorporated in a business policy.
In the real world, every one may not follow Buddhist ethics (eg Prabakaran , Hitler ) and followers of Buddhist ethics may lose out. The real life evidence is only the fitteest survive.
However I do not think it is a good idea to get religion, business, economics, military mixed up as religion could cloud judgement. Religion could produce people such as Dham who would say ‘We will earn less, be less competitive and die like Buddhist.’ Dham has proved my point that economics, business and religion need to be kept separate I agree that uncontrolled Capitalism is dangerous and not fair to all Democratic governments could take measures to reduce wealth gap and any unfairness in society. Amongst the Sinhalese, specially in rural areas, there are many who are voiceless and powerless. They are trapped in poverty and unable to escape. Empowerment in terms of giving them economic power is a way to help them. India has good ways of empowering the poor. I have suggested encouraging fisheries and keeping animals for eggs and milk etc. Some Buddhists were against.
It is important to recognise that we have declined. Now it is the time to find the root cause and fix the problem. It was Needham who found the link between the decline of China and religion. Within 60 years of dumping religion, both China and India have made tremendous progress. We could learn lessons from them. We need learn to be competitive and not hang on to a religion. The first two steps in my survival tips are important, as we have to learn and evolve. If we stay still, with a 2500 year mind set we are not learning and evolving.
I do not think the Chinese or the Indians are less patriotic after dumping Buddhism.
September 13th, 2011 at 5:48 am
We think there should be a balanced approach to everything we do as Lankans in the socio-economic spheres. Going overboard on any of the ‘isms’ (Capitalism, Socialism, Communism) will not work. A workable solution for Lankans must be thought out, using common sense and practicality in every thing we do, what suits our climate, culture and geo-politics. After all, we have labelled ourselves as a “Socialist Republic”. Continuity with our ancestors past through Buddhism is also a necessity to maintain a sense of security, mental balance & a sense of self esteem, and a wholesome unity in Lanka. We cannot throw away Buddhist values & practices as if they did not matter to us, past, present & future. However, I would like to see superstitions and the ‘bali/thovil’ relegated to traditions of the past and looked at with respect but not practiced. Somehow, Buddhism has been entwined with all this unsuitable stuff. We have to separate the two and remove the unwelcome elements from the pure teachings.
I agree with Ben that it is the large sector of poorer Sinhala people who need to be uplifted, both socially & economically. However, while animal husbandry is a good thing, the necessary protein intake for an adult (1 gram for each kilogram of body weight), can be easily supplied through bean/soy products too. Bean products such as Soy, chickpeas, green gram, combine with the starches such as in rice to form complete proteins in the body. Very tasty and heart healthy Soy products are made in the west in the form of flavored burghers which is so similar to meat & chicken (even bacon), that the difference is hard to tell. Besides, the body of a human being has evolved to suit the vegetarian diet as we now have teeth suited for a veggie diet (constructed for chewing food, not sharp & pointed as in meat eaters like dogs & the cat family); also a long intestinal canal as in cows, goats & sheep, not short as in carnivores. If further proof is needed, we must ask ourselves do we suck/draw liquids into our mouth as do herbivores (elephants, cows, etc.), or do we lap water into our mouths as in carnivores such as dogs & the cat family ?
Growing organic soya beans & other beans should be a priority for the poor Sinhala farmer, along with some chickens & some cattle to form the complete small farm, preferably using organic methods all the way. Co-operative organic farming may work very well in the Lankan village. Legumes such as soya & other beans have in their roots nitrogen producing bacterial pockets, and are therefore easier to grow in poorer soils.
Re the Dasaraja Dharma that Ceberus mentions, this set of rules should be observed by all the political figures, at least in part, if such a thing is possible. Fairly strong ethics/morality from their leaders is part of the Chinese success story. In India religion is the binding factor even with diverse languages, Hinduism being practiced widely, even in errant Tamil Nadu. Buddhist ethics/morality ought to help us regain a lost country, both socially & economically.
Our thanks to Ben for this lively debate.
September 13th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Franz-Diaz,
Non- veg food is essential for humans.
