{"id":49042,"date":"2015-11-01T23:50:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T05:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=49042"},"modified":"2015-11-01T03:19:06","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T10:19:06","slug":"the-right-and-honourable-d-s-senanayake-wrapped-around-in-the-noble-eightfold-path-was-he","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/11\/01\/the-right-and-honourable-d-s-senanayake-wrapped-around-in-the-noble-eightfold-path-was-he\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right and Honourable D S Senanayake \u2013 Wrapped Around in the Noble Eightfold Path was He"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Prof Suwanda H J Sugunasiri\u00a0 (writing from Canada)<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

(in Commemoration of his \u00a0131st Birth anniversary that fell on October 21st,\u00a0 <\/sup>2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may not be election time in Sri Lanka, but I\u2019m voting for the Rt. Hon. D S Senanayake! That\u2019s right, the honourable thing to do. Birth Anniversary falling on October 21 (1884), it\u2019s election time of a special \u00a0sentient being, \u00a0the Buddha declaring, \u2018Rare is birth as a human\u2019 (manussatam dullabham<\/em>).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no history buff. In fact, the only time I enjoyed the subject was at the University Entrance class at Nalanda Vidyalaya when the freshly minted graduate, the handsome Mr K M P Rajaratna in a national dress brought dynamism to it. It was not who killed whom which year but making history come alive. But even then was I not to stumble upon what I\u2019m going to write about.<\/p>\n

It was browsing through the \u00a0Sri Lankan collection in our home library \u00a0\u00a0that I was inducted to the Hall of History. The eye-catcher was the\u00a0 \u00a0D. S. Senanayake Memorial Number of The<\/em>\u00a0 Ceylon Historical Journal<\/em>, edited by S D Saparamadu. Likely purchased by my wife Swarna as a University Entrance student, it had sat on our shelves all these many years but, sorry, \u00a0rarely got attention from my academic busybody. So shall we say that retirement has its benefits, ha\u2026!<\/p>\n

So why am I voting for DSS\u00a0 (no disrespect intended but simply to save space)? THAT he\u2019s the \u2018Father of the Nation\u2019\u00a0 we knew, basically understanding that he steered the country towards Independence from British colonial rule in 1948. But HOW? Now a ray of insight was \u00a0beginning to shine on me when I read that most of the agitation from 1932 to 1942 may have been on the wrong lines.\u201d (Sir Ivor Jennings, Former Vice Chancellor of University of Ceylon, writing on D S Senanayake and Independence\u201d, \u00a0(p.16)).<\/p>\n

So what did Rt Hon. Senanayake do right? Let\u2019s count.<\/p>\n

Political Wisdom<\/strong><\/p>\n

A colony can obtain Independence by force or persuasion\u201d. But effective non-cooperation leads necessarily to force, as Mahatma Gandhi discovered \u201d (Jennings). \u00a0So DSS\u2019s\u00a0 \u00a0strategy was to be co-operative, and use\u00a0\u00a0 persuasion. Now I know how Ceylon gained Independence without shedding a drop of blood\u201d.<\/p>\n

There could not be a better example of cooperation than in relation to the Soulbury Commission.\u00a0 The British getting the fullest support for the war effort from the State Council headed by DSS,\u00a0 Dominion status had been promised soon after the war. Yet, breaking the word, well, what else is new, huh, there came to be appointed the\u00a0 Soulbury Commission. \u00a0\u00a0The Ministers held aloof from us\u2026,\u201d writes Viscount Soulbury the boycotted party \u00a0(and Governor-General of Ceylon, 1949-54, writing on Senanayake the Man\u201d), \u00a0and there was the \u00a0possibility that \u00a0we might be deprived of the opportunity to carry out our terms of reference. That such a step was not taken was largely due to the strength<\/em> and wisdom<\/em> of DS\u201d (p. 62). And .. if he had not lived, the history of Ceylon would have been very different\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a word, \u00a0then, it is the\u00a0\u00a0 QUALITY of the man \u00a0that \u00a0\u00a0that\u00a0\u00a0 got results \u00a0where\u00a0 others failed. \u00a0And \u00a0that in short was the story for me.<\/p>\n

Wisdom DSS had, it was said. Sir Andrew Caldecott (one of those who had never understood DS\u201d) once asked one of his advisors if he found Mr Senanayake intelligent\u201d\u201d(Jennings, 20). Mr. Senanayake made a great impression in London because he was so utterly unexpected. Whitehall was used to the slick, England-educated, graduate politician. It had not expected a \u00a0bluff old farmer with a sense of humour. What is more, he knew \u00a0his stuff\u201d\u201d.\u00a0 S D Saparamadu, Editor of the Special Issue, points to\u00a0 DSS\u2019s knowledge of constitutional niceties that would do honour to a pundit\u201d (97). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jennings corroborates.\u00a0 \u2018Soulbury Constitution\u2019 it was called, but the fact is that it was produced by Mr Senanayake\u201d (17)! Thanks to his leadership skills,\u00a0 Ceylon was able to play a leading part at these [Commonwealth] Conferences, far beyond the influence which\u00a0 her size granted.\u201d (Hon J R Jayawardena, writing on D S Senanayake\u2019s Foreign Policy\u201d, 52). Intelligent enough?<\/p>\n

