{"id":111401,"date":"2021-02-06T16:53:39","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T23:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=111401"},"modified":"2021-02-06T16:55:21","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T23:55:21","slug":"who-is-a-sinhala-buddhist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/02\/06\/who-is-a-sinhala-buddhist\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is a Sinhala Buddhist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again;\nbut is he peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. Even\nas a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or\nblame<\/em> \u2013 Buddha<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears that\nlabelling oneself as a Sinhala Buddhist and the country as a Sinhala Buddhist Nation\nis the national ethos while saying or implying that all others in the country\nare accommodated in the island because of the generosity of this national ethos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose in writing\nthis article is with the hope that it will generate some amount of\ncontemplation and discussion as to who a Sinhalese is and who a Buddhist is,\nand perhaps who they should be. A question worth pondering is whether an outer\ngarment matters more than the inner self of the person wearing that garment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, culturally\nand demographically, Sri Lanka has deep seated roots in it being predominantly\nof Sinhala Buddhist composition. There is no doubt that the Sinhala Buddhist\norientation dominates the cultural ethos in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the advent of\nthe Sinhala race as believed and chronicled by the Mahavamsa itself, there were\nother human beings inhabiting the island when Prince Vijaya set foot in the\ncountry. If the Mahavamsa account is correct, they were not Sinhala people as\nVijaya and his retinue is credited for the beginning of the Sinhala race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sinhala race that Vijaya\u2019s\nretinue began were mixed from the outset, as they produced their progeny with\nfemales who then inhabited the island and who were not Sinhala women. There is\nno record that Vijaya brought females from where he came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the then\ninhabitants not being Sinhala, neither were they, nor Vijaya and his retinue,\nBuddhist as Buddhism had not arrived in Sri Lanka then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the conclusion one\ncan derive, assuming the Mahavamsa account is correct, is that the Sinhala race\nbegan after Vijaya and his retinue, who were not Sinhala people when they\narrived but Bengali\u2019s from Sinhapura, set foot in the island, settled in with\nthe locals and produced the progeny who then were called Sinhalese. Interestingly,\nit is recorded in the Mahavamsa that Prince Vijaya in fact married a princess\nfrom India and they had no children, although it is also recorded there that he\nhad two children with Kuveni, but they had apparently perished without trace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given these accounts\nfrom the Great Chronicle, the Mahavamsa, mostly folklore, it is interesting to\nnote the origins, at least genetically, of the Sinhalese people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wikipedia states\nthat quote, All studies agree that there is a significant relationship between\nthe Sinhalese and the Bengalis and South Indian Tamils and that there is a\nsignificant genetic relationship between Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese, them\nbeing closer to each other than other South Asian populations. This is also\nsupported by a genetic distance study, which showed low differences in genetic\ndistance between the Sinhalese and the Bengali<\/a>, Tamil<\/a>, and Keralite<\/a> volunteers. The Up Country Sinhalese\n(mountainous region) and Low Country Sinhalese have different genetic\nphenotypes according to observations, with the up country Sinhalese looking\nslightly more Caucasoid, compared to the low country Sinhalese, who\u2019s castes\nare known to have origins in South India, although no formal study has been\nconducted on such matters. The vast genetic diversity of the Sinhalese has\nintrigued anthropologists on their genetic origins\u201d, unquote<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are many studies done on the genetic mix of the Sinhala race, the following perhaps is generally representative of historical mix and consistent with historical records of migrations into the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From these accounts, other research\nmaterials, and subsequent events, it does appear that the Sinhala race is a\nmixed race with genetic inclusions from many other races. This is not to say\nother races have genetic purity and a single genetic source. Most if not all races\nin the world, particularly where movement of people from one area to another\nand from one habitation to another occurred, there was mixing of races and\ntodays genetic research technology easily identifies genetic mixing in\nindividuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngenetic mix of the Sinhala race makes them perfect candidates in a contemporary\nsense to show a greater understanding and accommodating of other races whose very\ngenetic origins reside in them, and as Aristotle said, begin believing that the\nwhole is greater than the sum of all parts. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhala\npeople are a spontaneously generous, kind and unselfish people. It is worth\npondering whether this is still the case in a general sense or whether or not\nthere has been a shift away from these noble characteristics, and towards a\nmore inward looking, less tolerant race, and if so, what or who has influenced\nsuch a shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhalese\nand Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMahavamsa again records how the Sinhala race had protected Buddhism whenever\nthere was a threat to Buddhism. Many Buddhist also go by the belief that Buddha\nhimself had stated that Buddhism will thrive in Sri Lanka and it will be\nprotected by the Sinhala people. It is unclear how Buddha could have said this\nas the Mahavamsa also reportedly records that Buddha passed away the day Vijaya\narrived in Sri Lanka. The Sinhala race had not begun then for him to make that\nprediction although the proponents of this story also say that Buddha had the supreme\nmental ability to make such predictions. Such an ability would liken him to a\nGod, and Buddha was emphatic at all times that he was a human being. If indeed\nBuddha had said that the inhabitants of the island would protect Buddhism,\nthen, that would have made more sense as it would have included all other races\nin Sri Lanka.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nquestion also arises as to how Buddhism could be protected and whether one is\ntalking about the Dhamma or the Buddhist Institution.\n\nVen Bhikkhu Thittila in the February 1958\nissue off the Magazine\nthe Atlantic (The Meaning of Buddhism-Fundamental principles of\nthe Theravada doctrine) offers this view about the teachings of Buddha All the\nteachings of the Buddha can be summed up in one word: Dhamma. It means truth,\nthat which really is. It also means law, the law which exists in a man’s own\nheart and mind. It is the principle of righteousness. Therefore, the Buddha\nappeals to man to be noble, pure, and charitable not in order to please any\nSupreme Deity, but in order to be true to the highest in himself. Dhamma, this\nlaw of righteousness, exists not only in a man’s heart and mind, it exists in\nthe universe also. All the universe is an embodiment and revelation of Dhamma.\nWhen the moon rises and sets, the rains come, the crops grow, the seasons\nchange, it, is because of Dhamma, for Dhamma is the law of the universe which\nmakes matter act in the ways revealed by our studies of natural science\u201d.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/1958\/02\/the-meaning-of-buddhism\/306832\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven\nBhikkhu Thittila states further that t<\/em>he teaching\nfounded by the Buddha is known, in English, as Buddhism. It may be asked, who\nis the Buddha? A Buddha is one who has attained Bodhi; and by Bodhi is meant\nwisdom, an ideal state of intellectual and ethical perfection which can be\nachieved by man through purely human means. The term Buddha literally means\nenlightened one, a knower<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\none is to call oneself a Buddhist, surely there cannot be an argument that\nBuddhism is or should be about the Dhamma and about what is in one\u2019s mind. It\nis oxymoronic to associate the Dhamma with the institution as an institution\ncannot protect what is in a person\u2019s mind. It is the Dhamma itself, and living\nby the tenants of the Dhamma that one can protect one\u2019s mind, and therefore the\nDhamma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Bhikkhu Thittila say\nfurther this doctrine finds its highest expression in metta, the\nBuddhist goal of universal and all-embracing love. Metta means much\nmore than brotherly feeling or kind-heartedness, though these are part of it.\nIt is active benevolence, a love which is expressed and fulfilled in active\nministry for the uplifting of fellow beings. Metta goes hand in hand\nwith helpfulness and a willingness to forego self-interest in order to promote\nthe welfare and happiness of mankind. It is metta which in Buddhism\nis the basis for social progress. Metta is, finally, the broadest and\nintensest conceivable degree of sympathy, expressed in the throes of suffering\nand change. The true Buddhist does his best to exercise metta toward\nevery living being and identifies himself with all, making no distinctions\nwhatsoever with regard to caste, colour, class, or sex<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is perhaps timely to\nreflect on the nature and characteristics of who a Sinhala Buddhist is and\nperhaps should be. Do they live by the Dhamma and do they practice Metta? Can\nthe Dhamma be protected by the Buddhist Institution in Sri Lanka? Or is the\ninstitution a determinant of the political fortunes of individuals and\npolitical parties and the notion that Buddhism needs protection, a strategic\nsurvival ploy of the Institution? Is this a symbiotic relationship that has\nmutual benefits?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History and the environment\nhas created an identity called a Sinhala Buddhist as no one is that at birth.\nThat identity could learn to live by the Dhamma or live by institutional\ndictates. It is no doubt a huge challenge for any individual as the environment\npushes one towards the institution and away from the Dhamma. The institution\nfosters the opposite of Dhamma as the Dhamma is a threat to the institution.\nThis challenge becomes even greater when national political leaders espouse the\ncause of Buddhist institutions, and foster and promote the display of the outer\ngarments and not govern to strengthen the inner selves of the people. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Raj Gonsalkorale A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but is he peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame \u2013 Buddha It appears that labelling oneself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-raj-gonsalkorale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}