Herbivorous animals only have flat teeth while carnivorous animals only have canines (sharp teeth). In addition to that a Herbivorous can only digest vegetarian foods and carnivorous can only digest meat – whereas humans have both flat and sharp teeth who can digest both meat and vegetarian foods.
So, humans are omnivorous.
Nowadays, even Buddhists do not enjoy especially with beans related food, rather they prefer non-vegetarian food.
If we have given beans, peas, soya, etc. to our soldiers, we would have seen 100% deserters all over the island. We would have failed in defeating the tamil terrorism.
September 13th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Lord Buddha may have told it is not good to eat meat because you have to kill animal or life. I believe it was his personal choice or it was made up by people after him. Otherwise, if he have told it, then, his telling universally does not fit; Most or half of the year, people of northern half of north America, Europe, Russia could not grow vegetables because snow. All Arab desert could not grow vegetables.
Both meat and vegetable required to have healthy balance diet and but meat required to obtain fast protein and vitamins and mineral which cannot be obtained daily requirement just from vegetable. Of course, you can but you have to change your life style and move to the bush and live like a monkey or cow eating almost 20 hours day to obtain required daily nutrition. that’s how cows and monkeys are vegetarian.
September 13th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
I have not said that human beings should stay solely with a vegan diet. I have merely pointed out that a mostly vegetarian diet is more suitable to our physiology as our teeth & guts indicate. People who are athletes, pregnant women, or physical workers need more protein. However, excess protein intake can cause diseases too. I have also pointed out that very tasty meals of burghers can be made out of flavored soy textured protein (tvp). Food producers in Sri Lanka should explore this possibility. Such meals can be supplemented with butter, curd, cheese, etc. to complete the body needs. Most people Indian have stayed with such a diet for thousands of years till the Muslim hoards took over some parts and introduced flesh eating. Generally, an adult needs only about 50-80 grams of solid complete protein per day.
The people who want meat & fish are free to have their flesh. Nothing is stopping them. Some people crave and need flesh. Such folk should obey their cravings as their body types demand it. But, take meat/fish in excess and there is a price to pay in ill health.
September 13th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Fran-Diaz,
Christians or Muslims didn’t introduce flesh eating in India. Before their coming, Hindus and the people of other religions used to have meat. Still now, only a small percentage of Hindus, Jains, etc. avoids meat eating. You have seen the Hindus sacrificing the goats in temples nowadays in Chilaw.
Almost all of the Buddhists in the world, prefer to have non-veg. now, when you see in other countries.
“Take meat/fish in excess and there is a price to pay in ill-health.”
Of course, having anything in excess paves the way to ill-health. Thinking about the survival of fittest in excess too, will lead to mind-virus ill-health.
Fran, You know a Muslim proclaimed that he will live on this earth for 100 years, continuously having lamb biriyani. A Hindu too challenged himself that he could live up to 100 years, having vegetable biriyani.
Former Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai too challenged to the world, he too could live up to 100 years, having human urine everyday.
The latter succeeded. Muslim and Hindu failed in their challenge.
Dear Fran, Shall we try Desai’s dose everyday without quarrelling about meat or veg.?
September 14th, 2011 at 6:24 am
Ranjith: There is no need to get into Desai’s diet. I am merely stating that a Balanced Approach in everything we do is the way to go. Since we live in a small, so-called poor country, use of land in a wise manner in very important. That growing of vegetable crops in the main, rather than expending land on growing cattle, goats & pigs on a LARGE scale for food, should be emphasised right from the start, now that foreign companies are running in here to invest on various agri-based projects. Also, that land must be used mainly by local people in the form of co-operative farming to ensure proper use of water, fertiliser, pesticides, etc. is also important.
Also, India was mainly a vegetarian country. The Hindu religion demanded it. In the old days, it was only the Indian Dalits (Untouchables) who were not allowed Caste or Religion, and were not Hindu people, who consumed meat. It was definitely the Muslims & the Colonists who introduced meat eating into mainstream Indian society. Even today, those Indians who consider themselves high caste, will not touch meat or fish. Their main sources of protein are cow milk, milk products, beans, lentils, nuts & seeds. Also, Inuits or Eskimos who consumed a largely meat diet, had a very short life span, and exceptionally bad teeth from meat eating and chewing animal skins to form leather for useful products.