So if using persuasion and working in cooperation as well was wisdom,\u00a0 it is only part\u00a0 of the story. So let me recount.<\/p>\n

He had not only the fire of a complete conviction, but also the sense of\u00a0 strategy of a great general.\u201d (Jennings, 22). \u00a0DSS and his\u00a0 Ministers may have boycotted the Soulbury Commission, but DSS made sure he met with the Commissioners informally. With the kindliness and hospitality typical of his people, DS made extensive arrangements for the Commissioners to see the Island\u201d (Soulbury, 62).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the man of wisdom himself \u00a0talking: My government\u00a0 reiterates its firm faith in the democratic way of life in which\u00a0 the rule of the moral law holds sway\u201d (52). And it clearly touched the hearts of world leaders. \u00a0Leading personalities of different countries become symbols of change. .. [DSS] was such a personality, who impressed himself not only in Ceylon, but on a wider sphere\u201d (Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (8)). Many are those who agree: very wise and well balanced leader\u201d\u00a0 (Clement Atlee, Prime Minister, Great Britain (9)); man of enormous breath of vision\u201d Great Statesman of the Commonwealth\u201d (Rt Hon. R G Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia) (10); \u2026 a man of sterling worth with a broad outlook, a mature wisdom and a great determination\u201d (Ghulam Mohammed, Governor General of Pakistan (14)).<\/p>\n

Economic Wisdom<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Senanayake\u2019s \u00a0Economic wisdom was not far behind \u00a0his Political wisdom. \u00a0\u00a0What he brought in was \u00a0an effective agricultural revival \u2013 productive, egalitarian, and would you believe, scientific.<\/p>\n

It may perhaps be\u00a0 the \u2018Kundasale girls\u2019 in western pants doing paddy farming that may be what\u2019s lodged in your memory.\u00a0 If this\u00a0 speaks to his attempts at modernizing farming, and introducing it to the younger generation, it, however,\u00a0 can be said to be \u00a0a marginal s(l)ideshow. The wider contribution was the reforms he introduced as Minister of Agriculture and Lands. In the words of R L Brohier, (Member of the Gal Oya Development Board, \u00a0and Author, Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon<\/em>), In the first half-century of the British period there were sown the seeds that diverted agriculture to an industry which commanded money rather than means of sustenance\u201d (69). By contrast, DSS\u2019s policy focussed itself on the peasant farmer needs\u201d \u2026(70), \u00a0promoting a prosperous self-supporting multitude of peasant proprietors\u201d (74). But \u00a0in equal measure [it was] emphasizing the dignity of labour and the value of cooperation\u201d (70).<\/p>\n

His self-sufficiency promotion thrust in relation to agriculture was guided by three interrelated considerations: \u00a0first,\u00a0 as a technology based on science, second,\u00a0 as an industry based on tradition and thirdly, a \u00a0\u00a0business to be founded on economics and not merely a way of life\u201d (70). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So many an idea of the Minister, novel as they were\u201d writes Brohier,\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0were, surprise surprise, \u00a0\u00a0repugnant to the official disciples\u201d!<\/p>\n

One important detail that receive special consideration is the system on which\u00a0 colonists were to be selected.\u201d Under this, all applicants were to be divided into three classes: peasants or small-holders, middle class Ceylonese, and others\u201d. The small-holders were to be of a\u00a0 restricted tenure preventing alienation or mortgage\u201d (73). This was to ensure that the land was not abandoned or left uncultivated. And for preventing the land becoming subject to multiple individual ownership.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 While the individual allotment to the small holder was limited to five acres of paddy,\u00a0\u00a0 his well-being was not totally abandoned to him.\u00a0 Not only were two additional acres of \u2018high land\u2019\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0allotted for dwelling purposes\u201d,\u00a0 but\u00a0\u00a0 a cottage would be erected at government\u00a0 cost\u201d as well!\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 While the middle class was given 50\u00a0 acres, it was under the same conditions as for the peasant. The third category, capitalists\u201d were offered land only if available after distributing to the peasant and the middle class, but still only on a 99 year lease (74).<\/p>\n

