{"id":78846,"date":"2018-06-29T15:54:56","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T22:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=78846"},"modified":"2018-06-29T15:54:56","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T22:54:56","slug":"the-bodu-bala-sena-movement-socially-engaged-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/06\/29\/the-bodu-bala-sena-movement-socially-engaged-buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BODU BALA SENA MOVEMENT: \u00a0SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

With the emergence of the Bodu Bala Sena\u201d \u00a0initiative, our motherland is witnessing a strengthening of the Sinhala Buddhist revivalist movement which was spearheaded\u00a0 by the late, Most Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thera. The Bodu Bala Sena is a movement \u00a0under the leadership of a highly distinguished, accomplished and deeply patriotic group of Bhikkhus, dedicated to the task of revitalizing and reinforcing cultural nationalism in Sri Lanka \u2013 our only motherland. It has a rapidly growing steadfast support base among concerned lay Buddhists across the country and overseas.<\/p>\n

Its aim is to save our nation from spiritual decay and disintegration, to halt the erosion of Buddhist social values, to peacefully counter the varied local and foreign forces that are hell-bent on undermining Buddhist culture and related heritage of this Dharmadeepaya.\u00a0 It aims at directing society towards a cultural rejuvenation based on traditional Buddhist norms, principles and values which have been the foundation of this nation for over 2200 years.<\/p>\n

Our Bhikkhus, should necessarily be in the forefront in movements aimed at protecting and promoting the Buddha Sasana especially when it is under threat. Bhikkhus of the Bodu Bala Sena have voluntarily made their choice to take an open public stand on issues surrounding Buddhism and Buddhist culture which is the greatest treasure that our country could offer to the world, to humanity. \u00a0Why should anyone feel uncomfortable when the traditional spiritual leaders of our country, the Bhikkhus, take the initiative and provide necessary leadership to protect the greatest wealth of this nation \u2013 our Buddhist cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Like anyone else, under a democratic system, Bhikkhus are eligible to exercise their rights, including political rights. They are traditional leaders of this nation.\u00a0 Those who object to the initiative taken by our Bhikkhus of the Bodu Bala Sena, appear to be those with ulterior motives, those having their own self-interests to promote, those attempting to promote blind beliefs and establish unwholesome lifestyles based on such beliefs, those opposed to further strengthening\u00a0 and consolidation of Buddhist culture in this country, and those resorting to unwholesome activities that are contrary to Buddhist norms and principles and all those who are inclined to undermining the Buddha Sasana and Buddhist values which have been preserved and promoted for thousands of years in this country, by the large majority of its inhabitants. These undesirable elements may feel uncomfortable about the Bodu Bala Sena activities which are, on all counts, legitimate, wholesome, and timely. Non-violence and compassion form the basis upon which the programme of activities of the Bodu Bala Sena is structured. Our Bhikkhus have become a thorn in the flesh of religious extremists, the recent breed of inter-faith dialogue facilitators, \u00a0those in the ethnic and human rights businesses and above all those who are funded or backed by extremist anti-Buddhist elements.<\/p>\n

Genuine and practicing Buddhists of our country, or those who strictly follow, at least the Five Precepts, should be closely and actively involved in politics. There is no sound reason for such Buddhists to stay away from politics. Most of the ills of our country\u2019s political life could be attributed to the absence of genuine Buddhists in the political arena.\u00a0 In fact, genuine Buddhists have a duty by the nation, which is founded on Buddhist principles, to be fully involved and participating in their nation\u2019s political life. This is particularly relevant today owing to the fact that our nation is severely threatened at present by diverse negative forces, especially by Muslim fanatics. They are trying hard to undermine the wholesome Buddhist cultural heritage and values of our nation.<\/p>\n

It is the Buddhist perspective to public life and decision-making, that is most needed today in the country\u2019s political domain. We need compassionate politicians with unselfish and mindful interest in the welfare of the country. This alone can bring about needed positive changes in public life which at present is infected with dishonesty, crime and corruption. The impact and influence of such people can make a big difference. They can help to generate a wholesome political culture, that is characterized by Buddhist approaches and attitudes and a truly Buddhist atmosphere, conducive to the development of a healthy political climate in our nation, so that all nationals will benefit irrespective of their diverse origins and cultural-religious inclinations.<\/p>\n