I think we are talking at cross purposes here. I did not state that we should totally vegetarian, but MAINLY VEGETARIAN, and that soy can be used to mimic meat not just as tvp, but as a real meaty burgher, and that growing soy & other beans is a good thing to do as opposed to excessive animal husbandry.
I am closing this thread of the debate.
September 14th, 2011 at 8:30 am
I suggested animal farming for mil and eggs and not for meat. If animals are to ne killed, it should be without pain. I support fish farming and harvesting to get nutrients and omega 3, essential for brain development. Also I feel th we should focus on economic development without dragging relegion in. Religion had 2500 years, but nothing to show other than followers losing thir head. In Maldives, apparently, the Buddhist monks were beheaded, the usual Mulim custom with non believers, even with Muslims of a different sect. In short, all te evidence, around the globe, is that Buddhism has not protected them, but lead the followers to an early death. We have to avoid that in Sri Lanka, by resticting the infleuence of Buddhism and engauging our head or even allowing our native wisdom to take over. Sihks modified their religion to be militant to deal with foreign agression. If possible we shhould do the same. The important survival plans are techniques followed by Japanese and we could learnRemember we have to learn and evolve..
September 14th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
My view is that Buddhism is an excellent religion. It has however the main disadvantage that it has no mechanism to deal with the nasty external world. Sikh religion also had the same roots as Buddhism, bt they evolved their religion to a militaristic religion to deal with the nasty world created by Muslims. Muslims beheaded even peaceful Buddhist monks in Maldives when the King decided to become Muslim. No where in the world, Buddhism has protected its believers. The evidence sadly is that Buddhism has led its belivers to a premature death due to the passive nature of Buddhism. Fran has certainly made very useful contributions. My opinion is we should try and put the survival techniques that I have mentioned to practical use rather than hang on to a religion that even Indians have rejected.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Fran-Diaz,
Hindu scriptures didn’t prohibit meat eating.
You said that in the old days, only the Dalits consumed meat.
Further you said, Muslims and the colonialists introduced meat eating into mainstream Indian society.
From your writing which proves that the Muslims and the colonialists weren’t the first meat eaters in India.
Please note that the so called high castes are not the majority of India. Even they omit beef, they prefer chicken, lamb, etc. Of course, the Brahmins are veg.
Fran, In which category, cow milk, milk products, egg, etc. comes? Are they vegetarian or non-vegetarian foods? They are definitely non-vegetarian.
Many differ the life expectancy of Eskimos or Inuits. If Inuits or Eskimos consumes vegetables without taking meat foods, their life expectancy will be reduced drastically.
Not only from meat eating also eating beans related things too could decay our teeth. Whatever we eat, care is needed to our teeth.
Neither veg. food nor non-veg. food is a balance diet for humans.
Mixed foods are most appropriate.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I beleieve native Indians in Alaska have no choice and they have to eat meat to survive. Also people in Bangladesh survive by eating fish that come their way during flooding. During flooding,vegitaion is destroyed and the only available food is fish. So really, strict Buddhism is difficult to practice in real life. I certainly do not like to see any living thing suffering.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Ben Silva,
You said animal farming should not be for meat except milk and eggs.
Further said that the animal farming should not for meat, but prefer to kill animals without pain. That means you are supporting the killing! Wonderful! So, the meat will be used for end-users.
I do not think even your guru Einstein will acknowledge your contradicting theories.
Even some reformers turned the Sikhism to be violent in some extent, the Sikhs follow pure teachings of Guru Nanak. Yes, of course, there are many divisions among Sikhs. Most of the scholars of Sikhism differ the teachings of Guru Nanak. Sikhism is not a powerful religion to penetrate the world arena.
There is no militant Buddhism which is not acceptable in our country.
Are you supporting Mervin who stopped the cattle slaughter in a temple at Chilaw?