This system of land distribution was in stark contrast to the practice in British times. Government\u00a0 policy in the colonial regime was to sell the land to\u00a0 perpetuity<\/em>, and to\u00a0 the highest bidder (D S Senanayake doing the First \u00a0reading of the Land Development Bill in the State Council in 1933 (Hansard) (83)).<\/p>\n

Land distribution was not the only detail worth noting. There were the other dimensions built into it\u00a0 to ensure success and keeping the peasant off the indebtedness wagon. Thus did\u00a0 his\u00a0 policy include \u00a0providing financial assistance in the form of loans. This was to ensure that the peasant would not be in eternal indebtedness, more often than not\u00a0 resulting in the land being divided into uneconomical lots, with the lender appropriating the land.<\/p>\n

Doing my doctoral studies in Canada in the mid seventies, a running theme in developmental research was the widening gap<\/em> between the rich and the poor, metropolis and hinterland, West and East. Forty years later, the gap continues. If nothing else, DSS\u2019s approach needs to be considered a significant if small measure going against the grain.<\/p>\n

His Economic wisdom also lay in having the necessary research done not only as to the extent of land available for distribution, but also the quality of the soil before land was allotted, so that the gift would not end up a white elephant to the allottees. Within half a century of British occupation, many of [the rain forests of the mountain zone] were felled\u201d (71). Afforestation, therefore came to be \u00a0a dimension of DSS\u2019s Economic wisdom.<\/p>\n

Pointing to increasing unemployment that was sure to follow with a growing population, he was convinced that this would only be solved\u00a0 by increasing the amount of land under cultivation and providing careers for much larger numbers on the land\u201d (76). Minneriya, the two colonies \u2013 Kahagama and Minipe, and\u00a0 Gal Oya, his last colonization scheme\u201d (76) would amply speak to this strategy and wisdom.<\/p>\n

The crowning achievement .. in his role of rebuilder of ancient irrigation works and reclaimer of the dry zone, is the .. scheme he initiated in the plains around \u2026 Polonnaruwa\u2026 The primary requirement in this undertaking was the restoration of the Parakram Samudra.\u201d (75).<\/p>\n

Another dimension of the Senanyake\u00a0 Economic wisdom was the promotion of animal husbandry<\/em> as part of agriculture reform (79). He \u00a0\u2026educated the country in the methods of housing,\u00a0 breeding and feeding stock through country-side\u00a0 live-stock farms\u2026.\u201d. Within reason, he also introduced protective measures for agriculture and animal husbandry produce, by prohibiting the importation of eggs, vegetables and animals, from time to time as necessary\u201d (79).<\/p>\n

Hands-on Wisdom \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Political and Economic wisdom was not all the Rt. Honourable had. A hands-on Practical wisdom, too. Attention to administrative efficiency<\/em> was primary among them.<\/p>\n

I remember once\u00a0 publishing an article in the Ceylon Daily News, writing from Canada, under the title, Do we get the Best Administrators\u201d. So I was happy to see the Father of the Nation on the same wavelength. Mr S was not liked by some of those who worked under him, because he could not tolerate inefficiency, procrastination and bombast\u201d (21). \u00a0He liked people who could work quickly, efficiently and cheerfully.\u201d A\u00a0 Convocation Address by the Prime Minister given at University of Ceylon in 1947 (Oct. 17) was on the topic of Qualities required of public servants\u201d (106). His interest was The establishment of a disciplined, efficient and contented public service.\u201d (106).\u00a0 He outlines several desirable personal qualities\u201d of such a public servant (107): \u00a0high academic standard which\u00a0 is evidence of ability and power of concentration\u201d, \u00a0interest in his job\u201d, \u00a0energy and enthusiasm ..\u201d, \u00a0a\u00a0 high sense of duty\u201d, character and personality\u201d, self-discipline\u201d and \u00a0physical fitness\u201d. But who would expect a Mao Zedong in a horse-riding aristocrat? Believe you me, another desirable quality of a public servant he saw was a knowledge of the people of the Island\u201d.<\/p>\n

He chides those who, posted to a rural area,\u00a0 dare not go into the jungle in case he meets a mosquito\u201d! (109). Sarcasm it may be, but a knock out punch it was, wouldn\u2019t you say? Of the women graduates, he points to the many avenues of employment in the Public Service \u2026 where the special qualities of \u2026 gentleness and tenderness can be made use of to the best advantage of the community.\u201d (109).<\/p>\n

The future of the country lies not with the birds of passage who have been elected to Parliament but with the young men and women of the country of whom you are a highly selected example\u201d. And it is your duty to devote your talents to the public benefit.\u201d (110).<\/p>\n

