{"id":53044,"date":"2016-03-18T15:12:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T22:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=53044"},"modified":"2016-03-18T15:35:14","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T22:35:14","slug":"uduwe-dhammaloka-thero-personification-of-serenity-and-dignity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/03\/18\/uduwe-dhammaloka-thero-personification-of-serenity-and-dignity\/","title":{"rendered":"UDUWE DHAMMALOKA THERO- PERSONIFICATION OF SERENITY AND DIGNITY"},"content":{"rendered":"

By M.L.Wickramasinghe<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Many people felt sad and forlorn when they heard that Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero was arrested and remanded. As lay \u2018prthagjana\u2019 people it probably is natural to feel helpless and forlorn, and perhaps even angry. The reason for this dejection and anger was the general feeling among many Sri Lankans – even cutting across the political divide – that \u2018what\u2019 was done to \u2018Ape Hamuduruwo\u2019 and especially \u2018how\u2019 it was done was unfair. Many friends and associates had similar feelings. \u00a0But the helplessness and anger disappeared when people saw on television the dignified way in which venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero acted and absorbed the pressure in the whole episode. The Government must be grateful to Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka who by his dignified response deflected the anger of the people away from the Government.<\/p>\n

\"Uduwe\"Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka’s dignified response deflected the anger of the people<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

However, though, there was a minority who \u2018wallowed in mud of happiness\u2019 in the discomfort which they themselves thought that the Thero was subjected to. It is time that the Government takes cognizance of the general perception of the majority of the Sri Lankan people that the way the Government has been handling recent issues pertaining to Buddhist monks has not been \u00a0\u2018fair\u2019. The majority of Sri Lankans perceive these acts as knowingly or unknowingly leading to the inhibition of\u00a0 the legitimate and the time \u2013tested role of the Sangha\u2013 the role of the \u2018Muradevatha\u2019 \u00a0or the \u2018guardian deities\u2019 of the Country\u00a0 and the Nation. From time immemorial Buddhist Monks have spoken and acted when issues pertaining to the detriment of the Country or to national interest have arisen. This historical role has to be facilitated by all citizens, including the leaders; not curtailed.<\/p>\n

Uduwe Hamuduruwo, in this episode, was a personification of dignity, serenity, and selflessness. The monk was clearly unperturbed. People immediately and instinctively felt utmost respect and reverence for Uduwe Hamuduruwo. How Uduwe Hamuduruwo faced this situation reminded me of a stanza in the \u2018Dhammapada\u2019 \u00a0which I learnt in the University. If there ever was a situation where I could apply the content of this stanza practically to a life situation \u2013this was it.<\/p>\n

Selo Yatha Ekaghano- Vathena na Sameerathi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evam Ninda Pasansasu-Na Samijjanthi Panditha\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. E.W. Adhikaram in the booklet titled \u2018Dhammapada- English Translation\u2019 of 1954, renders the Pali stanza into English as follows:\u00a0 As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind-even so are the wise men- unshaken in praise and blame\u201d<\/p>\n

Adversity is part and parcel of human life. Even Lord Buddha was troubled by nature as well as by undiscerning persons. Once Lord Buddha was invited by a Brahmin to spend the rain retreat in an area called Veranjana. However, there was an unprecedented drought and the Brahmin hard put to find food even for his family, forgot that he had invited the Buddha to his village. The Buddha and the disciples had to subsist on a coarse grain called Yava rice usually used to feed horses. And then there was Cousin Devadatta Thero who troubled the Buddha as and when possible, of course with negligible results to Lord Buddha but with stark results for Devadatta himself. The Chief disciple Arahant Mugalan was set upon by thieves when travelling through a forest. So adversity, attack and humiliation are integral to life. However, the way Uduwe Hamuduruwo faced adversity with courage, dignity, and self assurance \u00a0springing through an inner conviction of righteousness and a deep understanding of Buddha Dhamma was elevating and noble.<\/p>\n

It is now time for the Administration to attempt to develop \u2018wisdom\u2019 to discern or prioritize those elements that are vitally important to ensure ethics, good governance and economic development from those that are of peripheral concern. For example compare the act of feeding an abandoned baby elephant left in the temple premises with acts of raping forests that drive out elephants from their natural habitats. These dastardly acts lead to intensification of the so called \u2018elephant- human conflict\u2019, with disastrous consequences both for peoples\u2019 lives and livelihoods as well as for the life of elephants. The former is compassionate and constructive while the latter is repugnant and destructive.<\/p>\n

Lord Buddha again illustrated the importance of judging the \u2018useful and the essential things\u2019 from the \u2018inappropriate and non-essential things\u2019. Beings with incorrect concepts, the Buddha said, cannot discern the essential from the unessential. Dr. Adhikaram translates the 11th<\/sup> stanza in the Yamaka Vagga of Dhammapada as follows: \u00a0Viewing the non-essential as the essential and the essential as the non-essential they, nourished on false thinking, do not arrive at the essential.\u201d May the leaders gain insights to filter the essential issues from the inessential, so the Country can begin to act on those essentials while not burdening it-self with the non-essentials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By M.L.Wickramasinghe Many people felt sad and forlorn when they heard that Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero was arrested and remanded. As lay \u2018prthagjana\u2019 people it probably is natural to feel helpless and forlorn, and perhaps even angry. The reason for this dejection and anger was the general feeling among many Sri Lankans – even cutting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044","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=53044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}