Politics in actual fact is simply about deciding how to live together peaceably while bringing together the wide variety of perspectives available in the human realm. It is something necessary and something creative.\u00a0 Politics is part of our life. If we regard all life as sacred and politics is a part of life, then politics must be sacred. Politics is not an inherently unclean and base activity. It becomes dirty in the way that everything else becomes dirty. That is, through lack of attention, through lack of mindfulness, through ego, all of which resulting in greed, hatred and delusion. The best kind of politics can take the profound viewpoints and virtues of spiritual practice and apply them in the public realm. Buddhism can be of fundamental help in this regard.<\/p>\n

If we do not bring spiritual virtues to the public arena, we are destined to both a selfish kind of spirituality and a selfish kind of government, devoid of vision and meaning. It is time that more and more of our genuine and practicing Buddhists entered the political arena in various influential capacities. We are grateful to and value the initiative and leadership provided, in this regard by the highly esteemed movements such as the Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya, Ravana Balaya, \u00a0and Mahason Balakaya among others. Despite untold threats and challenges and various unfounded and indecent criticisms leveled against them, especially by extremist Muslims and other fanatics who benefit politically and otherwise from association with extremist Muslims, these bold, inherently national organizations, appear to be going ahead with their program of activities, demonstrating foresight, forthrightness, courage, fearlessness, and determination.<\/p>\n

Buddhism has always been engaged in various socio-political contexts. The idea of interdependence is widely associated with Buddhism. Buddhism is the religion of Human Ecology. Engaging in the lives of others through compassion, sacrifice and service is the worthy spiritual path that we need to observe in the contemporary world. We need to expand our approach or shift somewhat away from those traditional customs that excessively promote monasticism and individual salvation, and become more socially engaged and be more concerned about service to the community, the human habitat and the environment in general.\u00a0 We need to broaden our spiritual practices to include both family and community and the social and environmental concerns of the broader world. We need to approach meditation not as a way of escaping from society or getting out of society, but to prepare us for a re-entry into society so that we will be better able to identify and understand social hardships, misery and perils, and be able to do something tangible to relieve them.\u00a0 It is time that we as Buddhists involve ourselves in an organized manner, become socially engaged and apply Buddhism to matters of everyday life, individual work, family, politics, and the community.\u00a0 It needs to be a direct application of Buddhist principles and concepts to social and political issues and areas.<\/p>\n

SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM <\/strong><\/p>\n

The term “Socially Engaged Buddhism” refers to active involvement by Buddhists in society and its problems. Both inner practice and social service are important elements of the spiritual path. Buddhist practice and the whole ancient Buddhist tradition is built upon the spirit of service. A major task for Buddhists in contemporary Sri Lanka is to organize themselves to forestall or prevent the real and potential adversities and catastrophes facing them, owing to threats and devious actions of non-Buddhists, aimed at undermining Buddhism and the Buddhist cultural heritage of Sri Lanka founded on Buddhist norms and principles.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF)<\/strong>\u00a0is a\u00a0nonsectarian<\/a>\u00a0international network of\u00a0engaged Buddhists<\/a>\u00a0participating in various forms of nonviolent social activism and environmentalism. It is headquartered in\u00a0California USA. The BPF works toward global\u00a0disarmament<\/a>\u00a0and peace, helping individuals suffering in places such as Myanmar, Bangladesh<\/a>,\u00a0Tibet<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vietnam<\/a>.\u00a0The Buddhist Peace Fellowship was founded in 1978 to bring a Buddhist perspective to the peace movement and the peace movement to the Buddhist community. Drawing on the teachings of nonviolence and compassion, and recognising the essential unity and interdependence of all beings, BPF members and chapters seek to awaken peace where there is conflict, bring insight into the institutionalized ignorance of political systems, and offer help in the Buddhist spirit of harmony and loving kindness where it is needed. Aware of the interconnectedness of all things, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship cultivates conditions for peace, social justice, and environmental sustainability within our selves, our communities, and the world.<\/p>\n

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daya.hewapathirane@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane With the emergence of the Bodu Bala Sena\u201d \u00a0initiative, our motherland is witnessing a strengthening of the Sinhala Buddhist revivalist movement which was spearheaded\u00a0 by the late, Most Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thera. The Bodu Bala Sena is a movement \u00a0under the leadership of a highly distinguished, accomplished and deeply patriotic group of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-daya-hewapathirane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78846","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=78846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}