Realism <\/em>\u00a0was another dimension of his Hands on Pragmatism.\u00a0 \u00a0I did not get all what I asked\u201d, he says in the State Council in 1945, recommending acceptance of the White paper on Constitutional Reform. But the question is whether to keep the\u00a0 Donoughmore Constitution [of 1941] or whether \u00a0we jump nine-tenths of the way.\u201d Soon \u00a0the knock-out punch, my favourite: A\u00a0 man should not refuse bread because it is not cake<\/em>\u201d (103-4)!<\/p>\n

Russia was no favourite of DSS: Enslavement of the world is what we believe to be\u00a0 their attitude\u2026. We will never be with Russia until she gives up her policy\u201d (J R Jayawardhena writing on DSS\u2019s Foreign Policy, quoting the Hansard (54)).\u00a0\u00a0 Yet, when questioned in Parliament, he says, If Russia wants our rubber, let her become another competitor.. [They] can buy in the open market.\u201d (Hansard) (58). His approach then seems to be irrespective of \u2026 political views and ideologies\u201d (58). Simply put, realism.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Personal Qualities<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we have seen the Rt. Honourable\u2019s right and honourable Political, Economic, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Administrative and Pragmatic wisdom by the bushel, \u00a0what is behind it all can be said to be his personal qualities.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • A man of singular personal attraction\u201d,\u00a0 \u00a0pursuing \u00a0his objectives with sincerity<\/em> and forcefulness<\/em>\u201d, yet always with due regard<\/em> for the rights and feeling of others<\/em>\u201d (Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia, 10).<\/li>\n
  • His personal qualities will always earn him a place of warm regard in the hearts of those who had the honour to know him\u201d (Menzies, recalling his friendship with warm pleasure\u201d).<\/li>\n
  • ..man of very great personal charm\u201d (Clement Atlee, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 9).<\/li>\n
  • If he had been born and bred in my country, I should \u00a0have described him as the best type of English country-gentleman \u2013 able, shrewd, practical, good humoured, kindly and modest\u201d (Soulbury, \u00a062) He brought into my office the fresh air of the countryside, the breezy cheerfulness and good humour of a charming friend. He never seemed worried or stressed and I still seem to hear his hearty chuckle\u201d (66).<\/li>\n
  • Courage, moderation and modesty\u201d (Soulbury, 67). \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gratitude<\/em> was another personal quality DSS brought to the table. Gratitude must be accorded especially to those of the past generation who saw the vision of Free Lanka far off among the hills, who strove to make the first breaches in the bureaucratic \u00a0wall that surrounded us (Senanayake, 99). He was \u00a0grateful for Britain\u2019s good will and co-operation\u201d \u00a0(Menzies). He never failed to support\u00a0 \u00a0his Catholic alma mater, St Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia.<\/p>\n

    Humility<\/em>: I put my case for Lanka in all its strength and with all my force. Possibly there might have ben a better advocate. Certainly there could not have been a fairer or patient judge\u201d (98). In a self-mocking, he tells the university graduates, \u00a0I do too much talking myself to have much faith in talkers\u201d (108).<\/p>\n

    Then there was his\u00a0 sense of humour, <\/em>seeing it in others, too.<\/p>\n

    Sentiment<\/em> was not absent in his heart either. \u00a0Going against the advice of his engineers that greater advantage would be achieved by damming the Amban Ganga at the Sudukanda Gap\u201d than\u00a0 the Parakrama Samudra,, he permitted sentiment to stand in the way of practical utility\u201d (76). But it was not sentiment without reason:\u00a0 \u00a0he explained it in terms of the time saved by utilizing an existing bund and merely filling in a breach\u201d (76).<\/p>\n

    Going on\u00a0 a limb here, with apologies,\u00a0\u00a0 the two protagonists in my novel Untouchable Woman’s Odyssey <\/em>(available on Kindle, or in print at Vijita Yapa and Namel-Malini Punchi Theatre) are sitting in the open verandah of a rest house in an ancient capital, facing a vast ocean of water. Later moving on to \u00a0a bund, \u00a0\u00a0dangling their feet,\u00a0 the female protagonist Tangamma, in\u00a0 a surge of insight, and changing history,\u00a0 proposes\u00a0 a name change of her dear husband, from Milton to Milinda. Brohier talks about discussing DSS \u00a0letting sentiment reign in, \u00a0while lounging in the open verandah of the quiet Polonnaruwa Rest House\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Soulbury captures the personal qualities of DSS\u00a0 as if in summary\u00a0 \u2026those who lived in his time were lifted up by the example of courage, kindliness, moderation and modesty ..\u201d (67). Adds Brohier (80), \u00a0\u2026cultivating the great gift of appreciating his own capabilities, he learnt to tactfully handle men of far greater brilliance than himself. Therein lay the key to the power, prestige and greatness he later achieved\u201d.<\/p>\n

