{"id":114614,"date":"2021-05-26T16:47:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T23:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=114614"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:47:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T23:47:04","slug":"a-wolf-in-a-sheeps-clothing-the-suspicious-case-of-brother-charles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/05\/26\/a-wolf-in-a-sheeps-clothing-the-suspicious-case-of-brother-charles\/","title":{"rendered":"A wolf in a sheep\u2019s clothing? The suspicious case of Brother Charles"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Vaisrawana<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

I\nstarted writing the following as a casual comment on C. Wjeyawickrema\u2019s \u0db6\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb\u0daf\u0dbb\u0dca \u0da0\u0dcf\u0dbd\u0dca\u0dc3\u0dca \u0dad\u0ddd\u0db8\u0dc3\u0dca\u0d9c\u0dda<\/strong> <<\/strong>\u0daf\u0dc4\u0db8\u0dca \u0db4\u0dc4\u0db1<\/strong>> <\/strong>\u0dc4\u0dcf \u0dc3\u0dd2\u0d82\u0dc4\u0dbd\n\u0db6\u0dd4\u0daf\u0dca\u0db0\u0dcf\u0d9c\u0db8\/<\/strong>May 24, 2021.<\/strong>But it became longer than originally intended. So here it is\noffered to my fellow readers as a separate column. Please see if you can agree\nwith observations. This is just a personal opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nagree with Dr Wijayawickrema\u2019s take on the subject. My own opinion is that\nthere is no need for this so-called Brother Charles\u2019 services (even if he is a\ngenuine advocate  of Buddhist values, which is unlikely) in educating\nBuddhists and Hindus about compassion and non-violence, for these are the\nfundamental values on which Hindu and Buddhist cultures are based. Hinduism and\nBuddhism predate Christianity by centuries (indeed by millennia, in the case of\nHinduism). Why can’t the government departments mentioned in this article use\npreachers from among the Buddhist clergy and laity in their personality\ndevelopment or stress management or \u2018spirituality\u2019 promoting programs?\nAuthorities can also use similar preachers from the Christian community for the\nsame purpose. However, I don’t think that any of the star preachers among\nBuddhist monks should be invited to take part in this task, because they are\nalready entangled in irrelevant controversies or have lost their credibility\nthrough narcissistic displays of material wealth (which is invariably\nparalleled by intellectual\/spiritual vacuity). There are enough good monks and\nlay preachers who are well versed in the dhamma and whose moral credentials are\nperfect who can handle this job without having to employ suspicious characters,\nwho may be agents of a proselytizing Christian fundamentalist\nsect.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nthe beginning Charles used to shout “Jesus thama parama satyaya”\n“Jesus is the supreme truth” in the midst of preaching to mesmerized\naudiences that he managed to additionally mislead by inviting some idiotic\nuneducated Buddhist monks or yellow-robed quacks to attend his programs. He\nmust be getting funds from somewhere (from some fundamentalist Christian\norganization). Or is he known to be a moneyed person who can afford heavy\nexpenses while engaged on his disguised Christian missionary work, which involves\ntravelling to foreign lands? Now he has started attacking “religion”\nas a destructive force, because he seems to have recently heard that the \nBuddha never preached a religion, and that though Buddhists adopt certain\ncultural traditions like ritual practices that are characteristically\nassociated with religions (but which are indispensable for the survival of the\ndhamma among ordinary humans, the unenlightened pratujjanas), they do not\nbelieve in a supreme creator being or a supreme truth that they have no