Senaka Weeraratna 

The consequence of God Delusion in the West largely among the mainstream Christian populace is the increasing search for Sati ( Mindfulness) originally taught by the Buddha in India over 2,500 years ago. Sati Meditation is filling a huge void in the Western consciousness due to the collapse of Monotheistic belief systems. The Buddha was the first major figure in world history to openly advocate self-reliance over-reliance on an external savior. The Buddha said that right worship is neither killing innocent animals as offerings to an unknown God(s) or indulging in meaningless prayers to someone who fails to answer your prayers ( for example, ask Palestinians in the current context) but giving up hatred, greed and envy, and embracing loving – kindness and compassion to all living beings. Panna ( Wisdom) should be the ultimate aim of every human and achieved via Samadhi(the practice of mindfulness) and Sila (the practice of right ethics). Sila, Samadhi, and Panna in a nutshell constitute the Noble Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha.

The people of Sri Lanka have also contributed to the onward march of the Dhamma to the West in a major way. Heading the list of Sinhala Buddhist missionaries to the West are Anagarika Dharmapala ( the World’s first Global Buddhist Missionary) and Asoka Weeraratna ( later known as Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanissanti Thero) who founded the German Dharmaduta Society (1952), the Berlin Buddhist Vihara in Germany ( 1957) within Das Buddhistische Haus founded by Dr. Paul Dahlke in  Berlin – Frohnau in 1924, and the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya (1967).

https://medium.com/the-westernized-art-of-mindfulness/abstract-9fdc6a447ab0

Senaka Weeraratna