    No other man had so many political enemies\u201d, says Sir John Kotelawala, in politics\u00a0 with DSS over 25 years, writing A Tribute\u2026\u201d (11).\u00a0 And few others lived to make those same enemies come round to at least to grudging admiration\u201d.\u00a0 Soulbury confirms: .. we did not always agree., and yet looking backwards I think that when we differed he was much more often right than wrong.\u201d (66).<\/p>\n

    Hands on Compassion<\/strong><\/p>\n

    To let Mr Senanayake\u2019s compassion<\/em> go unnoticed \u00a0would be to provide \u00a0an incomplete picture. The love he had for all living animals\u2026 was nowhere manifested to greater degree than in his property, Koulwewa Estate, where he farmed poultry, ducks, pigs, turkeys, goats, sheep, deer, buffaloes and \u2026 cattle of many breeds.\u201d (Brohier, 79).<\/p>\n

    Recounting his invitation to DSS \u00a0\u00a0to his country farm in the UK, and \u00a0taking him to the Whipsnade zoo, Soulbury recalls, By a happy chance, the first elephant he saw had been brought from Ceylon .. DS went up to him and spoke a few words in a language incomprehensible to me but obviously understood and relished by the elephant\u201d (65). Communication is not just in language (vac\u012b vi\u00f1\u00f1atti<\/em>) but also in body language ((k\u0101ya vi\u00f1\u00f1atti<\/em>). I should add, telepathically, too, British\u00a0 biologist Rupert Sheldrake\u2019s research providing some scientific evidence.<\/p>\n

    Running the family estate, \u00a0as DSS did, may have been by way of looking after family interests. But what we also see here is an elephantile heart in relation to quadrupeds. Multipeds (insects) and nullpeds (my term) (snakes), as in the Metta Sutta, would have no doubt gotten their fair share of compassion in the company of DSS.<\/p>\n

    His compassion, of course, goes beyond the animal kingdom. The\u00a0 principles of fairness and justice in the context of land alienation,\u00a0 and all the other things done for the welfare of the citizens of a free Ceylon,\u00a0 would amply speak for it in the biped \u00a0kingdom.<\/p>\n

    Charm, chuckle and compassion he had. But \u2026 don\u2019t be taken by surprise if he wrestles<\/em> you down, with \u00a0alacrity! As in the mug shot of him in the issue, beware, he is\u00a0 a wrestler!\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how much of the skill he took to the political ring, but what his interest tells me is that he paid as much attention \u00a0to \u00a0\u00a0his physical health as also to his psychological health. \u00a0For, isn\u2019t \u2018good health the greatest gain\u2019 (\u0101rogy\u0101 param\u0101 l\u0101bh\u0101<\/em>) (Buddha)? It is only good health that would have allowed him to go about all the things he did, for over a quarter of a century. Whenever he had a big problem on hand, he broke away from his busy life in Colombo, and sought self-expression in his hereditary home in the village of Botale, or in the quietness of Koulwewa Estate.(Brohier, 80). In other words,\u00a0 he has not forgotten self-compassion.<\/p>\n

    His emphasis on self-care he shares with his university audience: \u00a0Muscle and brawn are no substitute for intelligence, but there is no need to ignore the claims of physical education.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0And his continuing care for the other is well reflected in the wish he shares with his university audience: \u00a0I wish it were possible to compel every student to spend a year \u00a0in a village as a villager\u201d (110).<\/p>\n

    The Rt. Honourable\u2019s compassion, however, \u00a0was not an all namby-pamby. He fails not to give the occasional punch when needed. The international aristocracy of [Western] Sovereign States, jealous of their special positions, carefully choose their colleagues in the charmed circle. International peace was necessary not<\/em> for the greater happiness of humanity, but to impose their own domination of the world.\u201d (113) (BBC speech).<\/p>\n

    We consider India to be one of the greatest nations \u2026 but we do not expect India to play the role of trying to establish rights where they have no rights, \u2026 or to deprive other countries of their rights\u201d (57) (Hansard).<\/p>\n

    When it comes to his own people, in addressing the university audience, says he, .. our objective is not to raise the standard of living in Cinnamon Gardens\u201d, of the rich (110).<\/p>\n

    So it was a critical compassion<\/em> that DSS had.<\/p>\n

    Buddhist Praxis<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Adroit politician, insightful economist,\u00a0 five star administrator, compassionate human being. Guess \u00a0what I see in \u00a0all this. \u00a0A Buddhism in praxis<\/em>, i.e., theory in action, for the well-being\u00a0 of the many, for the comfort of the many, out of compassion for the world \/ sentient beings (bahujana hit\u0101ya, bahujana sukh\u0101ya,\u00a0 lok\u0101nukamp\u0101ya<\/em>). \u00a0\u00a0In contemporary language, who we have is a socially engaged Buddhist.<\/p>\n

