By Raj Gonsalkorale

When one hears of sexual misconduct, drug trafficking and business dealings of Buddhist Monks, the power and spread of the underworld mafia that deals in illicit drugs, with patronage from all sectors of the society including politicians, members of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies and public servants, bribery and corruption at the highest levels in society, where over many decades, some had reigned supreme as people more equal than others, it is not surprising that many are frustrated and without hope for the future and future generations.

In the face of gradual decay of morals and ethical values in Sri Lanka, the land that carries a reputation of being the saviour of Buddhism, although the very institutions and their members that are supposed to safeguard Buddhism have, in recent times, demonstrated the opposite of moral and ethical values, a rightful question could be posed whether this degradation is redeemable.

The activities of the illicit drug industry and the underworld, its barons, hand in glove with some politicians and elements in the law enforcement agencies, and the justice system have led the way in poisoning the society in general and the younger generation of the country. The power of such barons to subvert the values of a once proud society through bribery and corruption has been in the news recently. The cancer of bribery and corruption has spread deep and wide and while the current government is acting hard and seriously to bring some perpetrators responsible for this cancer to face the consequences of their activities, many opine whether there is a cure for this cancer considering its spread.

The roots of the crisis are deep, and wide, and the foundation for redemption, if at all, lies in a few key areas like eliminating the patronage system and addressing the entrenched collusion between political leaders and crime or underworld figures, rebuilding public trust by demonstrating through strict and impartial law enforcement, and a fair justice system where crime and corruption has no place in the society, and importantly, focusing on the next generation and arresting societal decay that is often tied to the betrayal of youth through flawed priorities. Restoring ethical conduct means investing in educational and social frameworks that prioritize civic responsibility over short-term self-promotion. It’s the nurture of the next generation that has some hope for the country, nurture that is based on morals and ethical values that religious leaders like Buddha, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed and several others, preached in unison at different periods in the history of the world.

If one takes Buddhism, being the religion that has the largest following in the country, one could very justifiably question whether Monks and followers, in general, have upheld moral and ethical behaviour or compromised on these values for other short-term benefits. Both parties seem to have worked together to institutionalise Buddhism at the cost of the essence of Buddha’s teachings.

Education that plays a significant part of nurture, has been directed more or less solely towards economic objectives and not the acquisition of knowledge beneficial for the wholesome nurture of younger generations. It is a welcome sign that recent education reforms seem to be directed towards the latter objective whilst not losing sight of economic objectives.

In the climate of moral and ethical decay, it is time that religious leaders, politicians and civil society in general focus on the bastions that holds a society and its morals and ethics and not allow these bastions to decay and collapse, and with it, the society itself.

In this respect, religious institutions and those who are at the helm of these need to take a serious introspective look at their mission and objectives, and behaviour, in order to make decisions about the changes that are needed for them to be the rightful guides contributing towards the moral and ethical upbringing of the younger generations.

In respect of the Buddhist institution, they will have to decide on a few fundamentals that will transform their roles to living the Dhamma way, practising the Dhamma, and being teachers of the Dhamma rather than as businessmen living quasi lay lives and preaching what they don’t practice. 

In order to transform the Buddhist institution from what it is now to what it should be as Buddha himself envisioned, it needs to undergo a systemic change that de institutionalise the institution as it functions today. Firstly, it could rid itself of ordination Nikayas which were basically introduced commencing in 1753, during the Kandyan period of reign.

These Nikaya’s had nothing to do with the original monastic lineages like the textual collection in Majjhima Nikaya, or the early monastic lineages like the Mahasanghika and Sthavira (Theravada)  , but were based on a practice which was the antithesis of Buddhism that Buddha preached, by being a caste-based practice. A fundamental teaching of Buddha carried for centuries by an oral tradition and more formalised later, are contained in four Nikaya’s, namely, the Digha nikaya, Majjhima nikaya, Samyutta nikaya and the Anguttara nikaya. These Nikaya’s are in fact the only ones that should be there if one were to truly refer to oneself as a Buddhist, and the systemic change referred to earlier should bring about this transformation and rid the Sangha order of the ordination-based Nikaya’s.

The second systemic change long overdue within the Sangha order is a review of the Vinaya Pitakaya that governs the daily lives and communal harmony of the Sangha order, both Bhikkhu’s and Bhikkuni’s. While a formal Vinaya pitakaya did not exist during Buddha’s time, his pronouncements verbally referred to as the Dhamma Vinaya, provided some guidance to Bhikkus. Since that time, many reviews have occurred and perhaps it is time for another review now by the Buddhist clergy and a code of behaviour and communal practice in tune with contemporary times developed collectively which does not take away the fundamental objective of a lay person choosing the monastic order as per the Dhamma.

Besides the need to transform education to the acquisition of knowledge in order to better nurture the young, other reasons that hamper nurturing of the young also needs to be considered. This is the home environment that plays a major role in the upbringing of children. Something that is overlooked by adults is the impact of broken homes on the nurturing of children. As far as the writer is aware, there is no procedure or practice in place to make periodic assessments of children’s behaviour and no persons available who are qualified to undertake such assessments. In the absence of this, children who are impacted by domestic challenges grow into adulthood carrying the drawbacks acquired from unstable home environments. It has been shown and proven that many young adults who become drug addicts, drug peddlers, and engaged in criminal behaviour have a had history of unstable and broken homes during their childhood.

For the sake of the next generation and generations to come, the moral and ethical decay has to be arrested and the bastions that hold the country together strengthened. The current generation owes this to the next, and beyond.

The anti-corruption and anti-crime drive of the current government has to be supported for the sake of future generations, and the government should ensure its drive applies to everyone irrespective of their politics and station in life. No one can be more equal than others in the society. As far as the present generation is concerned, those who are responsible for the moral and ethical delay have to be held accountable irrespective of who they are, be it a lay person or a religious figure. Those who spawned such crimes have to identified and brought before the justice system.

Another key bastion is the education system. While reforms being introduced are welcome and long overdue, it needs to include preparing teachers to spearhead the reform process, and very importantly including parents too in this process. In many ways it can be argued that nurture of a child cannot be two avenues, namely, the school and the home, functioning independent of each other, but a single approach so that character building of a child involves both inputs operating together. As stated earlier, the fundamental premise of education should be about acquisition of knowledge and not to simply pass examinations. Knowledge relating to civic duties, the nature and the environment, history of the country should be introduced not as subjects requiring examinations but as foundations for character building.

Finally, in general, the role of the public in addressing the moral and ethical decay has to be taken into account, as all of what has been mentioned here happens because of the willing or unwilling participation and complicity of members of the public. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and none of the misdemeanours and degradation mentioned happens without the involvement of the members of the public. Of course sometimes it is willing participation but at other times it is due to the systemic culture of impunity and/or dereliction of duty by  those responsible for such duties. Religious institution decay, and among Buddhists, Dhamma becoming a theoretical exercise with institution building more important, bribery and corruption, illicit drug proliferation, deterioration of accountability, and broadly, the power of some who are more equal than others, all happen as members of the public with selfish motives give them that power for the sake of short-term gains. The importance of addressing these will require time as the cancer of decay has spread wide and deep. This is where the focus towards the next generation and beyond becomes necessary to build a society that is moral and ethical as part of their nurture.