I do not know whether they slaughter with pain or without pain?
September 14th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I agree with Ben on Siks. Had they remained too peaceful, Muslims would have turned India in to another Pakistan. They used violence as needed. Now Muslim fundamentalists have started to kill Buddhist monks in Thailand.
Please read the religionofpeace website. It contains facts and figures.
September 14th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
To reply to Ranjith,
I gave my view, that I do not support killing. However, there may be others who want to kill animals for meat. In such a case, if animals are to be killed, then they need to be stunned first as done in the West. If animals cannot be stunned, it should be made illegal and legal action should be taken. Temples should not be allowed to kill animals.
People who follow religions are usually affected by the religion mind virus and their thinking abilities are affected.
My main point is Buddhism as it is is too passive and we should follow survilval steps so that we do not suffer further decline. Ie we should learn to compete, legally and in a just and fair manner. Ifwe want to keep Buddhism, then we should modify to some thinh more militant like Zen Buddhhism. It looks like the Japanese belief system has allowed Japan to develop and survive and my survival methods are maily used by Japanese Industry.
I have nothing against minorities who know how to compete. It looks like we have not learnt the art and science of competition. Is it due to the influence of religion ?
September 15th, 2011 at 2:47 am
Ben Silva,
You said that the animals should be killed for meat without pain. How do you say that if you do not support killing? Without killing how can we have meat. Now you say the animals should be killed through stunning. Don’t you think from your writings that you are giving permission for killing? If you are strictly in a position not to support killing of any animal, you will have to stick in your words.
Anyhow, I am pleased to hear from you that you accepted the killing of animals without pain i.e. through stunning. In the West, stunning and Islamic/ Jewish methods of killing animals too were already legalised.
Many still argue the stunning killing is painful. Westerners now, realise the Islamic/Jewish methods are painless. I hope in future, stunning will be banned in future.
You, myself or Mervin has no authority to ban the slaughter of animals in Hindu temple. We shouldn’t interfere about their practices.
Now you are turning from Buddhism to Zen Buddhism. Nowadays Zen Buddhists prefer to eat meat, surprisingly even the Zen monks. I do not think that the Zen Buddhists prefer to kill animals for meat through stunning.
Buddhism or Zen-Buddhism doesn’t like hatred against humanity.
In most Buddhist branches, one may adopt vegetarianism if one so wishes but it is not considered skillful practice to verbally attack another person for eating meat.
September 15th, 2011 at 4:55 am
If pain is caused to animals, what ever the reason, I think we should intervene and stop the process, as civilised persons
September 15th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Ben,
Why can’t you advise the Hindus to slaughter animals using stunning method which is according to you, pain free.
If Sri Lanka is a Hindu majority, could you be able to ban the animal slaughter in Chilaw, even if you are highly civilised.
Even having plenty of civilised persons in this country, no one dared to intervene to stop the Grease Yakas.
Surprisingly, we are intervening to stop the plight of Libyans, Iraqis, Afghans, etc.
It is so pathetic.
September 15th, 2011 at 6:15 am
right and wrong, ethics and morality should be taught at school, independent of religion.
Unfortunately as the crime and corruption in Sri Lanka shows, there are many who do not know the difference beteen right and wrong.
It is wrong to kill animals and instill pain – this is simply my view
September 15th, 2011 at 6:51 am
Ben,
Now you say, it is wrong to kill animals and instill pain.
Have you forgotten that your saying that the animals should be killed for meat without pain i.e. stunning?
Now you twist your saying.
Every religion has ethics and morality which sometimes differ religion to religion.
Every citizen of Sri Lanka knows what is wrong and right.
Slaughtering animals and having their meat for consumption are not wrong.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:40 am
This is the sad reality in Sri Lanka today.
“ Slaughtering animals and having their meat for consumption are not wrong “.
Those who are willing to defend (in open forums like this) the heritage (Buddhist) of the land are not willing to live by its teachings.
Words are hollow and meaningless unless they are translated in to deeds too.
Hypocrisy kills society.
Sasanka De Silva.