    But is this \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a far-out theorizing of a dry-bone Buddhist academic? Hardly! You may be surprised that it is very much based in the\u00a0 warm breath of, are you ready, a \u00a0practicing Buddhist Rt Honourable Senanayake. Sure he did not wear\u00a0 his Buddhistness\u00a0 up on his sleeve, any more than he sought to enthrone Buddhism in the Constitution. But would you believe, or did you know, that unknown to us the public, he was a devout Buddhist? \u00a0A practicing one, too, taking to the ata sil<\/em> (Eight Training Principles (sikkh\u0101pada<\/em>), popularly, Precepts). How often don\u2019t ask me. But observe he did, donning the white Sil attire.<\/p>\n

    Evidence of his Buddhist praxis\u00a0 is that his attitude, behaviour, action \u2013 politics, economics, administration, are\u00a0\u00a0 all conditioned by\u00a0\u00a0 a compassion\u00a0 instructed by wisdom, and of course,\u00a0 vice versa,\u00a0 the\u00a0 ideal well exemplified by the Buddha.<\/p>\n

    We have\u00a0\u00a0 recorded\u00a0\u00a0 examples of his \u00a0Mett\u0101<\/em> \u2018friendliness\u2019 and Karun\u0101<\/em> \u2018compassion\u2019 in international relations: My government\u2019s relations with other countries continue to be extended on the basis of friendship\u201d (53). Ceylon feels that peace cannot be established\u2026 by hatred or revenge\u2026\u201d (60). Thus it is that Mr Senanayake came out very strongly on the side of complete freedom\u201d for Japan, America ultimately taking the same view (J R Jayawardhena 60). And he also urged that Japan be not\u00a0\u00a0 asked for\u00a0 reparation.\u00a0 Talking about the colonizer he had fought, and who had imprisoned him (52), DSS only has kind words for the British public who has shown by their commonwealth idea\u00a0 .. an unrivalled genius for compromise\u2026\u201d(113).<\/p>\n

    A prime example of his personal Buddhist praxis is noted by Jennings. Dominion status\u00a0 promised,\u00a0 but word broken,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Oddly enough, Mr. Senanayake was not at all angry\u201d. \u00a0Wouldn\u2019t it take a Bodhisatta\u00a0 to not\u00a0\u00a0 get\u00a0\u00a0 hot all over?\u00a0 He never seemed worried or stressed\u201d, notes\u00a0\u00a0 Soulbury (66). So not just a one time marvel.<\/p>\n

    Not getting angry can also\u00a0 be seen as being reflective of \u00a0another Buddhist praxis – upekkh\u0101<\/em> \u2018equanimity\u2019, instructed by\u00a0 the Eight-fold World Reality Wheel (a<\/em>\u1e6d\u1e6d<\/em>haloka dhammacakka<\/em>) \u2013 gain n\u2019 loss, infamy n\u2019 fame, blame n\u2019 praise, comfort n\u2019 dukkha (l\u0101bho\u00a0 al\u0101bho ayaso yaso ca nind\u0101 pasa<\/em>\u1e43<\/em>s\u0101 sukha\u00f1ca dukkham<\/em>).<\/p>\n

    Then there was his breezy cheerfulness and good humour of a charming friend\u201d (Soulbury).<\/p>\n

    Beyond his personal practice, he seems interested in having Buddhist values imbibed in university students. Just as his contribution \u2026 towards the establishment of a residential university is not so well known\u201d (Sir Nicholas Attygalle, Vice Chancellor, U ofCeylon, 81), by facilitating, as Minister of Lands,\u00a0 the acquiring of the New Peradeniya Estate, his interest in the University\u00a0 Sangharama and Vihara role is not known either. He laid the foundation stone to the vihara.<\/p>\n

    His speech on the BBC on the Middle Way\u201d of Moderation as a path to peace (110) \u00a0\u00a0clearly \u00a0speaks to another Buddhist praxis. \u00a0He talks of spirituality, too: we are convinced that only through clearer knowledge of the fundamental spiritual values of existence can international understanding be reached\u201d (114).<\/p>\n

    The Rt. Honourable \u00a0also well represented the national Buddhist ethos with the kindliness and hospitality typical of his people\u201d (Soulbury, 63).<\/p>\n