option\nbut to propitiate or worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka is the target of attack from five sources, three geopolitical, and two\nreligious. America, India, and China on the one hand, and on the other\nChristian fundamentalism secretly sponsored by the West, and Jihadism supported\nby Saudi Arabia, but exploited by the West for their own purposes. All these\nforces undermine the age old Buddhist cultural foundation of Sri Lanka on which\nthe survival of the Sinhalese, the majority community whose ancestors’ blood and\ntoil bequeathed to the world the fabled island state of Sinhalay. What gives\nthem temporary relief is the fact that these external forces are currently\ndivided among themselves. However, the impact of their cumulative hostility is\nnot small. Among them, only China shows some empathy towards Sri Lanka, but\nthat is for its own sake. In any case, Sri Lanka, faced by an aggressive\nhegemonic West,  has no alternative but to find refuge under China\u2019s wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning\nto the point, even Arun Siddhartan should be treated with suspicion, but he can\nbe easily made to see the truth that the future of both the majority-Hindu\nTamils and the majority-Buddhist Sinhalese, as well as that of Tamils and\nSinhalese who have embraced Christianity, depends on wholehearted unity among\nthem. The Marxist Arun represents the oppressed low castes of the north. So,\nunlike Sinhala-Buddhist haters such as Rajan Hoole and Kumar David whose\nancestors escaped caste oppression by embracing Christianity and benefiting\nfrom education through English made available to them by the British, Arun can\nbe trusted as a Tamil politician as an ally. Especially, Buddhists and Hindus\nmust unite in order to protect themselves from the Jihadist violence and the\nintolerance of Christian fundamentalists. Christians will have some respite\nfrom Jihadists as Ahl al Kitab or People of the Book (believers in revealed\ntruth, so allies of Muslims). Hindus and Buddhists will have none, for they\ndon’t come within that category. But some moderate Muslims have lately started\nincluding Buddhists and Hindus too among Ahl al Kitab (which is nothing but\ndeception). Christians are also changing their dogmas to suit their agenda of\nneutralizing the attraction to the world of the non-violent, and peaceful\nteachings of Buddhism and Hinduism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nCharles seems to be launching is a preemptive strike on the currently\nburgeoning solidarity between the Sinhalese in the South and Tamils in the\nNorth. Dr Wijeyawickrema sees him for what he really is. He implies that\nCharles could be another Ranjan Ramanayake: “\u0dbd\u0d82\u0d9a\u0dcf\u0dc0\u0dda \u0dc4\u0dcf\u0db8\u0dd4\u0daf\u0dd4\u0dbb\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0dbb\u0dd4 \u0db1\u0ddc\u0dc3\u0dd2\u0da7\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1\u0da7 \u0d94\u0dc4\u0dd4\n\u0d9a\u0dad\u0dcf\u0d9a\u0dbb\u0dab \u0dad\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0db4\u0dd2\u0da7\u0d9a\u0dba\u0d9a\u0dca \u0dbd\u0ddd\u0d9a\u0dba\u0dda \u0db1\u0dd0\u0dad. \u0dc3\u0d82\u0d9d \u0dc3\u0dcf\u0dc3\u0db1\u0dba\u0dda \u0d85\u0daf \u0daf\u0d9a\u0dca\u0db1\u0da7 \u0dbd\u0dd0\u0db6\u0dd9\u0db1 \u0db1\u0ddc\u0dba\u0dd9\u0d9a\u0dd4\u0dad\u0dca \u0d85\u0dbb\u0dca\u0db6\u0dd4\u0daf \u0dc0\u0dbd\u0da7\n\u0dc3\u0dd4\u0daf\u0dca\u0daf\u0d9c\u0dd9 \u0db1\u0dd3\u0dad\u0dd2\u0dba \u0dc4\u0dcf \u0db4\u0d9a\u0dca\u0dc2 \u0daf\u0dda\u0dc1\u0db4\u0dcf\u0dbd\u0d9a \u0d9a\u0dc5\u0dd4 \u0dc3\u0dd4\u0daf\u0dca\u0daf\u0db1\u0dca\u0d9c\u0dda \u0d9a\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dcf\u0d9a\u0dbd\u0dcf\u0db4\u0dba \u0dc4\u0dda\u0dad\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0dd3 \u0d87\u0dad\u0dd2\u0db6\u0dc0\u0dad\u0dca \u0d92\u0dc0\u0dcf\n\u0db1\u0dd2\u0dc0\u0dd0\u0dbb\u0daf\u0dd2 \u0d9a\u0dbd \u0dba\u0dd4\u0dad\u0dd4 \u0db6\u0dc0\u0dad\u0dca \u0d85\u0db8\u0dad\u0d9a \u0d9a\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0dd3\u0db8 \u0dc0\u0dd0\u0daf\u0d9c\u0dad\u0dca \u0dc3\u0db8\u0dcf\u0da2 \u0d9a\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dcf\u0d9a\u0dcf\u0dbb\u0dd3\u0db1\u0dca, \u0dc3\u0dd0\u0d9f\u0dc0\u0dd4\u0dab \u0db1\u0dca\u200d\u0dba\u0dcf\u0dba\u0db4\u0dad\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb \u0dc3\u0dc4\u0dd2\u0dad \u0dad\u0dc0\u0dad\u0dca \u0dbb\u0d82\u0da2\u0db1\u0dca\n\u0dbb\u0dcf\u0db8\u0db1\u0dcf\u0dba\u0d9a\u0dbd\u0dcf \u0db6\u0dc0\u0da7 \u0db4\u0dad\u0dca \u0d9a\u0dbb\u0dba\u0dd2. \u0db8\u0dd9\u0dc3\u0dda \u0d85\u0db1\u0dca\u0dad\u0dd2\u0db8\u0dda\u0daf\u0dd3 \u0d89\u0dad\u0dd4\u0dbb\u0dd4 \u0dc0\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1\u0dda \u0dad\u0dc0\u0dad\u0dca \u0dc3\u0dd2\u0d82\u0dc4\u0dbd \u0db6\u0dde\u0daf\u0dca\u0db0 \u0dc0\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0ddd\u0db0\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dd9\u0d9a\u0dca\n\u0db4\u0db8\u0dab\u0dba.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nis no doubt that the Cardinal means well, and he is doing his duty. But the\n\u2018hidden agenda\u2019 that Dr Wijeyawickrema is warning against is proceeding apace.\nA church in Ragama had an alms giving today, May 26, (Vesak Day) for a group of\nmonks to celebrate the important  Buddhist event. The Christians had their\nservice in the church in the normal way. Christian Buddhist friendship is good,\nbut can it be established through this sort of hypocrisy? Don\u2019t these monks\nhave some sort of leadership to guide them? Can\u2019t the two communities hold\ntheir rituals separately as they have always done, but get on well together\noutside of the church and the pansala without indulging in utterly\ncounterproductive hypocrisy like this in the name of peaceful religious\ncoexistence, which the likes of Charles use as a stratagem to subvert the\nBuddhist establishment (Buddha Sasanaya)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMahanayakes who lack the Cardinal\u2019s wisdom and his knowledge of the current\nrealities both in Sri Lanka and in the world outside are getting increasingly\nignored by the powers that be. Gotabaya is doing something to reclaim the\nancient Buddhist archaeological sites that are being vandalized or forcibly\noccupied by Muslim extremists and opportunistic Muslim politicos (some Tamil\npoliticians are among them too) who use extremists as a cat’s paw; but his\nolder brother Mahinda seems to be too preoccupied with an inexplicable commitment\nto please a few crafty Muslim politicians, who never fail to have the best of\nboth worlds, whichever national party comes to power.  The ultimate\nvictims of the dire consequences of these lapses on the part of politicians and\npriests are the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, who, nevertheless, have always\nbeen very tolerant, accommodating and nice to all the racial and religious\nminorities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Vaisrawana I started writing the following as a casual comment on C. Wjeyawickrema\u2019s \u0db6\u0dca\u200d\u0dbb\u0daf\u0dbb\u0dca \u0da0\u0dcf\u0dbd\u0dca\u0dc3\u0dca \u0dad\u0ddd\u0db8\u0dc3\u0dca\u0d9c\u0dda <\u0daf\u0dc4\u0db8\u0dca \u0db4\u0dc4\u0db1> \u0dc4\u0dcf \u0dc3\u0dd2\u0d82\u0dc4\u0dbd \u0db6\u0dd4\u0daf\u0dca\u0db0\u0dcf\u0d9c\u0db8\/May 24, 2021.But it became longer than originally intended. So here it is offered to my fellow readers as a separate column. Please see if you can agree with observations. This is just a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114614","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=114614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}