    A Noble Eightfold Path in Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

    A man of enormous breath and vision\u201d, says Menzies of DSS (10). \u00a0\u00a0Along with it, his punditry and conviction may then be seen as an example of \u2018Right view\u2019 (samm\u0101 di<\/em>\u1e6d\u1e6d<\/em>hi)<\/em> in him,\u00a0 the first benchmark of \u00a0the Noble Eightfold Path. The strategies he used\u00a0 could be seen as\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Right conceptualization\u2019 (samm\u0101 samkappa<\/em>). He had a wonderful faculty for defining them [objectives] precisely\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Whenever DSS disagreed with someone, he\u00a0 would express it with an \u00a0opener such as \u00a0I mean to say\u201d, \u00a0As a matter of fact\u201d and \u00a0Actually\u201d (Jennings, 18), never \u00a0putting up an oppositional front. If they were unable to convince him, they were told, in the nicest possible way, that they had better go away and think again\u201d. His humour,\u00a0\u00a0 charm\u00a0 and\u00a0 chuckle added,\u00a0 we have Excellent Speech\u00a0 (samm\u0101 v\u0101c\u0101<\/em>), the third link in the Path. It is not only strategy that\u00a0 shows\u00a0 \u2018Right Action\u2019 (samm\u0101 kammanta<\/em>), but also his approach that impressed others, and drew them over to him if in the long term. His \u2018Excellent \u00a0Livelihood\u2019 (samm\u0101 \u0101j\u012bva<\/em>) was written all over the landscape. It was to do his best to serve the people, both at home and abroad that fits the bill.<\/p>\n

    \u2018Excellent Mental Exercise\u2019 (as I translate it) (samm\u0101 v\u0101y\u0101ma<\/em>) in the Noble Eightfold Path \u00a0entails avoiding the bad (niv\u0101rana<\/em>), getting rid of the bad (pah\u0101na<\/em>), cultivating the good (bh\u0101van\u0101<\/em>) and protecting the good \u00a0one already \u00a0has (anurakkhana<\/em>). Did he avoid the bad? We\u2019ve read how the efforts made for Independence under earlier leadership failed. So \u00a0he took a new tact \u2013 of cooperation and accommodation. So how\u2019s that for avoiding the bad, eh? We don\u2019t know what badness there was in him personally \u2013 and I\u2019m sure there was, \u00a0as everyone who is not an Arahant does, but there is little doubt that he sought to cultivate the good in himself (as e.g.,\u00a0 not getting angry), \u00a0as well as in others when he demanded a self-disciplined, efficient \u00a0and contented \u00a0\u00a0public service. And, did he ever protect the qualities he possessed! The record of 25 plus years of work in the field should speak loudly \u00a0for itself.<\/p>\n

    Part of observing the Eight Training Principles (ata sil<\/em>) is to cultivate mindfulness. I don\u2019t know how often DSS took to it on Full Moon Days, but there is little doubt that he was into \u2018Excellent mindfulness\u2019 (samm\u0101 sati<\/em>) in \u00a0whatever he did in his public life. Meditation, never mind \u2018Concentration\u2019\u00a0 (sam\u0101dhi<\/em>) was certainly not part of the practice of Sinhala Buddhism at that time unlike \u00a0today. But it was with pleasant surprise in his address to the graduates that I read him\u00a0 talk of the value of \u00a0\u2018concentration\u2019. \u2018Excellent concentration\u2019 (samm\u0101 sam\u0101dhi<\/em>) in the spiritual sense of watching the breath may not be what he himself practised, but it was \u00a0undoubtedly in excellent concentration that he went about his business.<\/p>\n

    Though attired in a vest and tie, and not \u00a0a white wrap around,\u00a0 the \u00a0\u00a0Rt. Hon DSS can then be said to have had the ongoing wrap of the \u00a0\u00a0Noble Eightfold Path around his mindbody\u00a0 \u00a0in all his adult political life.<\/p>\n

    His Legacy, Tusita Heaven and My Respects<\/strong><\/p>\n

    But we humans have an uncanny skill at pulling down the pillars of goodness, don\u2019t we, \u00a0as soon as the architect is out of sight. It didn\u2019t take long for King Asoka\u2019s Dharmarajya to come tumbling down after his passing away. DSS may not have set up physical pillars across the country as Asoka did, but build \u00a0tall pillars he did \u2013 in politics, economics, administration and personal example.<\/p>\n

    In his Foreword, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke hoped that the Journal Issue \u00a0may serve to reveal to the people this vision of a great leader .. so that future generations may trod the path he trod\u201d\u00a0 (7).\u00a0 I will let the people of the country, and my readers, make up their own minds as \u00a0to what extent the country has maintained the legacy of DSS . But there is nothing \u00a0in my mind that doesn\u2019t lend credibility to the Buddha\u2019s words, The body of mortals\u00a0 does\u00a0 go\u00a0 to decay; but the name goes on\u201d (r\u016bpam jiarati macc\u0101nam, n\u0101magottam na j\u012brati<\/em>).<\/p>\n

    If anyone has \u00a0earned<\/em> the accolade Rt Honourable, it would be DSS, even though he had turned down all British honours earlier, and now accepting it only so Ceylon will earn respect alongside other Commonwealth countries. \u00a0\u00a0Nationally \u00a0he has earned it for all his contributions in the \u00a0Political, \u00a0Economic, \u00a0Administrative and other spheres. Internationally, for all his contributions to peace and democracy. \u00a0But he earns it equally by being literally Right \u00a0\u00a0and literally Honourable in relation to moral and spiritual standards: the rule of the moral law holds sway\u201d (52).<\/p>\n

    So why am I writing about the Rt. Hon. Senanayake? \u00a0It is to share with my dear readers what I have learned about him,\u00a0 thanking\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Editor Saparamadu for keeping history recorded for posterity.\u00a0 It may also be for educational reasons. This is not the Senanayake we had ever known as students or adults. To this average onlooker of society and politics, there was nothing honourable about a horse-back riding aristocrat! Our schools didn\u2019t teach us of the great leader, other than as the \u2018Father of the Nation\u2019, which to us apolitical brats, meant nothing.<\/p>\n

    But I\u2019ll admit to having a more selfish motive: to practice my mudita<\/em>, i.e., altruistic joy, at discovering a goodly sentient being. It is also to introduce a\u00a0 kaly\u0101na mitta <\/em>\u2018beautiful friend\u2019 we didn\u2019t know about. Says the Buddha, a kaly\u0101na mitta<\/em> is the whole spiritual life, not just half of it as Ven Ananda had said. Sorry I was not one of the \u2018fortunate ones\u2019 to benefit personally and directly from the company of this great sentient being.\u00a0 But at least I\u2019m happy that I have benefited from this historical relationship with a sentient being at his best in the context of social living.<\/p>\n

    If my memory serves me right,\u00a0 I was a dot among an estimated million gathered \u00a0\u00a0at Independent Square \u00a0(on March 29, 1952, as the record shows) where the\u00a0 body of the Troop (Sena) Leader (Nayaka) was cremated. It was as \u00a0a tiny trooper of the Nalanda Junior Cadet Platoon. \u00a0\u00a0Sixty two years of water under the bridge, and two oceans and 10,000 miles away,\u00a0 I\u2019m happy to be able to do better, and pay my personal respects to a rare human being and an example par excellence<\/em> of goodliness, with all the ingredients to do still better spiritually.<\/p>\n

    The student\u00a0 of Buddhism in me tells me that the late leader would have inevitably ended up\u00a0\u00a0 in the Tusita Heaven for all the merits accrued through his good deeds. Queen Mahamaya ended up there, and the future Prince Siddhartha came to us from there. But may I\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 hope that upon the completion of his life in Heaven, the Rt Hon Senanayake will\u00a0 work out his liberation from samsara.<\/p>\n

    \u2018Hatred\u2019, based in \u2018anger\u2019 is one of the three Blemish Roots (akusala m\u016bla<\/em>) that keeps one in Samsara. Oddly enough\u201d, we have been told, you Sir, were not angry in a situation demanding a justifiable anger. So we could say then that you\u2019re well on your way to a \u2018jettisoning of anger and hatred\u2019 (dosakkhaya<\/em>) (dvesha<\/em>, in Sanskritized Sinhala), one of the characteristics of Nibb\u0101na.\u00a0\u00a0 Compassion feeding on Wisdom, Wisdom feeding on Compassion, in a Conditioned Co-origination (paticcasamupp\u0101da<\/em>) reciprocal relationship, you Sir,\u00a0\u00a0 are close to making it \u2018across to the other shore\u2019 as in the Dhammapada line.<\/p>\n

    May you attain the peace of Nibb\u0101na!<\/p>\n

    Saadu Saadu Saadu S\u0101<\/em>\u2026!<\/p>\n

    (This was originally published in the Sunday Island in two parts (Oct. 25 & 31, 2015) under the title, I\u2019m Voting for the Rt. Hon. D S Senanayaka!\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    (US Fulbright and Canadian Buddhist scholar Suwanda H J Sugunasiri\u00a0 is the author of Evolution and Devolution in the Agga\u00f1\u00f1a Sutta\u201d, and Arahant Mahinda as Redactor of the Buddhapujava in Sinhala Buddhism.\u00a0 His latest research is titled TRIUNE MIND FINDS HOME IN TRIUNE BRAIN: An Exercise in Buddhianscience & Westernscience\u201d <https:\/\/tspace.library.utoronto.ca\/handle\/1807\/69843<\/a>>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Prof Suwanda H J Sugunasiri\u00a0 (writing from Canada) (in Commemoration of his \u00a0131st Birth anniversary that fell on October 21st,\u00a0 2015) It may not be election time in Sri Lanka, but I\u2019m voting for the Rt. Hon. D S Senanayake! That\u2019s right, the honourable thing to do. Birth Anniversary falling on October 21 (1884), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49042","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=49042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}